dcrc club meeting dcrc third friday of each month 7:30 pm ... · photo by andy kane some building...
TRANSCRIPT
DCRC Club Meeting
Third Friday of each
Month
7:30 PM
Montgomery County
Council building
100 Maryland Ave
Rockville, MD
PROGRAM:
RAFFLE:
Don’t forget the model
shop.
Volume 60, Issue 2
DCRC
NEWSLETTER
DCRC Club Meeting
February 21, 2014
District of Columbia Radio Control Club Montgomery County Maryland AMA Chartered Club 329 Established 1951
Its so cold today, Have you seen my nuts?
Thank you DCRC for having Indoor flying at
Soccerplex
Volume 60, Issue 2 Page 2
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB
CARF Models SU-31
Some helpful building
tips By Andy Kane
Well since nobody in our club
wants to share their build projects
or modeling activity this month, I
will provide a short story mostly
photos of a build that I just com-
pleted.
The subject plane is a CARF
Models SU-31 which has a wing
span of 118” and will weigh about
42 pounds when complete. The
engine used was a DA-200 4
cylinder Gasoline engine. the de-
tails of the engine cooling baffling
is shown. This is very important
for all engines but even more so
for 4 cylinder engines. Cooling air
to the rear cy, cylinders is essen-
tial.
The plane incorporates a high
voltage radio system using all JR
High Voltage servos. These ser-
vos provide over 430 oz. in of
torque at 7.4 volts. 2- 6000MAH
2C Lipo batteries power all 10 ser-
vos. You can see in the photos
that the HV servos are mounted to
the servo plate using a metal tray,
when you’re working with servos
that provide this much torque ex-
tra care has to be giving to mount-
ing and securing the servos from
moving. With inadequate mount-
(Continued on page 3)
PRESIDENT: Jim McDaniel
V.P. Walt Gallaugher
County Liaison: Jim McDaniel
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Andy Finizio
Jim Fisher
Walt Gallaugher
David Garrison
Allan Hoffman
Andy Kane
Jim McDaniel
Jose Sanchez
Thomas Pfarr
TREASURER:
Doug Harper
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY:
Jose Sanchez
20017 Haller Ave
Poolesville, MD 20837
RECORDING SECRETARY:
Doug Harper
SHOW TEAM MANAGER:
Jim McDaniel & Allan Hoffman
NEWSLETTER EDITOR:
Andy Kane
MEETING PROGRAM COORDINATOR:
Walt Gallaugher
OFFICIAL CLUB PHOTOGRAPHER:
Thomas Pfarr
The DC/RC Newsletter is published monthly
by the District of Columbia Radio Control Inc.
Deadline for submitting materials for publica-
tion is the last Friday of each month. Any part
of the newsletter may be reproduced for non-
profit purposes unless otherwise noted. Please
credit the Newsletter and Author if named.
Articles may not reflect the opinion of the club,
but that of the author.
www.dc-rc.org Did you know that any airplane brought in to the
model shop will receive 3 free raffle tickets. Bring in
your models each month for your free tickets, and to
share ideas.
So Cold when will spring be here!
Photo by Andy Kane
SOME BUILDING TIPS PG 2
HOW TO BUILD A FUEL TANK PG 3
JANUARY CLUB MEETING PG 4
FAA AND AMA SIGN AN AG-
GREEMENT
PG 5
Volume 60, Issue 2 Page 3
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB
ing the servo could tear itself right
out of the mount. See photos.
Metal servos arms are used to
maintain rigidity and I always re-
place the servo screw with a
socket head screw for better tight-
ening. Stainless all thread push
rods are used to connect the servo
to the control surface. The once
the length of the rod is determined
a Brass tube sleeve is fitted over
the threaded rod and butts on each
end to provide the stiffness needed
for this plane. 2 servos per aileron
are used one for each elevator half
and 2 for the rudder using a pull-
pull system. To maintain lightness
in the internal structure the manu-
facturer provides CF laminated
balsa wood for all the tank trays
and rudder servo trays. The main
equipment tray is removable for
easy of service.
Here you can see the location of
the counter balance weight .75 oz
which is added to the leading edge
of the elevator air balance. This is
done to move the CG of the con-
trol surface and provide better re-
sistance to osolation or flutter.
The pull-pull cables attached to the
rudder control horn. On the bot-
tom of the control horn are the
links going to the steerable tail
wheel. A cable hood adds a nice
finishing touch and helps to cover
that huge hole you made for the
cable exit. Especially if you made
it in the wrong location. You want
the cable to ride free from friction
for best operation.
This final photo shows my remov-
able battery philosophy. The bat-
teries are wrapped in foam and
on an “easily” removable mount-
ing plate all 4 batteries can be
charged outside the plane.
Checkout the links for the web
pages showing the online manual,
some photos of the plane offering
and a flying video.
CARF Models web
CARF Instruction manual
Online flying video
JR 8711HV servo
Desert Aircraft DA-200
SWB control arms
who would like to ride their horses on
our site sometime in late January or
early February. We are fine with this
since it is during the week and the
weather is cold. There will be an
email with the date once we know
what it is.
