Aug - RCSoaring.com
Contents
1. August 2010 Vol 27 No 8 CONTENTS 9 AC Soaring Digest Editorial 4 Black Eagle Trophy PSS Festival Kevin Farr tells the story behind this event which drew a large number of entrants and a variety of spectacular models Photos Cobos Botha sponsored by WiFly co za and by Malcolm Riley Peter Vergeer and Kevin Farr Seattle Area Soaring Society 21 F3J at Old Carnation Farm The drama and excitement of F3J with winches on June 26 at Old Carnation Farm Camp Korey the new home field for the Seattle Area Soaring Society Coverage by Seth Arlow Front cover The cover this month is a departure from the norm in that it is not a photograph Rather it is a piece of computer artwork from Carlos Ribeiro of Brazil Carlos created this image of an ASW 28 along with others presented on pages 44 through 47 using readily available software Carlos is also involved in computer animation through his company TWIST FX Please visit lt http www vimeo com twistfx gt to see a sampling of produced videos Electrifying a Supra 26 A relatively easy conversion detailed with text and photos by Gert Niewoudt Mark Southall flying his Ascot 1 A photograph by Pierre Rondel Lift Ticket to Norway 32 The Dave Reese Reese Productions DVD reviewed by Paula Garwood Updating the Ace MicroPro 8000 31 A new and easily installed EPROM allows more transmitter programming options A review by Pete Carr The Art of Carlos Ribeiro 442. Mark Southall flying his Ascot during an FSF practice session at Rhossili Point South Wales GB Rhossili is located at the most Western part of the Gower Peninsula The slope is one of the most beautiful have seen coastal site for west wind direction and the view is superb Pierre Rondel photo Canon Powershot A650 IS ISO 80 1 500 sec f6 3 5 August 2010 31 Reese Productions AGAA4ON O33 Herr gt 1 23 11 A review by Paula Garwood Lift Ticket to Norway is a video which documents a three week slope soaring trip in Norway covering many miles over the road by van and over the waves by ship The video demonstrates and documents in a visually spectacular way slope soaring locations that make the imagination soar August 2010 eL t UM x d 7 gt i lii A N Gr RUE y 1 2 0 T 2 var The main characters are Dave Reese Bob and Darcy Bingham from California and Espen Torp from Norway Other flyers from around Norway make appearances as well The trip is well documented by three videographers and two still photographers Whoa before go any further let me declare that am not a slope soarer but the wife of a slope soarer and although am not a slope soarer by being married to one for decades am amazed at how much actually know about slope soaring My husband the slope soarer is a personal friend with Dave Reese Dave
3. Garwood has flown with Dave Reese in Utah and in California My husband Dave admires Dave Reese and finds him to be a talented cheerful and energetic fellow as well as a first rate glider pilot 33 On this three week trip that you get to enjoy vicariously by watching the video they fly 17 model airplanes including sailplanes electrics and a helicopter Approximately 19 flying locations are shown including epic locations like the 1100 meter Troll Wall the tallest rock face in Europe flying over fjords with cruise ships below and slope soaring ABOVE the clouds The flying is absolutely spectacular They include dynamic soaring fabulous hand catching and a 2300 foot Drop Shot when the wind wasn t right Really exciting stuff and fun to watch In all the slope videos that l ve seen the pilot is just standing there at the edge That part looks the same but in this video you have the SCENERY Norway is positively gorgeous The scenic views and landscapes are overwhelmingly breath taking A wife partner could watch and enjoy this fully with their pilot kept saying Look at that that s beautiful don t want to minimize the role of the pilots here either They would walk out onto these rock ledges or cliffs hundreds of feet high and LEAN OVER the edge holy crap to test the wind and hand launch their planes personally like the purity of hand launch so these guys impressed the hell out of me There
4. PSS in the Cape Town area Hobby Warehouse Clowns Hobbies Southern Hobbies Anton Benning of AB models Christo Le Roux Steve Meusel for the warm beenies Chris Leal for financial support of the Black Eagle fund and Kevin Farr and Iris van der Vlist for design and print of the t shirts If there are any sponsors and diligent supporters we have failed to acknowledge please forgive us Here s looking forward to next year and more success with PSS Cobos Botha photo Seattle Area Soaring Society F3 at Old Carnation Farm Seth M Arlow M D arlow2 msn com Ae who has flown a contest knows that a few minutes separation in launching times can make the difference between making your time with ease and sinking out like a F3J removes that element from the equation pilots in each rock not to mention gusts blowing through the landing zone group launch at the same time have identical tasks fly in the when you re on final same air and if they make it land at the same time August 2010 21 The 2010 F3J Junior Team Mike Chainsaw Knight Brendon Dippin Dots Beardsley and Connor Stealth Laurel Alyssa Shark Bait Wulick Brendon Dippin Dots Beardsley Daryl Perkins and Cody Remington discuss the Airtronics SD 10G radio system while CD Dave Beardsley keeps the contest running smoothly This makes for drama and excitement and there was plenty of both on June 26 at O
