![]() December 06
BMFA club affiliation No 0340
FLY SAFE - Fly Again
Next gathering at St Andrews Rugby Club No meeting Jan 07, NEXT Feb 5 2007
I do hope you have all paid your BMFA insurance due Jan 1st
I did say last issue that I would have some more things to say about electric matters but because the hard copy members have only just got the second part of Wayne Giles article, you lot will have to back-pedal till next issue when both hard copy and e-mail will once again be in sync.
You should all be aware by now that the club has been accused of a noise nuisance (times below). To give the club evidence, if it is needed, can you all keep a note of your dates and times of flying.
Also please make sure you have taken all practicable steps to silence your model. Check your propeller for
1 quietest size. You may sacrifice a small performance drop but it will help the noise.
2 construction. Some plastics can be noisy, and if the leading edge has slight damage this will also cause noise.
3 best size and pitch to avoid engine running at full throttle all the time.
Check the engine for adequate silencing.
Check the airframe for possible resonance. A bit of foam stuffed in the voids will not add appreciable weight, but would stop this problem.
So lads, please do give this topic some thought and see what you can do to help.
The Rugby Borough Council have written to Mr. Merris concerning alleged noise disturbance at the following dates and times:
Sat. 14/10/06 -13:38 to 14:15 & 17:00 to 18:20
Sun. 15/10/06 -13:50 to 16:45
Fri. 20/10/06 -10.55 to 11:35
Tues 24/10/06 -13:05to 13:20
Fri 27/10/06 -10:30 to 11:40
Sat. 28/10/06 -17:15 to 17:55
Sun. 29/10/06 -13:20 to 15:30
Fri. 03/11/06 -14:30 to 15:30
Sat.04/11/06 -11:45 & 14:15 to 16:45
Sun.05/11/06 -14:30 to 15:00 &16:00 to 17:00
Do these times ring a bell with anyone?
All flyers must be careful to avoid the Noise Sensitive Area towards the trees to the South of the gate and must ensure that engines are adequately silenced.
Noise tests will have to be performed on models in the near future.
If you have a noisy model, leave it at home or fit a better silencer/ quieter prop.
In the longer term, we are making plans to move the take-off area nearer to the farm house.
We are obliged to work within the BMFA noise guidelines if we are to keep flying!
All is not lost, I have written to the RBC and am taking advice from Roger Bellingham BMFA Flying Site Adviser. But it is important that we take appropriate steps to reduce noise.
May I wish you all a very happy Christmas, a safe New Year, and I do hope Santa brings you what you have wished for.
FLY Safe, fly again and enjoy Stu
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![]() December 02
The December Meeting
The December 3rd club meeting will take place at the St. Andrews Rugby Club, Ash Lawn Road, Rugby, at 7.45pm as usual. Our speaker will be Tony Hooper MBE who will bring his 1/3 scale Avro Tutor for our inspection. Tony has a lifetime in aviation and modelling and should give an exceptionally interesting talk. Please come along and support the club if you possibly can. Thanks.
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I've been asked to include the following text about our guest speaker by way of introduction.
Tony Hooper MBE
Tony Hooper began aeromodelling at the age of eight, building Veron, Keil Kraft and Frog kits and from the Aeromodeller Plans handbook - both free flight and control line
In his early teens he started installing radio control in his free flight models, which at the time, some of you may be old enough to remember, consisted of a transmitter with a quarter wave aerial standing in a converted tea chest and simple rubber escapements. This R/C equipment was all home built using diagrams published in the Aeromodeller and Radio Control & Electronics magazines. George Honnest - Reddlitch designed many of them.
In the late fifties he became one of the founding members of the Bristol Radio Control Club and made a documentary for BBC West about flying radio control models entitled, “Into the Air”.
Flying at various events he got to know Geoff Franklin of Leicester very well, and he became a demonstrator for the first Orbit reed R/C equipment that Geoff imported from the USA.
On moving to Scotland he started full size gliding at Portmoak and Aboyne, where he eventually achieved a Diamond Height (25,000 feet). He then obtained his Private Pilots Licence and subsequently amassed enough hours tugging gliders to obtain his Commercial Pilots Licence and Flying Instructors Rating.
