In the Air-2007/12

INtheAIR
• On the cover Kathy Carl adds dimension
to Emil Agosta’s 1/3-scale Bücker
Jungmeister. Details of how Emil
captured some of the airplane’s features
are explained in a how-to article.
• Big models are a turn-on for many
people, and Clarence Haught’s RC
construction article for the 80-inchwingspan
U.S. Male biplane is made for
them. At only 14 pounds, it flies well with
a .60 engine.
• Performance is the name of the game in
CL Scale Racing, and John Ballard’s Lil’
Quickie—the subject of a construction
article this month—has it. This welldesigned
airplane set the record in the
1978 Nats Open category with a time of
5:47 for a 160-lap race.
• Larry Kruse offers two full-size plans
for small FF Catapult Gliders: the Temco
TT-1 Pinto and the Cessna T-37A. Both
are made from sheet balsa with 11-inch
wingspans, and they will provide hours of
enjoyment for young and experienced
pilots alike.
• “Anyone for Autogiros?” Bill Hannan
and Warren Shipp provide an overview of
autogiro-model flying and invite you to
respond to the challenge it presents.
• Bob Beckman reports on the second
annual IMAA Giant Scale Fun-Fly
Festival. With more than 375 registered
pilots, this event at Byron Godberson’s
home in Ida Grove, Iowa, was a huge
success.
• L.F. Randolph’s article explains how to
fabricate custom-made engine mounts
from aluminum, and most of the work is
done with a band saw. Step-by-step
instructions with photos make the job easy.
• The seventh CL Scale World
Championships was held in Kiev, Russia,
and saw participation by the US and five
25 Years Ago in MA: December 1982
Eastern European nations. Dick Byron
reports on the event with pictures and
competition results.
• New products for this month: Black
Baron Epoxy Paint is now available in
spray cans in six colors for $4.79 each.
Great Planes has released a Super
Sportster 40 RC model for $62.95, and
Carl Goldberg Models introduces the
Eagle 63 trainer/sportster kit for
$59.95. MA
—Rich LaGrange
AMA Librarian
AMA’s Library
Needs Your Help!
The Lee Renaud Memorial Library
is in need of 1957 MA magazines. If you
have them and would be willing to
donate them, please call (800) 435-
9262, extension 506. MA
—Rich LaGrange
AMA Librarian
Scholarship Applications Now Available
The 2008 AMA/Charles H. Grant Scholarship Program application is now available.
Visit http://modelaircraft.org/education/scholarships.aspx to download the form. You can
also contact [email protected] or (765) 287-1256, extension 516, to receive a copy by
mail. MA
—Education Department
Welcome, AMA Life Members!
The Academy recently welcomed new Life Members Ronald C Sormrude (Ladson SC),
John Greenfield II (Puyallup WA), and Richard Sherwood (Bowling Green FL).
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800)
435-9262. MA
—AMA Membership Department
December 2007 9
To learn more about our readers, MA has launched a
readership survey. If you decide to participate, the
information you supply will be used only in the compilation
of the results. More importantly, you will be eligible for cash
prizes—perfect for holiday gift-buying or purchasing that
much-needed model-airplane accessory or part.
You can complete this survey online by going to www.
modelaircraft.org/news/. A link will take you to a popular
association online resource: www.surveymonkey.com.
This site was used earlier in the year for the AMA
Demographic Survey, to which more than 8,000 members
responded. The results have been instrumental in assessing
the Academy’s programs and planning for the future.
Winners of the current
readership survey will be
selected at random to win one
of the following prizes: one
$250 payment, four $100 payments, and six $25 payments.
With a chance to win money, is finding a few minutes to
complete the survey worth your time?
Your input will be crucial in helping the magazine staff make
improvements to MA. We want the publication to reflect you, the
reader. Our last readership survey was conducted in 2004, so help
us find out what has changed since then. Participate today! MA
—Rob Kurek
Director of Publications
AMA HEADQUARTERS AND MEMBER NEWS
Complete Readership Survey for a Chance to Win Cash!
INtheAIR
National Competition Fun Fly Association Championship
Norm Elliot looks at the extensive prize table. Thanks to the three
local hobby shops—Hobbies-n-Stuff, Outwest Hobbies, and Big Boys
Toys—nobody went home empty-handed. Luchaco photo.
The Masters Fun Fly class prepares to fly. Dan Luchaco (Sayre
PA) photo.
Judges (L-R) Marlin Smith, Chuck Andraka,
and Randy Wysocki score a Masters
Inverted Climb and Glide with Spot Landing
flight. Ivan Perry (Albuquerque NM) photo.
David Grantham and Trey Hooten battle
for the final slot in “Musical Pylons.” When
the horn sounds, all airplanes must execute
a Touch-and-Go. The last one is out. Perry
photo.
Robin Drake (L) and Chuck Andraka modify
the tail of Robin’s Minus to survive on
pavement. Helping each other is the key to
enjoying these events. David Grantham
(Columbus GA) photo.