5. Realistic RC sailplane drawings created by Carlos Ribeiro using Autodesk 3ds Max software R C Soaring Digest R C Soaring Digest Managing Editors Publishers B Kuhlman Contributors Seth Arlow Peter Carr Kevin Farr Paula Garwood Gert Niewoudt Carlos Ribeiro Photographers Seth Arlow Cobos Botha sponsored by WiFly co za Pete Carr Kevin Farr Dave Reese Reese Productions Malcolm Riley Pierre Rondel Peter Vergeer Contact rcsdigest centurytel net Web Yahoo group RCSoaringDigest AIM screen name RCSDigest Microsoft Messenger rcsdigest R C Soaring Digest RCSD is a reader written monthly publication for the R C sailplane enthusiast and has been published since January 1984 It is dedicated to sharing technical and educational information All material contributed must be original and not infringe upon the copyrights of others It is the policy of RCSD to provide accurate information Please let us know of any error that significantly affects the meaning of a story Because we encourage new ideas the content of each article is the opinion of the author and may not necessarily reflect those of RCSD We encourage anyone who wishes to obtain additional information to contact the author Copyright 2010 R C Soaring Digest Published by B2Streamlines lt http www b2streamlines comp P O Box 975 Olalla WA 98359 All rights reserved RC Soaring Digest is published using Adobe InDesign CS5 In the Air s many of
6. ever had an interest in aero tow but have shied away from attending events like this one please join us for some hands on learning If you own a scale sailplane or are just interested in getting started we ll be certain to take the time to help you understand the basics get some quality stick time and come away from the experience ready to take on future aero tows or Sunday with the skills and confidence you ll need Tow fee 30 for three days 15 for any one day Food and beverages available for purchase at the field Registration Please send your name address phone number AMA number and channel frequency via e mail to spasierb optonline net or call 203 246 5881 with any questions Current AMA membership required to fly Powerful tugs capable of towing sailplanes up to 10 meters Come fly with us Door Prizes Sailplane and Gear Raffle Awards 50 50 Tow Master and Event Director Len Buffinton 860 395 8406 Ibuff1 comcast net Registrar AMA Contest Director Steve Pasierb 203 246 5881 spasierb optonline net Directions to our Salem Connecticut Site N 41 29 497 W 72 13 585 From intersection of CT Routes 85 amp 82 go East on Rt 82 approx 3 miles The entrance to the field is on the right If you come to Rt 354 Gardner Lake you have gone 14 mile too far From 1 395 take Exit 80 Rt 82 toward Salem The field is about 6 miles on the left 14 mile past Rt 354 43 THE ART OF CARLOS EXIBEIBCO Carlos Ribeiro chtaba
7. of programming options is very similar to the old one If you scroll through the options you will find a sub menu which is where the new goodies are located Option selection is done using the aileron stick along with the trim option and preset switches Experienced Ace MicroPro pilots will quickly adjust to the new sequences while newer ones will be thrilled at the simplicity of the operations Dan s file is very well organized Should you have any questions you can always e mail him at WB4GUK aol com The MicroPro encoder is the interface that connects the pilot s fingers to the aircraft It should be a seamless extension of the pilot s commands When the original encoder was produced there were defined limits on these commands Some of it was technology and some of it was the learning curve we all were climbing 42 Things are much better now on both fronts It s now possible to know what you want to achieve and easy to make the radio send your desires to the aircraft decided to take an old three channel ship out for testing with the upgraded MicroPro It s a two meter sailplane kit called a Kestrel which was bought many years ago from Northeast Sailplanes at www nesail com modified the design to have a flying stab sheeted rib spar wing and flaps The ship is about 15 years old and has served me very well installed the radio in the Kestrel and set up throttle to elevator mixing as well as 5 degr
