Minutes of the 10/14/03 Meeting of the TriArea R.C. Flyers 

The meeting was called to order by President Wylie at 7:PM at the SKP clubhouse. Attending were: Wylie, Anliker, Dantzler, Davis, Fitch, Nodell, Phillips, Hensley, Crumley, Benjamin, Greene and Oaks. 

The minutes were approved as read and the Treasurer’s Report showed assets of $3082.82, comprised of $2637.82 in the bank and $445 in fuel inventory.  The present fuel supply consists of 29 gal. of 15%,  2gal. of 10% and one gal. of 4S. 

The first order of business was to review Pete Granger’s proposed update of the Flying Rules.  These were approved with two minor changes and Bruce Pyles agreed to have the website reflect the changes.  A sympathy card signed by the members was given to Dick Benjamin. 

A Nominating Committee was appointed consisting of Fitch, Phillips and Nodell.  The elections of officers will be held at the November meeting, followed by a swap meet. 

The t-shirts and sweatshirts are to be available in the next few days and can be picked up at the hobby shop. 

Dave Henley was presented with a Qualified Pilot Certificate. He does not yet have a dual engine rating.

Henley was also recognized in the next award category; namely the Crash of the Month Trophy.  Also vying for this trophy were Wylie, Dantzler and Phillips.   In order to simplify the selection process it was decided that we draw the winning name out of a hat.  In order to keep it all above board President Wylie was asked to draw the name.  Unfortunately he drew his own name.  It seems that Wylie sold a trainer outfit to a long-haul trucker and offered to test-fly it for him.  The trucker was worried about where he was going to stow the plane in the truck cab – Wylie solved his problem by modifying the plane so it would fit in the glove compartment. 

The meeting was adjourned and some planes and equipment were offered for sale. 

Submitted by Bill Anliker, Sec./Treas. 

Product Review:
submitted by: Pete Granger

FUTABA 6EXA TRANSMITTER 

The 6EXA is touted as an entry-level 6-channel computer radio.  My only other experience with a computer radio was on a Hitec 7 channel Prism, so all my comparisons are based on that.  I have to say that I never understood the logic (if there was any) that Hitec used and I always dreaded setting it up for a new airplane as I knew that I was faced with literally hours of instruction manual study coupled with many attempts to just get the controls operable.  We are not talking about dual rates, exponential, or any of the other fancy settings—just getting the 4 flight control channels operating in the right direction. 

It was with considerable trepidation that I finally ordered the 6EXA.  Even after I had it for a few days and it was all charged up I put off the dreaded programming.  Finally I sat down and read the manual.  Gosh, the programming part of the manual was only a couple of pages long and they also supplied a field box size sheet that had all the good stuff on it plus places to write in the number assignment for each of the 6 airplanes the transmitter can remember.  To make a short story shorter, I decided to program my Laser electric and had the job done in about 15 minutes including setting the dual rates.  Hey, that was kind of fun!  So I pulled down Hog Wild and had at it.  This time I played with the exponential settings and they were easy as well.  In less than a half hour more I had the Astro Hog and the Kaos dialed in.  It only took an hour of play to program 4 airplanes into the 6EXA!!!!! 

Futaba uses a double click on the trainer switch as engine kill and it is very effective.  I laminated the field box sheet so it will last longer and tossed it into my box, but it will probably only be used for revising dual rate and exponential settings.  Servo reversing is a no brainer and nearly as fast as flipping a switch.  I have not flown with my new toy, but I can hardly wait.  I want to take all my planes to the field and try them all out on this electronic wonder. 

The bottom line is, this transmitter operates like all computer radios should.  I am really happy with no reservations.  Now I have to get busy building something with bomb drop and flap capability so I can play with all of the switches! 

Pete Granger