Flying near animals and how they react
Old-Timers Bob Angel | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• Frank Zaic and his Year Books
• Michael Rolls’ models
• How high?
• Electric Old-Timers
Eut Tileston’s Taylor Cub is flown in 1/2A
Texaco Scale. Only Cox .049 reed-valve
engines are allowed in this RC event.
Ian Henry launches the Answer, a design from the August 1940 Model Airplane News. Ian
and photographer Mark Venter fly in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Scott McNickle made his V-tailed Swallow appear to have a Brown Junior engine. That’s a
Speed 400 motor hiding under the cardstock dummy.
HORSES AND MODELS: I’ll pass along
an experience that could be helpful to
others in acquiring or retaining a flying
site.
Our Society of Antique Modelers (SAM)
Chapter 26’s home flying field is a farm in
open country, because many of our Old-
Timer (OT) models are flown without
mufflers. Few of the older engines were
designed for or furnished with mufflers,
and it’s impractical to retrofit most of them
without warping or damaging something
and/or causing overheating. This is
especially true when using the original hotburning,
gasoline-based fuels.
A lady and her daughter, who live in the
house nearest our field, are serious riders
who keep horses on the property. They share
the area with us and have some jumping bars
and gymkhana slalom pylons at the far end
of the field. They sometimes stop by on a
morning ride and exchange pleasantries.
One day, Dick Fischer asked if our
engine noise was a disturbance. Her reply
was that our sounds were welcome,
138 MODEL AVIATION
12sig5.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 10/23/09 10:28 AM Page 138
because the horses get so used to the
otherwise quiet surroundings that they
become too easily spooked by any noise.
She said the horses quickly adapt to the
engine sounds and it helps train them to
accept other sudden or loud noises without
becoming nervous or upset.
We’ve noticed before that animals and
birds readily tolerate models flying nearby.
That’s something to keep in mind when
negotiating for flying field privileges.
Frank Zaic’s Year Books are known to
most OT modelers and are good sources of
information for newcomers to OT flying.
Some limited reprints are still available
through AMA and other sources. Originals
and reprints are in the original 5½ x 8¼-
inch orange-bound format containing
articles, sketches, and miniature plans.
Two of my favorites are the 1937 and
1938 Model Aeronautic Year Books,
because they contain more drawings than
average of the gas-powered models of the
era. All volumes in the series also contain
many rubber aircraft, gliders, and early
aerodynamic theory.
Frank Zaic was born in Slovenia in
1912 and came to the US through Ellis
Island at age 10. He knew no English but
learned quickly and became an avid reader.
Frank later wrote more than 15 books and
many technical papers. What I believe was
his final book, Frankly Speaking, is a
combination autobiography and personal
philosophy.
In later years, Frank moved to
Guatemala City, Guatemala, where he
passed away in 2005. His biography is
impressive and much too voluminous to
cover here in any detail, but I’ll share a few
highlights. He was an Air Force veteran, a
patent draftsman, and he flew full-scale
gliders out of Elmira, New York.
Frank created JASCO, the Junior
Aeronautical Supply Company, whose
model kits and supplies are well known to
Old-Timers. He also created the JETCO
line of kits.
He was a prolific model designer and
competitor, and he formed the Aeronuts
club in New York City. One of AMA’s
founders, Frank designed the red, white,
and blue AMA winged emblem. He and
Lieutenant H.W. Alden started MA in
1935.
I met Frank in person just once and
found him to be soft-spoken, unassuming,
and a gentleman. For a more thorough
background, you can read Frank Zaic’s
biography online in the AMA History
Program (see “Sources”).
Michael Rolls’ models are often
overlooked “sleepers” in OT competition. I
know of only the two published designs,
shown in Zaic’s 1938 Model Aeronautics
Year Book, but both exhibit the qualities of
excellent soaring machines. His Berryloid
antique design, with its high-aspect, 12-
foot wingspan and elliptical planform,
seems custom-made for Texaco.
Michael’s 6-foot-span aircraft, named
“Under Construction,” has a similar wing
planform but sports an attractive gull wing.
It is renamed “Gull” in the AMA Plans
Service. Both have streamlined oval
fuselages, offering little drag.
The Berryloid designation comes from
a special prize offered at early AMA Nats
competitions for the best overall covering
and dope finish. Michael’s model placed
second in that event at the 1937 Nats and
won or placed in several other flying
events across the country.
