Hangar Talk – January 2024

January is traditionally a quiet month with everyone resting up after the excesses of the holiday period. We hope everyone had a great Christmas break and that Santa brought you all the hobby gifts that you wished for. We also hope that 2024 will be a happy and healthy one for all our members and their families.

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Donation for Auction

As mentioned last month, Jacques Wakae donated a couple of LiPo batteries and suggested we auction them off to get some money for the club. The successful bidder was Richard C. Many thanks to Jacques for his donation and to Richard for his generous bid of $75. A welcome addition to the club’s coffers.

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Club Day – Saturday, January 6

Traditionally the club hasn’t held a club day in January, however given the number of missed club days throughout the year, it was decided to break with tradition and hold a club day. The weather forecast was good, and no doubt this helped as it was a roaring success, with one of the biggest turnouts for a normal club day.

Those attending were, Alan J, Chris J, Daniel H, Fred W, George & Kerry C, Greg R, Jacques W, Jo, Ray & Micah G and Micah’s friend Kip, Kevin H, Liam & Phillip E, Mark H, Max W, MeiLin H, Mick G, Nara T, Richard C, Rodney K and Vince B. Vincent G joined us briefly too. There was also a “blast from the past” visitor in Peter Kidson. Pete is a past member (2007) and former president of the club. Pete talked about his desire to return to the hobby and expressed interest in building a new scale helicopter but this time it would be an electric model. He was pleased to hear that LMAC allowed helicopters. Electrics are something new to Pete so the conversation was mostly about batteries, chargers etc. We chatted so much in fact that I never found any time to have a fly myself!

It was a big day for the canteen too and it presented some challenges. President Mick insisted that we include this reminder in HT. Food is prepared estimating the amount that is required as best we can. This was an exceptional turnout, so there was just enough for everyone. However, two people missed out on what they had paid for because it was observed that food was being taken by someone else that had not been ordered or paid for. Please consider others before taking food that you think is “left over”. If there is any food left at the end, this will be offered to anyone who is interested. To make it easier, food will be marked off from the order sheet as it is taken. (This was how it used to be done).

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Here are some more pictures from the day. Unfortunately not very many this month as I was “yacking” too much!

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Ray Green has his Silver Wings!

Congratulations to Ray on achieving his silver wings. Ray’s enthusiasm for his new found hobby shows no boundaries and he has demonstrated that persistence pays off, using his simulator at home and practicing at every opportunity. Ray was helped along the way by Mark H, Nara T and Max W. The help from these guys to new members is what makes LMAC such a great club for trainee pilots. Max Wiggins kindly offered to give Ray some one on one training during the week, culminating in Ray passing his test. Ray can now spend time training his son Micah and his friend Kip.

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Ceiling Height

We are in the process of having our annual Airservices LOA renewed, that allows us clearance above 400′ to a maximum of 1000′. If you intend to fly above 400′, it is imperative that you follow the procedure that is set out on the notice board. If only flying to 400′ you are fine. As always, regardless of your flying height ALWAYS observe for a manned aircraft, especially as we have often observed aerial spraying in the paddocks around us and land your model as quickly and safely as possible and only fly when the airspace is clear again.

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Weather Station

We recently had to change the server that was hosting the web site and when we did that, it changed the address that the weather station uploads data to and as a result the website stopped receiving data. I had a call from Mark Holman asking if there was a problem as the field images were not up to date. That was great to hear as we know that the images are useful! To fix this required a visit to the site to update the software to recognise the new server address.

Whilst there my son Stuart, installed a new piece of software that allowed us to access the system remotely. This is great because the current weather station software is no longer supported and we will be gradually switching over to a new system and we can do all of this from home. Someone mentioned that the image quality on the camera wasn’t very sharp. Originally the camera was only installed to give an overview of the strip, especially if livestock were grazing on the strip, with our perimeter fence this is no longer a concern. However, part of the problem with image quality is we are shooting through a perspex cover and this distorts the image. I have a plan to fix this and as we do some upgrades, this will be done.

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Maintenance works

The hot weather has made watering the strip a regular and onerous task for the few that have been involved to date. Thanks to Mick, Mark and Rodney for their regular efforts. Also a thank you to Daniel Heazelwood as it has been noted that Dan has also watered when he is visited. If I have missed anyone, the committee thanks you too. It has been great to see others step up to help and it raised the thought that the next person to visit didn’t really know what had been watered last and what should be watered next? Mick G stepped out a plan and I drew up a mud map to cover a watering program.

When visiting the field for a bit of flying on a non-club day, it would be appreciated if members consider watering the strip whilst you are there. It is possible to water the strip and take off and land with the sprinklers going. It will be good practice to land and avoid the sprinklers! The watering pattern is pinned on the notice board and there is a watering schedule form on the table with the sign-in book. Check the area pattern that has been entered on the form by the last visitor, and continue off from there. E.g. if the pattern is listed as NW5, then NW4 and SW5, SW4 the next area would be NW3 and SW3, followed by NW2 and SW2. Ultimately moving to the East side or vice versa. I hope that makes sense. If any area looks desperately in need of water, then water that area first and note on this on the sheet. If anyone has any questions, let me know.

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For Sale

I had a message via the website for some items for sale. Attached are pictures of the items for sale. The seller is Sarah Atkinson and she can be contacted via email here [email protected].

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BEGINNERS TIPS

Nail that Spot Landing

[pdf id=’10866′]

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Foamie Repair

We see a lot of foam aircraft around these days and whilst they don’t break as easily as their balsa cousins, they can end up with dents and distortion that can affect how they fly. I found this tip on the web that might be useful when repairing a foam model.

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From the WWW

We often talk about the demise of traditional model building with balsa wood etc. and the rise in the presence of foam models with some disdain. Another “foamy” I hear being muttered with some displeasure. If we look on the other side, and traditional timbers becoming harder to source, foam models may be the solution, especially as the quality has improved so much in recent years. Take a look at these series of videos from a master builder in Ramy RC, The skills required to build this, not to mention the sophisticated machinery required, takes the term “foamy” to a new level.

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This monster C-17 Globemaster is a beast of an airplane! To keep it (relatively!) light, it features CNC-cut foam construction with fiberglass covering and Kevlar reinforcements. YouTuber Ramy RC is building this for the actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry, and we can’t wait to see this giant jet in flight!

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Well that’s it for another month. I’ll remind you all again, I see plenty of new models arriving at the field, but very rarely does anyone send me an update of their latest acquisition. PLEASE send me something. Just a couple of pictures, especially if you are assembling it and a couple of words of where purchased etc. Hangar Talk cannot survive without material. Leave your suggestions or feedback in the Comment section below.

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Don’t Forget – Put a Spark in your life and fly electric!
George