Free Flight Duration - 2007/08
By Louis Joyner [[email protected]]
Contents of the 40th NFFS Symposium
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the National Free Flight Society (NFFS), the special interest group for all types of free flight, indoors and out. It also marks the 40th Symposium report. This publication's purpose is to "promote and encourage the investigation, discussion, and documentation of the technical and theoretical side of free flight."
In many ways the Symposium continues the Model Aeronautic Year Book series the late Frank Zaic, one of the AMA's founders, produced from the 1930s through the mid-1960s. Both the Symposia and the Year Books are invaluable tools for all serious free flight modelers.
The 2007 Symposium report, edited by David Mills of Atlanta, Georgia, covers a wide range of topics. Following are some of the authors and the subjects of their papers.
- Peter King and Mike Woodhouse: F1B trimming based on computer simulation and higher-order trim-set measurements.
- Dean McGinnes: Field-tested flight-log forms and model data sheets for gas models.
- Rick Pangell: Structural design considerations for model aircraft, focusing on the use of composite materials.
- Sergio Montes: Aerodynamic analysis of flat-bottomed airfoils and their appropriate uses in free flight.
- Bob Thoren: Mathematical analysis of the dynamics of discus-launch gliders.
- William McCombs: Wing-incidence settings.
- Stewart Meyers: Optimizing electric power systems for scale models.
- Don DeLoach: Selecting, building, and flying Nostalgia Wakefield models.
- Louis Joyner: A historic perspective of Wakefield rules and designs in the early 1950s.
The Symposium also includes a look at the NFFS's history and future, compiled by current president Rex Hinson. In addition, Paul MacCready, who developed the first successful man-powered aircraft, details the role of free flight in his career and the value of free flight concepts in the future of aviation.
The report contains three-view drawings and other information about the Models of the Year, selected by Bill Booth and his committee. The committee, chaired this year by Steve Bruno, also selected six modelers for induction into the NFFS Free Flight Hall of Fame:
- George Batiuk Jr.
- Gil Morris
- Will Nakashima
- Lin Reichel
- Eugene Verbitsky
- Jim O'Reilly
You can order your copy of the Symposium from NFFS Publication Services, Box 1775, Albany, OR 97321. The price is $30 for NFFS members and $35 for nonmembers. Postage is $5 within the U.S. Postage for orders from Mexico or Canada is $9. Only checks and money orders are accepted on domestic orders.
Also included in this column:
- Free Flight Forum Report 2007
- Micro E Timer
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
