In the Air-2011/09

September 2011 9
INtheAIR
AMA HEADQUARTERS AND MEMBER NEWS
History Preserved:
The Collection of the National Model Aviation Museum
Featured in this month’s “History
Preserved” is a rubber-powered FF Scale
Caproni Ca 5 trimotor Italian bomber.
This aircraft was built in the early 1970s
by Dennis Norman.
Dennis competed with his finelooking
Caproni in 1976 at the AMA
Nats. He donated the aircraft to the
National Model Aviation Museum in
1984.
The aircraft has a wingspan that
stretches 39 inches from tip to tip and is
22 inches in length from propeller to
rudder. The model features a crew of
three British airmen, two gunners, and a
pilot. The trimotor features two tractor
engines in each outer fuselage and a
pusher housed in the center
fuselage. The Caproni is
complete with
landing
and lift wires as well as full rigging wires.
During World War I, the British used
the Caproni bomber over the Western
Front. Aircrews painted camouflage
patterns freehand to mask the airplanes
from enemy fighters. Because of this
painting technique, the aircraft did not
always have fine lines separating the
different colors.
The January 1977 MA featured the
Caproni in a discussion of methods to
achieve precise replications of the paint
and markings that appear on full-scale
aircraft. Dennis’s Caproni is an excellent
example of this precise duplication.
One method of achieving this effect
in miniature
employs
newspaper cut
to the
appropriate
pattern. A small patch of adhesive is
placed in the center of the pattern and
adhered to the surface of the airplane.
The paper is moistened, allowing it to
stick to to the curved surfaces of the
aircraft.
The edges produce a realistic handpainted
appearance because the pattern
is adhered to the surface only in the
center. To make this method work most
effectively, the lighter color should be
applied first as a base.
Dennis’s Caproni is a first-rate
illustration of this kind of attention to
detail. The painting technique, along
with all other aspects of design and
construction, is
impressive. His attention
to detail makes this aircraft
not only an amazing flyer,
but is more impressive
than many solid scale
models. MA
—Dustin Payne
Museum Intern
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September 2011 11
INtheAIR
What began as a hobby for a sevenyear-
old boy blossomed into a lifelong
passion for a man whose antics in Combat
circles earned him the nickname of “Wild
Bill.”
Aeromodeling author, designer, contest
director, and club creator William F.
Netzeband died a little more than a year
ago in California. But, his voice and
visions were not silenced by his April 25,
2010, death. He leaves in his legacy
countless magazine articles and club
newsletters, and an award bearing his
name.
Bill was born January 3, 1927, and
began aeromodeling the day after his
seventh birthday. He quickly learned how
to repair models after the Lockheed Sirius
his father and uncle built for him broke.
He became hooked on the sport, and
always had an ongoing construction
project.
AMA Thanks
Its Lifetime
Supporters!
The Academy recently welcomed Life Members TJ Perdion (Bristol CT), Kevin
Smith (Coral Gables FL), Bryan Helsel (Winston-Salem NC), Abel Gonzalez (Tulsa
OK), James Prouty (Wichita KS), Nicholas. E. Maxwell (Fort Wayne IN), Richard J.
Gritter (Kernersville NC), Chaplain Tig Heaslet (Mission Viejo CA), and Jeffrey Luk
(Mercer Island WA).
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters
at (800) 435-9262. MA
WI LD BI L L NETZE B AND
Wild Bill Netzeband passed away in April of 2010.
He was a CL enthusiast who participated many
times in the Nats and served as a CD for 21 years.
The Wild Bill Netzeband Annual Memorial
Award was created in 2010 in memory of
aeromodeling author and designer William
“Wild Bill” Netzeband. It will be awarded
annually by the Knights of the Round Circle.
His love for aeromodeling continued and
he decided to test his piloting skills by
participating in the 1948, 1949, 1954, 1955,
and 1957 Nats. He won the Open Navy
Carrier event in 1954. Bill became a CD in
1951 and operated and judged meets in
Missouri, Illinois, Oklahoma, New York,
and California, for 21 years.
He built and competed with more than
100 models. Some of the models he built
included gas FF, rubber-powered, and four
types of gliders. Thirteen of his airplane
designs were published in various model
aviation magazines. Among his creations
was a Wright brothers’ wind tunnel, which
he helped a group of Boy Scouts build.
Bill was a member of several model
aviation clubs and was instrumental in
starting the J.O.P.L.I.N. and Double Cola
Group clubs. He also wrote numerous model
aviation columns for Model Airplane News
and American Modeler magazines.
