Free Flight Indoor - 2010/10

THE LIMITED Pennyplane (LPP) Pro/Am,
held during the recent Indoor FF Nats, went
off as spectacularly as I had hoped. Eleven
teams competed, with amateurs ranging from
kids who used to only fly Science Olympiad
or Scale models, to older aeromodelers who
have flown almost every other modeling
discipline, to a local high school science
teacher with an aviation tendency.
All those I spoke with said that they had
a great time, and more than a few are
already on their way to earning “Pro” status
for next year. (The benchmark is achieving
a 10-minute flight with an LPP that you
construct on your own.)
The only thing holding us back from
more participation was the availability of
Pros. And once the seeds that were sown
October 2010 127
R. Schneider readies his Pro/Am LPP. Special thanks to the sponsors who
contributed great prizes for even more motivation: Tim Goldstein, Ray
Harlan, and Jeff Hood. Hood photo.
Nick Ray (Am) and Bob Tolliver (Pro) in Pro/Am. The
Pro builds a model that the Am gets to keep for fun and
inspiration. Benefits were readily apparent. Hood
photo.
Left: Michael Kagan winds for Pennyplane. If you
are looking for a fun way to bring new participants
into the fold, consider running your own Pro/Am.
Hood photo.
Below: Morgan Slater ready to launch in the
Pro/Am. The event premise is simple; the Am must
wind and launch, and the Pro can tweak, tune, fix,
and coach. Hood photo.
this year sprout, we should be able to host even more Ams.
As I’ve described, the premise was simple. The Am was
required to wind and launch, and the Pro could tweak, tune, fix,
and coach. The Pro built a model that the Am got to keep for fun
and inspiration.
It was a simple format, but the benefits were readily apparent.
People who had the interest but hadn’t yet collected the required
materials, expertise, and site availability were given the
opportunity to enjoy our activity firsthand. There’s no better way
to set the hook.
If you are looking for a fun way to bring new participants into
the fold, consider running your own Pro/Am. If you do, be sure to
let me know how it goes.
Special thanks to the following sponsors who contributed great
prizes for even more motivation.
• Tim Goldstein of Peck-Polymers, Indoor Model Supply, and A2Z
Corp sent a huge box of tools, supplies, and laser-cut kits. The
featured item was his new machined-aluminum dual-ratio winder.
Check out the extensive collection of modeling goodies on the
Peck-Polymers Web site. The address is at the end of the column.
• Ray Harlan of Indoor Specialties donated a generous collection
of his Indoor-specific tools and materials, including a new lightaction
thickness gauge that he has found. If you are serious about
Indoor FF, you need to check out the products and how-to articles
on his Web site.
• Jeff Hood of Hood’s Wood supplied packs of his ever-improving
Indoor balsa. You can reach him via e-mail at the address at the
end of this column.
10sig4.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 8/20/10 12:45 PM Page 127
Ben Saks, the Junior F1D team manager,
built a pair of custom, sliding-door, wood
model boxes. They were a hit and went early
during the awards ceremony. Various
competitors kicked in a bunch of other
goodies.
There are no guarantees yet, but we are
hoping to run the Pro/Am again next year.
Make plans to participate if you can. As they
say on TV, “This offer won’t last long!”
EZB and HLG: A couple columns ago I
pondered the origins of the 100-square-inch
wing area limit in Hand-Launched Glider
(HLG). Separately, I’ve often wondered
where Easy B (EZB) got its name. Was there
a failed earlier attempt, called Easy A? It
turns out that those questions have similar
answers.
Tem Johnson informed me that back
when Indoor and Outdoor models were
divided by wing area into four categories—
A, B, C, and D—the divisions also applied
to Gliders. “B” models had a wing area limit
of 100 square inches.
People used to fly Gliders in all four
sizes, but the B category is what the models
flown today became. Now I know.
Wally Miller, father of the EZB, sent me
the following letter regarding the birth of the
event and the inception of ceiling categories
we use for setting records. I find this kind of
history fascinating.