8. 9th and 20th June 2010 With 21 pilots entered the event promised to be packed as most pilots had two aircraft at least to add to the mix Following the hosting and success of the second Two Oceans Slope Soarers Aerobatics event in January it was felt that there should be more development in our club sphere and driven by Damian Hinrichsen s suggestions and constant requests for a relevant date we set a date for a PSS event that was a good six months away from the Aerobatics event and slap bang in the middle of winter The P 38 heads out on a video sortie Cobos Botha photo R C Soaring Digest What a view from the event area Photo by Kevin Farr August 2010 5 Left A gaggle of warbirds over the Sentinal Cobos Botha photo A C Soaring Digest Above The kill Photo by Peter Vergeer August 2010 Above Anton Benning s Impala on the cruise Cobos Botha photo Right Christo Le Roux and his P 40 Warhawk Cobos Botha photo We were hoping to garner the standard winter North Westers that pepper this part of the world in association with each approaching frontal system With the idea of hosting an event established we decided to create the event around the impressive and threatened Black Eagles that grace our slopes in Cape Town as well as other parts of the country Hence the Black Eagle Trophy PSS Festival by name and an agreement to donate a portion of each entry fee to the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Orn
9. Warthog and Marc Beckenstrater s enviable Mosquito The premise being that ARF kits could be entered and in true fashion some stunning conversions of power kits hit the slope Toss away the motor add vast amounts of lead and away we go That not being enough large amounts of detail were then added to create realistic interpretations that go well beyond simple ARF s Some such as Dave Greer from Durban scratch built a lost foam ME 109 and entered the class as well In general the standard of the models was extremely high and were presented beautifully in all their glory The final class was the Expert class again made open to the ARF s and scratch built but with the emphasis based on detail detail detail In this class only two intrepid individuals entered who felt that their application to detail as required in the class designations was up to scratch as it were Christo Le Roux entered a magnificent P40 Warhawk that had to be seen to be believed with a sound system incorporated that had all and sundry titivated as the engine spooled up gained speed to full revs and then had the ability to emit a wail of gunfire The second entrant was Steve Meusel s scratch built Polikarpov I 15 This beaut of a subject was a first for us slope folk A C Soaring Digest i a te mem d he PEA ML amp ME f f EU M tsm AI m ON ek VE EL eL t x Ene 15 Marc Beckenstrat
10. an sufficient 10 A C Soaring Digest Damian Hinrichsens immaculate ME109 Cobos Botha photo August 2010 11 PT A ES Marc clears off the dust before relaunching the Zero Cobos Botha photo lift to start the event and take whatever the day threw at us Early morning was light but flyable and the foamies entered the judging area and were duly awarded points by the static judge for the day Herbie Newton and then released skywards to open up a days warbird combat that was to prove hugely successful 12 These foamy warbirds were sometimes incredible in their detail and realism as applied by the differing individuals and proved an absolute revelation in the light lift and gaining more attributes as the lift improved throughout the day One competitor racked up three and a half hours of flight time from maiden flight to Herbie Newton static judge for the day Cobos Botha photo the end of the day s proceedings Some kind of stick time that This was followed by the Sportsman class that was punctuated by the two meter plus class of plane with some great renditions entered from the Mustangs of Damian Hinrichsen and Bobby Purnell to Malcolm Riley and A C Soaring Digest One of the Mustangs caught in flight Cobos Botha photo August 2010 13 The P 38 homeward bound Photo by Malcolm Riley 14 Anton Benning s Impalas Lionel Brink s Tucano Chris Leal s Me 109 Carlo Davis s Sea Fury and A10
11. bat zone and the foamies ruled the sky many a beating was taken many a fetch had from down the slope and humour and strapping tape ruled the day till sunset forced the closure of the slope The shadows were lengthening and evening approached with a few individuals still on the slope nattering away when the mascot of the festival arrived in the growing dark 17 wl e T ET oe EXC NEA Lm b Maste 5 T Ti ies X Warn The entrants and their warbirds Cobos Botha photo The Black Eagle Trophy Photo by Kevin Farr 18 A C Soaring Digest A large Black Eagle flew in right over our heads as if in blessing and circled it s way up the peak in the dusk without so much as a wing beat amply showing us landlubbers the true art of flight The sunburnt and somewhat tired individuals then headed for a meal at Dixie s to swap war stories while sipping a relaxer Sunday dawned as beautiful as Saturday without a single cloud in the sky but the wind gods deserted us and only the very lightest of gliders were able to stay up as mist moved in an enveloped the bay A healthy breakfast was on offer and general natter filled the air while all August 2010 waited for even the slightest whiff of wind and the electric gliders plied vertical power in place of lift Mid morning saw the conditions unchanged and the awards ceremony then took place THE AFTERMATH The first order of business was to hand over the ch
