on the last scheduled day of the window,
TAM 3 was launched and started out well.
On the morning of August 21, Sally and I
awoke to this news in Ireland and we headed
for Clifden. We arranged to meet some
amateur radio people from Galway who had
the transmitter and go to the landing site.
The ham operators decided to drive to
Clifden to deliver the equipment and,
hopefully, to witness history.
Unfortunately the model, which had still
been flying when we arose in the morning,
disappeared from the telemetry system 479
miles into the flight. I called the people in St.
John’s, and they seemed to think the model
had flown into a thunderstorm and had
probably crashed into the ocean. I expressed
the thought that perhaps their telemetry
system had failed and the model was still
flying, and decided to continue the six-hour
drive to the landing site. While en route, the
cell phone rang and it was Maynard, who
expressed appreciation for my optimism, but
he really thought the model was lost.
I decided to press on anyway, as we
surely would have felt foolish had the model
arrived in Ireland, circled until it ran out of
fuel, crashed without anyone knowing it, and
been found by a farmer sometime in the
future! I met the ham operators in front of
the Alcott and Brown Hotel at 1 a.m., and
we went out to the landing site which was
really in the boondocks.
Quiet and still was the night as we
awaited what would never arrive. I sent the
ham operators on their way, and Sally and I
held the fort until 1 p.m. the next day, when
the model would have been out of fuel. The
model never arrived, and probably went into
the ocean because of the thunderstorm
encounter.
A funny thing happened as we sat
awaiting the model. At approximately 10
IT’s nIce to get a break from writing this
column, but the time comes when you have
to get back to the computer and start the
process again.
I spent the first part of the time in
Ireland, where there were high hopes that a
historically significant event would happen
for aeromodeling, but it was not to be. The
event? This summer was to be the
culmination of a many-year project; namely,
crossing the Atlantic with a model airplane.
The team that attempted this was led by
former AMA president Maynard Hill, and
was scheduled to launch from St. John’s,
Newfoundland, and land near Clifden,
Ireland, duplicating the flight path of Alcott
and Brown in their full-scale Curtiss NC-4
in 1919.
My wife Sally and I enjoy our trips to
Ireland, so this year we tried to schedule our
trip to coincide with this attempt, but using
frequent-flier miles we were unable to get
flights that coincided with the launch
window. We could not be there for the
primary target date, but we were able to be
there for the latter part of the target time
window, which typical meteorology in the
North Atlantic determined.
This turned out to be an advantage. The
team had launched TAM 1 (Trans Atlantic
Model 1) and TAM 2 before I even left for
Ireland, but both experienced “technical
difficulties” that resulted in the models
going into the Atlantic. TAM 1, launched on
August 9, had an apparent autopilot failure
and simply performed tight circles and
drifted offshore and into the drink.
TAM 2, launched on August 10, got a
better start, but for unknown reasons the
engine sagged off and quit just 17 minutes
into the attempt, and it also became ocean
fodder. Naturally the team was disappointed
and perplexed about why.
Unfavorable weather over the Atlantic
prevented TAM 3 from being launched for
the next few days, which gave the team an
opportunity to do some testing and fix the
problems. By August 19 time was running
out and the pilot in Ireland had to return
home.
I was drafted into service to land the
model when (you have to think positive) it
arrived in Ireland. On August 20 at
approximately 6 p.m. Newfoundland time,
Quiet and still was
the night as we
awaited what would
never arrive.
Dave Brown AMA president
President’s Perspective
a.m. we suddenly heard the faint sound of
an engine coming from the direction of the
ocean. We jumped up, excited by the
possibility that the model had made it! As it
turned out, it was someone with a weed
whacker on a small neighboring island!
We were disappointed, yet invigorated
by the experience. Can it be done? I’m
convinced it can, and I hope it will. Recent
discussions with Maynard have revealed
that he wants to try again next year, and he
is already working on refining the system.
As you can imagine, this type of attempt
is expensive, and the finances are a little
thin. Any who have the inspiration can
donate to the cause at Society for Technical
Aeromodel Research, Attn.: John E. Patton,
2001 Norvale Rd., Silver Spring MD 20906.
All of the efforts are labors of love, but
there are still costs involved for materials
and logistics.
Those who read this column regularly
might wonder why I’m not concerned about
this attempt, as I am generally critical of
flights beyond line of sight and have argued
for limitations on navigationally enhanced
autopilots in this column.
To begin with, I am concerned, but
Maynard has taken a reasonable approach
to the problem. He has never flown the
model out of line of sight over land. All of
the testing has been done within line of
sight, and the only time it will be beyond
line of sight is when it is over the ocean.
This is a Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale (FAI)-legal, record-eligible
model, which means it cannot weigh more
than 5 kg (11.023 pounds) including fuel.
That is part of what makes this such a
challenge and reflects on the safety of the
flight. This project has been years in the
making, and I wouldn’t have any authority
to stop it if I wanted to, so I might as well
support it!
I want to congratulate Maynard and the
whole team involved for a valiant attempt,
and to wish them luck in future attempts.
Maynard is certainly the focal point of this
effort, but it has taken a team of dozens to
get this far and will take dozens more in the
future. From the USA, Canada, and Ireland,
they are working together to create history,
and I congratulate them all. MA
’Til next month.
Dave Brown
AMA president
[email protected]
January 2003 5
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/01
Page Numbers: 5
