Letters to the Editor
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Flying-Site Woes
In the April 2004 issue, D.B. Mathews brought up a number of reasons for the loss of flying sites due to urbanization and population growth. I would like to point out another major reason for the loss of local flying sites, especially the traditional sites for Control Line model flying.
With few exceptions, city, county, and state officials will no longer allow Control Line model flying in the parks, schoolyards, and other open sites due to fear of liability in our litigious society.
With the loss of these traditional sites, the young people of today are no longer exposed to the lowest-cost, entry-level portion of model aviation. The very few sites where Control Line model flying is allowed are usually far, far away from where young people can see, much less participate in, the activity, so our major source for new modelers in years past is severely restricted.
Unfortunately, fear of liability has destroyed yet another wholesome activity for the young people of today. I see no improvement possible in the future, and note that we are seeing ever-decreasing participation in Control Line and Free Flight model activity. Yes, there have been occasional small increases in participation, but over time the percentage, as compared to RC, is still dropping.
I fear that these two venues are "dying out," with the loss of the people who grew up when a variety of model activity was possible. Most of us who remain have switched to various forms of RC flying because, with a few notable exceptions, that is now the only portion of the hobby/sport that has enough participation and money to be able to purchase, or hang on to, a few flying sites.
Ralph Cooke Bakersfield, California
(Editor's note: Mr. Cooke has raised some questions that deserve more than a cursory response. AMA Programs Director Jay Mealy answers these questions in this month's "Modeling Spoken Here" column on page 7.)
Flying With Realism
In my article "Flying with Realism" in the April 2004 issue of Model Aviation, the last section was about torque effect.
I received an e-mail from Andy Wells in Santa Fe, NM, who holds that although there is a left-roll effect from the spinning mass of the engine and propeller, it is a small effect and one that pilots don't need to think about much at all. This part is not contrary to my discussion about torque, although I was not as emphatic about it as Andy.
Andy also holds that the P-factor (propeller factor) creates a very pronounced left-yaw tendency. I have known about the P-factor for a long time. However, until now I have never given it much consideration. I didn't take it seriously, and I didn't include it in my article. This was my mistake. Andy has a good argument; I have revised my thinking.
The P-factor effect is seen when the airplane is flying at a relatively slow airspeed and consequently at a high angle of attack, such as in slow flight or in a climb, and in the case of a tail-dragger during the takeoff roll while the tail is still on the ground.
The descending blade on the right side of the propeller meets the air at a greater blade angle of attack than the ascending blade on the left side. This creates more thrust on the right side of the airplane than on the left and causes a left-yaw tendency. Use right rudder control to balance the left-yaw moment.
The air pushed aft by the propeller tends to corkscrew around the fuselage, striking the vertical tail surface on the left side. This also causes a left-yaw tendency when flying under power, including straight-and-level flight. The vertical fin on some airplanes is offset to correct for this at cruising speed.
The words "Torque Effect" at the beginning of this section of my article are inappropriate since torque itself has such a small effect.
Ralph Grose Riverside, California
Extreme Article
Your article in the March 2004 issue, "Alpine Xtreme Adventure 2003," was more than just outstanding! I'd like to publicly congratulate and thank those responsible for it. Author Rick Allison did a magnificent job of putting the parts together in such a way that reading it was almost like being there!
In fact, it did something for me no magazine article has done before. I can only explain it as some sort of spiritual experience, and have wondered, "How come?" Perhaps it's because the assembly of a modeler and his airplane with a small part of God's inspiring creation served to emphasize man's smallness in comparison; and that this strengthened the humility inside.
This only happened to me once before, under similar—but firsthand—conditions: I'd just discovered the largest dry lake I have ever seen, and was looking forward to free-flighting there. It was so huge that psychological anomalies, in addition to the usual visual oddities, resulted.
Again, thanks for this special article and a standout issue in general.
Ron St. Jean Yerington, Nevada
Shulman Pride
In reading your Bob Hunt March editorial, my chest swelled a few inches when you mentioned Jason's performance at the NEAT Fair and the historical precedence of his use of electric power both during the demonstrations and his win at the 2003 FAI F3A Pattern World Championships in Poland.
