RADIO CONTROL AEROBATICS - 2005/05

92 MODEL AVIATION
Eric Henderson, 303 Shady Ln., Marlton NJ 08053; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL AEROBATICS
Troy Newman is already winning trophies with his Pinnacle.
Dave Guerin (R)—seen here presenting Jason Shulman with a
winner's plaque—will be the event director for the 2005 Nats.
Author's Pinnacle—ready to fly if that groundhog gets it right!
IN DECEMBER 2004 I was elected to the board of the National
Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) as vice
president. That will allow the content of this Pattern column to be
much more informative and more current.
One of the NSRCA vice president’s duties is to coordinate
activities between the NSRCA and AMA for the 2005 Aerobatics
Nats. The event director for the Nats will be Dave Guerin. Based
on his experience last year, Dave was able to send me the
following content so that all AMA members can see it in MA
before the event takes place. This may well be a first for this
column.
The AMA Nats is the premier Pattern competition event in the
USA. It is the once-a-year opportunity for all of us to get
together, see old friends and make new ones, share stories of our
great accomplishments, and compete for bragging rights for next
year. It doesn’t get any better than that! It’s time to get ready.
June 1 is the early registration deadline; after that the entry
fees double. Although many of you pay the late fee and register
after the deadline, no entries will be accepted after July 10, 2005.
It helps if you sign up early so that event administration can
begin the process of preparing flight groupings and judging
assignments.
If you do not receive an entry form, they can be downloaded
from the AMA Web site at www.modelaircraft.org. You cannot
register online, but you can print out the form, fill it out, and mail
it to AMA.
The operations staff will enforce the aircraft specifications as
described in the rules for all four competition classes. Please
check your aircraft before you come to the Nats. The staff
doesn’t want to disqualify anyone, but everyone is required to fly
by the same rules.
Your aircraft must pass four checks to be approved for
competition: weight, size, sound, and model-identification
requirements (your AMA number on the airplane). A courtesy
equipment check will be available Sunday afternoon during
practice.
Practice will be Saturday, July 16, while RC Combat is
finishing up. When the Combat frequency pins are returned,
these sites will be available. On-site practice will be open
Sunday, July 17; Masters and F3A will use sites 1 and 3;
Intermediate and Advanced will use Site 4.
AMA classes 402, 403, and 404 must recertify this year
because of rules and schedule changes. F3A certification is good
through 2006. There will be an NSRCA judging certification
clinic Sunday morning. Anyone attending the Nats from other
94 MODEL AVIATION
The invisible stabilizer adjuster on the Oxai Models' Pinnacle is
accessible through the tail-wheel assembly.
Pinnacle's wing came cut for contoured Futaba wing servos.
The text contains details about how Californian Terry Hemmis
got into the sport of RC precision Aerobatics.
countries is welcome and encouraged to attend this clinic.
There will be an NSRCA banquet Tuesday evening, July 19,
held in conjunction with the NSRCA general meeting and fundraising
auction. Thursday, July 21, at 4 p.m. there will be a
barbecue and awards ceremony at Site 1. This event will be the
official conclusion of the 2005 Nats.
More information will be available on the NSRCA Web site--
www.nsrca.org/—and in the NSRCA membership publication,
the K Factor. If you have comments, questions, or you would
like to volunteer, please contact Dave Guerin at [email protected].
The best part of any Nats is meeting all the people you only
ever talk to on the phone or communicate with through E-mail.
Memories are made and kept for the fireside stories of the next
and subsequent Nats. Of course there is also a serious
competition to see who is the best in the USA!
This month I am going to take a look at a high-end, high-tech
airplane that is breaking onto the Pattern scene. The Pinnacle by
Oxai Models represents the top end of what you can buy in the
Pattern world today. It comes from a line that includes European
names such as the Diesel and the Impression.
The Pinnacle’s fuselage and wings are prepainted. The wings
are foam with balsa sheeting and are covered with fiberglass
cloth to facilitate the spray-painting. The paint job has to be
touched to be really appreciated. If you close your eyes and run
you finger over the colors, you can’t feel the joint between them.
The quality level of a model of this nature is apparent when
you get to handle it and see the detail work up close. The wings
fit perfectly. The stabilizers are accurately aligned. All of the
control surfaces come prehinged.
To get a Pinnacle ready to fly takes approximately four
evenings. The wings require the servo to be installed. You
choose the type of control horn you want to use. There is an
accessory pack, but I elected to use the Chip Hyde ball-bearing
horns. There are hard points inlaid in all of the control surfaces
that make the horn installation easy. Connect the servo to the
horn, and the wing is complete.
The stabilizer comes with cutouts for a servo in each half.
Repeat the wing control-system process in each half, and you are
finished! The stabilizer has a neat adjuster. If you did not know
what you were looking for, you would not find it. There is a
small hole in the bottom of the fuselage that gives you Allen-key
access to the adjuster that moves the rear stabilizer tube up and
down.
The rudder is prehinged, and the servo tray comes installed. It
took me less than 30 minutes to connect the rudder. The Pinnacle
has a custom engine mount. I chose to go with my trusty O.S.
1.60 Hyde “A” mounts because of serviceability/availability and
the fact that all my Pattern airplanes already use them! That
meant I had to redo the firewall to space out and align the
engine.
To obtain one of these models, in exactly the colors you want,
send a photo of the desired color scheme(s). My airplane was
delivered per my specifications.
The Pinnacle carries a price tag of roughly $2,900, which may
seem high if you have never had a model built for you. (Those of
us who are epoxy intolerant almost have no choice.) However, it
is not much more than what you would pay for a custom-built
airplane if you included the kit price. Of course, you do tend to
just sit and stare at it often while you wait for the winter to go
away.
