A couple of quiet months of flying at the field, but I’ve managed to cobble together a few articles that hopefully you find of interest. If you think of anything you’d like me to include in the future, let me know.
We have a new Instructor!
Congratulations again go to Bob Lockwood, who has added the Instructor rating to his recent Gold Wings achievement. As mentioned in the last HT, Bob is a past Gold Wings and Instructor, who had been absent from the hobby for a while and as a result, his previous ratings had lapsed. The club is appreciative of Bob stepping in to add a second instructor to our ranks as previously Max Wiggins was the only current instructor and as a consequence was in demand quite a bit. Thanks Bob!
Update: Fast Forward to Club Day, March 14. I had an online inquiry from Ian Doble, that read;
Hello,
My son, Bertie, aged 13 has recently got himself a model RC plane. He’s tried flying a few times, but has a tendency to crash. He’s getting a little frustrated and so I’ve suggested we contact your club and see if you’re able to provide any support and advice. I’d be really grateful if you’re able to point us in the right direction, whether he needs to join as a member or if we can come and give it a try.
With thanks,
Ian
Bob was kind enough to put his new status as an instructor to the test and took young Bertie through the process of understanding the fundamentals of RC aeromodelling, including flying the model. Max also assisted by letting Bertie’s brother fly one of his models. The support given by our members, in particular our instructors, past and present, was the main reason I joined LMAC over 30 years ago.
Weather Station
Alan Johnston raised some concerns about the accuracy of the weather station compared to that being reported at the Launceston Airport. It is fair to say that we can’t expect our $149 weather station to be as accurate as the equipment at the airport, but the Ecowitt station we have is used extensively by amateur weather watchers around the world. There are times when the rain gauge or the anemometer may report errors due usually to the interference of insects (spiders mainly). When this is noticed, the station is serviced and cleaned (Mick did this in February). I have checked the weather station accuracy with my handheld anemometer and found the two align exactly. The difference between what is reported at the field and the airport can be attributed to conditions such as thermals moving through one site versus the other.
Alan’s concerns did raise one thought in my mind, that I wondered how many people knew of or were interested in, some of the data that is available on the weather station site. For example, Alan thought the anemometer might have been stuck (it has happened before). I then shared the chart below as an example of how much the wind varies at Symmons Plains over a 24 hour period. If you do notice any abnormalities in the weather reporting, please let me know, as I can’t watch everything to make sure it is functioning as it should.
The path for the chart above, can be located on the website by following [Weather>Weather Station>Charts>Trends] and select [Wind Speed] at the bottom of the chart. If you hover your mouse over the chart lines, it will show the readings at that time.
Flying Strip
Ron has finally been able to install the second line and we have tested the popup irrigation and it works very well! So much so, that we have had to cut back the watering schedules as a combination of irrigation and rain has resulted in some very wet patches, and therefore the inability to mow. This is a nice problem to have, as for years we have struggled to establish any coverage of grass, due to lack of water. We owe Ron a great deal of gratitude for all that he has done for us to achieve an automatic irrigation scheme.
There is evidence of new grass growth in the bare patches. These bare patches contribute to the unevenness of the strip, so the new growth will help. However, we won’t just rely on this. The intention is now to cut the strip lower and harrow the ground to “rake” through the ridges and provide a bed for the reseeding. Bob and Mick will continue to cut the strip lower as we work towards reducing the ridges. It all takes time. Today (March 20), Mick has done the back-breaking job of filling in the trench where the supply line crosses the strip. He tells me he was aching all over and he had trouble getting off the seat at the club when he had a coffee after he finished. I am not surprised!
Mick Green’s Sopwith Land Clerget Tractor
Mick has provided some progressive photos of the build of his Sopwith Land Clerget Tractor, previously reported in the October HT here. Some nice work by Mick. I was particularly interested in the fuselage building board alignment jigs. Mick provided me with the link to the supplier, Pete’s Projects and the link is here. This jig would be particularly helpful for me as I can’t stand over my workbench when building to ensure that everything is aligned properly. You will also see some nice thread-work by Mick where he has emulated the cabling that formed part of the construction of many pre World War II aircraft.
Click the < or > to scroll through the images.
