FREE FLIGHT INDOOR
John Kagan 20100 Killians Grv., Strongsville OH 44149 E-mail: [email protected]
As you may have noticed in the heading, you have a new Indoor FF columnist! My name is John Kagan, and I’m happy to have the opportunity to help support an activity that is such a large part of my life.
I’d like to recognize previous columnist Bud Tenny. As most of the Indoor FF community knows, he has a long and distinguished history—in his personal achievements and in his promotion of our activity. In addition to this column, he has edited Indoor News and Views (INAV)—one of the leading Indoor FF publications—he chairs the Indoor Contest Board, he has written numerous articles, he founded an Indoor FF SIG, and the list goes on.
When you see Bud, shake his hand and thank him for all the work he’s put into Indoor. We wouldn’t be where we are today without him.
I’ve been flying Indoor FF for approximately 10 years—a short time compared to many of my mentors. I’ve been to two World Championships—in which I won with the previous F1D rules and managed a podium finish with the new rules—and I’m preparing for my third.
The beauty of indoor models continuously fascinates me. I simply can’t witness their slow-motion, fragile, gravity-defying flight without staring in awe. Their deceiving complexity provides endless challenges.
I saw Indoor FF models for the first time at a Glastonbury, Connecticut, session (of Flying Aces Club fame) and knew I had to fly them. Ron Williams’ famed, out-of-print book Building and Flying Indoor Model Airplanes clinched the deal. His building and flying instructions are superb, but the best part is the way he conveys the magic of these airplanes. I will never forget reading and rereading the chapter about microfilm models. They were well beyond my abilities at the time, but I could not stop thinking about them.
A succession of model-airplane legends provided further guidance; these included Jerry “Mr. Model Airplane” Knoblauch, Jim Grant, Gary Underwood, Steve Brown, and many more.
Numerous contests, new friends, and flying sites later, and here I am!
Column Goals
When INAV changed hands a few years ago, there was a discussion among the Indoor FF community about what type of information a newsletter is best suited to provide compared with other media, such as Web sites and e‑mailing lists/online forums. The same thought process applies here.
Any information that can change quickly or frequently—contest results, lists of flying sites, etc.—belongs on a Web site. Topics for discussion or debate belong on a forum/mailing list. Reference material belongs in books, on CDs/DVDs, and on the Internet.
This column, however, is unique in its ability to reach a wide audience that participates in relatively similar but nonidentical activities. Let’s face it; even if your passion is CL, there are only so many times you can reread the Speed column while sitting on your favorite, uh, “reading chair” before you end up here. A show of hands for the non-Indoor FFers who made it to this point. See what I mean?
My thoughts for capitalizing on you, the crossover audience, include:
- Sharing the magic of Indoor FF and hopefully gaining some new participants.
- Using the broader base of people to help solve some of our dilemmas, such as flying sites and supplies.
- Bragging about our collective accomplishments.
If you think of any others, send me an e‑mail and let me know!
Open Call for Spectators
One of the challenges we currently face is participation. Indoor FF is as beautiful and as fascinating as ever. New materials and technical advances continually put records within reach. Long-standing contests and newly discovered sites provide exciting places to fly.
Once your curiosity is sparked, the next step is finding information to fuel the fire. I’ve listed several Web sites at the end of this column that are great starting points. Poke around the links and join the forums. The Web pages are also a great way to find flying sites, flying buddies, and mentors. Experience the magic of Indoor FF!
The Local Scene — Cleveland, OH
As a member of the National Free Flight Society Indoor Committee (more about that in future columns), I’ve volunteered to continue Bud Tenny’s flying-site inventory work. I’d like to evolve the format slightly, though.
Individual flying sites can come and go, but local flying groups tend to last. Therefore, I propose that we start a collection of descriptions of the groups that keep Indoor FF alive.
Please send me the story of what’s going on in your area: flying sites, coordinators, participants, events, history, etc. Get a little bit of fame and help newcomers and traveling modelers figure out where to go and who to contact. I’ll start the ball rolling with the scene in my area: Cleveland, Ohio.
The current godfather of Cleveland Indoor FF is Vernon Hacker (whose contact info is at the end of the column). He keeps us all in line, maintains the relationship with our main practice site, and is the one to get in touch with for information about flying sessions and local mentors. He has also been a longtime advocate of junior participation, coordinating fund-raisers and motivating the kids.
The Cleveland Clowns boast veteran top‑caliber competitors such as Don and Chuck Slusarczyk, Larry Loucka, Tom Sova (although Tom is more of a crossover from the Detroit, Michigan, group), and many relatively new participants who are making names for themselves. Other big names from nearby areas travel to Cleveland, but I’ll let them make the roll call when they describe their local scene.
