Letters to the Editor - 2004/05
Correction
The wingspan of the Electric Flash RC park flyer featured in the March issue was incorrectly cited as 28 inches; the correct measurement is 44 inches.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.
—MA staff
Sleeve Valve Engines
For as much as I respect the knowledge demonstrated by MA’s "The Engine Shop" author Joe Wagner, I feel I must differ with his remark on page 9 of the March issue that “…rotary sleeve valve engines powered thousands of British combat airplanes in WWII.”
Thanks to the generosity of H.M., at different times I flew aircraft powered by a number of sleeve-valve engines, and I can state, without fear of contradiction, that the Bristol Hercules radial engines—and the later Centaurus—were not rotary-valve equipped and therefore bore no relationship to the RCV engines, as implied in Mr. Wagner’s note.
The Hercules pistons traveled up and down inside a liner—or sleeve—which itself reciprocated a very limited amount in addition to oscillating left and right through an arc of about 30 degrees.
The skirt of each liner engaged a very small crank that was driven off the engine’s propeller speed-reduction gears. That crank had a throw (at a guess) of about 2.5 to 3 inches. This limited reciprocating motion, coupled with the limited oscillation, enabled the inlet and exhaust ports that pierced the sleeve to align with ports cut through the aluminum-alloy, finned cylinder barrels.
Incidentally, although I have seen a couple of involuntarily disemboweled Hercules engines during my service, it is only now that I discover, through reading the description of the sleeve drive, that there were 56 gears involved in driving the propeller speed reduction and the 14 shafts driving the sleeves!
Jim Newman Kent City, Michigan
USA-1
I greatly enjoyed the USA-1 article by Bill Werwage that appeared in the March 2004 issue. Not only is the airplane very nice-looking, but the history made interesting reading. I would love to see more on CL Stunt. Please keep up the good work.
David Zwolak Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Misrepresentation on AMA Applications
On the application for AMA membership we’re asked to check the boxes for the type of modeling that interests us. When I filled mine out the last time, I didn’t see a box for Scale Aerobatics or for IMAC, the Scale Aerobatics competition SIG. So I naively figured I’d check “Scale” and also check “precision aerobatics.” I figured, “Hey, those things fit the criteria close enough and they’ll understand what I mean.” But I had no idea that checking those boxes would be taken so literally and that I was actually adding numbers to a group that I really don’t have an interest in nor do I participate in.
I wonder how many of us who have an interest in Scale Aerobatics (SA) checked the box for “Scale” or for “precision.” In fact, AMA really has no way of knowing how many people have an interest in Scale Aerobatics. They just see that there are a large number of people interested in Scale modeling. Do you think that the Executive Council counts SA enthusiasts as involved in Scale activities? I don’t really know, but I kind of doubt it. And it’s clear that our numbers as counted in IMAC memberships don’t really tell the whole story.
How many SA enthusiasts ever actually compete? Probably a very small fraction. I know that each time I go to the flying field, almost half the airplanes there on any given day are SA aircraft flown by Sunday fliers and sport fliers. Of course, none of them are members of IMAC. So how are we counted? Does it matter? I think it does matter because decisions are being made on an ongoing basis that affect many aspects of our hobby, and a good number of those decisions are based in part on numbers of participants. In fact, I think decisions about the future direction of the AMA magazine are highly dependent on those numbers.
I’d like it to be understood that Scale Aerobatics is far bigger and more diverse than our IMAC SIG numbers would indicate and that we need to be counted. It just doesn’t seem like those of us with SA interests have a realistic representation.
Mike Hurley Westminster, Colorado
Thanks to Many
One goes through life knowing he is making friends and perhaps followers, but has no reason to concern himself with “how many.” That is until he has a problem such as my time at the Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida.
Moffitt is a fine operation. They know what they are doing, but their aggressive cure methods leave a lot to be desired! After five hours of oral surgery, prognosis is fine and I am finally back home for two months of recovery.
The main objective of this letter is to have a way to thank the great number of people who have given me attention. I have a stack of “get well” cards, every one of which was appreciated and cherished. My e-mail has been swamped with kind messages, which also have great meaning to me. As you might imagine, all this came as a surprise and in reality demonstrates what fine people modelers are!
Please accept this letter as my way of letting you know of my appreciation and that one of my cherished possessions is the friendship of so many. God has been so good to me and I thank him every day!
Hal deBolt Sun City Center, Florida
Mahalo!
I am a member of the LIARS Club in Suffolk County, Long Island, and I took an extended vacation in Maui, Hawaii, during November, December, and January. I found the Maui RC Pilots Club, and I am writing to tell your readers how great the members treated me.
I would like to especially thank members Ian, Steve, and Jed. They showed me helpfulness, skill, and camaraderie, and they made me, a New Yorker, feel welcome and at home.
Mahalo (thanks) to my Hawaiian flying buddies.
Bob Berger Stony Brook, New York
Feedback From a New Member
I very recently got into RC electric flying through a community open house at the local club. I was online joining the AMA when I noticed the magazine and a series of articles by Bob Aberle. They looked good, so I printed them out and read them, and, boy, did I learn a lot!
I wanted to thank you all for making those available and compliment you on the clarity and thoroughness of the material.
Lenny Lipton Bethel, Connecticut
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
