Hangar Talk – October 2022
It’s very hard to talk about flying activities without talking about the weather! Another month filled with rainy or windy days. The weather did however hold off for Club Day and it looked like a good turnout of members.
Christmas Lunch – Book the Date!!
The Christmas Lunch will be held on Saturday, December 3. The usual extraordinary fare will be served on the day. We have raised the charge from $15pp to $20pp (no charge for children as in past). For this you’ll get a bit of a pre-lunch entrée, a feast for mains and dessert – not bad! You can find the form here. Please set the date aside and make it a fun day for you, your family and friends if you like. All welcome.
New Member
It is always great to announce new members but this is particularly pleasing as he is the first junior member we have had in a while. His name is Liam Ellmers and many of the regular club day attendees have met Liam and his father Phillip. Liam has just had his 13th birthday, which means he has that youthful exuberance and he has matched that with the skill that many youngsters have these days – instant dexterity with a transmitter in his hands. Liam already has a couple of models in his hangar.
Peter D has taken Liam under his wing so to speak, and according to Peter’s wife Sue, this has given Peter a welcome opportunity to pass on his vast knowledge to Liam. Peter took a glider to the field on club day, but decided to give it to Liam to encourage his growth in the hobby. Peter reports that Liam is already quite skilful and will not take long to get his wings. I am sure all members, including those that have not met Liam, wish him well as we are very pleased that he chose LMAC.
Club Day – October 1
A fine day brought quite a few members out to have a fly. MeiLin sent me this update on the day –
Morning George, beautiful day. I have been queried by the guys, if we are allowed to weed spray around the fence line, I remember Geoff use to do it round the pits, but they are wondering if the farmers will let us weed spray around the new fence line? Cape weed is out of control and they want to sort it out asap
Outwardly the pit area and strip looked a picture but as MeiLin has said, the weeds are causing a problem for small wheeled models on the strip. Cape Weed being the main offender. The committee has discussed this and will look at a selective herbicide to control Cape Weed and what can be done to possibly provide an artificial surface for the smaller models to take off from. The farm owners have given us permission to spray any weeds that we have. Having the sheep locked out may also reduce the incidence of Cape Weed that sprout due to the sheep using our strip as a resting spot and their droppings carrying unwanted seeds. Time will tell.
14 members attended and they were, Jacques W, Max W, Alan J, Danny N, Russell W, Mark H, Richard C, MeiLin, Vince B, Michael L, Peter D, Adrian H and new member Liam Ellmers and his father Phillip.
Danny N had his Durafly “Sky Mule”. Unfortunately the thick grass/weeds on the runway made landing a bit hazardous! The specs on this model are below but it is now discontinued.
Specs:
Wingspan: 1500mm
Length: 1095mm
Flying Weight: Approx 1860g
Motor: 2 x 4023 1100kv brushless outrunners
ESC: 2 x 30A
Servos: 5 x 9g micro servos
Prop Size: 3-blade 10×8
Some other models were, Peter D’s scratch built Sportster and his Mademoiselle he describes as “My Scaled up Mademoiselle .1936 vintage plan. Originally a free flight model . Was 48 inch but scaled up to 108 inch with Turnigy 50/60 out runner. Dihedral drastically reduced as well. Very stable and easy to fly. It runs on a 6s 5000 mAh battery“. MeiLin’s go to model – a H-King “Tuff Trainer II”. A model of 885mm span. Mike L brought along a rather fast looking model, a ZOHD MK111.
Pictures below are again courtesy of Mark Holman. Thanks Mark! (Click on the first image and scroll through the gallery)
Vince B also brought along a nice model – his Fly Baby, powered by a NGH GF38 38cc Four-Stroke Engine (These are about $US400). It looks like Vince had some tuning issues as he decided to take the cowl off and fly with the engine exposed. CORRECTION – I received an email from Fred W. It is his Fly Baby and here is what he said –
I think I was at the October Club day (memory…not good) and the Fly Baby is mine. The motor (NGH 38cc Four Stroke) wasn’t running too well so I took the cowl off so that Vince could help tune it and then he flew it for me.