But other than by Michael, I’ve seen
only two of his designs flown. Cliff Silva
campaigned one quite successfully in FF
Texaco for several years, and Ron Doig
flew a ½A-size version in RC. Michael
was the original builder of Ron’s airplane;
it came from Michael’s estate.
Probably the main reason why few
Rolls designs are built is that those
streamlined fuselages are carved from two
solid-balsa blocks. That’s a daunting task
for many modelers who are experienced
only in built-up stick-and-sheet
construction. And those big balsa blocks
are scarce and expensive.
When Michael was still with us, he
was a member of my home club, SAM 26,
and came from Palm Springs, California,
to fly in our contests. He showed up at one
of our John Pond Commemorative events,
which we held that year on Vandenberg
Air Force Base. Between flying sessions
he produced a couple of large balsa blocks
and demonstrated how to carve a solidbalsa
fuselage.
Michael tack-glued the top and bottom
halves and, using knives, a plane, and
maybe a spoke shave, he shaped the
outside. He separated the halves and
hollowed the insides with a round chisel
or gouge. In a couple hours, Michael had a
nicely shaped, lightweight, hollow
fuselage that needed only some finishsanding
and later application of dope for
completion.
How High? I’ve been using Winged
Shadow Systems’ How High onboard
altimeter for more than a year. It’s
particularly useful for OT climb-and-glide
competition, for selecting the optimum
propeller size and pitch.
How High was originally designed to go
inside an aircraft fuselage and be powered
through a receiver port in a semipermanent
installation. But I don’t use hatches on my
RC pylon models, so there’s no access to
the inside. I made a self-powered, strap-on
unit for the How High to take comparative
measurements, using various propellers
during timed runs for altitude.
My home-built system worked well
enough, but Winged Shadow Systems now
offers a new ready-built unit that’s smaller,
lighter, and does the same thing. The new
How High SP (Self Powered) has been
reviewed by others, including Bob Aberle
in the September 2009 MA, so I won’t
repeat the fine details here.
I mention this new unit because it’s
much more practical for FF use. There’s no
receiver power to plug into an FF model,
and most FF aircraft don’t have easy access
to the insides.
Using the unit for performance testing,
an FF model should have the DT set to
activate shortly after engine shutdown, to
ensure that it’s not getting a free ride to
higher altitude via thermal activity. Unless
you like exciting flights and rebuilding
models, don’t set the DT so close that it
activates before engine shutdown.
Electric flight has crept into our activities,
to the delight of some OT fliers and cries
of sacrilege from others. There’s plenty of
electric information out there, but I’ll
mention a couple of basics.
For newcomers to OT electric, a safety
item built into most systems requires the
transmitter throttle setting be activated in
the off position before switching the rest of
the system on. Otherwise the motor will
not start.
Not only is motor-startup safety
involved, but if your throttle trim is set
slightly high, you might end up taking
everything apart to see why the motor
doesn’t run. You might need only to lower
the throttle trim. (Don’t ask how I learned
this.)
I have often read that you should start a
flight with a fully charged battery. This
information usually appears in the
instructions for ESCs and is usually
intended for use with Lithium batteries,
but none of these warnings explained why.
Knowing why is often the key to
understanding and remembering what may
seem to be an insignificant suggestion.
Greg Gimlick explained the reason for
this in his Electrics column in the August
2009 issue of this magazine. Lithiumchemistry
batteries are particularly
susceptible to being damaged when
discharged too far.
Most ESCs automatically detect
starting voltage at switch on. From this,
their little brains determine a safe level at
which to switch off or reduce power to the
motor. This isn’t only to ensure that the
radio still has enough voltage for a safe
landing. It also ensures that the battery
doesn’t get exhausted to the point of
permanently damaging itself.
After reading that explanation, I altered
my habit of sometimes taking a second
flight on a battery that I’d used but had
shut down between flights. This doesn’t
mean you shouldn’t switch the motor on
and off during an electric Texaco flight.
You just shouldn’t shut off the whole
system and then fly again later without
starting with a freshly charged battery.
Let’s gather here next year. MA
Sources:
SAM
www.antiquemodeler.org
AMA History Program
(800) 435-9262, extension 511
www.modelaircraft.org
AMA Plans Service
(800) 435-9262, extension 507
www.modelaircraft.org
Winged Shadow Systems
(630) 837-6553
www.wingedshadow.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/12
Page Numbers: 138,139,140
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/12
Page Numbers: 138,139,140
Flying near animals and how they react
Old-Timers Bob Angel | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• Frank Zaic and his Year Books
• Michael Rolls’ models
• How high?