“After 50 years, this is simply a story I
think should be told. Hope you agree.
“This period involved a dramatic and
historic change in our indoor scene. In early
1959 the thought of flying for records under
various height categories had not occurred.
There was no ‘Easy B’ or anything else easy.
Delicate frameworks covered with microfilm
and braced with near invisible wire were
considered to be an expert only event, and so
it was.
“Then a series of events began to fall into
place that worked out as though they had
been scripted. It all started in July of 1959
when a group of very dedicated modelers
from the Los Angeles area formed an
exclusive indoor only group called ‘The
Wilmington Indoor Model Airplane Club’
(named after the community and monthly
flying site).
“In September 1959 a simple comment
triggered one of the biggest changes in our
indoor history. Two experts and well known
modelers, David Copple and Tom Finch,
were standing in a flying site, and Dave was
timing a model being flown by Tom. As the
model circled high overhead Tom thought
out loud, ‘We should have records for
multiple ceiling heights.’
“Having known Dave and how dedicated
he was to modeling I am positive that the
moment Tom made that statement, Dave
envisioned every recreational building in the
country flying indoor models. Dave and
Tom decided to pursue this idea and
collaborated on what was to be known as the
‘Wilmington Indoor Proposal.’
“During the drafting stage, the two fine
clubs of Detroit and Chicago were
consulted for their support and approval.
Both clubs endorsed the proposal and the
name was changed to the ‘Detroit Chicago
Wilmington Proposal.’ On April 8, 1960 it
was completed and presented to the charter
member for signing.
“David Copple had held many positions
within the AMA and decided this important
matter should have his personal attention. By
the end of the month he had made
arrangements to hand carry the proposal to
AMA headquarters, at his own expense. On
April 29th, the chairman of the Free Flight
Board, Mr. John Patton had the proposal in
hand. After a very cordial visit, Mr. Patton
said he would make a presentation to the
board members.
“Around this time, I was invited to join
the Wilmington group. At my first club
meeting, I met Lew Gitlow, who had
established his indoor model supply
business, lots of great supplies including
three kits loaded with information that I am
sure helped many get started.
“My 81/2 year old son, Don, would
accompany me to all the meets and fling his
hand launched glider around. After three
months, he expressed a desire to build his
own indoor model. A great deal of thought
went into a design that would be simple to
build, strong though to take a little abuse and
still fly long enough to satisfy his young ego.
I decided on a small ‘B’ model (30 to 100
sq. in. wing area) with oversized solid
components.
“Plans were drawn up and the first EZB
was built in September 1960. With a little
advice along the way, Don managed to
complete 75% of the construction on his
own. My part was to build the prop and help
with the final assembly.
“The first opportunity to fly this new
model came in late September at the 42 ft.
Los Angeles Armory. At this time torque
meters had not been developed, and the
practice was for one person (the stooge) to
hold the model by the rear hook while
another wound. Lew Gitlow had stopped by
and was soon delegated to wind.
“Approximately 900 turns were put into a
short loop of 1/16 Pirelli [rubber], and the
model was launched. To our amazement, this
flight lasted 31/2 minutes. Subsequent flights
with a longer motor produced consistent 5+
minute flights with a high time of 5:53.
“For the October meet I built my own
EZB, weighing about .035 ounces
(approximately 1 gram). Flight times were
around 6 to 7 minutes in our 30 ft. site. During
the next few months many more joined in.
Don built a second, much lighter, model and
with it set a National Junior Class ‘B’ record
of 6:38 in our 30 ft. site.
“On October 4, 1960 the long awaited
approval of the ‘Detroit Chicago Wilmington
Proposal’ was passed, to be effective
November 1st, 1960.
“On November 11, 1960 over 80 people
attended the first Cat. 1 record trials at the
Wilmington recreation center. Times were
low due to excess air movement, but by
December things settled down and new
records were set.
