The Altitude Published by the Long Island Aero Radio Society Volume 22 Issue 12 December 2013 AMA CHARTERED CLUB #454 SINCE 1964 President: Steve Siedlecki 631 654-8753 V. Pres: Don Ferguson 631-484-1939 Secretary: Fred Backhaus 631 987-7122 Treasurer: Nick Miceli 631 289-9138 450 Waverly Ave. Suite 9, Patchogue, NY 11772 Use this address to correspond with the Treasurer Board: Leonard Schisano 631 744-5211 Board: Tom Tyler 631 475-8856 Board: John Calo 631 730-2799 Field Permits: Nick Miceli 631 289-9138 Editor: Lionel Bernstein 631 589-1758 Proof Reader: Ruby Bernstein Video Librarian:: Roger Bossert 631 589-3667 Safety Coordinators: Andy King 631 399-5828 Tom Calcagno 631 669-7137 Field Committee: James Kinsella 631 803-6666 Don Ferguson 631 484-1939 Guest Observer: Avey Shaw 631 271-0145 Next meeting at: LIARS Club Meeting Hall January at 8:00 P.M. Date to be determined L.I.A.R.S. Club Website: http://www.liarsrc.com The Altitude staff wishes all a HAPPY HOLIDAY and a HAPPY NEW YEAR A Message from the President. SEASON GREETINGS EVERYONE! It is that time of year when the holiday season is upon us. Most of us reflect upon the year past and make resolutions for the New Year. The board hopes everyone has a happy, healthy holiday season and a joyous New Year! This past year saw some terrible accidents, R/C related. We hope that the coming year is safer and more fun for everyone. The food drive was a huge success thanks to all who participated. Over 600 lbs were donated to The Harry Chapin Food Bank. Well Done and Thank You!!!! Thanks to: Tommy Calo, Ray Kreuscher, John Calo and Bob Hicks for their help and attendance. Although we suffered a minor setback, we have rescheduled our Holiday party. The new date is Sunday, January 12th, 2014 from 2 pm to 5 pm. This new date gives everyone extra time to get their money in and gives the board extra time to obtain the prizes. Due to the closure of the caterer s business, where we were to hold the party, it left us, and many other unfortunate people, in a bad situation. By changing the date, we were able to still have a party and, also, have it for about the same price. In the opinion of the board. the food and facility are, also, much better. We hope to see you all there! Dues are due. You can start mailing your dues and renewals to Nick Miceli. His address is on the renewal form. Please, also, enclose a stamped, self-addressed envelope, so he can mail to you your field permit. All information and instructions are on the website. www.liarsrc.com Be safe, Be well. See You Next Year! See you at the field. Steve Siedlecki, LIARS President
AVIATION HISTORY A look back in time to U.S. aviation during WWII circa 1945 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuutverspwa MYSTERY AIRPLANE #1 Name the plane shown above and get your name placed in a special awards listing. First one to E-mail me with the correct manufacturer and model number wins. Send to: lxaxdxyx@optonline.net Send me your entry to my E-mail address above. Answer to contest in the next months newsletter.
Aviation History, as many have not seen it. Subject: : 1945 air show at Freeman Field in Seymour, Indiana A Spectacular 10.5 minute piece of film from 70 years past.. The film is poor quality, but watch it anyway, as there are captured air craft on display, fresh from the battle field. This is just incredible! I've never seen this particular footage before! Nazi Jets...Nazi Helicopters. Italian fighters. Flying JU-88's. Fascinating footage of captured weapons and Axis aircraft at a 1945 air show at Freeman Field in Seymour, Indiana. This footage is ONLY four months after the German surrender, and just one month after the Japanese surrender! Great recorded Tommy Dorsey music, played by Glen Miller and his band who were later shot down over the English Chanel while heading to England to put on a show for the troops. The music will definitely get you in that circa WW II "Mood" Nearly a 70 year look back at a Victory Celebration, at the end of the WW II. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1723870789084 April 18, 1942: A B-25 Mitchell bomber takes off from the USS Hornet's flight deck for the initial air raid on Tokyo, Japan, a secret military mission. Just four months after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Picture taken from an escort U.S. submarine.
