tailwind. Flying at roughly 43 mph in still
air, it would need to average nearly 60
mph.
Launched at approximately 8 p.m.
Newfoundland time, 11:30 p.m. IDT, on
Saturday, August 9, the model headed east
but encountered crosswinds rather than the
needed tailwinds. The model was
“porpoising” slightly in altitude and the
rpm was varying slightly, so there was a
lot of early concern. Previous models had
been steady in altitude and rpm and the
fact that this one wasn’t was disconcerting.
A few hours into the flight—I don’t
remember just how many—the model
increased in groundspeed as the tailwinds
materialized, and it was off to Ireland. It
was still “porpoising” and the rpm was
still varying from the desired 3,800 rpm,
sometimes going as high as 4,200 and
down to 3,600. Concern was expressed as
to the needle valve setting, but there was
nothing that could be done.
The flight would now take roughly 34
hours—assuming it continued—and with
an estimated 36-37 hours of fuel on board,
it was expected to
arrive at approximately
9 to 10 a.m. IDT in
Clifden.
On the Irish end of
the effort, we went to
bed Sunday night
with a plan to
assemble the crew at
the landing site at
7:30 a.m. in order to
prepare for the
arrival. The satellite
tracking of the model
was giving the crew
ON AUGUST 11 at 2:08 p.m. Irish
Daylight Time (IDT), 9:08 a.m. Eastern
Daylight Time, history was made when
Maynard Hill’s TAM 5 (Trans Atlantic
Model) touched down in the area near
where Alcock and Brown landed in
Clifden, County Galway, Ireland,
completing a 1,912 mile, 381⁄2 hour flight
from St. Johns, Newfoundland.
I was honored to be the pilot who took
over control from the autopilot and landed
the model. To say the emotions were high
would be an understatement. While the
entire story will be told in a future article,
I’ll outline the highlights so you will get
an idea of the magnitude of this
accomplishment.
The total weight of the model could not
exceed 5 kg (just a little more than 11
pounds) in order to satisfy the Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) rules
for setting records. This meant the model
had less than a gallon of fuel. (I figured
that it had approximately 100 ounces
based on its weight.)
The 10cc engine, the maximum size
allowed by the rules, appears to have
consumed 98 ounces of that fuel, leaving
roughly 2 ounces at landing. Talk about
cutting it close! That works out to a little
less than 2.5 ounces per hour!
In order to complete the flight in the
estimated 32 hours, the aircraft needed a
Dave Brown AMA president
President’s Perspective
in St. Johns an update on the position and
performance of the aircraft at
approximately one-hour intervals. We in
Ireland were to be informed by cell phone
if there was any problem.
The Irish Aeroclub observers—the
officials who were to oversee the landing
to verify its accuracy—came from Dublin,
so they had to depart for the site at 3 a.m.
The people from Cork left at 3:30 a.m.
Sally and I who stayed in Clifden, and
those from Galway, got to the site about
an hour before the others and tried the
Society for Technical Aeromodel Research
(STAR) Web site to get an update on the
model. We found only old data—from 3
a.m., as I remember—so I called the St.
Johns base to get a verbal update. I got a
surprise when the first words I heard were,
“The model has apparently not gone
down!”
What the …? They had not received a
satellite update for three hours and had
started calling people with the bad news
when the model “reported in.” They just
hadn’t gotten down the calling list to me.
They called the others to reverse their
earlier notification—TAM 5 was alive!
The cheers turned to concern when it
became known that we had lost the
tailwinds and were back to ground speeds
of approximately 42 mph with a long way
to go. It probably would not make Ireland
given the speed and fuel remaining. The
aircraft needed that tailwind.
I didn’t keep a log of the times, speeds,
and distances, but at 10 a.m. we tried to
acquire it with the telemetry equipment
operated by the amateur radio people from
Galway. They should have been able to
pick it up nearly 200 miles out but it was
silent. We waited and we waited. Finally
we began to hear faint signals from the
TAM 5. It was alive, but would it make it?
Assuming it was 200 miles out, some
quick figuring indicated it probably
wouldn’t make it. We didn’t get anything
but the noise of the telemetry which was
getting louder. The tension was so high
you could have cut the air with a knife.
We found out that the model was closer
than we thought and moving a little faster.
It had “reported in” to St. Johns, but the
estimated time of arrival was after 2
p.m.—an hour past the projected fuel
remaining. Yet, it was still flying.
We learned that we shouldn’t expect
direct telemetry data until the model was
inside 15 miles. The telemetry noise was
still getting louder, so we knew it was still
November 2003 5
Maynard Hill and
the TAM team conquer
the Atlantic!