12. c free carrier taped with Scotch tape to seal the ends He had also sent along a large paper clip with one end bent at 90 degrees This was the extraction tool to remove the old chip from its socket This is the Kestrel two meter sailplane with the Ace MicroPro 8000 Testing a new radio or checking out a repaired upgraded one is easier when the aircraft is a proven design with no bad habits August 2010 39 The Ace MicroPro transmitter has the new EPROM chip installed It is located in the lower right side of the encoder board with the label indicating the version number The area around the chip socket is crowded so take your time with the install removed the tape but left the chip inside its carrier To prevent static damage held onto the aluminum transmitter case with one hand at all times so any charge would drain away used to have a static drain wrist strap that connected to ground and did the same thing If you don t have a wrist strap this procedure works just as well Using the bent paper clip pried the end of the EPROM chip up a little then 40 MICROPRO es Los LI d Wir moved to the opposite end and pried that up worked alternately to raise the chip gradually from the socket until it popped free then set the old chip down on the bench with its pins upward The new chip has a label on top and a small indent to the left side The new chip needs to go into the socket on the ci
13. ees of flap launch preset There were absolutely no surprises with the radio The RF link is on 53 3 MHz in the 6 meter Amateur band but as mentioned before any of the R C bands will work just as well For those of you that have a MicroPro highly recommend this upgrade as an easy and affordable way to extend the life of a wonderful rig For those of you that have passed one up on Ebay or R C Universe you might want to reconsider The new chip gives this radio all the features found in the latest models while giving enormous satisfaction to the pilot S5 A C Soaring Digest August 2010 PRO PRO ve NEW ENGLAND sn AERO TOW 2010 SEPTEMBER 24 26 Soar the Connecticut skies as we host our annual three day weekend of AMA sanctioned scale sailplane aero tow from our beautiful flying site in Salem CT Towing from a manicured grass field the surrounding farm fields and rural terrain produces great thermal activity What s more the Connecticut coast area has lots to offer to families and vacationers including beaches great seafood the historic town of Mystic and the Mystic Seaport the ocean beaches of Rhode Island and the 24 7 action at the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Casino Resorts The towns of Norwich New London Groton Flanders Niantic Mystic Lyme and Westerly all offer a range of accommodations Both casinos are close to the field and have hotel operations NOTE TO BEGINNERS If you ve
14. eque for the sum of H 2500 00 to Dr Rob Simmons and Dr Andrew Jenkins of the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology based at the University of Cape Town which was gracefully accepted Due to the presence of a few of the raptor research specialists Cobos Botha photo on the slope for most of the morning a great relationship was established that bodes well for slope soaring s involvement with the research institute itself as well as future investments in the protection and study of the raptors that grace our slopes With the generous sponsorship of the hobby shops people involved in the sport and the members of Two Oceans Slope Soarers we were blest with ample prizes to give out in all categorizes from first to third as well as spot prizes based on TOSS committee decisions for those spot prizes 19 The prize winners were as such and well done to them all for the effort instituted in creating the PSS model of note that garnered the desired results Expert Class 1 Steve Meusel Polikarpov i 15 2 Christo Le Roux P40 Warhawk Sportsmans Class 1 Marc Beckenstrater Mosquito 2 Bobby Purnell Mustang al Me 109 Foamy Class 1 Bill Dewey Heine 2 Christo Le Roux Mustang 3 Marc Beckenstrater Zero And to all our sponsors and Twe Oceans Slope Soarers members who selflessly helped to creat astic festival our gratitude for being actively involved in the resurgence of
15. er and the Mosquito Photo by Malcolm Riley Steve Meusel and the Polikarpov I 15 Cobos Botha photo August 2010 16 Left A Sea Fury awaits some wind Cobos Botha photo Above Sunday morning glory Cobos Botha photo this side of the world and given the fact that none of us have flown a biplane on the slope proved to be a much debated subject During the day the wind grew in strength but still maintained a bit of an on and off affair but by mid afternoon was more than sufficient to see Anton Benning flying his small scale Impala for increased periods of time With a chance for flight and with the wind just being sufficient the P 38 Lightning took to the air with a camera mounted on board had a half hour flight till the lift once again proved a little light for this 30 oz wingloading warbird and the inevitable landing had to be applied A C Soaring Digest August 2010 Left A few of the foamies that were present Cobos Botha photo Above Damian Hinrichsen stares into the future Cobos Botha photo In the end there was just a shade too little lift to expect the guys to maiden large scale warbirds on the day but a week later in insane lift at the St James site and on the back of a 60km h wind every single one of the warbird gliders took to the air to prove their mettle They all flew like a dream and the big surprise of that day was to see the Polikarpov biplane tearing up the air with grace On the PSS day the com
