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SkyWriter

Chartered Club #970
Skymasters R/C Club Newsletter - July 1998
See Skymasters on the Web at www.geocities.com/~skymasters

 

President's Message
Hi All,
Well it has been a busy month since I last wrote, so let me fill everyone in case you missed a thing or two. First and most important is one of our own, Vince Pettke, won a very prestigious national award from Great Planes/MAN for his Cessna 182 that we have all seen. If you missed the contest, it was initiated by Great Planes and Model Airplane News (MAN) to reward several categories of well covered and built ships. Vince won in his class (Sport Scale), and he also won the overall grand prize. This is truly amazing considering that entries from all over the world compete for this. Vince and/or his great looking Cessna will be written up in MAN and we will see the ship shown in Monocote ads I'm sure. Vince also gets a couple of kits a year from Great Planes, so I am sure he will be a busy boy. Please congratulate him on his magnificent work.

We actually had 3 events in a row, starting with our famous Chet Brady Memorial Mammoth Fly In (May 31), followed by Kid's Day (June 7), and then the 4 Stroke Rally (June 14). Hopefully, Greg will be able to include a note on each one from the event CD elsewhere in this issue. Travel and family kept me away from every one of these events, but these are always fun and I personally believe well worth the effort.

Our Wed. night student night also kicked off in June with our usual steady Bob Burns keeping the sky full of all those Sig Kadet LT 40's I keep seeing. It has been a busy month for the club and the weather seems to want to keep us all in a crosswind from the Northwest. Many individuals in our club really shine and make their presence known in the busy summer and, trust me on this one, we do notice!

On a personal side, my One Design actually survived it's maiden flight unscathed. Things were a bit interesting as the Moki 1.8 had too much down thrust, which made my not so great landing and take off skills look even worse - All is well though, I've tweaked a thing or two and I'm actually having fun with it now. I am now working on getting 2 Ultimate Bipes ready for multi-wing/engine. One will be powered by a Saito 150, and the other by an O.S. .26 - Should be interesting to say the least.

I am going to give your newsletter editor a break (he keeps complaining that my message and my long articles take up the entire newsletter), so I will sign off and challenge him to get this all on one page! (that's easy… I haven't complained - I like having too much material! Ed.)

Keep the side you want pointing up,
Joe Finkelstine

From the Editor…
Welcome to another Skywriter. We had a lot of events last month, and more coming this month! Reports and pictures inside! Part 2 of Joe Finkelstine's Horsepower article is included as well! (What's the next topic Joe!) The 'For Sale' section makes a comeback this month, and lots of event pictures. Don't forget, color versions of all the pictures here, and many more, are available on our web site! - (www.geocities.com/~skymasters) Thanks to Ron Sokacz for his comic relief contribution (see page 6).
As always, send any input to me either to my address (on back cover) or email to GMCardillo@misi.net, or of course see me at the field!


Cover Photo: Ron Sokacz hand launching one of Joe Hass' planes.

Events of the Last Month
Chet Brady Memorial Mammoth Fly In
Bill Leppard

The 19th Annual Chet Brady Memorial Fly-In is history (even through Chet Brady isn't). Several past Memorial Fly-Ins have been marred by less-than-perfect weather conditions, and this year's event suffered the same fate. Sunday dawned with a rather violent wind storm and a most ominous sky. Many of us had to dodge and/or move fallen limbs and trees just to make our way from home to the field. There was even a small tree across Scripps road just to the west of the entrance which we had to move. Many potential participants took one look at the windy weather and decided not to come. However, those brave souls who dared venture forth had a great (albeit a bit windy) time. All together we had 11 intrepid pilots with 14 giant planes.