• Electric Old-Timers
Eut Tileston’s Taylor Cub is flown in 1/2A
Texaco Scale. Only Cox .049 reed-valve
engines are allowed in this RC event.
Ian Henry launches the Answer, a design from the August 1940 Model Airplane News. Ian
and photographer Mark Venter fly in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Scott McNickle made his V-tailed Swallow appear to have a Brown Junior engine. That’s a
Speed 400 motor hiding under the cardstock dummy.
HORSES AND MODELS: I’ll pass along
an experience that could be helpful to
others in acquiring or retaining a flying
site.
Our Society of Antique Modelers (SAM)
Chapter 26’s home flying field is a farm in
open country, because many of our Old-
Timer (OT) models are flown without
mufflers. Few of the older engines were
designed for or furnished with mufflers,
and it’s impractical to retrofit most of them
without warping or damaging something
and/or causing overheating. This is
especially true when using the original hotburning,
gasoline-based fuels.
A lady and her daughter, who live in the
house nearest our field, are serious riders
who keep horses on the property. They share
the area with us and have some jumping bars
and gymkhana slalom pylons at the far end
of the field. They sometimes stop by on a
morning ride and exchange pleasantries.
One day, Dick Fischer asked if our
engine noise was a disturbance. Her reply
was that our sounds were welcome,
138 MODEL AVIATION
12sig5.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 10/23/09 10:28 AM Page 138
because the horses get so used to the
otherwise quiet surroundings that they
become too easily spooked by any noise.
She said the horses quickly adapt to the
engine sounds and it helps train them to
accept other sudden or loud noises without
becoming nervous or upset.
We’ve noticed before that animals and
birds readily tolerate models flying nearby.
That’s something to keep in mind when
negotiating for flying field privileges.
Frank Zaic’s Year Books are known to
most OT modelers and are good sources of
information for newcomers to OT flying.
Some limited reprints are still available
through AMA and other sources. Originals
and reprints are in the original 5½ x 8¼-
inch orange-bound format containing
articles, sketches, and miniature plans.
Two of my favorites are the 1937 and
1938 Model Aeronautic Year Books,
because they contain more drawings than
average of the gas-powered models of the
era. All volumes in the series also contain
many rubber aircraft, gliders, and early
aerodynamic theory.
Frank Zaic was born in Slovenia in
1912 and came to the US through Ellis
Island at age 10. He knew no English but
learned quickly and became an avid reader.
Frank later wrote more than 15 books and
many technical papers. What I believe was
his final book, Frankly Speaking, is a
combination autobiography and personal
philosophy.
In later years, Frank moved to
Guatemala City, Guatemala, where he
passed away in 2005. His biography is
impressive and much too voluminous to
cover here in any detail, but I’ll share a few
highlights. He was an Air Force veteran, a
patent draftsman, and he flew full-scale
gliders out of Elmira, New York.
Frank created JASCO, the Junior
Aeronautical Supply Company, whose
model kits and supplies are well known to
Old-Timers. He also created the JETCO
line of kits.
He was a prolific model designer and
competitor, and he formed the Aeronuts
club in New York City. One of AMA’s
founders, Frank designed the red, white,
and blue AMA winged emblem. He and
Lieutenant H.W. Alden started MA in
1935.
I met Frank in person just once and
found him to be soft-spoken, unassuming,
and a gentleman. For a more thorough
background, you can read Frank Zaic’s
biography online in the AMA History
Program (see “Sources”).
Michael Rolls’ models are often
overlooked “sleepers” in OT competition. I
know of only the two published designs,
shown in Zaic’s 1938 Model Aeronautics
Year Book, but both exhibit the qualities of
excellent soaring machines. His Berryloid
antique design, with its high-aspect, 12-
foot wingspan and elliptical planform,
seems custom-made for Texaco.
Michael’s 6-foot-span aircraft, named
“Under Construction,” has a similar wing
planform but sports an attractive gull wing.
It is renamed “Gull” in the AMA Plans
Service. Both have streamlined oval
fuselages, offering little drag.
The Berryloid designation comes from
a special prize offered at early AMA Nats
competitions for the best overall covering
and dope finish. Michael’s model placed
second in that event at the 1937 Nats and
won or placed in several other flying
events across the country.