During the school year we fly Sundays at the Andrew’s School in Willoughby. Several national records have been set in the new Category I open-glider-ceiling gym, although more records have probably been set in the smaller, 18‑foot flat‑ceiling old gym.
We used to fly three times a year in the Akron Airdock, one of the few remaining worldwide tall sites, but a new blimp contract has bumped us out—hopefully only temporarily.
Cleveland is within a comfortable driving distance of several popular contests during the year, including Buffalo, New York; Flint, Michigan; Kent, Ohio; Champaign, Illinois; West Baden, Indiana; and even the U.S. Indoor Championships at Johnson City, Tennessee.
There is a great deal of Science Olympiad (SO) Wright Stuff activity, with many school teams appearing regularly to practice and share information. The extra effort and preparation shows when the SO invitations and states roll around.
Local SO dad Wayne Johnson has even started a cottage industry—Geauga Precision Models—providing Indoor FF supplies such as winders, torque meters, and various building accessories.
Support of the SO program has paid off richly in returns to the Indoor community in the following ways:
- The last two FAI F1D Junior Team Selection Finals have actually been contests to reduce the competitors to three-person teams, as opposed to previous years when we were glad if we had even one junior to represent the U.S.
- A small but steady stream of new Indoor FF participants has flowed in from the SO program. Many have proven to be exceptionally competitive, even against the "experts."
- Parents of SO kids have been motivated to participate—and learn that it's not so easy to "just make it stop stalling."
Whether you are visiting the Cleveland area or moving near our great city, come out and fly with us!
PFSIP (Potential Flying Site Inventory Project)
Finding and maintaining relationships with good Category II, III, and IV sites is one of our bigger challenges. It seems like all the great places to fly are trickling away. I'm convinced, however, that there are new great sites—such as the sports domes in Johnson City and Moscow, Idaho—just waiting to be "discovered."
Granted, no new airdocks are going up to replace the legendary sites such as Cardington, Akron, and Santa Ana. But the smaller sports domes, while lacking in ultimate record‑setting potential, offer some great benefits.
The air is often superb—well insulated from whatever might be going on outside. They are usually easier to access, without the military restrictions that accompany most of the old airdocks. And, best of all, they exist.
As one of the goals of this column, I'd like to start something called the Potential Flying Site Inventory Project, or PFSIP (pronounced "puh‑fssip"). Yeah, yeah, it's not the best acronym, but it's a worthy project anyway.
Maybe there's a sports hall at your local university. Or maybe there's an armory or convention center downtown. Maybe you know the manager at your local sports team's indoor stadium. Maybe you are the manager.
If you know of a place that is more than 50 feet high, has plenty of open space, and is enclosed, I'd love to hear about it. It could be the next legendary indoor site. Send me an e‑mail with as much of the following info as you can:
- Site name/location
- Height (actual or estimated)
- Width (actual or estimated)
- Ceiling type (arched or flat)
- Availability (times, days, months)
- Contact name, phone, and e‑mail
- Any photos or floor plans
- Any restrictions or extra costs
- Any known records or previous flying at the site
If you can help, please send the information to me so I can compile a useful list for the Indoor community. I'll put together a list that will reside in the files section of the Yahoo! Groups Indoor mailing list. Local indoor fliers can check out the site and contact the leads. It would only take one great new site to make this project a booming success.
Spectator FAQ
Just for fun, I'm going to include one frequently asked spectator question per column. We'll see how long it lasts. Send me your favorites. This quarter's is, "How do you get the propeller to turn so slowly?"
Because I've answered this inquiry so many times, I now reply, "I make the airplane light." This usually generates a puzzled/annoyed look and a "No, I mean how do you keep the rubber band from spinning the prop around really fast?"
It seems many people think back to their days with something such as a Guillows Strato Streak, picturing the propeller going around as fast as it could. The propeller only needs to turn as fast as required to generate as much thrust as required to keep the model aloft. And a light airplane needs less thrust and fewer rpm.
But usually a more satisfying response is to ask those who ask that question to visualize moving a thin stick through water, and then imagine doing the same thing with a paddle. Minus all the mathematics, this seems to give them a decent feel for what the propeller is doing.
'Til next time. MA
Sources
- Vernon Hacker
25599 Breckenridge Euclid OH 44117 (216) 486-4990 [email protected]
- Wayne Johnson
Geauga Precision Models 9113 Robinson Rd. Chardon OH 44024 [email protected]
Web sites
- Yahoo! Indoor group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indoor
- Indoor Duration
- Small Flying Arts
http://www.smallflyingarts.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