In the last thirty-five years as a Commercial Pilot he has completed 12,500 hours of which some 8,000 has been instruction. The pinnacle of his flying instructor career came when he passed the RAF Chief Flying
Instructors course and his flying school at Wellesbourne was chosen by the RAF to give RAF Flying Scholarship courses.
Although he retired just over a year ago Tony still keeps his hand in by flying his three vintage aircraft that he keeps at a farm strip near Leamington.
These are a 1937 Piper Cub (the oldest in Europe), a 1942 WW2 Ryan PT 22 with radial engine and a 1943 Tiger Moth.
During his full size flying career Tony still retained his enthusiasm for model flying and his retirement has enabled him to devote a lot more time to the hobby with a particular emphasis on scale models.
He is an active member of the Midlands Large Model Flying Group who fly at Catton Hall and carries out two important roles on the national committee of the Large Model Association, namely Proficiency Scheme Secretary and LMA events organiser. He is also an active member of the Jet Modellers Association.
Colombian Army Seizes Toy Airplane 'Bombers'
Colombian troops have seized nine toy airplanes that rebels were planning to use to launch remote control attacks, the army says.
The model airplanes were found during an early morning raid on two camps used by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.
The camps were discovered near the town of Arauquita, 250 miles north east of Bogota.
General Martin Orlando Carreno said: "We have information that these planes were going to be loaded with explosives."
He says rebels could have potentially used the planes to attack an important oil field in the area.
The rebels have never before used model airplanes to carry explosives but earlier this year the army destroyed a real plane that officials said was already loaded with bombs. It was found in the same region.
Get Well Soon!
Our best wishes for a speedy recovery go to Alan Boneham and Bill Mansell. Both have undergone a spell in hospital for a spot of surgery.
Good luck lads and hope to see you zapping around the skies again very soon.
If any of you have a scale project in mind for building through the winter months, I have a fair collection of three views that may help you along. Most are from British manufacturers from year dot and include many twenties and thirties homebuilt and one off types. My collection is quite varied so just ask.
I can send you an A4 copy and probably a fair bit of history too. Just e-mail, `phone or see me at the field. I'm expecting a call from Bill about the latest Pitts (left) any minute now! Wait `till you see the monoplane version! :-)
http://fennis-flyers.tripod.com
Our website now has a sleeker look after a hack and slash session. Hopefully it'll speed up loading times, I hadn't realised that so many of us still have slow dial-up systems!
Don't forget you can send me articles you have written. The only proviso is that it has something to do with our hobby or aviation in general.
There's a message board on the site so if you have any queries or need help leave a message and I'm sure someone will reply with some helpful advice.
And if you visit don't forget to sign the guest book!
BMFA Subs
Don't forget that the Ban Model Flying Association (they're something to do with the Cancel All Aircraft lot I believe!) subs are due around Xmas and are £23. Try and get your payment in to Mike Pearson (address in the Contact part) as soon as possible.
Remember: no insurance = no fly. Thanks.
Profili
A useful program that I've been using for several years is Profili. This software lets you manage, modify, process and print airfoils for modelling use. There are two versions available. V1.2 is freeware, i.e. you don't have to pay anything for it unless you really want to, and V2xx, which is not. V2 has to be registered which will enable its many new features. V1.2 is 1.5 Megs and V2 is 16 Megs.
The free version has a database of 1800 airfoils. You can add new airfoils, modify the existing ones and print the result. You can blend differing airfoils from root to tip in as many stages (ribs) as you like and with or without taper. You can show and adjust skin thickness (wing sheeting) and even generate your own design airfoils. You can also generate NACA sections of your own by using the four-digit system. e.g. NACA 2412 Camber 2% at 40% of the chord and thickness 12%.
V2 has 2300 airfoils and allows the addition of spars, leading and trailing edges etc, and has many advanced features that we can't discuss here through lack of space. Go to:
http://www.baronerosso.net/software/profili/profili1_2.htm, (this link now defunct - Webmaster) and: http://www.profili2.com/ for updates and extras to V2.
Merry Christmas All!
Quote:
To fly a kite is to hold God's hand.
Daniel C. Hawkins G :-)
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