MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

There was no meeting last month as we used the time to put on the annual show and tell for the SKPs.

AROUND THE CLUB

The following lists those that have volunteered to take on field maintenance. If you would like to join this elite group, drop me an e-mail and I’ll make sure you are included.

This is a partial view of the big show. The yellow plane, built a number of years ago but never flown, was brought by one of our prospective members.

>John Fitch taught me Riding Mower 101 shortly before the Fun Fly, and I then mowed most of the runway. The new mower is easy to operate and fun to mow with. I need to work on my technique a bit as I missed the runway center by about 10 feet (just like I do on landings) and the mowing path looked more like a snake as I chased yellow flowers.

>Lou Creedon brought out his big Hadley Page biplane on Tuesday the 18^th. We set up a bungee glider launch rig, hooked up the plane, and let it rip…err…trundle down the runway. The next attempt was made with about 50 feet more bungee stretch and full throttle. The HP lifted off nicely and got about 2 feet up before the bungee dropped off, but the 4 little electric motors just did not have enough thrust for flight so it settled back down. Lou is studying the problem, but it looks like some brush less motors are in the HP’s future.

>I finally got to meet Walt Johnson and Jim Webster. It turns out that they have been flying at the private field in Sequim, but they tell me it has finally been sold. I hope this means we will be seeing more of them.

HINTS, KINKS, AND STUFF

>Ever have trouble marking motor mounts and then not be able to see the marks or dimple from a punch or other tool (like the Great Planes centering bit)? Me too. I tried a little different approach that worked great! I cleaned the motor mount with alcohol and put the adhesive part of a post-it note on the mount where the holes were to go. The engine was held in place, the holes marked using my GP tool, and without moving the engine I looked to see if the holes looked right. They were all correctly placed (I could actually see the centers because of the light colored paper) and I drilled right through the papers. The paper stayed put until I peeled it off.

>Sears used to carry a nice, inexpensive tap and drill set that covered sizes 4-40 through ¼-20 called Electricians Tap and Drill Set. I have used mine for years and it still does a good job. You might want to take a look the next time you are in Sears.

FUN FLY

Six intrepid pilots braved mostly sunny skies and light breezes to compete in our annual dog-eat-dog fun fly. Roy Greene won Loop, Land, and Draw with an excellent draw. Captain Eddy Ricketyback (see picture) aka Bill Anliker won the Climb and Glide with a margin of 28 seconds and Most Loops with a lucky draw on the 3-way tie. Lou Creedon aced the Spot Landing in spite of the "encouragement" of the other pilots. Our only crash occurred when Dick Benjamin attempted a loop about 9 feet too low in the first event. John Fitch was plagued with problems all day and missed the last event when his receiver battery shorted out! Four wives joined in the fun and we topped the day off with a super feed. Special thanks to Billie Fitch for the bean salad and to the Creedons for the ice cream. All of us really appreciated the fine cooking job Dick and Roy did.

AERONAUTICAL JOKE

MEET THE MEMBERS—Keith Allred

I was born in Long Beach California. My family moved to Westminster California in 1943 and then to Garden Grove, California in 1955. I went to Huntington Beach High School and Orange Coast College. At age 20, I spent 2 years in Oklahoma and Kansas as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormon). I returned home and began my career as a salesman for the Best Foods Company. As you may remember in those days, there was a draft. I elected to join the Army reserves. I married my wife Marilyn in August 1962. Four years later an opportunity with the Lipton Company came along. It offered a little more money, so I took it. We moved to West Covina, California and bought our first house. I think we paid $15,000 for it. The payment was about 25% of my pay. We thought we were rich. I continued to work for Lipton but transferred from the retail division to the institutional food service division. In 1968 a Chicago competitor that made industrial and food service sauces, gravies and food bases contacted me and asked me to move to Northern California as a commissioned salesman. Everyone said I was crazy to do so. We were young and cocky so we took the chance. People were good to me. Eighteen months later I was transferred back to Southern California. I was fortunate again to be in the right place at the right time. I was able to develop the largest sales volume in the company. My wife and I and four children lived in So. CA until 1989. It was during this time that a friend introduced me to RC Planes. I flew for about 3 years and then quit. We became avid water skiers, spending as much time as possible on the Colorado River lakes. In the winter, we took our motor home and dirt bikes to the desert. I was promoted to the position of Regional Sales Manager, Vice President of Marketing and Vice President of Sales. My travels brought me to the Seattle area. In 1989 we moved to Seattle, in the Lake City area. Our house was on the Bert Gilman trail overlooking the North end of Lake Washington. I bought an RC kit to work on during the winter. It sat for 10 years. We became hooked on power boating and eventually found Port Ludlow. In 1993 we built a home on the Inner Harbor at Port Ludlow and moved here. One day I saw people flying at our present field and inquired about the club. I enjoy the club members and again being involved in this wonderful hobby. After 32 years with Custom Food Products, I retired at age 62 and am living happily ever after here in Port Ludlow. We have sold the waterfront house, the powerboat and have bought a smaller house. This allows us time to travel in our Beaver motor home, fly RC planes and enjoy our 14 grandchildren. In September of this year, Marilyn and I will begin serving a 1-year mission for our church, in Phoenix Arizona. We will return to Port Ludlow in the fall of 2006.

