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, school
yards, 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 is meeting the air at a
greater angle of attack (angle of attack of
the blade) 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 or to me
that 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’s 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 at
their amazement of 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
with what may have seemed 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 Violett 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
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Letters to the Editor
June 2004 9
Continued on page 155
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:30 am Page 9
June 2004 155
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 inquires 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
Continued from page 9
Letters 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. MA
Lance Novak
Savannah, Georgia
AMA Academy of Model
Aeronautics
ARF Almost Ready to Fly
BEC Battery Eliminator
Circuit
CAD computer-aided design
cc cubic centimeter
CD contest director or
compact disc
CG center of gravity
CL Control Line
cm centimeter
cu. in. cubic inch
DT dethermalizer
EPP (foam) expanded polypropylene
ESC Electronic Speed
Control
FAI Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale
FCC Federal Communications
Commission
FF Free Flight
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
LE leading edge
LED light-emitting diode
Li-Poly Lithium Polymer
mA milliamperes
MA Model Aviation
mAh milliampere-hours
MHz megahertz
mm millimeter
Nats AMA Nationals
Ni-Cd Nickel Cadmium
NiMH Nickel Metal Hydride
RC Radio Control
rpm revolutions per minute
RTF Ready to Fly
SASE self-addressed, stamped
envelope
SIG Special Interest Group
TE trailing edge
ModelAviation’s
Frequently Used Abbreviations/Acronyms
06sig5QXD 3/24/04 11:50 am Page 155
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/06
Page Numbers: 9,155
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/06
Page Numbers: 9,155
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, school
yards, 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 is meeting the air at a
greater angle of attack (angle of attack of
the blade) 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 or to me
that 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’s 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 at
their amazement of 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
with what may have seemed 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 Violett 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
Model Aviation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Letters to the Editor
June 2004 9
Continued on page 155
06sig1.QXD 3/25/04 9:30 am Page 9
June 2004 155
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 inquires 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
Continued from page 9
Letters 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. MA
Lance Novak
Savannah, Georgia
AMA Academy of Model
Aeronautics
ARF Almost Ready to Fly
BEC Battery Eliminator
Circuit
CAD computer-aided design
cc cubic centimeter
CD contest director or
compact disc
CG center of gravity
CL Control Line
cm centimeter
cu. in. cubic inch
DT dethermalizer
EPP (foam) expanded polypropylene
ESC Electronic Speed
Control
FAI Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale
FCC Federal Communications
Commission
FF Free Flight
LCD Liquid Crystal Display
LE leading edge
LED light-emitting diode
Li-Poly Lithium Polymer
mA milliamperes
MA Model Aviation
mAh milliampere-hours
MHz megahertz
mm millimeter
Nats AMA Nationals
Ni-Cd Nickel Cadmium
NiMH Nickel Metal Hydride
RC Radio Control
rpm revolutions per minute
RTF Ready to Fly
SASE self-addressed, stamped
envelope
SIG Special Interest Group
TE trailing edge
ModelAviation’s
Frequently Used Abbreviations/Acronyms
06sig5QXD 3/24/04 11:50 am Page 155
