The Inside Loop - 2011/02
Winter Flying
Thinking warm thoughts is an occupational hazard at the AMA. Yes, the chilling temperatures of winter do cower in the wake of our presence. Still, the runways are covered in snow and we’re forced to retreat to a heated hangar 20 minutes away at the airport in Anderson. Flying with the Anderson Extreme Flyers is a mighty fine way to spend a Saturday. I hope you’re doing something similar.
Lithium Batteries
However, keeping things warm is not something you should do with a lithium battery, although many users have attempted to do just that. Houses have burned down, airplanes have gone “poof” in the night, and sand buckets aren’t just for playing at the beach anymore. Lithium-battery technology is sensitive, and even more so for us aeromodelers because we demand more from the chemistry than any other consumer.
I think of lithium batteries almost the same way I do gasoline. Both are absolutely lethal, hazardous, and taste awful (I’m assuming), but they are more or less a necessary evil in today’s world.
I love the power that lithium batteries offer today and the way my SUV goes “Varoom” on high-test. But I don’t mix them, nor do I handle them lightly. Most of us are familiar with how to pump our own gas (except for you poor folks in Jersey), so that second-nature safety with lithium power systems isn’t a far cry from becoming normal either.
Don Apostolico (the “Don” of Don’s Hobby Shop) works directly with customers on the latest in technology, on a giant scale. I’d hate to pay his phone bill. His contribution in this issue is some straight talk about lithium batteries. When reading it, think of what your football coach might have said to you after botching a play in the third quarter—he’s knocking on your head telling you to “Think!”
Learning from Mistakes
I’m from New Jersey, and now that I’ve moved to Indiana I have learned to pump my own gas and to appreciate someone who has a blunt, honest approach to an issue—like my mentors from the East Coast. I make lots of mistakes, but I look at that as a good thing because I’ve had so many opportunities to learn. Here’s a chance to do the same with lithium batteries.
Model Forms and the XB-70
Model forms are a great way to visit our history and perhaps, on another tax-bracket level at least, re-create forms of aviation that otherwise didn’t quite fit the agenda. Governments throw money at ideas better than any institution, and for that we have outstanding data such as the material out of the XB-70 project. A more elegant form of metalwork would be hard to find, but I think that because I’m “plane” crazy.
Al Clark (remember him from his “Too Small” RC construction project?) has had a thing for the XB-70 since his childhood. It exemplified the pinnacle of technology at one point, but when its mission went away our appreciation for the aircraft lived on.
Al Clark’s Delta Project
Today Al has brought us a practical version of the dreamy delta. His article is very detailed—well enough that a novice builder should be successful. I look at the design as an elaborate tail surface—sheet-formed with plank control surfaces.
Al even shares with us the drama of what happens when a project doesn’t fly right off the bench. But you know, that’s what we do—we learn from our mistakes—and Al’s story and project are great.
If you’re a fan of foam, I’ll bet that Al’s model could be constructed almost as well from Depron sheet. It would be lighter and might fly really well on half the pack size with a 300 outrunner motor. It might be good for flying indoors then.
AMA, FAA, and Membership
I don’t like putting political issues in this space. Playing politics just isn’t the fun stuff I want to write about. However, I have to point out a hot topic that calls to all of us at a significant time.
Here we are, celebrating our 75 years of the AMA as it did in the 1930s. The Academy is once again called to defend the rights of every aeromodeler as the FAA proposes heavy restrictions. See page 9.
You can do your part in a number of ways, but foremost be a smart pilot: follow the AMA safety rules, demand that others do the same, and have a good (safe) time practicing model aircraft.
Also, the more members we have, the better we are. So if you believe that the AMA is the best defense against government control, pay your dues and get other model pilots to join up. We’ll all be better for the experience in the end.
MR.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
