Micro-Flying - 2010/03

72 MODEL AVIATION
Joe Malinchak Micro-Flying | [email protected]
The latest Keystone indoor electric fly-in
Martin Newell won the KIEF Best Micro Aircraft
award for his 1/48-scale, six-channel P-51 Mustang. It
features scratch-built retracts, flaps, and lights.
Gary Jones prepares the duck from Petter Muren’s new Duck Hunter game
for flight. Luke Simion of Lukes RC Planes gets ready to shoot it down, and
Cindy Malinchak waits her turn.
Bill Lyons had all of his models displayed in mini
dioramas. He flew his beautiful Monocoupe and
was awarded third place in Micro Fun Scale.
Muncy Indoor Flyers President Anthony Minnella built this aircraft carrier for the
KIEF. It was used during a ParkZone Vapor landing contest held in the micro area.
THE SECOND ANNUAL Keystone Indoor
Electric Fly (KIEF) was held October 16-18,
2009, in Muncy, Pennsylvania. The Muncy
Indoor Flyers hosted the event; President
Anthony Minnella, Vice President Ron Angle,
event CD Mark Vukmanovich, and all of the
club volunteers did an outstanding job of
organizing and running this wonderful indoor
get-together.
Muncy is located just outside
Williamsport. It is a beautiful place to visit in
October, with the changing leaves and scenic
mountains you see on your drive there. Last
year the weather was cold and rainy, but that
is the great thing about flying in the huge
Generations Sports Complex Dome: the
weather will not affect your fun!
The KIEF had something for almost
everyone, including a great lineup of vendors
and separate areas for 3-D flying, helicopters,
and micro flight! My wife, Cindy, and I were
the event coordinators for the micro area.
I had planned on scheduling half-hour
time slots, to separate the ultra-light
models from the faster airplanes. After
observing the open flying sessions, it
seemed like everyone was flying with no
real conflicts, so I decided to keep the
flying unrestricted.
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March 2010 73
Nick Leichty flew several designs
featuring his new .6-gram servo and
his ultra-lightweight RC systems. His
12-inch-span, 3-D Mini Aerobats
were amazing performers!
Friday was a fun-fly day, with no major
activities planned. This was a great time to
catch up with old friends and test our
airplanes. There were many wonderful
micromodels at KIEF; it was like a
Disneyland for fans of tiny aircraft!
Bill Lyons gets an “A” for effort, with his
outstanding dioramas. He set up one for each
of his models. Some were grouped together,
such as for his World War I models, and some
were set up individually, such as for his
beautiful Monocoupe diorama. The scenery
even featured vehicles and figures that were
accurate for the time period.
Martin Newell’s six-channel, 1/48-scale P-
51 was a showstopper. The 9.25-inchwingspan
model featured scratch-built,
retractable landing gear; flaps; working lights;
and a six-channel Hip-Hop Rabbit receiver
that Martin constructed himself!
He completed the Mustang in time for
KIEF but did not have time to test it. Martin
let Matt Keennon do the test-flying. After
solving a few trim issues, the airplane was up
and flying great. Martin received the award
for the best micro-size aircraft for his
outstanding effort.
Nick Leichty flew several of his
outstanding designs that featured his new .6-
gram servo and the Cricket 900 MHz fourchannel
receiver.
I flew Nick’s Mini Aerobat biplanes. They
span 12 inches, are constructed from
Durobatics foam and Depron, and weigh only
14 grams.
Nick used the Gasparin G10 Micro
brushless motor for power on one 80 mAh Li-
Poly cell. The Aerobats flew beautifully and
had an extremely light feel.
After the success of the 2008 KIEF, we
decided to move the Microtech Seminars
there for 2009. This was more practical for the
many speakers who traveled a great distance
to be able to fly for three days inside the
gorgeous dome.
The seminars were started at the NEAT
(Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology) Fair,
with just a few of us showing our latest
microcreations. It quickly grew into a large,
informative event in itself.
Sergio Zigras did an outstanding job of
organizing the 9th Annual Microtech
Seminars. Some of the world’s top micro
fliers were in attendance. For this edition, I
decided to hold the classes on the flightline
rather than in a meeting room; that allowed
the speakers to demonstrate their models after
discussing them.
We were concerned about the noise on the
field, but it was no problem. The Muncy
Indoor Flyers provided us with a nice speaker
setup!
The seminars started with an introduction
from Sergio and John Worth. John talked
about his R/C Micro World Online Magazine
and the latest developments in the field. His
Left: Gordon Johnson
shares his views on
l ightweight airframe
construction at the
Microtech Seminars.
They were held on the
flightline so the speakers
could demonstrate their
models to the crowd.
Below, L-R: Bob Selman,
Ken Spencer, and Matt
Keennon prepare to fly
in a Micro Pylon Race
heat. Matt won the event
with his fast, smoothflying
P-51.