“In January of 1961, Dave Copple, our
newsletter editor, decided it was time to
publish plans for my new model. We
discussed the parameters one last time. They
remain basically the same today with the
exception of removing the requirement that all
outlines had to be straight lined and adding a
50% stab rule.
“As I turned to leave, Dave stopped me
and asked, ‘By the way, what are you going to
call this model?’ Without any thought at all
out came, ‘Easy B.’
“The February 1961 newsletter went out
and the EZB was introduced. For a long time
the ‘Easy B’ was easy. Now, 50 years later,
it’s whatever you choose to make it.”
EZB has come a long way since Wally
Miller conceived it. Top models now weigh
approximately .5 gram, and the lightest weigh
roughly .3 gram.
The times have climbed too. A new
Indoorist, Kang Lee, has been researching and
documenting EZB flights that have exceeded
30 minutes. You can see his results on the
Indoor_construction list Web site; the address
is at the end of the column.
Indoor FF Documentary:
Cinematographer Phil Kibbe has teamed
up with Indoorist Ben Saks to work on a
documentary about Indoor FF. Phil is very
talented in his craft, and this project could
end up being one of the best pieces of
media coverage of our activity. Based on
the work I’ve seen so far, they are headed
in the right direction.
The team shot footage at the Kent, Ohio,
meet and, more recently, at the Indoor FF
Nats—including interviews with a few of the
participants and beautiful time-lapse
sequences of models in flight. The two also
plan to record the action at this year’s world
championships in Belgrade, Serbia.
You can check out a trailer, read about the
crew, and contribute to the project using the
Web address at the end of this column. Your
support will help make this film a reality.
O-Rings: I received a few letters regarding the
previous column’s mention of hard O-rings;
most asked where they could be purchased.
Ray Harlan sells the soft rubber variety,
but I don’t know of anyone selling the hard
kind. Therefore, it has been up to us to make
our own. Fortunately this is easy to do—and
even easier if you take the time to fabricate a
simple tool.
The basic material is nylon tubing sliced
into appropriate-size rings. You might think
that the hard square edges would cut the
rubber motors, but that doesn’t appear to be
the case.
I’m not an engineer, but I suspect that the
stretched rubber motor is not as hard as the Orings.
In any case, when a motor does break, it
tends to be near the knot or in the middle
somewhere.
I use 1/8-inch-OD clear tubing sliced into a
width that is equal to the wall thickness. That
size is determined by trial and error, to be
strong enough to withstand a fully wound F1D
motor without twisting.
It is possible to slice the tubing with a
single-edge razor blade, but it is difficult to get
the two sides parallel and maintain a
consistent thickness between rings. That’s
where the simple tool comes in. It’s a piece of
metal with an appropriately sized hole drilled
perpendicular to a face, along which you can
slide the razor blade.
Tom Vaccaro, full-time executive and
part-time thinker and tinkerer, is generous
with devices he conjures up. If he crafts an
EZB motorstick torsional-stiffness testing
fixture, I’ll find a FedEx box with a kit form
of the fixture waiting on my doorstep.
One morning the shipping box contained a
metal block with machined faces, various-size
guide holes, and a built-in thickness guide—
designed to produce consistent-size O-rings
by the bucketful. Every few years I sit down
and crank out a batch of them.
Fred Tellier, Canadian F1D champion, is
equally generous. (We miss you at the US
Indoor Championships, Fred.) When he finds
a product or material that has Indoor FF
applications, you can usually expect to find a
lifetime supply deposited on your flying table.
At one contest he shared a big coil of
medium-stiffness clear nylon tubing. I’m still
working my way through it. MA
Sources:
Peck-Polymers
(877) 754-7465
www.peck-polymers.com
Ray Harlan’s Indoor Specialties
(508) 358-4013
www.indoorspecialties.com
Jeff Hood
[email protected]
Indoor_construction list:
groups.yahoo.com/group/indoor_construction
Float documentary:
www.floatdocumentary.com
National Free Flight Society
(337) 504-4363
www.freeflight.org