District XI Report - 2004/10
I have received several requests regarding instructions for sending material to be used in this column. If you will check the District XI Web site, you will find instructions. The URL is shown above. I encourage members to send photos from their past summer contests and fly-ins as well as community shows to share them with the rest of us and to publicize their events.
BEAMS — "A Day in the Hangar" (June 12, 2004)
Keith Varnau sent this report about the 10th annual A Day in the Hangar, sponsored by the Boeing Employees' Aerodynamic Modeling Society (BEAMS). On June 12, 2004, more than 120 participants — youth and adults — helped celebrate their interest in aeromodeling by flying advanced and novice rubber-powered aircraft and gliders inside the largest building in the world for the 10th year in the Boeing Factory in Everett, Washington.
Modelers enjoyed the competitive atmosphere of a sanctioned AMA Category III indoor contest and informal flying. More than 40 students and coaches from the Science Olympiad and the Technical Student Association programs attended an educational clinic which covered such topics as model repair, tips on the care and feeding of rubber motors, and model adjustment. Following the contest, the clinic participants gathered for "lessons learned." Throughout the day, advanced and novice modelers flew their models under the 95-foot beams and enjoyed the camaraderie of the Northwest modeling community.
BEAMS is in its 14th year and has the support of Boeing leaders in engineering and manufacturing. BEAMS focuses on inspiring the next generation of modelers and aerospace professionals through designing, building, and flying model airplanes together. "It's an awesome experience to fly indoor models, especially at a Boeing facility," wrote Keith Varnau, BEAMS facilitator. "It's a wow experience each time we launch our indoor models into the seven million cubic feet of space. In light of the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first flight, we were fortunate to have been able to fly inside the Boeing hangar in December 2003 and June 2004."
To find out more about BEAMS, see the club's Web site at www.beams.ws. If you have questions about the club, send an email to [email protected].
Whidbey Island Radio Control Society (WIRCS) — miniature fun-fly and fly-in
During 2003, the Whidbey Island Radio Control Society (WIRCS) initiated a miniature fun-fly held during the summer immediately before its scheduled meetings. Flying started at 7 p.m. and lasted for 30 minutes. Airplanes flown were GWS Tiger Moths and other aircraft of similar size and power.
The site is the recreation area associated with the Oak Harbor VFW, located immediately behind the main building. This is a grassy area surrounded on three sides by tall coniferous trees more than 100 feet tall. The area is roughly 100 x 100 yards or slightly smaller.
Events included:
- A pylon race
- A spot-landing contest
- An all-up last-down
A small prize was given to the winner of each event; prizes had very little to do with flying proficiency exhibited. We found that there are some weird downdrafts in certain locations and that flying above tree-top height was a whole different ball game because of the winds. Only one aircraft was lost, and this was due to a collision with the top of one of the trees, although some other people did have arguments with the trees at one time or another. The local hobby shop, Performance R/C in Burlington, Washington, was alerted to carry a few extra Tiger Moths to keep this popular event going. Our typical meetings have approximately 25–30 people in attendance and we had roughly 12 aircraft for each of the fun-fly sessions.
We recently completed our first fly-in of 2004. The contest director (CD), Mike Mosbrooker, determined what the event would be after going to the site and trying out the three he had in mind to see which was most compatible with the weather conditions that night. Mike's motto is "if he can fly it, anybody can," so our first event was a pylon race. It was three laps around a course marked at each end with a single balloon tethered approximately three feet off the ground and roughly 30 yards apart.
This is a loose event because cuts are not closely judged and those not flying in a particular heat judged the winner. We ran three heats and the three winners flew a fourth for club bragging rights.
After the last flight, we had an all-up session just for fun — and it was fun. Two airplanes had a midair and both flew on without damage. Then a few brave souls elected to try to break the pylon balloons. They were advised not to do it (a good idea), but tried it anyway. Always bet on the balloons! They don't break easily and at the height at which they were tethered, they can eat an airplane.
The big winner was Chris Barker. The winner of the new GWS propeller was Dan Simonsen, as he had the shortest flight of the night. And if winning the prize wasn't bad enough, the CD forgot to bring it and it had to be sent later.
It was lots of fun, but you better focus on which of those little yellow airplanes is yours.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