Model Shop: David Harris presented
his TopFlite SE5 that he built for the
second time. He liked the first one so
much he found a second one to build.
It has a 53" wingspan and uses a Mag-
num 4-stroke for power. He made the
landing gear shock absorbing and in-
stalled a steerable tail wheel for flying
off the pavement. He covered it with
synthetic tissue for light weight. The
tissue comes prepainted and looks
great. It came in at 5.5 pounds so
should fly well. David worked on it
on and off for two years and the final
product is beautiful.
Gus Crosetto presented an experiment
he ran to study to see what was re-
quired to scale down a larger model to
a smaller one. He measured many
parameters for two different models
and compared these to the full scale
(Continued on page 5)
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB
Volume 60, Issue 2 Page 4
January Club
Meeting Minutes BY DOUG HARPER
The meeting, held at the
County Office Building, was called to
order by President Jim McDaniel at
7:40 PM. Jim asked for the introduc-
tion of any new members or guests.
None were present.
Jim announced that Andy Kane had a
full supply of orange DCRC shirts for
sale. There was active buying of said
shirts by the membership.
County Liaison: Jim an-
nounced that the County
Public Facility director
called Jim and apolo-
gized to us for double
booking our meeting
room last month.
Events: Jim apologized for the water
main break at the Soccerplex last
week. It is now repaired and we have
the field every Wednesday from here
on. It would be a good idea to check
their web site just in case.
Training/Community Outreach : Jim
Fisher has developed a
flight training schedule
for 2014. Last year
worked well but will be
improved even more this
year. He plans to do 14
sessions this year, April through Oc-
tober, as well as five IPP sessions. He
has acquired three Apprentice trainer
planes that will be used with students
(and instructors) who might need a
little more help. First session is April
19. Jose is in the process of rebuild-
ing several new BigStik airframes.
We will do one IPP session in the af-
ternoon each month after regular
flight training is finished.
Jim is looking for a new school where
we can do a STEM night. We will
talk to Montgomery County to see if
we can do something there. We will
also do the Rockville Science Fair
again this year. We get a lot of expo-
sure from these activities.
Field Maintenance: Jim announced
that we have been reimbursed for the
solar panel damage that occurred dur-
ing the ADA work last Fall. While
we didn't expect the County to do
this, we are grateful for their help.
Dave Garrison has gone over the solar
charging system and made sure all
connections are tight. The batteries
survived the recent cold snap. This
system continues to be used, even in
the winter months.
Membership: Jose Sanchez continues
to get membership re-
newals. We are at about
160 members. The Club
has received $400 in do-
nations and flight training
has also received $400.
Safety Coordinator: Walt
Gallaugher had no report.
Raffle: David Garrison presented an
electric P51 Mustang in-
door that comes with a 4-
blade propeller and
AS3X gyro stabilized
receiver. The winning
ticket was held by Tom
Pfarr who received a
rousing hand for his luck. There was
some grousing about a Board Member
winning again.
Treasure’s Report: Doug wrote three
checks in excess of $100 this month.
He had a copy of the YTD Budget
Report for anyone who cares to see it.
Web Site: Tom Pfarr. No report.
Newsletter: Andy Kane reported that
he has published the first electronic
issue of the newsletter. Andy re-
peated his plea for input to the news-
letter.
New/Old Business: The Club has
been approached by a Hunting Group
Volume 60, Issue 2 Page 5
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB
deHavilland plane. He looked at such
things as wingspan, chord, wing area,
fuse length, etc. He determined that
cubic wing load is the best way to
compare models that are radically
different in size and ranges from
around 10 to 12 across very different
sized airplanes. He also determined
the scale speed of each as well.
Froude's Number is a way to compare
the scale speed for a model that is
being tested in a wind tunnel. Gus
showed his models to support his very
interesting talk.
Joe Pauley gave a follow up discus-
sion of his foam board B2 model that
he presented at the December meet-
ing. He found it climbed under power
when he flew it so he had to go back
to the drawing board to make some
changes. He plans to fly it again
when the weather warms a bit.
Program: No program this month.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45PM.
FAA, AMA Work To-
gether on Model Air-
craft/UAS Safety
January 13, 2014 –Today’s “model”
aircraft are different from what many of
us remember from our childhood. Back
then, model aircraft were built for collec-
tions or display and a daring few even
flew them for fun. Today, they can have
wingspans approaching 20 feet and run
on multiple small jet engines. A new di-
mension to model aircraft flying is the
advent of inexpensive, ready-to-fly toy or
model unmanned aircraft systems (UAS)
that almost anyone can purchase and fly.
The technology used to control these
small UAS has advanced so significantly
that many are controlled by applications
on smartphones or tablets.
So it makes perfect sense for the FAA’s
UAS Integration Office and the Academy
for Model Aeronautics—the national
body for model aviation for 77 years – to
work together
toward ensuring
modelers fly
their model
a i r c r a f t / UAS
without any risk
to manned air-
craft or to peo-
ple and prop-
erty on the
ground.