03sig3.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 1/25/10 1:23 PM Page 73
Web site is a great source of information for
anyone who is interested in the subject.
I followed John with a show-and-tell about
my latest projects and performed a few
exhibition flights. Then Nick Leichty talked
about his company’s latest products, to include
a new servo and 900 MHz systems that are
frequency-hopping (Hip-Hop) or Plantracocompatible.
Matt Keennon spoke about many of the
state-of-the-art micromodels he had with him.
He also flew his beautiful Cobra gunship
helicopter for the crowd. Matt likes to fly it
fast and precisely. Everyone was amazed!
Petter Muren traveled all the way from
Norway to fly with us. He demonstrated his
latest products, which included an FF toy. The
Duck Hunter is a duck that you have to shoot
three times to bring down. After each shot, the
duck seems to pause and lose a bit of altitude
until the final shot gets the kill. This was fun,
and lines of people wanted to give it a try.
Gordon Johnson showed some of his latest
airplanes, such as the cool new Tiny Dancer
biplane. He discussed the models’
construction and how to make lightweight
airframes using a laser cutter.
Henry Pasquet discussed Indoor RC
Duration airplane construction and how to set
up and test aircraft for competition. Henry has
set many records in this class. Del Ogren also
spoke about Indoor Duration, and he was
entertaining to watch!
Several competitions were held at the
KIEF throughout the weekend. A pylon race
with the ParkZone Sukhoi was contested on
the main floor, and it was a big hit.
Anthony Minnella constructed the
beautiful USS KIEF aircraft carrier, which
was used for a ParkZone Vapor landing
contest. The contestants had to fly around two
pylons and land on the deck without hitting the
structure. Attempts were timed, and fliers were
given two chances.
Many people lined up with their Vapors,
including some of the top 3-D pilots in
attendance. This was a fun event. Fly RC
Editor Thayer Syme won with a smooth, fast
flight and a great landing!
Del Ogren organized the Old Timer Climb
and Glide and Micro Pylon Race. I greatly
enjoy the former, for which each contestant
had to build a model that was designed before
1942 and weighs less than 2 ounces. The pilot
took off and climbed the aircraft for 30
seconds and chopped the power to glide as
long as possible.
Extra points were awarded for full-fuselage
designs and if the airplanes hit the runway on
the dead-stick landings. I built a Miss America
in honor of our late friend, Dave Robelen.
Cindy built a pink version of the same model.
Dave used the design to win the Climb and
Glide event at the last NIRAC (National
Indoor Remote-Control Aircraft Council)
championships. I redrew his plans in Adobe
Illustrator to make my model.
Bob Selman won the KIEF Old Timer
Climb and Glide class again this year with his
great-flying Bombshell. I place second with
my Miss America, and James Bhasin placed
third with his Bombshell.
The Micro Pylon Race was another
fantastic event. The airplane had to have a
wingspan of at least 13 inches and use the
GWJ drive with a 7mm motor. Most
contestants used Peanut Scale kits from Bob
Selman’s BSD Micro RC.
Matt Keennon won the race with his
terrific-flying P-51. Bob Selman flew his
Nemesis to second place, and I finished third
with my BSD Spitfire.
I organized the Micro Duration and Micro
Fun Scale competitions. Rules for Micro
Duration were simple; the only things required
were for each model to use the stock Plantraco
GB-05 motor and gear drive and a single Full
River 20 mAh Li-Poly cell.
I wanted the rules to allow designs such as
the stock Plantraco Butterfly, to help generate
interest in this wonderful event. It worked out
well; several people entered with stock
models. However, we never expected a stock
airplane to win!
Bill Lyons finished in the top spot with a
Plantraco Kolibri. He made turns around the
dome lights to help generate lift, and it
worked. Henry Pasquet came in second with
his scratch-built design.
Henry and Del had some problems with air
currents with their larger aircraft. Cindy
surprised me when she placed third with her
Plantraco Butterfly.
Micro Fun Scale uses the same rules as
AMA Fun Scale, except that the model must
weigh 2 ounces or fewer. Bob Johnson flew
his awesome-performing Super Cub to first
place.
My friend, James Bhasin, flew a Great
Lakes biplane I built for him several years ago
to second place. This was his first time flying
in a Fun Scale event, and he did a magnificent
job. Bill Lyons flew his beautiful Monocoupe
to third place.
The 2009 KIEF was a great success! If you
want to attend a first-class indoor event, mark
your calendars for KIEF 2010. Please see the
Web site for more information. MA
Sources:
KIEF
(570) 327-8088
www.keystoneindoor.com
RC Micro World Online Magazine
www.cloud9rc.com
Plantraco MicroFlight
(306) 955-1836
www.plantraco.com
Micro Flier Radio
(941) 377-9808
http://microflierradio.com
BSD Micro RC
(417) 358-9521
www.bsdmicrorc.com
ParkZone
(800) 338-4639
www.parkzone.com