It still wasn’t crash hot but I discovered there was no clearance on the inlet valve and once this was set and after some tweaking by Kevin later on, it is much improved. I have just strengthened the undercarriage (a weakness in this model) after wiping it off on a soft landing. It is still one of my favourite models to fly. This is Fly Baby number three after the first two folded their wings mid-flight. This wing is
reinforced and the wing tube now anchored in place.
Some pictures of Vince testing and putting the model through its paces.
It was great to see a few members supporting club day. Let’s hope November brings some nicer Spring weather and more can get down for a few flights. as I am writing this (October 25), it’s pouring again and more rain is forecast for the rest of the week.
Ceiling Height
Despite more requests for an update, there is no news on our area approval, except to say the MAAA approved our submission. MAAA have written to CASA for an update but have been advised there is a 14 day window before replies due “multiple enquiries”. As a result, please remember that we are restricted to a 400′ ceiling until that approval is granted.
Perimeter Fence
Work is all but completed and the “lay down fence” is an engineering marvel. The ends have a pivoting brace that one person can operate. By removing the pin on the top of the brace at the end strainer post, the fence can rotate downwards and lie flat. Ron D, the farm manager advised he still wants to put some lightweight droppers along the fence. We are indeed greatly indebted to Ron for all his work in driving all the posts, erecting the wire and ring lock, swinging the gates and fabricating the pivot angles for the lay down fence. All of that in his own time. To show our appreciation, we gave Ron a small bonus in the annual amount we pay the farm as a ex gratia payment. When we looked at that again, we felt it proper to invite Ron and his wife Christine to our Annual Dinner at the club’s expense. A small gesture for what would have cost many, many hours or dollars for the club to erect themselves.
Annual Dinner
The annual dinner was held on October 7 at Steve’s Grill. There was a fantastic turnout for this. In all, 25 people attended. This is not just an event for members but an opportunity for wives and partners to attend and meet up for an evening out. As mentioned earlier, Ron and Christine Davidson were invited along as our special guests and they were very grateful for the gesture. Following the dinner, the committee discussed whether the annual dinner should be earlier in the year, given it was only a couple of months until the Christmas lunch. It was decided to look at having the dinner in March/April so we spread out the functions and also hopeful that the weather might be better, rather than a cold winter/early spring night. More to come later next year. A couple of pictures from the night are below.
The 2022 dinner was held at Steve’s Grill at the Centennial Hotel.
Mark Holman’s Latest Project
Well it didn’t take long for Mark to respond to my call for material for HT. Mark attended the auction of Tim Sydes’ models and bought an Eaglet 2567. Here is what Mark had to say;
Hi George,
I just read the HT and thought I would share this with you.
This is one of the Tim Sydes auction models, think it is an Eaglet, vintage free flight model.
I tried to buy some of the better models but other people kept bidding higher.
The model came with a OS Pet 1.6 engine, a rudder, and elevator, but no ailerons.
I have stripped all the old covering and glued all the broken bits etc, rebuilt the under carriage to take some wheels etc, will sand and have a go at recovering it after all the rebuild work is complete.
I will try and find a wing with ailerons, or may get one laser cut and have a go at building and recovering etc.
I will try a little Sunnysky motor as per the pictures.
I will send some more pictures as things progress, but this may take a while to complete.
Cheers Mark Holman.
Some pictures from Mark of the Eaglet before and stripped, ready for restoration.
From the Web…..
I was sent these fascinating videos from a friend in the UK. The first is a pilot view of a RAAF F/A-18 Super Hornet. The caption is “Ever wanted to find out what it’s like flying a F/A-18F Super Hornet? Experience our flying display rehearsals for Riverfire over the weekend in this 360 degree video.” It’s crazy to see them flying so low and so fast seemingly within what seems to be, meters away from skyscrapers!
The second video is indoor flying of GIANT models. You have to see this to believe the skill of these pilots flying such large models in what looks like a shopping centre!!
Well that’s it for another month. Let’s see who can follow Mark’s lead and send in some pictures of their latest project or what they have stored in their hangar.
Don’t Forget – Put a Spark in your life and fly electric!
George
Amazing skills!