Safety-mainly as it pertains to electrics We need to keep in mind just how dangerous a runaway electric can be. I m sure that most of us have seen some sort of incident where an electric is on the ground and, for a variety of possible reasons, the motor unintentionally starts. Usually the motor is shut down immediately but there are times when that doesn t happen and there is a potential for serious injury or property damage. I m sure most of you have observed or been part of an incident. There are a number of things we can do to minimize the occurrence of electric runaways. The more of these we use, the less likely it will be that we will be a contributing party to an injury. Most important is to establish a process for startup and shutdown of your model. The second most important item is to use the same system for all your models. I would like to discuss the ways in which you can make your model safer. Remember, the most likely person for your model to injure is you. 1. FAILSAFE. I have never seen a 2.4 system that does not include a failsafe operation. However, many times it is ignored and not set up. Of the ones that are setup, many leave the throttle channel in hold mode. There are several very good reasons to define an idle or off position for the throttle when failsafe is activated. First, if link is lost while taxiing or testing, the motor will stop. This is very important as you have also lost the ability to steer the model away from trouble even at an idle. The motors we use can cause serious damage even at idle as they will not stall like an IC engine but will continue to attack. Second if you lose link in the air, a flyaway is prevented and the eventual crash will be within walking distance rather than over the mountain somewhere. Damage will also be reduced due to the motor being stopped. Probably won t save the airframe but maybe the equipment. 2. THROTTLE CUT. Most radios have a throttle cut mode that can stop the motor and deactivate the throttle stick. The cut should be active at all times you are not taxiing or flying. Some radios such as the Futaba 10CAG in aircraft mode have a throttle cut that does not deactivate the throttle stick. I cannot comprehend the thinking that led to this programming quirk but this particular radio has a workaround through the throttle curve mode. Throttle curves can be selected through a switch so a null throttle curve can be set up. This would be a curve where the throttle output is always zero regardless position. This doubles as a throttle cut with deactivated throttle. Even if there is no legitimate throttle cut, you can set up a THR-THR mix to reduce the throttle when the throttle cut switch is active. If there are no mixes available, perhaps a new radio? 3. THROTTLE SAFETY. Caution should always be observed to prevent inadvertent throttle advances. Do not leave a neck strap attached to the transmitter. It can hook the throttle stick and cause a problem. Do place your thumb on the gimbal above the throttle stick when picking up a transmitter, preventing the throttle from advancing. While these items may not make sense to you since you have set up your radio for safety, what about when you fly a plane that is not yours and the switches used are in different places or not set up at all? 4. ARMING PLUG. This seems to be a no-brainer. A pulled arming plug demonstrates to you and to others that there is no way this motor is going to turn. I find it very convenient to ready the model for flight, button up the canopy but reserve the arming until you are ready to enter the runway. If you are not using an arming plug, I hope you have a way to shut down the motor externally through power switches. I have seen models with no arming plug and internal power connections and even a bolt-on canopy. Can you imagine trying to shut this plane down if it unexpectedly goes to full power? Even two people would have trouble getting this shut down. If you are alone, you re screwed. 5. SAFETY CHECKS. When setting up a new model at the field, place it in an airplane stand that prevents the plane from a series of checks. a. Turn on TX and RX with no arming plug inserted. Throttle cut should be active. Insert arming plug after confirming correct operation of surfaces. ESC should musically confirm that it is armed. You should be set up so the ESC will not arm without either throttle cut or brake on. b. Turn off throttle cut and confirm normal operation of battery-esc-motor operation. Leave throttle at a fast idle position. c. Turn off TX. Confirm that surfaces stay at last commanded position and the motor stops. Turn TX back on and re-establish normal operation. This confirms that failsafe is correctly setup. d. Turn off RX. Confirm there is no surface control and that the motor stops. This confirms that your E SC correctly shuts down the motor without a valid throttle signal from the radio. If you do all of the above there should be no way a mental glitch can cause a problem. Maybe you never have these but I do and intend to do everything I can to prevent them causing a problem. If you do all of the above, others around you should be safe from you. If you convince your flying buddies and others to follow these suggestions, you will be safe too. Submitted by: Steve Siedlecki