EDITORIAL—We are the losers

In the last year we have lost 2 of our most active members—and they have not been replaced by others that are equally active. How come????? Well, an active, participating member is a rare occurrence, so out of 20 or so new members you would be very fortunate if you got even one. How many new members have we taken on in the last year? I think 4 plus the Cooks on a family membership. I personally have met only half of these people, and since I spend a lot of time at the field and make most meetings it would seem that at least half of these folks are not that active. Jim and Cindy Cook are active and we sure beat the odds when we were able to bring them in. Even so, attendance at the field has really been down this summer; frequently there are only one or two flyers.

Our principal source of new members has been referrals from Mini Mania Hobbies. We will lose those referrals at the end of August when the shop closes for good. Where are we going to get new members after that? I suspect we will have to generate some publicity through the county fair, the EAA fly-in, or some other scheme to let people know we exist.

Our club changed when we lost Wylie and Lonnie. In addition, some of our members are not as active as they once were as new interests develop. We NEED to replace those flyers, or face the very real possibility of having a dying club on our hands. The membership cap served a useful purpose at one time, but that time is gone. Let’s get the club moving forward again by eliminating the cap and welcoming all that are voted in. As long as we have provisions for voting people in, the membership can control the numbers.

What is the downside of increased membership? There hopefully would be increased use of the field, so parking might not be as convenient and you might have to share the air with another plane. The upside is that we could bring in some really neat members that may inject new life into the club.

I intend to offer a motion at the next club meeting to eliminate the membership cap: I move to delete Section 3 Article VIII of the TRI-AREA R/C FLYERS CLUB BY-LAWS.

FOR SALE OR TRADE

If you want to list an item, just send me the details including your name, phone number, and asking price or trade-for item. Low pixel count digital pictures are also acceptable.

>I have 2 engines that are available to the right party(ies). There is an OS46FX and a Tower Hobbies 61. Both engines ran well until the bearings went out (I think). Both engines are complete including throttle, muffler, and glow plug. Each is available for the price of a new OS plug.

Pete Granger

granger@olypen.com

MANEUVER OF THE MONTH (MOM)— Competitive Crash Part 3

Last month we went through a number of the more common classifications of crashes. We still have a few more to consider before moving on to showmanship:

Demolition Derby—This requires at least 2 pilots and 2 airborne planes. The planes must occupy the same space at the same moment, i.e. a mid-air collision. This is one of the most difficult of all crashes as our planes are usually not all that large and the volume we fly through is comparably huge. I have only been able to accomplish this one time and that resulted in very minor damage to the wing tip of my old Clancy Bee. The real experts can be found at the combat competitions; they are able to perform this feat many times in a single day, frequently with spectacular results.

Lawn Dart—This is a highly technical crash type, as it requires that the airplane takeoff, climb to a reasonable height, and then separate the wing from the fuselage. Our club members usually just leave the wing bolts out and some have been successful even with high wing or shoulder wing planes. I recently performed one of these with a biplane when I attempted a high-speed pull out and the rubber bands came off the rear attach point. The remaining lower wing was totally ineffective since it was providing lift behind the CG.

Touch and Smash (or Torque Roll)—This is perhaps the most common of the really showy crashes, but spectators frequently miss seeing them as they are performed very low and happen very fast. The usual method is to perform a normal touch and instead of the usual go the pilot slams in full throttle and full up elevator. This is how many pilots perform their first snap roll; often with planes they thought were incapable of the maneuver! This crash type invariably produces superb debris fields with enormous equipment damage.

Real crash artists are careful to introduce advertising and showmanship for their productions. One of the most effective advertising methods is a loud announcement by the pilot that "I ain’t got it!!!" Our improved radios have eliminated the majority of these proclamations, but dedicated crashers are endlessly creative. Today’s pilots frequently ask in a quavering voice just loud enough to be heard over a screaming engine "Does anyone see my plane?" Another ploy is to wail, "I’m getting interference!" The spectators often get into the spirit of the event with calls of "Heads Up!" "Look Out!", and other enthusiastic remarks.

Many folks find that the post mortem period is the best part of a really good crash. After the debris has been collected the equipment must be pawed over in an effort to determine the cause of the incident. If a crash was really good it is usually possible to find a broken wire, an unplugged battery, or other damage that can be blamed. It is only when no obvious equipment damage can be found that the real crashers begin to shine. Weeks can be spent in pleasurable debate on topics such as: "It was only a hard landing." "Maybe it was a little tail heavy.", "It was an unflyable design." (even though the plane had 50 or so flights on it), "The wing developed a warp during the flight." or one of my favorites "I picked up the wrong transmitter."

Our little journey of discovery is over for the moment. However, the art of crashing seems to evolve at about the same rate as technology, so new and wondrous methods of airplane disposal loom just beyond the reach of a good transmitter.

MONTHLY MEETING--Tuesday September 13 in the SKP Clubhouse

Be ready for some impassioned discussion, because I am going to restart the membership cap debate. If you have feelings either way by all means come and take part. If you really don’t care, come anyhow and watch people get red in the face as the action heats up. It ought to be a pretty good show!

MEMBER BUSINESS ADVERTISEMENTS

The Board has approved allowing club members to place small ads in the newsletter at no charge. The ads will be included in the newsletter so long as the newsletter editor receives a monthly request for each one.

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Petersen & Granger, LLC

I have books on hand so you can now save the shipping and handling.

Pete Granger

granger@olypen.com