16. ere done on a limited budget with most of my moneys still going for a model in the open class With the Nats coming up in September and all the talk about the FAI rule for a new e glider class my fingers got itchy to get a better model together This year we also allowed e gliders with height limiter to participate in the postals alongside the winch launch models My previous model was a home built put together from parts had laying in the garage It is a 2 5m built up E205 wing with a fuselage and boom construction similar to the Bubble Dancer 26 R C Soaring Digest 15000000 August 2010 27 R C Soaring Digest The model was put together as light as possible in order to have a small power house zoom it in the shortest time possible to 200m The 400 watt power plant achieved this with the 1 1kg model in less than 10 seconds was able to achieve second place in last year s Nats with this model This model is however not suited for windy weather and is limited to good weather days which never happen in competitions Flying a new Explorer in the thermal league my Supra was gathering dust which made me figure out a new use for the model and other parts have converted a home built Supra fuselage in a short time to house the power plant in the nose cone August 2010 removed the servos for rudder and elevator from the servo tray and removed the servo tray to have space for a 4 cell 2200mAh L
17. he transmitter The frequency label is located where the RF deck is installed inside Below and to the left is the charge jack Inside and next to the charge jack are two 4 cell square packs wired for 9 6 volts and attached to the cover with Velcro hook and loop material over again You can t hurt the chip or the radio The old Ace chip would sound the Sonalert once on power up The new one sounds two beeps from it That tells you that the chip has powered up okay From there you can scroll through the menus to see what the new chip holds l ve wanted to explore the use of two elevator servos with two independent elevators as used on some of the advanced 3D aerobatic ships The old chip didn t support this arrangement but the new one does That is a small example of the modern features that await you with this upgrade Dan has uploaded a PDF file that fully explains the details of the new chip programming and features To obtain this file go to www yahoo com then Groups then MP8K then Files then MP8KL7 pdf The 24 page file gives you the information 41 needed to tailor the radio to the needs of your particular model It s so nice to be able to enter the name of the aircraft in the transmitter LCD display instead of having to remember which program number goes with which aircraft used to have to carry a card in the transmitter bag with the names and numbers but the new chip does that for me now The main menu
18. iPo battery pack the largest battery was able to fit in the space The servos were installed in the rudder base with one 4 wire servo lead running inside the boom The nose cone was cut and fitted with a firewall to fit an E Flight 15 outrunner The motor and speed control is fixed to the nosecone which slides over the battery tray created from the servo tray The speed control is fixed with Velcro to the top inside of the nose cone and sits on top of the battery once closed The largest part of the nosecone is 50mm in diameter so everything fits tight had many trial fits and re adjustments until was successful The 13x8 folding prop uses a 42mm Graupner spinner The nose cone with motor is now fixed with a plastic bolt from the bottom into the battery tray The receiver is pushed back into the fuselage use a 4 cell Lipo battery to power the motor but make use of the balancing connector to connect two cells via a BEC to power the receiver and servos One of the other cells use to power my altimeter logger Getting all this connected and closed up is actually very easy now that had some practice with it at the field only do this once and do all my flying before any disconnection and switch off 29 Reaching any of the components is easy as the nosecone with motor and speed control can be removed by disconnecting and the battery can then be accessed was able to position all the components such tha
19. is dialogue These guys are clever and articulate and had fun ribbing each other while deciding where to fly what A C Soaring Digest August 2010 mw ra gt M T ur EN QUEM i LAS YJ NES y u an uen wo IM 7 36 A C Soaring Digest to fly and how to fly it particularly fell in love with Espen s endearing way of continuously helping every friend companion and acquaintance plus his cool accent Bob Bingham is one cool dude as well laid back and competent and a top gun glider pilot The music was perfect will say it again the music was perfect The selections went with the flow of the video and the flying The music was relaxing and melded smoothly within the driving talking flying sequences The actual sound was crisp and clean and just a total pleasure want to go to Norway now just to walk around and look at all the awesome topography It s striking like nothing l ve ever seen except in Lord of the Rings movies What a trip Three weeks 17 planes 19 flying locations flying above the clouds dynamic soaring hand launching hand catching a Drop Shots more A totally cool trip cool video expertly executed Get it watch it you will be glad you did LINKS Dave Reese Productions www reeseproductions com Still photos from the trip to Norway http picasaweb google no aerotorp LiftTicketToNorway August 2010 Updating the MicroPro 8000 Transm