In the observation seat Three Little Words Remember the song, Three Little Words? Well, if you don't, no matter. I have selected three words to expound on describing what we might feel as model airplane enthusiasts. by Avey Shaw Anticipation. This is an uncontrollable motivating force behind the desire to fly whether it be full scale or models. That emotion has been with us since we were born starting with when you get your next bottle. It is a feeling we get when we have no control of what will happen in the future, good or bad. The pitch when the count is 3 and 2, the roll of the dice and when the instructor jumps out of the airplane, and, you take off on your first solo flight. The first flight of that expensive model, that you took months to assemble and, in some cases, built from scratch. Anticipation can be exhilarating and a primary force we desire and want to attain whether knowingly or not. A factor that drives us to continuously try new airplanes even after the demise of previous ones. It never seems to matter if you were at fault or not. Sometimes, the anticipation is overridden by incentive which can be uncontrollable. The fixation to beat the challenge can be that intense. (What did he say?) Elation, This is, perhaps, the feeling most attainable after having a success. We strive for success, but, just having that falls short of what we really desire. What immediately comes to mind is landing a full scale airplane for the first time. Yes, it was successful, but, it was the elation of what I had accomplished. It was a physical feeling that was present, almost indescribable. In our hobby, the same is true. Doing something that you had never done before with great results. Example: Putting together that complex helicopter that had instructions in Chinese. Try a maneuver you have never done before looking like a contest pro. Fix something that was un-fixable. Great accomplishments don't end there. It is that feeling of elation we really desire after all is done. We do not strive for anticipation or elation they are uncontrollable, physically felt before and after an event. They are desirable human emotions to be enjoyed like sex. Depression. The last word has the same cause, but, the opposite results, should the outcome of the endeavor go south. You do not want to go there. The only way to stay away from this word is positive thinking. Material losses can be replaced. Lack of ability can be overcome. Finding a replacement to fill a void can be a solution. If what disturbs you is beyond your ability to rectify, relying on others can be a solution. In our hobby depression is outlawed. You cannot be in this hobby depressed, there is too much favorable activity going on. You can make friendships that last a lifetime. You get immediate help should something go wrong. There is free experienced advice if you need it. Our club is always there for you and it doesn t just end with the hobby. Depression is an attitude disrupting and destroying life. It is ones failure to see clearly beyond the present circumstance. It can be managed and defeated. P.S. I have no idea what provoked me to write this article. Must have been something I ate that did not agree with me. Avey Shaw Page 5
The Aircraft Video Screening Room This page will be used to alert you to interesting aviation related pictures or videos. Click on them to activate or copy and paste. Turn up the volume and switch to HD if available. Israel s Drone Industry, biggest exporter of Drone aircraft on the planet. Israel's Killer Robots VICE United States copy and paste Objet : Pour les vieilles hélices > great video, watch it. http://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/k3mzwskktngqwb4gsnb 2013 Chino, CA Air Show, Location: Valle-Grand Canyon, AZ http://home.comcast.net/~bzee1b/chino/chino.html Subject: For Pilots, Past and Present - Unbelievable! Pilots Past and Present will love this probably expensive machine, but what a way to fly. Definitely worth the watch. Beautiful footage! http://player.vimeo.com/video/39325401 The amazing flying skills of Bob Hover The attached video highlights the incredible stick and rudder skills that Bob showed in his demo of the Rockwell Shrike Commander. Having flown the Commander some years back, believe me that cockpit is a lot smaller than it looks in the video! To do a perfect 1G barrel roll with one hand whilst pouring tea with your other hand, backwards, is an indication of his uncanny aerobatic skills. http://www.chonday.com/videos/incredible-pilot-skills Close Call! http://www.wimp.com/aviationrace/>