The Tale Spinner
Newsletter of the Tri-Area Flyers

 http://webpages.charter.net/russpetersen/

(AMA Charter Number 4063, Radio Controlled Model Aircraft Club)

 May 1, 2002, Volume 3 Issue 5

Meeting Minutes:          (Next Meeting: May 14, 2002, Excapees RV Park)

                                    Minutes of the 4/9/02 Meeting of the Tri-Area RC Flyers

President Wylie called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM at the SKP clubhouse.  Attending were Wylie, Anliker, Stuck, Benjamin, Ryder, Mollarus, G. Smith, Greene, Oaks, Davis, J. Becker, Allen, Dantzler, Granger, Pyles, Scott, Thomas and Crumley.

The minutes of the last meeting were read and approved.  The Treasurer’s report showed assets of $3080.06, comprised of $2688.56 in the bank and fuel inventory of $391.50.

Anliker advised that he could bring back a load of fuel from our supplier in Battleground. Bruce Scott convinced us that 15% 2-stroke fuel would be ideal for all our fuel needs rather than keeping three types of fuel on hand.  Anliker was authorized to buy 42 gallons of 15% 2-stroke Power Master fuel.

Grant showed us the frequency board he has made and it was agreed that we need to strictly enforce the rules associated with its use.

Jack Becker told us about the plans for the Port Townsend Aero Museum and encouraged our members’ participation in its promotion. The suggestion was made that our club visit the proposed facility on some meeting night this summer.

Pete Granger showed pictures of flying fields in his southern environs.  It was good to have Pete back, but even better to have his wife back as she provided us with a large quantity of excellent cake.

Grant Smith was the lucky recipient of the Crash-of–the-Month Trophy for the spectacular demise of his Decathlon. (Grant says he was glad to get rid of it and the rest of us were just glad that he wasn’t crying anymore)

The Secretary/Treasurer was presented with the prestigious Great White Hunter Award for dispatching the flying field mole.

Stan Davis had a show-and-tell about a Sig Something Extra ARF that he had just put together.

The meeting was adjourned and we were treated to a very informative Engine Clinic put on by Bruce Scott.

Submitted by Bill Anliker, Secretary/Treasurer

Gadgets and Gizmos by Russ Petersen:

Here is an idea for a field “Gizmo” that I have had around for at least ten years to hold my planes while starting and running up the engine.  I left mine in Silverdale, and had to make a new one for flying in Arizona.  The idea is a hold back for starting and running up planes in areas where a club does not provide any or a good hold back system for flyers.  This also negates the need for help in starting, which sometimes is a good thing.  This holdback is made from a simple piece of plywood held to the ground with two 10” spikes at the rear.  (Ten or twelve inch spikes seem to work fine.  I am currently using 10 inchers for an airplane that generates 13 lbs of thrust and it is working fine.) The rotating arm assembly is made of clear 2X2 and the uprights are made of 1” diameter hard wood dowel.  A set of inexpensive butt hinges makes up the rest of the project.  I have used a forstner bit to drill the 1” holes in the 2X2 and the dowels are held in place with a retaining wood screw so that I can change the size of the dowel length if necessary.  I also have fastened some plumbing insulation to protect the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer.  The pictures are pretty self explanatory, but the idea is that after starting, when you are ready to commit aviation, you walk to the rear of the plane and grasp the vertical stabilizer, then the airplane is pulled a little way back and the hinged hold back is laid down (I use my toe since I have my transmitter in my left hand and am holding the airplane with my right) so that it is out of the way.  Then you just push the plane forward and you are on your way.  Here are some pictures that should help make the idea clearer.  I have a place at home for running up engines in which I have installed threaded inserts in a piece of 2X4 that forms a boundary around our driveway and the thing is bolted to the ground there to give a very solid place for holding the plane while I tinker with the motor. 

I thought some of you might be interested in the RC fields that are in the Mesa/Apache Junction area.  That would be about 20 miles East of Phoenix, for those who have not visited the valley of the sun.  There are three fields that are reasonably close to Valle Del Oro, where my wife Nancy and I have purchased a park model RV. We will be living here for 5 or 6 months each year.  We chose this park in part because it was convenient to several good flying fields, and because there is an active RC Club in the park.  The Valle Del Oro club does not operate a flying field, but they do maintain a decent shop facility in the park providing access to specialty modeling tools (benders, drill press, taps and the like) and some RC centered fellowship. Most Valle Del Oro inmates appear to prefer flying RC at the East Valley Aviators flying field discussed below.  In the Valle Del Oro Park, RC Shop there are workbenches where some members assemble kits, do repairs and the like.  I know of no other park in this area (or anywhere else for that matter) that maintains an RC workshop for residents use.  For larger woodworking projects there is also an additional large wood shop with a generous supply of materials and tools.