20. ithology for the study and preservation of the varying raptor populations that inhabit the slopes we soar on This followed our need to create a conservation platform within the slope soaring fraternity and give something back to the environment we utilize so readily 8 A C Soaring Digest Cor SCOTT Close up shots of Christo Le Roux s P 40 Warhawk showing the detail incorporated in his large scale model Photos by Cobos Botha THE PLAN With the TOSS committee firmly set on a course of action the planning started the rules and documents created the contestants entered and many entrants started the mammoth task of getting their pride and joy slope soarers ready for the competition that was barely six months away Based on the three available classes Foamy Sportsman and Expert class with a lot of scratch building as well as revamping and total overhauling of ARF kits began in order to match each available class August 2010 Being a bit of a foamie combat club Damian Hinrichsen had the vision of creating a fleet of slope warbirds that were EPP foam based allowing for the combat zone to be filled with the sight of scale warbirds in hot pursuit of each other With this in mind he quickly went about drawing up the plans for at least 10 different warbirds ranging from the indomitable Spifitre to the Zero with Mustangs P40 Warhawks Messerschmitts Focke Wulfs and many more thrown into the mix Along wi
21. itter Pete Carr WW30 wb3bqo yahoo com TE BE A C Soaring Digest Dan Thompson WB4GUK has been a moderator of the MP8K M 2K Yahoo Group for several years finally met him in person at the 2010 Toledo Show along with many others from the Group While the main focus of the Toledo meeting was the migration to 2 4 GHz RF link there was some discussion about upgrade chips for the old MicroPro 8000 encoder This subject was installed at the top of my to do list of projects The MicroPro transmitter was a breakthrough in the industry because it offered computer mixing of controls and an LCD display to interface with the pilot It also was a kit so people who like to melt metal solder could build our own The companion receiver was the single conversion Silver Seven and later the MicroPro 810 which was double conversion The entire kit was developed using a procedure that had the builder check off each step in the building process There was also extensive coverage of test equipment used to troubleshoot the radio if needed Many of us who built the various Ace kits will admit that they learned as much about test equipment and troubleshooting as they did about the radios For that reason there Is an abundance of warm n fuzzy feelings about the Ace and the MicroPro in the R C community Several weeks ago e mailed Dan about obtaining an upgrade chip for my transmitter He replied tha
22. jara gmail com lt www twistfx com br gt h nding Supra A C Soaring Digest My name is Carlos Ribeiro l m an F3jJ The first step was modeling the Supra also created the image of the ASW 28 and F3K flyer from Brazil and have using the plans and my model as on the front cover of this issue as well as worked with computer graphics since reference See the screen grab below an image of a Supra in flight and another 2000 spent about two days of work in After that I d planned this shot to improve of the ASW 28 in a blue sky with clouds my spare time to do the Supra landing my 3D grass making skills and the in the background These last two are render on the opposite page landing moment was a perfect time to presented on the next two pages Everything in this image was made in capture To see other works that l ve done in my Autodesk 3ds Max even the grass With this bring together two passions company visit http www vimeo com that have 3D animation and sailplanes twist Initial wireframe modeling of the Supra August 2010 45 Image of a Supra in flight 46 A C Soaring Digest ASW 28 egelfliegen S5 August 2010
23. ld Carnation Farm Camp Korey the new home field for the Seattle Area Soaring Society In addition to the usual suspects the SASS soaring regulars we were joined by soaring legends Daryl Perkins and Cody Remington two of the senior members of the 2010 US F3J Team Their visit was thanks to Jim Laurel to whom all SASS members are very grateful Of course the entire Junior US F3J team was there Mike Chainsaw Knight Brendon Dippin Dots Beardsley and Connor Stealth Laurel The Senior Canadian F3J team also flew VERY well The contest started off with a bang literally Two very skilled and experienced pilots Dave Friant and Ole Skotvold launched next to each other that is to say 75 feet apart and their planes collided just after launch The impact was like a thunderclap and both planes were destroyed Bits of Dave s brand new Competition Light Supra rained down for over a minute and Ole s Pike Superior was all but cut in half It was a shocking and heartbreaking moment aside from being a very rare event Ole returned to the contest with his non molded back A C Soaring Digest up plane and Dave has pledged to return to the field once the grieving is past The contest proceeded without incident afterwards All tasks were ten minutes with spot landings There was a 30 point penalty for flying over ten minutes which means that tactically it is better to land even off field if you re runni