On January 12,
Jim Williams,
head of the UAS Integration Office, and
Academy of Model Aeronautics president
Bob Brown signed an agreement formal-
izing a relationship between the FAA and
AMA during the latter group’s annual
expo in Ontario, Calif. The FAA believes
AMA’s detailed safety procedures pro-
mote safe model operations and serve as
an excellent resource for AMA members
and other non-member model aircraft
enthusiasts alike.
Under the agreement, AMA will serve as
a focal point for the aero-modeling com-
munity, the hobby industry and the FAA
to communicate relevant and timely
safety information. The group will estab-
lish and maintain a comprehensive safety
program for its members, including
guidelines for emerging technologies such
as model UAS. The group also agreed to
foster a “positive and cooperative envi-
ronment” with modelers toward the FAA
and any applicable regulations.
For its part, the FAA will review and ad-
vise on the AMA safety program, using
the UAS Integration Office to address any
mutual issues or concerns. The agency
also will educate FAA field employees
about the latest aero-modeling technolo-
gies and operating standards to foster a
reciprocal cooperative attitude toward the
AMA.
The FAA-AMA pact is important because
the 2012 FAA Reauthorization contained
language specific to model aircraft. Con-
gress mandated that the FAA cannot regu-
late model aircraft operated according to
community-based standards developed by
a national organization – a designation
that AMA satisfies. Both the FAA and the
aircraft modelers’
group believe
jointly working to
ensure continued
safe operation of
model aircraft will
comply with the
congressional di-
rective.
In a broader sense,
model aircraft
safety is a concern
for everyone, re-
gardless of where they fly, whether they
are a traditional radio-controlled aircraft
or a UAS. As Jim Williams noted in his
remarks to the group, “Safe model UAS
operations will help to ensure that this
industry continues to grow and bring the
joy of recreational or hobby flying to
more people than ever before.”
More on FAA and AMA
http://www.faa.gov/news/updates/?newsI
d=75599
FAA Executive Manager James Williams and AMA
President Bob Brown at AMA Expo 2014
First Class Mail
February 2014
Andy Kane/Newsletter Editor
305 Natick Court
Silver Spring, MD 20905
E-mail: [email protected]
One of the oldest and largest RC
clubs in the US.
And now an AMA Gold Leader Club
District of Columbia
Radio Control Club
www.dc-rc.org
A nearly unbelievable video of a drone that delivers 12-packs of beer to ice fishers on a frozen lake turns out to be too good to be true.
Beermaker Lakemaid created the video as a riff on Amazon's announcement on 60 Minutes last month, where the company showed a theoretical
vision of a service that delivers small packages by air, autonomously. But where Amazon's vision of the future is just that — a vision — Lakemaid
was well into the process of creating such a service for local beer delivery, though those plans have been put on ice by the Federal Aviation Ad-
ministration.
"They think it's a great idea, though they're telling me to stop," Lakemaid president Jack Supple told The Verge, adding that the FAA considers the
project commercial and therefore off limits until those policies are reviewed and potentially revised next year.
Supple says the Amazon service was indeed the spark for the idea, which Lakemaid had planned to test out at Minnesota's Twin Pines Resort, situ-
ated on the western shore of Mille Lacs lake. The idea was to let those who were ice fishing put in orders without having to make their way back
onto land.
"You know that people sitting in houses, just for the novelty of it, would order it," Supple says. "A frozen lake is the perfect venue."
But the reality of delivering beers by drone is not a simple operation. In the video you see a 12-pack take to the skies under the clutches of a six-
propeller drone, though in reality it wasn't able to carry a full load. "It did deliver the box with something in it," Supple says. "[But] we had to keep
taking bottles out to get it off the ground." An eight-propeller drone that's capable of lifting nearly 16 pounds would make short work of it though,
and was going to be the delivery vehicle of choice for a real version of the service.
HUMAN CONTROL STILL REQUIRED
Another wrinkle: the video depicts the drone taking off and arriving to GPS coordinates seemingly on its own volition, something Supple also
chalks up to video magic. The drone was actually being piloted by a human with a full visual of what was going on, though Supple believes the
technical limitations of programming in the locations would be simple given how low ice fishing buildings are, and how flat the frozen lake is.
Lakemaid's video is not the first airborne alcohol delivery project to be shown off, nor is it likely to be the last. Earlier this month champagne ven-
dor Plus de Bulles showed a video of champagne being sent to a bar near the top of the Verbier resort in Switzerland, though it required the recipi-
ent to take it off the drone with a pair of pliers. During an earnings call last month, FedEx's chief executive also noted that its current drone deliv-
ery research was currently capable of carrying "about" four cans of beer, with an operational time of roughly eight minutes.
Despite running up against the legal roadblock, and some rather obvious implications of running into other legal trouble complying with drinking
age requirements, Supple says he's not giving up hope on the service, nor is the FAA. "They've told me ‘you'll be ready.'"
And other news: Heavy lift Quad copter test