As far as flying goes, the weather in this area from November 1 to May 1 is generally pretty nice for RC flying.   There are occasional short periods of higher wind, but in the main, it is light winds and clear skies.  So, for RC it is quite nice normally.

The three fields in this area vary from an old WWII bomber field to a state of the art (pavement, cabanas, etc) AMA field.  An RC Club maintains each of the three fields.  I will talk a little about each of fields and share some pictures so that you can get the idea of what might be available if you want to visit this area and fly a little.

East Valley Aviators 

The East Valley Field is located 3.5 miles South of highway 60 on Ironwood Ave.  The entrance to the field is clearly marked and is on the East side of the Ironwood.  The field is locked, so you need a club member/sponsor to get in unless the field happens to be open for flying.  The club maintains a nice pitt area with cabanas to help shelter members from the sun.  The flying surface is dirt and while it is not terribly loose, it still is a concern from the point of view of maintaining clean carburetors.  I have been flying mostly at this field, and have not had too much difficulty with dirt, but it is an issue.  Here are a few shots of the field and Pitt area.  You can see the dirt runway to the left of the first picture:

The East Valley Aviators has 250 members and currently has a waiting list for persons who want to join the club.  The frequency control procedures include a transmitter impound and the club makes a reasonable effort to maintain a safe flying environment.  At peak tourist season (January, February) the field gets fairly crowded and I have made it a practice to stay away from the place on the weekends and some mornings during the week during those months.  There are just too many flyers milling around not watching other aircraft and flying random patterns for it to be completely safe when it is busy.  Visitors are welcomed at this field, but you must have a member/sponsor in order to get a frequency and fly as a visitor.  The club has an out-of-date web site at http://www.digitalsign.com/eva/ which provides some pictures and a map to the field.

Southwest Model Aviators 

The Southwest club flys on an old (government owned) decommissioned WWII bomber field.  It is located about 8 miles further down (South) Ironwood and then East on Ocotillo Road.  For specific instructions about how to get to the field please give me an email or a telephone call.  The field access road is a little hard to spot and has a chain retaining a gate.  However, this field is not locked, so you can go there and fly whether or not you are a club member.  There are only about 20 dues-paying club members flying at the field, but because there is no controlled access others fly there as well.  The flying surface is old pavement with some rutting and weeds growing up through the pavement.  There are no improvements at this field as you can see from an examination of the pictures below:

As you can see, the flying surface is a little rough, but very serviceable.  A number of flyers who use this field are flying the larger 1/3 scale IMAC aircraft and they practice for events here, so you can see some interesting flying at this location. Frequency control at this field depends on whether the member who has possession of the frequency pins shows up.  There is no transmitter impound, and very modest efforts to control flying.  On the other hand, there are normally so few members flying at this field that it does not appear to be a problem.  As far as I know, the club does not maintain a web site.

Arizona Model Aviators 

The Arizona Model Aviators have been active in the valley for many years.  At one time about 20 years ago I lived in this area and at that time I belonged to this club.  At that time it was flying off desert hard-pan (similar to the East Valley Aviators discussed above).  They have since moved (twice) and are now located on the border between Maricopa and Pinal Counties about 4 miles north of highway 60 on Meridian Road. (If traveling East on Highway 60 the best way is to get off at Signal Butte Road, turn North (left) to Southern Avenue, then turn East (right) and go one mile to Meridian Road.  Next go North (left) on Meridian for 3.6 miles.  The field is on the West side of Meridian and it is locked.  Also, the field is located on Maricopa County property so long term flying there requires a County parking permit.  Again, you need a sponsor to enter the field unless it is unlocked.  They welcome visitors and charge $8 per day for flying.  This field offers a fully paved runway, pitt area and covered cabanas for working on your airplanes.  The club is large (about 250 I think) and there tends to be a more formal attitude toward flying at this field.  There have been noise complaints so anything that would generate more than 100 (The web site says 100 and a sign at the field says 103.) dbs at 3 meters cannot fly there.  This is the field of choice for national events and many are held at this field each year.  The leadership of the club appears to be interested in hosting such events and in the national visibility that hosting can bring. 

            Frequency control is formal at this field.  There is a transmitter impound and a pin system requiring a club member card.  I believe that guests use their AMA card.  If you take a look at the pictures below you will see that they have provided a waiting area, a start up area and a flying area for each of the five flying stations.  This is a hint about how busy this field can be at certain times of the year!  My impression is that most members do not know one another very well here, and that the club leadership is pretty insistent that all of the various safety rules and procedures be followed.  This field has a reputation for not always being user friendly.