But other than by Michael, I’ve seen
only two of his designs flown. Cliff Silva
campaigned one quite successfully in FF
Texaco for several years, and Ron Doig
flew a ½A-size version in RC. Michael
was the original builder of Ron’s airplane;
it came from Michael’s estate.
Probably the main reason why few
Rolls designs are built is that those
streamlined fuselages are carved from two
solid-balsa blocks. That’s a daunting task
for many modelers who are experienced
only in built-up stick-and-sheet
construction. And those big balsa blocks
are scarce and expensive.
When Michael was still with us, he
was a member of my home club, SAM 26,
and came from Palm Springs, California,
to fly in our contests. He showed up at one
of our John Pond Commemorative events,
which we held that year on Vandenberg
Air Force Base. Between flying sessions
he produced a couple of large balsa blocks
and demonstrated how to carve a solidbalsa
fuselage.
Michael tack-glued the top and bottom
halves and, using knives, a plane, and
maybe a spoke shave, he shaped the
outside. He separated the halves and
hollowed the insides with a round chisel
or gouge. In a couple hours, Michael had a
nicely shaped, lightweight, hollow
fuselage that needed only some finishsanding
and later application of dope for
completion.
How High? I’ve been using Winged
Shadow Systems’ How High onboard
altimeter for more than a year. It’s
particularly useful for OT climb-and-glide
competition, for selecting the optimum
propeller size and pitch.
How High was originally designed to go
inside an aircraft fuselage and be powered
through a receiver port in a semipermanent
installation. But I don’t use hatches on my
RC pylon models, so there’s no access to
the inside. I made a self-powered, strap-on
unit for the How High to take comparative
measurements, using various propellers
during timed runs for altitude.
My home-built system worked well
enough, but Winged Shadow Systems now
offers a new ready-built unit that’s smaller,
lighter, and does the same thing. The new
How High SP (Self Powered) has been
reviewed by others, including Bob Aberle
in the September 2009 MA, so I won’t
repeat the fine details here.
I mention this new unit because it’s
much more practical for FF use. There’s no
receiver power to plug into an FF model,
and most FF aircraft don’t have easy access
to the insides.
Using the unit for performance testing,
an FF model should have the DT set to
activate shortly after engine shutdown, to
ensure that it’s not getting a free ride to
higher altitude via thermal activity. Unless
you like exciting flights and rebuilding
models, don’t set the DT so close that it
activates before engine shutdown.
Electric flight has crept into our activities,
to the delight of some OT fliers and cries
of sacrilege from others. There’s plenty of
electric information out there, but I’ll
mention a couple of basics.
For newcomers to OT electric, a safety
item built into most systems requires the
transmitter throttle setting be activated in
the off position before switching the rest of
the system on. Otherwise the motor will
not start.
Not only is motor-startup safety
involved, but if your throttle trim is set
slightly high, you might end up taking
everything apart to see why the motor
doesn’t run. You might need only to lower
the throttle trim. (Don’t ask how I learned
this.)
I have often read that you should start a
flight with a fully charged battery. This
information usually appears in the
instructions for ESCs and is usually
intended for use with Lithium batteries,
but none of these warnings explained why.
Knowing why is often the key to
understanding and remembering what may
seem to be an insignificant suggestion.
Greg Gimlick explained the reason for
this in his Electrics column in the August
2009 issue of this magazine. Lithiumchemistry
batteries are particularly
susceptible to being damaged when
discharged too far.
Most ESCs automatically detect
starting voltage at switch on. From this,
their little brains determine a safe level at
which to switch off or reduce power to the
motor. This isn’t only to ensure that the
radio still has enough voltage for a safe
landing. It also ensures that the battery
doesn’t get exhausted to the point of
permanently damaging itself.
After reading that explanation, I altered
my habit of sometimes taking a second
flight on a battery that I’d used but had
shut down between flights. This doesn’t
mean you shouldn’t switch the motor on
and off during an electric Texaco flight.
You just shouldn’t shut off the whole
system and then fly again later without
starting with a freshly charged battery.
Let’s gather here next year. MA
Sources:
SAM
www.antiquemodeler.org
AMA History Program
(800) 435-9262, extension 511
www.modelaircraft.org
AMA Plans Service
(800) 435-9262, extension 507
www.modelaircraft.org
Winged Shadow Systems
(630) 837-6553
www.wingedshadow.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/12
Page Numbers: 138,139,140
Flying near animals and how they react
Old-Timers Bob Angel | [email protected]
Also included in this column:
• Frank Zaic and his Year Books
• Michael Rolls’ models
• How high?