He served in World War II, and was a
husband, father of three, and a college
graduate. He held several jobs, including
working as a model designer for Testors
Modeling Company.
His wife, Joan, presented the Wild Bill
Netzeband Annual Memorial Award to its
first recipient at the annual Knights of the
Round Circle (KOTRC) Christmas dinner in
December of 2010. The award is given to
anyone living in the Los Angeles area who
has “demonstrated a continued effort to
improve the sport/hobby of Control Line
flying and improve the KOTRC.” The award
recipient does not need to be a KOTRC
member, but it is preferred.
Bill was a life member of the KOTRC.
He was awarded this distinction because of
his lifetime service to model aviation and
CL Aerobatics. He also was named to the
Model Aviation Hall of Fame, the Precision
Aerobatics Model Pilot Association
(PAMPA) Hall of Fame, and the Kits and
Plans Antiquitous (KAPA) Hall of Fame.
Nominations for the Wild Bill Netzeband
Annual Memorial Award are due by October
15. The winner will be named at the
KOTRC’s December Christmas dinner.
Nominations can be sent to Knights of the
Round Circle, PO Box 6115, Anaheim CA,
92806. MA
—Rachelle Haughn
MA staff
09sig1x.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 7/22/11 8:59 AM Page 11
During the past two or three years
there has been much discussion
concerning why 400 feet above ground
level (AGL) is identified as an altitude
constraint for model aircraft.
The criteria is first mentioned in
FAA’s Advisory Circular (AC 91-57)
entitled “Model Aircraft Operating
Standards,” published in
June 1981. The AC
states, “Do not fly
model aircraft higher
than 400 feet above the
surface,” and goes on to
say, “When flying
aircraft within 3 miles
of an airport, notify the
airport operator, or
when an air traffic
facility is located at the airport, notify
the control tower, or flight service
station.”
Advisory Circulars are advisory in
nature and are not regulatory per se;
however, operators are expected to give
the guidance appropriate consideration
in their flight operations.
AMA’s experience has shown that
model aircraft seldom create any hazard
to manned aircraft. Our requirement to
follow AMA’s See and Avoid Guidance,
yield the right of way to all mancarrying
aircraft, and to maintain visual
contact while utilizing a spotter, when
appropriate, mitigates any risk posed by
model aircraft.
The guidance in AMA’s Safety Code
to remain at or below 400 feet above
ground level altitude when within three
(3) miles of an airport diminishes any
additional risk presented by the
increased density of low altitude
manned aircraft traffic arriving and
departing from airports, ensuring the
safe environment we maintain
elsewhere.
AMA has taken its situational
awareness of the hobby and provided
guidance in the National Model Aircraft
Safety Code that states, “Model aircraft
pilots will … Not fly higher than
approximately 400 feet above ground
level within three (3) miles of an airport,
without notifying the airport operator.”
This language is slightly confusing,
but what it is saying is when within
three (3) miles of an airport you should
contact the airport and remain at or
below 400 feet AGL, and only operate
above 400 feet when you have
coordinated the operations with the
airport authority or air traffic control
facility if one exists at the airport.
But, why 400 feet?
To understand the significance of
400 feet, you need to understand FAA’s
basic approach to traffic separation.
Aircraft operating in the National
Airspace System (NAS) are separated
by procedures and directives that use all
three axes of flight to maintain
separation: heading, speed, and altitude.
Aircraft flying under visual flight
rules (VFR) and headed in a westerly
direction are expected to maintain an
even cardinal altitude plus 500 feet, i.e.
8,500 feet above mean sea level (MSL).
Aircraft traveling in an easterly direction
are expected to stay at odd altitudes plus
500 feet, i.e. 7,500 feet MSL. This
results in a 1,000-foot separation
between aircraft heading on potentially
converging courses. Another related rule
states that aircraft operating below
10,000 feet MSL
are limited to a maximum airspeed of
250 knots.
The 400 feet AGL guideline
was identified using a similar traffic
separation approach. With the exception
of takeoffs and landings and a few
helicopters and sport aviation aircraft,
manned aircraft generally operate at 500
feet AGL and above. Keeping model
aircraft at 400 feet and below maintains
a theoretical 100-foot separation.
Of course, judging the altitude of a
model aircraft is extremely difficult.
This is why your best approach is to
always maintain visual contact with
your aircraft, yield the right of way to
all man-carrying aircraft, and see and
avoid all aircraft, using a spotter when
appropriate. MA
—Rich Hanson
Why
400
Feet?
12 MODEL AVIATION
INtheAIR
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