            I must confess that I have not used this field much.  I guess that I enjoy the informality of the East Valley Aviators, or better yet, the quiet and convenience of the small group at Southwest Model Aviators.  But, the dirt at East Valley is a consideration when thinking about engines and radio gear and I expect that I will be using the site at Arizona Model Aviators more in the future.  The Southwest group is almost twice as far as either of the other two fields, which can turn out to be an issue on any given day.   I intend to maintain memberships in all three clubs to provide some options, particularly during the busy mid-winter tourist season each year.

            Here are some shots of this nice flying site:

The web site for this club may be found at http://azmodelaviators.com/

They maintain a current web site with lots of club information.

Kit and RC Product Reviews and Comments:

Great Planes E 300 – 40/ARF

Review and Comments

 By

Russ Petersen

 April 7, 2002

E 300 and Ken Petersen After First Flights

            Over all, this is a pleasant plane to assemble and fly.  This airplane happens to be the second that I have assembled in the last 12 months.  The first version was a gift to our son Ken after the loss of another plane earlier in the year.  Plane #1 had accumulated 20 or so flights when a spin was carried too low to the ground for recovery.  (Oooops!)   We thought that the first plane showed lots of promise for the intended purpose (improving flying and aerobatic skills) so the engine was repaired and a new kit purchased.  My role in this has been to assemble the planes and to be a coach.  The second plane has been flown three times and seems to have many of the same flying characteristics of the first.  The extra weight of the plane results in a little faster than normal approach speed and a little more sensitivity to stalls during slow-speed landing approaches.  However, the actual loading of 27 ounces per square foot is within the range for good sport flying, so I do not think that this factor need necessarily make this plane a poor choice for someone looking for a sport/aerobatic ARF that is easy to assemble and fun to fly.

            When opening the box, all of the components were well bagged and protected from one another.  The construction of the basic airframe seemed careful and appropriate.  The cover was generally in good condition, but see below for additional comments.  The airplane has a very visible color scheme making it easy to maintain orientation in the air.   At about $190 this seems like a lot of airplane for the money.

Here are the advertised and actual specifications for this plane:

• This weight includes 1.5 ounces added to the tail to balance the plane at the recommended cg point.  The heavier outcome in part is probably explained by the use of the OS FS 70, which weighs about 10 ounces more than the recommended 46 size 2-stroke engine.  (For example, the FS 70 weighs 20.1 ounces while an OS 46LA weighs 9.6 ounces.  The True Turn spinner probably accounts for a little weight as well.  Otherwise, the stock hardware supplied in the kit was used to set the plane up and for this review.  This much heavier weight seems pretty far off the mark, particularly in light of the Great Planes recommendation to use the FS 70 in this airplane which is contained in the instruction manual for the plane.  The wing loading figure for this airplane caused by a combination of the smaller actual wing size and the heavier airframe is in an area (27.0 Oz/Sq. Ft.), which is reason for some concern about performance and slow-speed handling.

Likes and Dislikes

            Likes  - Quality of construction, ease of assembly, use of a standard cover (Monokote in this case).

            Dislikes – Weight significantly in excess of advertised weight, instruction manual illustrations not clearly visible, lack of a tail wheel thrust washer.

Great Planes E300-40

General Review

            There is no point served to discuss construction procedures or areas where I found no difficulty, so this review will concentrate only on those areas where an exception seemed to exist, or where I used an alternative procedure which has worked better for me over the years than the one recommended.  The discussion will generally follow the same sequence as the sequence used in the instruction manual.

The Instruction Manual

            The manual comes with a significant addendum, which must be used to annotate the manual prior to beginning assembly.  While this works, it seems odd that a major company like Great Planes would not reprint the manual to incorporate changes that they have encountered in this relatively mature kit.  Further, the manual uses a lot of pictures of assembly operations in order to clarify the meaning of the text.  Unfortunately, many of these pictures are so faded as to be almost not useable, which produces another frustration in trying to understand and follow the intended assembly sequence.

Condition of Cover

            This airplane is covered in MonoKote, a very good product.  However, the control surfaces are not prehinged, but are taped in place with some type of fairly sticky masking-type tape.  When removing the moveable control surfaces from the appropriate fixed surface, the tape pulls the trim and/or cover loose from the airframe.  Further, there is little or no overlap between changes in color and/or trim raising questions about the long-term durability of the cover/trim application on this airplane.

Joining the Wing Halves

            Strings have been installed to aid drawing the servo leads from the servo mounting pockets in each wing panel through a hole provided in the top of each panel near the center section.  Unfortunately, in airplane #2, neither of the strings was attached at the center of the wing such that it could be reached.  This renders the thoughtful installation of the strings useless.  I chose to modify the construction sequence/procedure by drilling a ¼” hole in the wing-butt rib of each panel opposite the location of the servo lead channel.  Then, I fashioned a wire with a hook on the end long enough to reach from the wing-butt to the servo mounting pockets.  I then installed the longer servo leads, taped them in place in the servo pocket and coiled the excess length up inside the wing below the access hole in the center of the panel for later use.  Having gone this far out of sequence I went ahead and installed the aileron servos, ailerons and linkages in both wing panels prior to gluing them together. This seems a much more convenient procedure and results in working with much smaller pieces than would have been the case if these items were installed after the wing panels were glued together.