24. ng over your time The first two rounds were in cloudy but dry conditions the remaining two rounds were in clear sunlight Four or five pilots flew at a time in randomized groups and the scores for each round were normalized with the best performing pilot getting 1000 points As might be expected given the expertise of the contestants the scores of the top experts were very close The winner Arend Borst Canadian National Champion scored an amazing 3999 57 out of a possible 4000 points He lost the 0 43 points short of perfection thanks to Dave Beardsley the Contest Director who flew a stunning first round before retiring to run the contest Cody Remington and Daryl Perkins of the US Team took second and third August 2010 Jim Laurel and Dave Beardsley Daryl Perkins ready to launch off one of the new SASS winches 23 Brendon Beardsley launches Daryl Perkins Supra Simultaneous launches were the norm for this contest just as in regular F3J competition i Ay dM VUE E eu a R C Soaring Digest August 2010 Alyssa Shark Bait Wulick templates in hand gets her Supra control surfaces set up with the help of grandfather Bill Papa Kuhlman Alyssa is planning to compete in the F3J Junior Team Trials next year Despite the intensity of the contest there was time for some relaxation US Junior Team aircraft are in the foreground To give an idea
25. of how tight scoring can be the fourteenth place finisher had two perfect rounds the fifteenth had three out of four perfect rounds Consistency is key In Sportsman class Paul Measel was a solid lead at the halfway point before inconsistency struck Seth Arlow and relative newcomer Larry Eich finished first and second separated by barely seven points The increased prominence of competition flying at SASS has been noted particularly with the excitement generated by The Boys earning selection to the US F3J Team for the World Championship in France this summer Some feel that this has de emphasized recreational flying As a middling stick can only repeat the old but true adage regardless of your skill level you will learn more in minutes of competition flying than you will learn in hours of casual flying Thanks to all who made this such a great day Dave Beardsley CD and party organizer Jim Laurel who made Cody and Daryl s visit possible Doug Brusig field cook and the human line retriever Rick Helgeson and his field mowing team and winch designer builder Mark Vance with Rick Como the matched winches performed flawlessly BC 25 have been playing with electric models since the late 90s Since have a glider passion it naturally spilled over to electrifying my gliders as well By now had several models with which competed in e glider events Most of my models w
26. rcuit board with the label right side up and the indent on the left LIT i U ORZ RO j e E 4 Wu J A d N74 H Me 7 a A ACE MP8K gt i 6 00 07 55 E 3 J gt The new chip is in the socket while the old chip sits in the static protected holder next to the transmitter You may slide the RJ 45 connector up and out of the transmitter case right side to give easier access to the socket area The work area on the board is crowded with the RJ 45 connector Sonalert and another chip close to where the new chip goes Take your time and verify that all the chip pins are properly aligned with the socket Once aligned you can simply press the chip down into the socket Take your time and check that no pins have folded up under the chip A C Soaring Digest The MicroPro sits in Its carrying case along with the operations manual carry the manual since some features are hard to program from memor y Once you are satisfied that the installation is correct reconnect the cables to the transmitter rear panel and close it up The Ace User Manual page 54 discusses the software upgrade and install of the EPROM This is followed by a procedure to set the joysticks and initialize the EPROM These are fairly simple If the expected results don t appear in the LCD display just start August 2010 o Er i This is the rear cover of t