Continued on page 176
President
flying, but how much fuel remained? I had
visions of TAM 5 getting within sight, yet
falling short. It was agonizing!
Making matters worse, the radio
operators had to disconnect the speaker to
connect the computer to see if we had
telemetry, so the “noise” would shut off
and give us a start. They finally figured out
how to have both units hooked up or I
think we would have needed a
cardiologist!
At 10 minutes before 2, a shriek went
out. “We have data! It’s 13 miles out,
making 94 kilometers per hour.” A quick
calculation and we realized we needed 13
minutes! I remember the six-minute point,
but the rest is a blur.
All eyes were on the horizon. The
distance kept descending, yet we couldn’t
spot the model. It got to 1.5 kilometers but
we couldn’t see the model! I had time to
ask if they had the right arrival point in the
computer when a cry went out.”There it
is!” It had snuck up on us, and was almost
over us. Boy, was it a beautiful sight!
Sally immediately called Maynard, who
claimed to be turning blue, having not
breathed for a while. They just knew it
should be there. I flipped the proper
switches, took control of the model, and
landed it. History was made at 2:08 p.m.
IDT. Maynard Hill and the TAM team had
conquered the Atlantic.
When I signed the official forms, I
remember shaking and I just looked at my
signature. I hope they can make it out!
The model had flown a little more than
381⁄2 hours—on what should have been 36
or perhaps 37 hours of fuel! Talking with
Maynard on the telephone after the flight,
he came to the conclusion that the reason
for the erratic engine performance was that
he had mistakenly set the needle valve a
little too lean—just lean enough to give us
the extra fuel necessary.
The Spirit of Butts Farm—also known
as TAM 5—was truly a spirited bird. MA
This column is dedicated to the TAM
team, comprising volunteers from the
United States, Canada, and Ireland,
without whose efforts, along with the
vision of former AMA president Maynard
Hill, this would have never been
successful—as well as those proud models,
TAM 1, TAM 2, TAM 3, and TAM 4, which
were lost to the sea paving the way for
TAM 5 to succeed. The Spirit of Butts
Farm glows bright indeed.
Dave Brown
AMA president
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/11
Page Numbers: 5,176
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/11
Page Numbers: 5,176
tailwind. Flying at roughly 43 mph in still
air, it would need to average nearly 60
mph.
Launched at approximately 8 p.m.
Newfoundland time, 11:30 p.m. IDT, on
Saturday, August 9, the model headed east
but encountered crosswinds rather than the
needed tailwinds. The model was
“porpoising” slightly in altitude and the
rpm was varying slightly, so there was a
lot of early concern. Previous models had
been steady in altitude and rpm and the
fact that this one wasn’t was disconcerting.
A few hours into the flight—I don’t
remember just how many—the model
increased in groundspeed as the tailwinds
materialized, and it was off to Ireland. It
was still “porpoising” and the rpm was
still varying from the desired 3,800 rpm,
sometimes going as high as 4,200 and
down to 3,600. Concern was expressed as
to the needle valve setting, but there was
nothing that could be done.
The flight would now take roughly 34
hours—assuming it continued—and with
an estimated 36-37 hours of fuel on board,
it was expected to
arrive at approximately
9 to 10 a.m. IDT in
Clifden.
On the Irish end of
the effort, we went to
bed Sunday night
with a plan to
assemble the crew at
the landing site at
7:30 a.m. in order to
prepare for the
arrival. The satellite
tracking of the model
was giving the crew
ON AUGUST 11 at 2:08 p.m. Irish
Daylight Time (IDT), 9:08 a.m. Eastern
Daylight Time, history was made when
Maynard Hill’s TAM 5 (Trans Atlantic
Model) touched down in the area near
where Alcock and Brown landed in
Clifden, County Galway, Ireland,
completing a 1,912 mile, 381⁄2 hour flight
from St. Johns, Newfoundland.
I was honored to be the pilot who took
over control from the autopilot and landed
the model. To say the emotions were high
would be an understatement. While the
entire story will be told in a future article,
I’ll outline the highlights so you will get
an idea of the magnitude of this
accomplishment.
The total weight of the model could not
exceed 5 kg (just a little more than 11
pounds) in order to satisfy the Fédération
Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) rules
for setting records. This meant the model
had less than a gallon of fuel. (I figured
that it had approximately 100 ounces
based on its weight.)