• Electric Old-Timers
Eut Tileston’s Taylor Cub is flown in 1/2A
Texaco Scale. Only Cox .049 reed-valve
engines are allowed in this RC event.
Ian Henry launches the Answer, a design from the August 1940 Model Airplane News. Ian
and photographer Mark Venter fly in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Scott McNickle made his V-tailed Swallow appear to have a Brown Junior engine. That’s a
Speed 400 motor hiding under the cardstock dummy.
HORSES AND MODELS: I’ll pass along
an experience that could be helpful to
others in acquiring or retaining a flying
site.
Our Society of Antique Modelers (SAM)
Chapter 26’s home flying field is a farm in
open country, because many of our Old-
Timer (OT) models are flown without
mufflers. Few of the older engines were
designed for or furnished with mufflers,
and it’s impractical to retrofit most of them
without warping or damaging something
and/or causing overheating. This is
especially true when using the original hotburning,
gasoline-based fuels.
A lady and her daughter, who live in the
house nearest our field, are serious riders
who keep horses on the property. They share
the area with us and have some jumping bars
and gymkhana slalom pylons at the far end
of the field. They sometimes stop by on a
morning ride and exchange pleasantries.
One day, Dick Fischer asked if our
engine noise was a disturbance. Her reply
was that our sounds were welcome,
138 MODEL AVIATION
12sig5.QXD_00MSTRPG.QXD 10/23/09 10:28 AM Page 138
because the horses get so used to the
otherwise quiet surroundings that they
become too easily spooked by any noise.
She said the horses quickly adapt to the
engine sounds and it helps train them to
accept other sudden or loud noises without
becoming nervous or upset.
We’ve noticed before that animals and
birds readily tolerate models flying nearby.
That’s something to keep in mind when
negotiating for flying field privileges.
Frank Zaic’s Year Books are known to
most OT modelers and are good sources of
information for newcomers to OT flying.
Some limited reprints are still available
through AMA and other sources. Originals
and reprints are in the original 5½ x 8¼-
inch orange-bound format containing
articles, sketches, and miniature plans.
Two of my favorites are the 1937 and
1938 Model Aeronautic Year Books,
because they contain more drawings than
average of the gas-powered models of the
era. All volumes in the series also contain
many rubber aircraft, gliders, and early
aerodynamic theory.
Frank Zaic was born in Slovenia in
1912 and came to the US through Ellis
Island at age 10. He knew no English but
learned quickly and became an avid reader.
Frank later wrote more than 15 books and
many technical papers. What I believe was
his final book, Frankly Speaking, is a
combination autobiography and personal
philosophy.
In later years, Frank moved to
Guatemala City, Guatemala, where he
passed away in 2005. His biography is
impressive and much too voluminous to
cover here in any detail, but I’ll share a few
highlights. He was an Air Force veteran, a
patent draftsman, and he flew full-scale
gliders out of Elmira, New York.
Frank created JASCO, the Junior
Aeronautical Supply Company, whose
model kits and supplies are well known to
Old-Timers. He also created the JETCO
line of kits.
He was a prolific model designer and
competitor, and he formed the Aeronuts
club in New York City. One of AMA’s
founders, Frank designed the red, white,
and blue AMA winged emblem. He and
Lieutenant H.W. Alden started MA in
1935.
I met Frank in person just once and
found him to be soft-spoken, unassuming,
and a gentleman. For a more thorough
background, you can read Frank Zaic’s
biography online in the AMA History
Program (see “Sources”).
Michael Rolls’ models are often
overlooked “sleepers” in OT competition. I
know of only the two published designs,
shown in Zaic’s 1938 Model Aeronautics
Year Book, but both exhibit the qualities of
excellent soaring machines. His Berryloid
antique design, with its high-aspect, 12-
foot wingspan and elliptical planform,
seems custom-made for Texaco.
Michael’s 6-foot-span aircraft, named
“Under Construction,” has a similar wing
planform but sports an attractive gull wing.
It is renamed “Gull” in the AMA Plans
Service. Both have streamlined oval
fuselages, offering little drag.
The Berryloid designation comes from
a special prize offered at early AMA Nats
competitions for the best overall covering
and dope finish. Michael’s model placed
second in that event at the 1937 Nats and
won or placed in several other flying
events across the country.