When Jason started flying that day, I was at the far end of the flightline with several of my flying buddies. They suggested that we all should walk closer to the center of the long flightline to get a better view.
As we all began walking behind the spectators toward the center, there was a hush over the crowd because of the quietness of the flying model. There was only the wind sound made by his Rhapsody during his maneuvers—weird!
Then several buddies commented on their amazement at what they were watching. Some of the spectators turned around to see who was talking—as they all pointed to me. At that point I exclaimed, perhaps louder than usual, "Jason is my grandson!" "Jason is my grandson!"
You may have heard the hand-clapping and "hoorays" from the spectators as my buddies were pointing at me and waving their hats! The crowd began laughing, applauding, and whistling along with a big thumbs-up!
Between your editorial and Bob Kopski's article (page 60) on the 2003 NEAT Fair, I know this caused me to walk much taller than I have in a long time—talk about exhilaration!
Jason's brother David was visiting me in NJ a few days earlier, prior to this event, but had to return to work in Florida at Bob Vollett Models to prepare for a jet flying demonstration that same weekend, elsewhere. Had he been able to stay and attend the NEAT Fair, David would have completed the picture of our proud three generations of fliers.
Leon Shulman Metuchen, New Jersey
Letters
Hughes Miscue
This letter offers a correction to D.B. Mathews’ "Flying for Fun" column in the March issue of Model Aviation concerning Howard Hughes. The article states that on July 7, 1946, an airplane piloted by Howard Hughes crashed into several homes, killing several people on the ground.
I came upon the accident site just as a Marine was pulling Mr. Hughes from the aircraft. The accident happened in Beverly Hills; I was working about a mile away. To my recollection, there were no fatalities on the ground. One house was totally destroyed; two others were partially destroyed. The tail of the airplane protruded from the house prior to its burning. It resembled a P-38.
The Marine, according to a friend of mine, was handsomely rewarded for rescuing Mr. Hughes. Mr. Hughes was fortunate to have a short hospital stay. I know this because a friend of mine, a taxi driver, had him as a fare less than two months later.
He was attempting to land on a golf course, but his landing gear caught on some wires and he flipped over, causing him to land in the house. I have several photos, which I took the next day, of the site.
Bob Temple Boca Raton, Florida
Author Deserves Recognition
I very much enjoyed Mark Frankel’s article "State of the Sport: Radio Control Scale" in the April issue and told him so. He told me he was doing it.
However, I believe the text should have included praise for Mark and his contribution to the sport over many years. As I said to him, he has been designing and building Scale models for 30 years or more—models which would be competitive today. His skill and dedication have made a difference.
One of the unique characteristics of this hobby/sport is the (almost) universal desire to help your "neighbor," regardless of how long you have been neighbors. Mark personifies that. In addition, his capacity to bounce back is remarkable. Witness the loss of his F4D Skyray at the Dayton Scale Masters, and jumping right into new design projects, which are an advancement of the sport.
He has been competitive at the top for a very long time and deserves recognition in light of the article.
John Richmond Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Cub’s Colors
I’ve received many inquiries regarding the source of documentation in the April review of Sig’s 1/5-scale Cub. This is one of many color schemes available from Bob’s Aircraft Documentation, 3114 Yukon Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; Tel.: (714) 979-8058; Web site: www.bobsairdoc.com.
The particular scheme used was a Swiss scheme in white with blue and red trim—order #7498. It has 18 pictures and sells for $21 plus $5 shipping. See their ad in this issue of Model Aviation.
Mark Lanterman Fairfield, Ohio
Suggestion for December
Regarding Bob Hunt’s February column in MA about all the different interests in our hobby/sport and the limited space in the magazine to try to please everyone, I have a suggestion: why not make the December issue a special theme every year? One year it could be all Scale, another year it could be helicopters, etc.
This way, every group would get their favorite aspect covered to the max once, and the membership who toss the Nats issue in the trash every year will only have to throw it out every eight or nine years when the December issue covers the Nats.
The district vice presidents could still include the Nats results and a few photos in their December columns to please the AMA members who are Nats fans, and the majority of us wouldn’t be forced to suffer every December like we do now.
It is a really great magazine 11 months out of the year, and it’s great for lighting the fireplaces in December.
Lance Novak Savannah, Georgia
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
