Micro-Flying
Dave Robelen
Route 4, Box 369, Farmville, VA 23901 E-mail: [email protected]
Hello micro fans! I am sitting here in July with temperatures reaching 100°. This column will reach you in chilly October, in a magazine cover dated December. Go figure. At any rate, there is much to cover this time around, so gather close and let's get started.
NIRAC Indoor Nationals (Oakland Yard athletic dome, Waterford, MI)
As you may remember, the National Indoor Remote-controlled Aircraft Council (NIRAC) held its indoor national competition at the Oakland Yard athletic dome in Waterford, Michigan, in late spring. I will hit some highlights.
The building management and staff at the Oakland Yard athletic dome were some of the most accommodating people I have ever worked with. If you are reading this, thanks!
The event planning and most of the event rules for this meet were drafted for a larger building, so at least one of the events was adversely affected. The contestants flying in Aerobatics were crowded in the space available but did a super job under difficult conditions.
Results
- Aerobatics
- 1st: Joe Malinchak
- 2nd: Henry Pasquet
- 3rd: Bob Wilder
- Sport Scale
- 1st: Scott Christensen
- 2nd: Joe Malinchak
- 3rd: Bob Wilder
- Fun Scale
- 1st: Scott Christensen
- 2nd: Joe Malinchak
- 3rd: Doug Ward
- Pylon Racing
- 1st: Henry Pasquet
- 2nd: Clarence Hurd
- 3rd: Bob Wilder
- Endurance
- 1st: Bob Wilder
- 2nd: Tom Smith
- 3rd: Henry Pasquet
- Cargo
- 1st: Henry Pasquet
- 2nd: Bob Wilder
- 3rd: Clarence Hurd
After all scores were tabulated, Bob Wilder was given the Grand Champion award. It couldn't have happened to a nicer person. Joe Malinchak won the Special Scale award for a model lighter than 1.5 ounces — his Piper L-5 was truly a work of art!
Banquet and Hall of Fame
We gathered for the NIRAC banquet, which was catered at the dome. The food was terrific and the fellowship was second to none. As part of the banquet, John Worth prepared the first NIRAC Indoor Hall of Fame awards:
- Bob Wilder — for many achievements on the technical side of our hobby, leadership organizing NIRAC, and serving as its first president.
- Henry Pasquet — for advancing the state of the art with tiny, completely practical models (Henry brought a box of these tiny airplanes to demonstrate).
- Dave Robelen — for numerous published micro models and advancement of the micro-model field. For the first time in a long time I was speechless. Thanks, John!
Plans for 2004
Before we left the facility, plans were being made for the second annual affair at the same excellent facility. Dates: June 4–6, 2004. A half day has been added for even more fun.
Event planning is coming along with the following events on the list:
- Sport Scale (10 maneuvers)
- Pylon Racing (full-body, scale-type models)
- Endurance (AMA 627)
- Cargo
- Radio Control (RC) Glider 30-30 (30-inch-span limit and 30 grams minimum weight)
- Climb-and-Glide — featuring designs from 1940 and earlier; take off, climb for a limited run, then glide as long as possible
Along with these events, Air Age Media is offering to sponsor a car-towed glider event. Work is in progress to firm up all event rules, and ample time will be provided for open fun-flying. Check the web site www.nirac.org for details and updates. Meanwhile, mark your calendars for a fun-filled weekend.
Indoor model limits
One issue emerging from the various organized indoor events is confusion about what really constitutes an "indoor" model. There is a growing number of people who would like to keep increasing the weight and power limits to bring more park flyers into these sites.
The NIRAC position is:
- Maximum weight: 12 ounces
- Maximum wing loading: 6 ounces per square foot
- Maximum power: roughly one 280-class motor running on seven cells, or about 12 watts
If you have input or concerns about these numbers, please e-mail me at [email protected]. The goal is to keep a safe flying environment and foster the development of more true indoor models.
Mail and publications
As a result of writing this column, I receive some neat mail. One such item is a newsletter from the Central New York Indoor Flight Society, edited by Hal Stewart. Along with a full rundown of the club’s flying activities, there are charts and three-views in each issue.
If you would like to get on the newsletter’s mailing list, contact Hal at [email protected]. Tell him I sent you.
I received the first issue of FLY RC — a new magazine published by Maplegate Publications. Although it is an all-phase magazine covering our hobby, it is worth a serious look for coverage of numerous electric and micro projects. I was fascinated with the full-size, tear-out plans that appear to be typical of this magazine. Keep an eye out for it.
New products and conversions
Now that I have opened the door to new products, I will touch on some that have come my way.
- Hornet and 404 Interceptor folding-wing, slingshot-launched gliders — great Jim Walker designs reintroduced by Frank Macy
Frank Macy, 3128 N.E. Rivergate St., McMinnville, OR 97128 E-mail: [email protected]
Why push free-flight models in an RC column? If you have some of the micro magnetic gear, these would make super conversions. Remove the rubber band and big, heavy propeller from the Hornet, and fit it with the RFFS-100 system from Dynamic Web Enterprises (www.smallrc.com). This company also has lithium polymer (Li-Poly) battery cells, motors, and gearboxes that would round out the job.
I would fit a KP-00 motor geared at 6:1 and driving a 5 x 4.7 propeller to the model. The Interceptor would make a fine home for one of the tiny, single-channel micro systems. All of that aside, I grew up with a Hornet and really loved the way that thing flew. The neat part is that the new version does just as well.
Tiny linkage hardware
Truly tiny linkage hardware is intended for the micro magnetic equipment. Each linkage hardware package contains four slotted keepers for .020-inch-diameter wire and the following push-on buttons:
- Two each: 1/8-inch-diameter x 3/32-inch length x .020-inch hole
- Two each: 1/8-inch-diameter x 1/16-inch length x .020-inch hole
- Four each: .115-inch-diameter x .060-inch length x .018-inch-diameter hole
All of these neat little fittings come from Gary A. Hutchinson, 1155 Freelock Dr., Mount Pleasant, SC 29464. It appears that Dynamic Web Enterprises will carry Gary's fittings. Watch for some matching control horns made to the same size range and quality. It just keeps getting better.
Personal project: Meyers OTW micro RC
To round out the column, I have included two pictures of my latest venture. I am not above changing the size of a model's plans to suit my purposes. I had a back issue of Model Airplane News dated July 1969 that included a full-size centerfold plan for a rubber-band-powered model by Walt Mooney of the Meyers OTW (Out To Win) biplane.
One of the most inspiring model projects I had ever seen, I was intimidated by the light free-flight structure and filed the magazine. Several years later I encountered a full-scale Meyers OTW and the fires were fueled again, but still I passed it over. Today, with the latest in micro RC gear and the ability of modern copy shops to change the size of plans for a modest sum, I decided the Meyers' time had come.
The photographs show the bones of the aircraft and the completed model on the flightline. This airplane spans 26.7 inches, has an area of 240 square inches, and has a weight of 7.5 ounces. The gear is GWS Pico servo with a GWS IPS propeller drive. The battery is a two-cell 640 mAh Li-Poly from FMA Direct. The shiny covering is Super MonoKote Chrome, and the rest is yellow Solite.
Am I glad I finally got around to it? You bet! This is one sweet model. Watch for the plans in a future Model Airplane News.
See you around. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