Models for Sale
Dave Jacobs Models for Sale
Only the Tundra has been sold from Dave’s collection (bought by Max). I don’t believe Dave is asking a lot of what he has on offer, so if you have some interest, give Dave a call. He’d appreciate it.
Click the < or > to scroll through the images.
Chris Jones – Models for Sale
Chris has sold the Horizon Timber (to Meilin). He still has the Sebart for sale. If interested contact Chris Jones on 0413 707 040 or at jonesjr@ Bigpond.com
MODEL #2 – Sebart Sukhoi 50E fitted with top quality Futaba servos on ailerons and good
quality Hitec servos elsewhere. Plane is in excellent condition and never
crashed. Also included are 2 Turnigy Graphene 4000 mAh 45C batteries, again
in excellent condition. Cost of plane new today in order of $550 to $600.
Will sell lot for $300. ALL PROCEEDS WILL GO TO LMAC.
Click the < or > to scroll through the images.
For Sale page on the website
Whilst on the subject of models for sale, members can post any items they have for sale on the website here. Both Dave and Chris’s models are on there. Tip: did you know you can subscribe to the For Sale post and receive updates if there are any updates on the items for sale? Just click on the “Subscribe” button on the post.
Toilet Modifications
There has been a request to do something about the toilet access. For some the low height of the chemical toilet, meant that getting off it was a difficult task for those with restricted (age related) mobility. Richard Cooper suggested a frame, that was available from Bunnings. This was purchased and Mick set it up along with a spare grab rail that I had. Hopefully this will suffice until we are able to install a long drop toilet.
F5B Gliders
I read an article in a recent Australian Electric Flight Association (AEFA) newsletter, regarding the development of F5B gliders. I recall when the then current World Champion Martin Weberschock, visited us at our field and did a demonstration. Back then the models ran 28 NiCd cells. I could recall the “slap” of the propellers as the motor shut off and the prop folded back against the fuselage, such was the velocity of the glider. Nowadays, they use 6s or greater LiPo’s. Here is an extract from the AEFA magazine
I was fortunate to watch the F5B team training at the Bridgewater (BADRC) field this weekend. Four pilots — Brett Solanov, Owen Solanov (son, junior member), Bill Hamilton and Mani Riederich —
with Tex assisting on timing — were preparing for the World Championships in Mareeba, Queens-
land, Australia, scheduled for August 2026.
F5B rules are demanding, and the aircraft themselves are astonishing:
- They can accelerate to roughly 300-350 km/h within seconds.
- The event blends raw speed, tight energy budgeting, and
precision landing. - Each flight includes up to 10 powered climbs,
- 200 seconds of speed laps on a 150 metre course
- 10 minutes of thermal duration, and a precision landing —
- All while staying under a strict 1750 Watt minute energy limit.
Reaching this level takes years of refinement. It’s one of the mostspecialised corners of model aviation, demanding both elite piloting and deep engineering skill. These machines operate right at the edge of what physics will tolerate:
- airframes built to survive 60 g,
- propellers shaped to minimise cavitation during acceleration, and
- power systems tuned for brutal acceleration coupled with airframes efficient enough to float in weak lift for a full ten-minute thermal flight.
- And after all that, the pilot still has to nail a precision spot landing.
Below is an example of an F5B “glider”. Some specs on this glider
- On a 9 cell LiPo it is producing 9kW (about 12HP)
- Prop: 18.5 x 24 (yes, the pitch is greater than the diameter)
- Weight 590g (21ozs)
- Estimates are 0-200 kmh in 2 seconds!!!
I have included a copy of the latest AEFA magazine for your interest.
From the Archives
I thought some of our newer members and some old ones too, might like to look back on the club history, so I am including links to copies of our paper newsletter, “Prop Torque”. Starting off this month with May 2001. At the end of the newsletter, you can see how many competitions we once ran every month.
From the World Wide Web
A tip from the web on using the rudder. An often overlooked flight surface, but a very important one if you want to improve your flying.
Well that’s it for another month. Mick supplied some information for this moth’s HT. Hopefully some other members have material available to help fill the April/May Hangar Talk 😊.
Don’t Forget – Put a Spark in your life and fly electric!
George
[…] photos of the build of his Sopwith Land Clerget Tractor, previously reported in the October and March HT. Mick has hand fabricated all this and the quality of his workmanship is excellent. In these […]