The National Competition Fun Fly
Association (NCFFA) took its
championship west of the Mississippi for
the first time this year and got a great taste
of Southwest hospitality in New Mexico.
The event consisted of two great, busy
days of flying at the Albuquerque Radio
Control Club’s flying field. The George
Maloof Air Park has been in constant use
for more than 50 years and has recently
been designated an AMA Historic Flying
Site.
The NCFFA promotes friendly
competition with a variety of tasks. Many
of the organization’s pilots have been
getting together annually since the late
1980s.
This year two skill levels were offered:
Masters and Sportsman. Each skill level
competed in two types of flying:
Unlimited and Fun Fly.
The Unlimited classes feature timed
tasks and some wild flying. The Fun Fly
classes typically feature mission tasks and
some limitations on the airframe. The
thrill of seeing top pilots compete and the
ability to compete at a tamer level
brought out 31 pilots and many
spectators.
Most NCFFA members are used to
flying on grass, which is in short supply
in Albuquerque. Since pavement is
extremely hard there, a 100 x 100-foot
carpet area was provided for the Masters
Unlimited models. The rest of the classes
flew on the freshly paved runway.
The “fun” in Competition Fun Fly is
the camaraderie among the competitors.
Airplanes were wrecked several times
during the event, and pilots offered glue,
parts, or even to share their own airplanes
so everyone would have fun.
Although it was fun to watch the Masters
models land on tabletops and defy gravity, it
was even more gratifying to see so many
Sportsman entries having such a great time.
With two active flightlines during most
events, more than 400 flights were logged in
two days.
Jim Rice commented that the CD, Chuck
Andraka, whipped everyone into moving
through, but he did it in such a way that they
enjoyed it! One Easterner commented that he
had never flown so much at a fun-fly.
A great barbecue that was catered
Saturday night was prepared by Wanda
Johnston, wife of assistant CD Mark
Johnston. This is where the attendees vowed
to get together next year.
To see the official scores from this event,
go to www.ncffafunfly.org. MA
—Chuck Andraka
District VIII
INtheAIR
December 2007 11
Flights of Fancy Community Flight Training
The second annual Flights of Fancy
community flight-training event was
held Saturday, September 1, in
conjunction with other Kingsland Aqua
Boom festivities. The Highland Lakes
Flyers club (HLF) hosted the flying at its
field in Kingsland, Texas.
More than 20 student pilots flew RC
model aircraft with instructors’ help.
Each student was eligible to win one of
three RTFs. The lucky winners were
Robert Gibbs of Austin (first), Kyle
Pearce of Kingsland (second), and
Austin Pegues of Kingsland (third).
The Flights of Fancy event was a
great success; hundreds of spectators
cheered on their friends’ and family
members’ first attempts at RC flight.
Spectators also watched in amazement as
club members performed daring flight
exhibitions and parachute drops.
Ed Bullock helps his grandson Danny
through a training flight.
Happy trainer raffle winners (L-R) Robert Gibbs, Kyle
Pearce, and Austin Pegues.
Connor Martin of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is excited about completing
his first RC flight.
The HLF field is located on property
that was formerly the Llano County
landfill. Through a cooperative effort
between HLF members and Llano
County officials, the site was reclaimed
and renovated for use as a model-aircraft
flying facility. The club has invested
roughly $10,000 in improvements to the
site, which now ranks as one of the
premier flying fields in that part of the
state.
The HLF also participates in the
Llano County Crawfish Festival and a
bimonthly county-road cleanup project,
in addition to sponsoring a float-fly
contest and a swap meet. This fall the
club will be working with Packsaddle
Elementary School on a model-airplane
project day for the students. MA
—Mike McDougall
District VIII
Heatwave in the Heartland
Early publicity brought more than 3,000 spectators to witness
the Tulsa Glue Dobbers’ Heatwave in the Heartland in Tulsa,
Oklahoma, July 28-29. This event is quickly becoming the show
of the South.
Mac Hodges attended from Georgia with his 26-foot-span,
Dan Stevens-built B-29/X-1, and he did some flying that had even
the 3-D section on the edge of their seats. There were six
nationally acclaimed demo pilots at the event.
The Civil Air Patrol helped park cars on the 12-acre lot, which
was completely filled. The RC car track’s parking lot down the
street was also filled, and the parking attendants still had to pack
the bar ditches for hundreds of yards on either side of the gate.
A shelter was constructed this year for the spectators, to keep
them protected from the Tulsa sun. It covered the bleachers. A
10-foot-wide spectator walkway was roped off between the
trailers and the pit tents, and it was filled with people throughout
the event. MA
—Tim Davie
District VIII
A covered shelter provided spectators with some relief during
the “Heatwave.”