27. t could send him a check and he would send it right out did that and the chip arrived in one of those Post Office Flat Rate boxes In keeping with today s internet oriented world there was no paperwork enclosed with the chip Installation and initialization of the new chip is covered in the original user manual for the MicroPro The design of 25 years ago already saw the need to modernize the software and made provisions to swap the chip in the field Working with EPROM Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory chips does require some care Modern chips have protection against static electricity damage still some reasonable precautions should be taken to drain the static from your hands during installation This is easily done by clearing all but the needed tools from your bench normally have a towel on the table as a work surface but that can generate static so it was removed Once you are settled at the bench remove the transmitter case back panel being very careful to disconnect the two cables to the RF deck My rig also uses a The MicroPro transmitter was a breakthrough in the industry because it offered computer mixing of controls and an LCD display to interface with the pilot 3 pin Deans connector in the cable from the 9 6 volt battery to the on off switch The battery is located just below the RF deck on the back panel so must also be disconnected Dan had shipped the new chip inside a stati
28. t the CG is more or less at the preferred spot without adding any additional lead had a few flights already in the past week and after the initial trimming of the flight modes l do not need launch mode anymore was very pleased with the results The model came out at 2050g AUW so it flies a bit faster than am used to with the Supra The 430W power 30 plant launches the model to 300m in 30 seconds as per the attached graph from my alti logger This is good enough for now but can be improved for competition purpose use about 1200 mAh from the battery for an afternoons launches The motor with this setup use an average 30A My motor function is connected to the butterfly switch on my transmitter so it is either on full throttle or off By using less expensive components proved that you do not need to break the bank to own and enjoy a competitive electric glider What a breeze to go out to the field for a quick practise session after work As am the lone glider pilot in this area it is quite a shlep to drag the winch and battery out to the small field actually a power model field and do the setup each time can also launch immediately after a landing and do not have to fetch the line for the winch All in all get more flying time Time to build a new glider again Cheers Gert Gnieuwoudt Secunda South Africa B R C Soaring Digest a B g wW a a E eem J p DN P
29. th the well known slope aeromodeller Anton Benning they cut the initial fuselage shapes while Anton created the wings wing spars and relevant pushrod systems as part of these fantastic little kits With huge enthusiasm the entire field of entries got about building these foamy slope soarers which proved to be brilliant in their simplicity and saw the black EPP foam being taken down to shape covered with Orocover given the relevant decals and dusted with a protective varnish for the final finish Panel lines and detail became part of the build and many superbly finished models rolled off the desktop line and into the foamy class ready for the inevitable battle Above A foamy Mustang Cobos Botha photo Right Lionel Brink and his large scale Tucano Cobos Botha photo There was a stark dearth of slopers on the slopes in the weekends leading up to the event as many of the pilots hid in dark corners concentrating on the large scale warbirds finalized each with delicate detail that annoyingly seemed to take longer than it should THE BIG SHOW A beautiful morning dawned on the 19th July 2010 in our part of the world A few intrepid slopers were seen on the slopes as early as 7 15 am staring into the dark while awaiting the arrival of dawn and the first few flights of the day Our skinny little Cape Peninsula is such a sitter for a good North Wester and mother nature duly delivered Not a howler by any note but with more th
30. you know from reading Oncle Sydney Lenssen s column last month the Pacific Northwest will be without a significant portion of the Seattle Area ooaring Society for the next couple of weeks All three of the US Junior F3J Team members Brendon Dippin Dots Beardsley Michael Chainsaw Knight and Connor Stealth Laurel are SASS members their fathers are all competitive RC sailplane pilots within SASS and will be serving either as team members or as support staff and several other SASS members are either team members or are going to Dole Tavaux aerodrome as enthusiastic spectators The United States F3J Team along with teams from other countries will be leaving for France within the next few days Best of luck to everyone at Dole Tavaux regardless of national origin Coverage of the 2010 F3J World Championship will appear in a future issue of RCSD perhaps as early as the September issue but more likely October A reminder Please note the RCSD email address was 7 recently changed It is now lt rcsdigest centurytel net gt Time to build another sailplane August 2010 HOSTED PY TWO OCEANS SLOPE 5OARER2 CAPE TOWN JUNE ISTH AND 20TH 2010 Kevin Farr kevin fvdv co za with photos Cobos Botha sponsored by WiFly co za and by Malcolm Riley Peter Vergeer and Kevin Farr THE IDEA The Black Eagle Trophy PSS Festival flew gracefully into the annals of the Cape slope soaring scene over the weekend of the 1
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