The 10cc engine, the maximum size
allowed by the rules, appears to have
consumed 98 ounces of that fuel, leaving
roughly 2 ounces at landing. Talk about
cutting it close! That works out to a little
less than 2.5 ounces per hour!
In order to complete the flight in the
estimated 32 hours, the aircraft needed a
Dave Brown AMA president
President’s Perspective
in St. Johns an update on the position and
performance of the aircraft at
approximately one-hour intervals. We in
Ireland were to be informed by cell phone
if there was any problem.
The Irish Aeroclub observers—the
officials who were to oversee the landing
to verify its accuracy—came from Dublin,
so they had to depart for the site at 3 a.m.
The people from Cork left at 3:30 a.m.
Sally and I who stayed in Clifden, and
those from Galway, got to the site about
an hour before the others and tried the
Society for Technical Aeromodel Research
(STAR) Web site to get an update on the
model. We found only old data—from 3
a.m., as I remember—so I called the St.
Johns base to get a verbal update. I got a
surprise when the first words I heard were,
“The model has apparently not gone
down!”
What the …? They had not received a
satellite update for three hours and had
started calling people with the bad news
when the model “reported in.” They just
hadn’t gotten down the calling list to me.
They called the others to reverse their
earlier notification—TAM 5 was alive!
The cheers turned to concern when it
became known that we had lost the
tailwinds and were back to ground speeds
of approximately 42 mph with a long way
to go. It probably would not make Ireland
given the speed and fuel remaining. The
aircraft needed that tailwind.
I didn’t keep a log of the times, speeds,
and distances, but at 10 a.m. we tried to
acquire it with the telemetry equipment
operated by the amateur radio people from
Galway. They should have been able to
pick it up nearly 200 miles out but it was
silent. We waited and we waited. Finally
we began to hear faint signals from the
TAM 5. It was alive, but would it make it?
Assuming it was 200 miles out, some
quick figuring indicated it probably
wouldn’t make it. We didn’t get anything
but the noise of the telemetry which was
getting louder. The tension was so high
you could have cut the air with a knife.
We found out that the model was closer
than we thought and moving a little faster.
It had “reported in” to St. Johns, but the
estimated time of arrival was after 2
p.m.—an hour past the projected fuel
remaining. Yet, it was still flying.
We learned that we shouldn’t expect
direct telemetry data until the model was
inside 15 miles. The telemetry noise was
still getting louder, so we knew it was still
November 2003 5
Maynard Hill and
the TAM team conquer
the Atlantic!
Continued on page 176
President
flying, but how much fuel remained? I had
visions of TAM 5 getting within sight, yet
falling short. It was agonizing!
Making matters worse, the radio
operators had to disconnect the speaker to
connect the computer to see if we had
telemetry, so the “noise” would shut off
and give us a start. They finally figured out
how to have both units hooked up or I
think we would have needed a
cardiologist!
At 10 minutes before 2, a shriek went
out. “We have data! It’s 13 miles out,
making 94 kilometers per hour.” A quick
calculation and we realized we needed 13
minutes! I remember the six-minute point,
but the rest is a blur.
All eyes were on the horizon. The
distance kept descending, yet we couldn’t
spot the model. It got to 1.5 kilometers but
we couldn’t see the model! I had time to
ask if they had the right arrival point in the
computer when a cry went out.”There it
is!” It had snuck up on us, and was almost
over us. Boy, was it a beautiful sight!
Sally immediately called Maynard, who
claimed to be turning blue, having not
breathed for a while. They just knew it
should be there. I flipped the proper
switches, took control of the model, and
landed it. History was made at 2:08 p.m.
IDT. Maynard Hill and the TAM team had
conquered the Atlantic.
When I signed the official forms, I
remember shaking and I just looked at my
signature. I hope they can make it out!
The model had flown a little more than
381⁄2 hours—on what should have been 36
or perhaps 37 hours of fuel! Talking with
Maynard on the telephone after the flight,
he came to the conclusion that the reason
for the erratic engine performance was that
he had mistakenly set the needle valve a
little too lean—just lean enough to give us
the extra fuel necessary.
The Spirit of Butts Farm—also known
as TAM 5—was truly a spirited bird. MA
This column is dedicated to the TAM
team, comprising volunteers from the
United States, Canada, and Ireland,
without whose efforts, along with the
vision of former AMA president Maynard
Hill, this would have never been
successful—as well as those proud models,
TAM 1, TAM 2, TAM 3, and TAM 4, which
were lost to the sea paving the way for
TAM 5 to succeed. The Spirit of Butts
Farm glows bright indeed.
Dave Brown
AMA president