INtheAIR
Electric Flight Goes Full Scale
Unveiled at EAA
AirVenture Oshkosh
2007, Sonex Aircraft,
LLC and
AeroConversions
Products announced its
E-Flight Initiative,
which pioneers
alternative energy
research and
development for sport
aircraft. The announcement
included a proofof-
concept prototype
electric power plant
installed in a Waiex
airframe.
In 2006 Sonex’s research-and-development team began work on
what is now called the “E-Flight Initiative.” It is a push to explore
viable alternative energies for powering sport aircraft and improve the
efficiency and performance of current products and technologies.
Conceptualization of an electric power plant project predates the
1997 founding of Sonex Aircraft. In 1994 John Monnett and Pete Buck
devised the concept to design, build, and fly a small electric-powered
and -manned aircraft that would be capable of a short-duration flight,
to set or establish speed records for this new class of aircraft.
E-Flight’s proof-of-concept prototype will use the flight-proven
Waiex airframe, flown single-pilot only, so the emphasis can be placed
solely on power-plant research and development. Initial top speeds will
reach approximately 130 mph, and endurance is expected to be 25-45
minutes or longer, depending on power usage during each flight.
The current state and growing popularity of electric-powered RC
model aircraft leads the layman to assume that this type of electricpowered
aircraft is simply a matter of hooking a bigger battery to a
bigger motor, charging it in an hour or two, and taking off. That is
essentially true in raw principle, but the reality is that scaling up these
technologies in a viable manner presents significant challenges.
Brushless DC cobalt motor technology has advanced significantly
since 1994’s Flash Flight study, allowing the design team to consider
its use. However, a suitable brushless DC cobalt motor with this power
output level and an acceptable size and weight does not exist and
cannot be built and provided by a third-party vendor without incurring
unacceptable costs.
As a result, the design team, in collaboration with Bob Boucher of
AstroFlight, Inc., has designed and built a new AeroConversions
motor. It is the most powerful, lightest-weight, and efficient unit of this
type ever produced.
The prototype AeroConversions motor is slightly larger than a 35-
ounce coffee can and weighs approximately 50 pounds. It is a scalable
unit; its core’s design has modular sections that can be reduced to
make a lower-output and smaller motor (shortened in length) or added
to to make a larger motor with a higher power output.
The E-Flight electric-powered Waiex prototype.
The E-Flight electric-powered Waiex
prototype with its cowl removed.
Electronic motor controllers for brushless motors are commonplace
today. They are used mostly in the RC market; a suitable controller for
a 270-volt, 200-amp motor does not exist.
Running such high current requires much larger components.
Although a handful of third-party vendors could design and build the
appropriate controller for this project, it would take six to seven months
of lead time and cost $20,000-$50,000.
The time and cost associated with acquiring such a controller was
deemed unacceptable, so the research-and-development team, in
cooperation with a key electronics expert, began designing a
proprietary AeroConversions electronic motor controller.
Most contemporary electric power plants for gas-electric and pure
electric cars and previous generations of RC electric vehicles use Li-
Ion battery technology. Newer RC electric vehicles, cell phones, laptop
computers, and other mobile devices have been moving toward Li-Poly
cells. Li-Poly cells can safely discharge at a rate of 25 times their
capacity, or “25C.”
The E-Flight design team has engineered and constructed 10 battery
“safe boxes,” intended to contain eight Li-Poly packs per box and
consolidate their charge/discharge and balancing wiring into two sets of
multipin connectors. In addition to cooling, the boxes are designed to
contain and safely direct fire or explosion within them through a
“blowhole” that will be connected to a small exhaust manifold.
More details about the progress of E-Flight Initiative projects will
be released in the months and years ahead. Sonex Aircraft, LLC invites
all interested potential sponsors to contact the company. All available
project information and updates will be posted to the E-Flight Initiative
home page: www.aeroconversions.com/e-flight.
Sonex Aircraft, LLC is a rising star in the experimental kit-aircraft
industry, providing a series of Sport Pilot-eligible airplanes along with
the AeroConversions line of products. Check out the company at
www.sonexaircraft.com. MA
—Mark Schaible
Sonex Aircraft, LLC
Google Lunar
X PRIZE:
Space Race
for a New
Generation
The Google Lunar
X PRIZE is an
international
competition that will
challenge and inspire
engineers and
entrepreneurs from
around the world to
develop low-cost
methods of robotic
space exploration.
To win the X Prize,
a team must land a
craft on the moon and
complete predetermined mission goals. The total prize purse for the
X Prize is $30 million, which includes a $20 million Grand Prize.
The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational non-profit
organization whose goal is to bring about radical breakthroughs to
solve some of the greatest challenges facing the world today. Google,
Inc. is funding the prize purse.
“The Google Lunar X PRIZE calls on entrepreneurs, engineers,
and visionaries from around the world to return us to the lunar
surface and explore this environment for the benefit of all humanity,”
said Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE
Foundation.
To learn more about the Google Lunar X PRIZE, visit
www.xprize.org. MA