The highlight of the day was two demonstration flights by Dave von Linsowe of Flint. For those who do not know Dave, he is a top National, International, and Tournament of Champions competition aerobatics flyer. Dave flew his back-up Tournament of Champions plane - an Extra 260 with a 102" wingspan and powered by a Sach 4.2 cubic inch engine. While the rest of us struggled with the wind, Dave made it look like a dead-calm day. I was very impressed with Dave's ability to hover and do torque rolls. It was truly impressive to watch the rudder and elevators continually dance around while the plane remained stationary in a vertical hover. I was most impressed by the rolling circles he performed during his second flight. He did circles with only one complete roll during the entire circle, then he did a circle with two rolls, and finally a circle with four rolls. All-in-all, an exceptional demonstration of precision aerobatics. Thanks a million to Dave and to Mark Murphy to arranging it all.

The other planes and pilots at the meet were Steve Fredericks with his Champ and Maule Rocket, Fred Preston with his Cub, Dick Freiwald with his Telemaster, Graham Overton with his One Design and Big Big Stick, Al Post with his Taube, Chris Knee with his Lazer, Greg Brausa with his Cub and Lazer, Greg Cardillo with his Olympic II, Mark Murphy with his One Design, and yours truly with my PBY Catalina.

Special thanks to Greg Brausa who was the Contest Director; Steve Fredericks for hauling the food trailer back and forth; and to Dick Freiwald, Ross Hardy, and Joshua Hardy for their help in the kitchen.


Bill Leppard's PBY on a takeoff run!


Graham Overton's Big Stik on an inverted pass!


Dave von Linsowe's TOC Extra 230 on takeoff. See more pictures of Dave's flying inside!

Kid's Day
Over 120 kids once again! Thanks to Carl Long for organizing this event once again. The day started out a little slow, but as lunch time approached, the people came! Kids of all ages tried flying our planes. A special thanks to all those who lent us your planes and to the instructors and helpers that did the teaching. This event takes a lot of help to suceed, and succeed we did! Our thanks to the Oakland County Sheriff's Department who came out to meet the kids and provide fingerprinting for those who wanted it. The pictures say more than the words can, so here they are: (look for many more pictures on the web towards the middle of July! Ed.)


Carl and Cindy Long Teaching Ground School.


The flightline was full most of the day!


Chris Knee and Carl Long instructing our visitors.

Four Stroke and Majestic Flyers
On June 14th, we had our Four Stroke and Majestic Flyers event. 24 pilots came out to join us. This event is unique in that the only thing the entries have in common is the type of engine. There was a wide variety of planes, from Extras to Lasers, Sport Stars to One Designs, Cubs to Cessnas. The weather was cooperative, except for a little crosswind early in the morning. The only casualty of the day was the 'retractable landing gear' added to my Laser…(oops) I would like to thank everyone that helped out and to those who won gift certificates, they are in the mail!


Vince Pettke's (or was that Shirley's) Cub.


Rob Cote's Sport Star.


Chris Knee's Extra 300 on a low pass.


Dave von Linsowe



"So that's how my One Design is supposed to fly," says Mark Murphy as Dave von Linsowe shows how its done!


Transmitter orientation doesn't seem to matter to Dave!!



Dave von Linsowe's Extra in inverted hover and knife edge (note control surface deflections!)