But other than by Michael, I’ve seen
only two of his designs flown. Cliff Silva
campaigned one quite successfully in FF
Texaco for several years, and Ron Doig
flew a ½A-size version in RC. Michael
was the original builder of Ron’s airplane;
it came from Michael’s estate.
Probably the main reason why few
Rolls designs are built is that those
streamlined fuselages are carved from two
solid-balsa blocks. That’s a daunting task
for many modelers who are experienced
only in built-up stick-and-sheet
construction. And those big balsa blocks
are scarce and expensive.
When Michael was still with us, he
was a member of my home club, SAM 26,
and came from Palm Springs, California,
to fly in our contests. He showed up at one
of our John Pond Commemorative events,
which we held that year on Vandenberg
Air Force Base. Between flying sessions
he produced a couple of large balsa blocks
and demonstrated how to carve a solidbalsa
fuselage.
Michael tack-glued the top and bottom
halves and, using knives, a plane, and
maybe a spoke shave, he shaped the
outside. He separated the halves and
hollowed the insides with a round chisel
or gouge. In a couple hours, Michael had a
nicely shaped, lightweight, hollow
fuselage that needed only some finishsanding
and later application of dope for
completion.
How High? I’ve been using Winged
Shadow Systems’ How High onboard
altimeter for more than a year. It’s
particularly useful for OT climb-and-glide
competition, for selecting the optimum
propeller size and pitch.
How High was originally designed to go
inside an aircraft fuselage and be powered
through a receiver port in a semipermanent
installation. But I don’t use hatches on my
RC pylon models, so there’s no access to
the inside. I made a self-powered, strap-on
unit for the How High to take comparative
measurements, using various propellers
during timed runs for altitude.
My home-built system worked well
enough, but Winged Shadow Systems now
offers a new ready-built unit that’s smaller,
lighter, and does the same thing. The new
How High SP (Self Powered) has been
reviewed by others, including Bob Aberle
in the September 2009 MA, so I won’t
repeat the fine details here.
I mention this new unit because it’s
much more practical for FF use. There’s no
receiver power to plug into an FF model,
and most FF aircraft don’t have easy access
to the insides.
Using the unit for performance testing,
an FF model should have the DT set to
activate shortly after engine shutdown, to
ensure that it’s not getting a free ride to
higher altitude via thermal activity. Unless
you like exciting flights and rebuilding
models, don’t set the DT so close that it
activates before engine shutdown.
Electric flight has crept into our activities,
to the delight of some OT fliers and cries
of sacrilege from others. There’s plenty of
electric information out there, but I’ll
mention a couple of basics.
For newcomers to OT electric, a safety
item built into most systems requires the
transmitter throttle setting be activated in
the off position before switching the rest of
the system on. Otherwise the motor will
not start.
Not only is motor-startup safety
involved, but if your throttle trim is set
slightly high, you might end up taking
everything apart to see why the motor
doesn’t run. You might need only to lower
the throttle trim. (Don’t ask how I learned
this.)
I have often read that you should start a
flight with a fully charged battery. This
information usually appears in the
instructions for ESCs and is usually
intended for use with Lithium batteries,
but none of these warnings explained why.
Knowing why is often the key to
understanding and remembering what may
seem to be an insignificant suggestion.
Greg Gimlick explained the reason for
this in his Electrics column in the August
2009 issue of this magazine. Lithiumchemistry
batteries are particularly
susceptible to being damaged when
discharged too far.
Most ESCs automatically detect
starting voltage at switch on. From this,
their little brains determine a safe level at
which to switch off or reduce power to the
motor. This isn’t only to ensure that the
radio still has enough voltage for a safe
landing. It also ensures that the battery
doesn’t get exhausted to the point of
permanently damaging itself.
After reading that explanation, I altered
my habit of sometimes taking a second
flight on a battery that I’d used but had
shut down between flights. This doesn’t
mean you shouldn’t switch the motor on
and off during an electric Texaco flight.
You just shouldn’t shut off the whole
system and then fly again later without
starting with a freshly charged battery.
Let’s gather here next year. MA
Sources:
SAM
www.antiquemodeler.org
AMA History Program
(800) 435-9262, extension 511
www.modelaircraft.org
AMA Plans Service
(800) 435-9262, extension 507
www.modelaircraft.org
Winged Shadow Systems
(630) 837-6553
www.wingedshadow.com