            The method of control surface hinging used on this airplane is CA hinges. The slots for the hinge are pre-cut and generally were in useable condition.  Some of them needed to be opened somewhat in order to accept the CA hinges supplied.  Further, the hinge material provided in the kit was a strip of fiber/poly material.  The procedure called for marking this strip and cutting out each hinge separately. This seems odd, given the high degree of prefabrication on the rest of the plane.

Installing the Aileron Servos and Linkages

This wing is designed as a double tapered plan form.  This means that when viewing the wing panels from the top, the leading and the trailing edge taper from the root to a smaller tip.  Therefore, the aileron hinge line is not normal to (not oriented 90 degrees with) the rib line.  However, the servo mounting pockets provided are oriented along the rib line.  If servo pushrods are attached with the pushrods running parallel to the rib line, the result is an attachment at the aileron that will not be 90 degrees to the hinge line.  The procedure that I used was to offset the location of the control arm such that it could be located 90 degrees to the hinge line.  I further offset the aileron servo arm such that a 90-degree angle existed between the arm and the pushrod.  Then, using the throw adjustments in the radio, I adjusted the travel of the servos to obtain the appropriate amount of up and down aileron travel.  Here is a picture of the installation on our airplane, which should help explain the problem and how I chose to solve it:

Unfortunately, this issue is not dealt with in the instructions, which may result in a less than efficient installation of the aileron linkage/aileron servo control system.

Installation of the Plywood Wing Bolt Backup Plate in the Wing

            The kit contains a plywood plate that is intended for installation on the bottom of the wing, under the belly pan, to back up the wing attachment bolts.  I could not find mention of the installation of this plate.  Therefore, I removed an appropriate amount of cover from the area where the plate was to be installed and used epoxy to attach it to the bottom of the wing. This should be done with the holes aligned with the bolt holes that pass through the trailing edge of the wing.   I chose to hold this plate in place while the glued dried by simply bolting the wing to the fuselage with the bolts passing through the plate and the wing and threaded into the threaded sockets in the fuselage.

Balancing the Plane and Control Throws

            I have already mentioned that we chose to use an OS FS70, a relatively heavy motor but one recommended by Great Planes.  I also chose to use a Tru Turn spinner assembly, which probably added some nose weight when compared to the plastic spinner provided in the kit.  With the radio equipment installed in the provided area and the flight pack battery located just in front of the servo tray the plane balanced slightly nose heavy.  About 1.5 ounces of weight was added to the tail of the plane to achieve the recommended balance point of 4” behind the leading edge of the wing at the fuselage.  (The first plane was intentionally flown with this slight nose heavy condition, and it contributed to making it more difficult to slow the plane down for landing).  The plane appears to fly much better when balanced at this point, and it is recommended to anyone as a good starting point to test this airplane.

Tail Wheel Installation

            The tail wheel installation uses a plastic bracket that is fastened to the bottom rear of the fuselage.  The tail wheel steering wire passes through this bracket and into a hole in the rudder.  This kind of installation is common and works fine, but there must be some provision for the vertical load placed on the rudder when the plane is landing, taxiing and taking off.  I slipped a wheel collar and a flat washer up the wire so that they rested just below the plastic bracket.  Locking the wheel collar down at that point results in vertical loads being transmitted to the bracket and rear of the fuselage, rather than to the rudder!

Flying the Plane

            We have enjoyed flying both plane #1 and plane #2, although there has been relatively little experience with #2 as of this writing.  No. 2 seems capable of about any aerobatic maneuver that one would like to attempt, and with an OS 70 has lots of power for vertical maneuvering.  I like to fly this one at about 40% throttle most of the time, and then take advantage of the remaining thrust to keep loops nice and round and to get nice vertical lines on stall turns and similar maneuvers.  With the cg moved back to the recommended 4” point, it is relatively easy to land, if one accepts that most double tapered airfoils are less stable at slow speeds than their rectangular plan form brethren.

Overall Reaction

            This and the previous plane were mostly to be flown by my son Ken.  He is an experienced RC flyer who has not had much time to fly in recent years.  I think that both he and I think that this plane will be very useful to sharpen flying skills and perhaps useful to learn some expanded aerobatic skills, without costing an arm and a leg to purchase and to fly.   It would be nice if the plane was a little lighter, but neither of us thinks that the extra weight has had a serious material degrading effect on the flying quality of the plane.