Upcoming Programs/Events
Saturday, July 4: Skymasters Meeting, Scripps Road Field 12:00
Saturday, July 4: RCCD R/C Combat, Contact David Wagensomer
Saturday, July 4: Midwest R/C Warbirds Rally, Contact Richard Vukmirovich
Saturday/Sunday, July 4-5: Chesaning R/C Big Bird Fly-In, Contact Greg Brausa
Saturday, July 11: Milan Flyers Air Show, Contact David Gell
Saturday/Sunday, July 11-12: UFO IMAA Fly-In, Contact Gus Kaser
Sunday, July 12: Skymasters Team Fun Fly, Scripps Road Field
Sunday, July 19: Skymasters Warbirds and Scale, Scripps Road Field
Saturday/Sunday, July 25-26: Ribcrackers Open Air Show, Contact Greg Bessette
Sunday, July 26: Chesaning R/C Scale, Contact Greg Brausa
Sunday, July 26: Indian City Air Show, Contact Bill Harris
Saturday/Sunday, August 1-2 PMAC IMAC Pontiac Grand Prix, Contact Tom Wheeler
Saturday, August 8 Skymasters Multi Engine / Multi Wing, Scripps Road Field
Sunday, August 9 PMAC 10th Annual Scale Meet, Contact Frank Vella
Saturday/Sunday, August 15-16 DAM Giant Size Air Show/Fly In, Contact Stan Spiewak
Sunday, August 16 RCCD Wetzel Memorial Warbird Fly-In, David Wagensomer
Sunday, August 16 GDSHS Nostalgia & 3 Function Sailplane, Contact Jack Iafret
Sunday, August 23 Skymasters Corn Roast and Top Gun, Scripps Road Field
*See additional information for these events in this issue of Skywriter!
Event info from mailings received, AMRCC, and Michigan RC Flying Times

Skymasters Events

July 1, 1998 (and Every Wednesday thru September 2) Student Night and Pot Luck Dinners - Come join us for an afternoon/evening full of flying and food. We're out there rain or shine - "we always eat, we sometimes fly!"

July 4, 1998 Skymasters Meeting at Scripps Road Field - our summer meetings are normally very short. Bring a plane to fly before and/or after! Meeting starts at Noon.

July 12, 1998 Team Fun Fly - Scripps Road Field, Bald Mountain State Park
We've changed the format of our Fun Fly to a team event this year. Teams of two will compete. If you don't have a teammate, we'll find one for you!

July 19, 1998 Warbirds and Scale - Scripps Road Field, Bald Mountain State Park
A wonderful assortment of planes - Any warbird or scale plane can fly!

Using Horsepower to Evaluate R/C engines - Fact and Fiction by Joe Finkelstine
Part 2

What are some things to consider when looking for an engine :

Keeping in mind that this is a religious issue, let me throw out a few suggestions as to what you might want to consider:

1) What type of engine - 2 stroke, 4 stroke, gas - each has its good and bad points. Make sure you understand these well, so you can narrow your search. All that matters is what is important to you.

2) How loud is the thing out of the box, and what will it cost to make needed sound if you've got some tweaking to do ?

3) How much does the engine, mount, and muffler weigh? Also if additional support equipment is needed (on board glow, gas ignition battery, etc.), what is this all up weight? - this effects performance.

4) Is anyone else using the engine brand/model at the field? - this is a great opportunity to get an opinion or two, but keep in mind the following :

· The person you talk to may not know how to run his/her engine properly or take care of it well, or the engine may run great in spite of misuse. You have to do your best to figure out the quality of the feedback you get on your own - free advise it worth what you pay for it.
· Don't feel compelled to always follow the herd on engine purchases. I would advise sticking with well represented brands as a beginner, but as your engine experience grows - by all means try new ones out. Our hobby has experienced several new manufacturers and types in the last few years.

5) What is the engine warranty, and how has the manufacturer stood behind it ? - This is another area where it pays to ask around, some manufacturers are wonderful and replace/fix engines that have been badly abused, others are a wee bit more conservative.

6) Read reviews by guys who know engines a whole lot better than me. Clarance Lee and Brian Lee both offer outstanding engine reviews (wish the mags would be as thorough in the kit reviews! (gee, I thought the Tsunami review in Flightsmith was pretty thorough! Ed.)) that often supply charts on various prop combinations, sound levels, and experienced opinions on general quality and workmanship. I give high weighting on the reviews from these guys

Notice I did not mention look at horsepower? - I don't know (or care) what the ratings are on almost every engine I own.

Let me really ruffle some feathers and list the brand types and my experience has been. (Again keep in mind that all that matters in the end is what you like, my opinions are just a data point - feel free to prove me wrong and tell me I'm full of it!). I am also sure that I will probably forget a brand or two.

