Final vote for the rules proposals in September
by Dick Perry [email protected]
The 2013 rules cycle is proceeding through the voting process. By the time you read this, the initial voting results will have been posted, and the process of selecting proposals to go to the final ballot will be well along.
I'll not comment on what rules are still under consideration, because I'm writing this before the initial voting has been completed. The rules-change proposals, cross-proposals, and voting results are posted on the AMA website. You'll find all you need there to participate in the process.
You have until the end of August to provide input to your Contest Board representatives for consideration before the final vote in September. If the rules we fly under are important to you, contact your board representative to voice your opinion.
.15 Carrier
Eric Conley's .15 Carrier model was mentioned in the last column, and I promised an update. I had a chance to see the model fly at the Southwest Regionals in Tucson, Arizona, last January, and snapped the accompanying photograph.
It is a good-looking model with much effort devoted to reducing weight. The carbon-rod fuselage is a major help in the weight department, allowing a 32-ounce ready-to-fly weight. That seems heavier than some .15 models, but with 254 square inches of wing area, the weight seems quite good. The low wing loading allowed for excellent low speed—6.7 mph (4 1/2 minutes)—at Tucson. Weight and area are not far removed from those of John Vlna's foam Seafire, mentioned in the last column, but Eric's model has a larger battery pack. Larger is definitely a characteristic of some of the newer .15 models.
For power, Eric uses an AXI 2820/8 motor turning an APC electric 9 x 6P propeller. The battery is a Thunder Power 3300 3S, and motor speed control is by a JETI 70 Opto Plus.
Another new .15 model is flying this year out of Gary Hull's hangar in Lakewood, Ohio. Gary's model is an F-Faux Phantom Too, which is patterned after a Stunt model by Bill Suarez that was published as a three-view in the June 1971 American Aircraft Modeler. It's a great-looking model, as you can see from the photo, and not a surprise coming from Gary. The F-Faux has a wing area of 160 square inches and weighs in at slightly more than 21 ounces, making it a more traditional size for the event.
Electric Carrier
Electric Carrier is increasing in popularity with new models showing up this season. I'll occasionally include details of various electric-powered models to let you see what is being used, as well as to illustrate the variety of options available to someone venturing into electric-powered Carrier flying.
There are proposals to include electric options in the Navy Carrier events starting in 2013, and they are already unofficial events of the Navy Carrier Society. At the Southwest Regionals, there were two new models for Class I and Class II Electric events. Pete Mazur brought his new Class I Bearcat, which was developed from an ARF RC model. There is a boom in ARF RC, with many offerings of military aircraft suitable for our events and sized reasonably to allow them to be flown as Class I or II models with electric power. Most are designed for electric power from the beginning and take advantage of the steady, no-vibration power sources to allow the models to be quite light. Pete's Bearcat has a Scorpion SII 3020-1110 Kv motor turning an APC 9 x 6P electric propeller, which allowed it to fly a 25-second (72 mph) high speed. Power came from a Thunder Power 2100 4S battery and a Castle Phoenix ICE Lite 100 ESC.
An interesting phenomenon eliminated Pete's model from competition at the Regionals. The ARF kits are designed to be light, but they aren't necessarily designed to take the loads imposed by arrested landings in Navy Carrier. With Pete's battery and motor applying inertial forces to the firewall during the landing, the firewall mount's structural strength was exceeded, causing the nose to continue forward after the fuselage came to a stop. It's a good idea to ensure that loads are well distributed along the fuselage skin and other load-bearing members.
Pete took a slightly different approach to the motor speed control problem, using a Clancy speed controller mounted in a homemade handle and driving the ESC in the aircraft directly through the lines. This allowed him to save a couple of ounces on the aircraft by using a lighter two-line bellcrank and eliminating the potentiometer and Clancy controller as part of the airborne package.
Such a system also allows the use of controllers without a battery elimination circuit, which is often necessary with higher-voltage controllers.
Eric Conley’s new MO-1 electric Class II model is performing well. Its 95.5 mph high speed and low speed of 7.6 mph (4 minutes) make it probably the best electric-powered Class II presently in existence. Power is a Scorpion 3226-1400 Kv motor turning a Zinger 9 x 7P propeller. The battery is a 5000 mAh 4S 30C unit going through a 150-amp controller.
Eric is doing well with all of his electrics. His .15 model (mentioned earlier) has placed consistently at the top of the .15 contests in which it has flown. His e-Profile Bf 109 manages slightly less than 90 mph and his Class II MO-1 flies at 95-plus mph.
That, coupled with Eric's low-speed flying skills, has him pushing toward the scores of the AMA classes. However, top speeds are still far from matching the best of the internal combustion engines.
Fly Navy
Fly Navy is a book by Brian Johnson that outlines the development of naval aviation from its beginning through the 1970s. It concentrates on British and United States histories, but there is a fairly complete discussion of the other countries that developed carrier aviation before World War II, most notably Japan.
It has many interesting photographs, including what looks like a Grumman TBF Avenger landing over the bow of USS Yorktown as it steams backward! There is also a shot of the open bow of the Royal Navy's HMS Courageous, showing where aircraft could be launched directly off the hangar deck.
Ron Duly was kind enough to send me a copy of the book. It's a great read, and although it was originally published in 1981, one can find new or used copies on such websites as Amazon.com.
Dick Perry [email protected]
SOURCES
- AXI Model Motors
[email protected] www.modelmotors.cz
- Castle Creations
(913) 390-6939 www.castlecreations.com
- JETI Model
[email protected] http://jetimodel.com
- Scorpion Power System
[email protected] www.scorpionsystem.com
- Thunder Power RC
(702) 228-8883 www.thunderpowerrc.com
- Fly Navy (Amazon.com)
- Navy Carrier Society
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