Category 1 : Engines start easily, run without much fussing, last along time, and have excellent manufacturer support
· O.S. (I personally would avoid any of the air bleed carb models though.)
· Saito - I've never owned a bad one, nor seen many at the field have problems with them. The one problem I had with a bad crankcase was fixed for free after warranty technically expired - took too (#$%^ Ed.) long to fix though !
· Thunder Tiger - My experience has been good power and very good pricing. Clarence Lee gives these engines high marks as well
· Enya - Although not a popular motor at our field, the few that I've seen always seem to be happy little workhorses for their owners.
· Super Tiger - the vast majority of the ones I've fiddled with have been good to great power plants. I have, however, run across a few that severely tested my patience. Until a few years ago Super Tiger engines came with mufflers that even the .40 would not make our sound limits
· Moki - Superb power and easy running. They generally do not come with muffler or mount and if you go to buy the most popular 1.8 and include everything you need, you are looking at $350-$400 realistically. They are expensive motors!
· Y.S. - I don't have much direct experience at all with these, but the owner loyalty to this brand is very high. That doesn't happen with poor product! - Every time I see one at the field, the owner is better than me at running the darn thing, so I don't get to play with them, however with sufficient begging, I have been able to fly a ship or two with these motors - outstanding performance. They have historically been quite expensive, heavier than other 4 strokes, and a bit more insistent on proper care and feeding than any of the above brands

Category 2: Engines that I really have not much experience with, or have both good and bad experience with - This does not necessarily translate to these being engine brands to avoid, just get a few more data points than mine.
· K&B - My experience has been that some examples run great, and some run terribly. K&B has finally remade the .61, which Clarence Lee gives his blessing to, but I have had many bad afternoons fiddling with these (#$%^ again Ed.) things on a student's ship
· Magnum - the few examples I've seen have run O.K, but really I don't have enough experience to say either way.
· ASP - I have had many bad experiences with these motors, enough to say that I would not recommend them (the one exception is the .12 and .15, for some reason these models are real power houses and are the only ball bearing, schnurle ported motors available in this size I believe.)
· Rossi - they left the R/C business for a long time, but have re-emerged both as Rossi brand (distributed by SIG now) and as a blind label to Morris Hobbies. I have almost no experience with these motors, but they have a loyal following of more "experienced" modelers who remember them quite fondly. Can't say if the new generation is as good - I have no idea, but I suspect so.

Category 3 : Engines I have little to zero experience with - Sorry, but no help for you here ?
· All the Gas motors
· All the diesel motors (maybe Randy can give us an article here after the season starts! Ed.)
· MDS, QMS, ??? -
· Jet, Nelson, i.e. the pylon racing motors - these motors are not for the beginner or faint of heart. They are, as I hear only, the best ones for the pylon guys

In the final analysis, how the engine runs, how well it keeps up and does it fly the ship the way you want it to are really the most important factors, none of these are really quantifiable numbers. As always, R/C is a little art, a little religion, and a little science - enjoy !

New Skymasters!
We have had many new faces join us the first half of 1998, and a few from the past come back once again. At the risk of missing someone (I apologize if I do), welcome to our new Skymasters:
David Andius; Benjamin Davis; Jack Ehrke; Kevin Forton; Don Gates; Paul Hook; Frank Korany; Stewart Lange; Eric and Johnathan Litt; Mike and Tim McCarty; Donald McCormack; Don McLean; Mike McShane; Brandon Monterosso; Sam Purdy; Joyce Renock; Chuck Rocheleau; Mike Russell; Elizabeth and Kaitlin Shea; Andrew Smith; Cindi, Walter III, Julia, Phillip, and Walter IV Timoschuk; Brian and Carl Thuringer; and Ahad Zadeh. Welcome to all!

Vince Pettke Wins!
Congratulations to our own Vince 'the Monokote King' Pettke! Vince won both the Sport Scale and Grand Prize in the Great Planes / Model Airplane News National Kit Building Contest with the pair of Top Flite Cessnas he built. The planes are (as usual for Vince) gorgeous and thoroughly detailed.
I had the honor of taking the maiden flight on one of the 'twins' - it flew beautifully!
Vince will be receiving a steady supply of kits over the next five years as his prize! Can't wait to see what he builds next!


Scripps Middle School Club
Our participation with Scripps Middle School continues with Harold Reuter and Al Mrock continuing the building sessions, and two flying sessions for the 6th and 7th grade classes with Greg Cardillo and Graham Overton assisting. The school is forming a formal flying club for next year! Several of these students have joined Skymasters and will be flying with us this summer!

For Sale
The following R/C Scale Aircraft kits are for sale, all are new in box (NIB).

1. Flybaby, 1/3 scale Balsa USA kit, with 112" wingspan, and optional folding wing feature. Comes complete with all hardware and wheels. Will be about 24 lbs. and will need a 2 to 4 cu.in. engine. $290

2. Douglas Dauntless SBD5 divebomber. This is a Jim Meister "Master Scale" kit, made by Dynaflite. Has a 65" wingspan, it is 1.56" to 1' scale. Weight about 7 to 12 lbs depending on optional features used. .60 to .90 eng $260

3. Ryan STA, by SIG Mfg., has a 72" wingspan, used a .60 or bigger $100

4. Fokker DVII by Sterling. 58 1/2" wingspan, should have a .75 to .90 engine. For those oldtimers who have seen older Sterling kits, this one seems to have very good balsa in it. $85

5. Mitsubishi A6M2 "Zero" by Top Flite. Has a 61" wingspan, uses a .60 to .90 engine and should weight about 8 to 10 lbs. This is the original Harold Parenti Zero and not the "Hollywood Zero" version. $100

6. Beechcraft Bonanza E33A. This isn't the V tail version. Has a 64" wingspan uses a .60 eng. 7 1/2 to 8 1/2 lbs. Original instruction book is missing, but a photocopy is included. Would look great with KMC electric retracts. $75

Also have a small assortment of peanut scale kits. About $5 to $10 each.
Call Harry Kolomyjec if interested

1. Great Plane Aeromaster built with ASP .91, Slimline Muffler, Perry Pump $250

2. Stretch Buddy Field Box Kit (NIB) $20
Call Russ Cummings if interested

Skymasters Information
Skymasters field is located within the Bald Mountain State Park (see map). State Park Permits are required and can be obtained from the Park Headquarters located on Greenshield Road or at club events. Flying is permitted from 10 AM to 8 PM. The noise limit for 1998 is 95dB at 10 feet - this noise rule is strictly enforced.

Wednesday evenings during the summer is Student Night and there are usually instructors around all afternoon. Student night is also 'pot luck' buffet night so that you can fly-n-feed (though not usually at the same time). Students are encouraged on other days and weekends. It is a great idea to come on Wednesday, meet the Instructors and arrange for more instruction time together. Our Chief Flight Instructor is Pete Foss. Assistant Chief Flight Instructor is Graham Overton.

From June to August, Club Meetings are held at the field on the first Saturday of the month at 12 Noon - a great chance to fly and gossip too! Winter meetings (September to May) are held at Larson Middle School (on Long Lake just east of John R - see map) on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:30 PM. Show and Tell, coffee and donuts, and model-speak are the order of the evening. Come along - they are fun.

The Skywriter newsletter is sent to all members, local hobby shops and other local R/C clubs. Any and all contributions are welcome, please pass any articles to the Editor. If you know of anyone who may be interested in our hobby (friend, relative, neighbor, colleague or acquaintance) - please give them a copy of this newsletter or a copy of an AMA magazine - it may spark their interest and get them into our hobby!


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