Troy Newman has already been competing successfully with
the “standard”-color-scheme version. If you are interested in this
type of beautiful airplane, contact Sam Johnson of Onvaco
(USA) Inc. at Oxai-USA, 6273 S. Huachuca Way, Chandler AZ
85249; Tel.: (480) 664-1560; Fax: (480) 664-1561; E-mail:
[email protected]; Web site: www.oxai.us/.
Women in Pattern: Quite awhile ago this column featured
Linda Carnes, who is one of the few female RC Aerobatics
pilots. At the 2004 Nats I met Terry
Hemmis, who was attending to get an
idea of what a Nats is all about, with the
intent of competing in the Intermediate
(AMA event 402) class in 2005.
Following is a discussion I had with
Terry about how she got into the hobby
and the sport of precision Aerobatics.
EH: “How and when did you get into RC
flying?”
TH: “I wanted to get a group of guys from
a radio station, who were also RC pilots,
out to the school where I worked. This
was to do a reading incentive and demo
for the students. The guys recommended that
I come out and watch to see if that is what I
wanted. This was in June of 1999.
“After a couple of months of just
watching and then loving the sport, the guys
convinced me to get my own airplane and
learn to fly. It was almost six months before I
soloed due to the instructing schedule at the
lakebed at Edwards. We all received about
one or two flights per weekend. I eventually
mastered the fine art of landing without
repairs.
“A special thanks to Ralph Marshall and
Paul Metz for their love of flying and
teaching!”
EH: “What drew you into precision
Aerobatics and competition?”
TH: “A few years ago, Donny Wright moved
to Edwards and was flying at the lakebed. I
watched in awe, as most people did, while
Donny flew the Masters pattern, and the
desire to fly anywhere half as good as he did
was born.
“I went to the last TOC [Tournament of
Champions] in Vegas and then to several
Pattern meets prior to competing in Pattern in
February 2004. I must thank Donny Wright,
Troy Newman, Tony Frackowiak, Jerry
Budd, and Jim Woodward for their
instruction, support, and encouragement.”
EH: “Where do you fly and how often?”
TH: “I fly at the Antelope Valley Tailwinds,
Inc. site in Lancaster CA. Almost all
Saturdays and Sundays will find us out
flying.
“I’m not as assertive with the practice
time as I should be and get about three to five
flights in compared to others’ six to eight
flights. That puts me behind the learning
curve a bit. It’s something to improve upon,
and with Pattern flying there’s always
something to improve upon.”
EH: “What do you think is good and bad
about Pattern flying?”
TH: “I think Pattern is a great skill to learn,
as it teaches an individual to fly better, to be
more smooth, and to do more complex flying
on any given weekend.
“What is bad about Pattern? It takes a lot
of practice to fly well, consistently. Mistakes
equal dollars too, so one needs to be prepared
to lose a few bucks or more now and then.”
EH: “What would you do or change to make
Pattern more attractive to newcomers?”
TH: “Try not to scare the heck out of the
‘newbies’ about flying straight lines, parallel
to the runway, etc. Let people know that if
they want to learn the beginning level, they
can learn it.
“There are many great pilots, but don’t be
intimidated by their quality. Very few get to
the top after only a couple of years.
Competing has to be something you derive
pleasure from accomplishing and gain a
sense of satisfaction at always trying to fly
your best.”
EH: “Why do you think that there are so few
women RC pilots and, to continue that
thought, why are so few competing?”
TH: “I rarely come across a woman who
likes airplanes; I guess it isn’t a big stretch to
not have many women RC pilots. I have
talked with female pilots on RC Universe
and through other forums, but I haven't met
them in person. I don’t know if it has to do
with their spouse’s hobby time versus their
own hobby time or what.
“I like airplanes, being outdoors, and
learning new things. It’s a challenge to try to
do as well as my friends do. I’m a long way
from it, but it is a goal to strive for. I have
made many friends in this hobby and look
forward to seeing them at the contests as
well as making new friends.
“The Nats is a natural culmination of all
the practice and it’s an adventure all by
itself. Wondering who will be at the top, will
I know that person or have I watched that
person fly locally right next to me? Now that
is what is really cool about Pattern!”
Good luck at the 2005 Nats, Terry, and
thank you for taking the time to answer my
questions.
There is good news from Bob Obenberger
of Tru-Turn Precision Model Products—
especially for those who are building Pattern
airplanes such as the new Piedmont Models
Brio and last year’s AMA F3A-class
winner, the Composite-ARF Impact. These
models need an FAI-shaped spinner that is
approximately 31⁄2 inches in diameter and
has an FAI cone.
The FAI cone is a bit shorter than the
other 31⁄2-inch Tru-Turn spinners. This
dimension is important because it is
necessary to keep the overall length of a
Pattern airplane equal to or less than 2
meters, which is close to 78.75 inches.
By the time you read this, Tru-Turn
should have made these spinners available.
It takes a lot of work to retool and program
for a new spinner size. We are fortunate to
have a great supplier like Tru-Turn in our
hobby.
The dimension of 31⁄2 inches (in metric
terms it is close to 91mm) is approximate,
because when you make a spinner you have
to allow for finishing and for how far
forward the spinner is mounted in front of
the nose/spinner ring of the fuselage.
The significance of this spinner having
an FAI cone is that the FAI spinner’s shorter
length allows the builder to keep the overall
length of these new airplanes within the
Pattern 2-meter limit without hacking a
chunk of expensive composite material from
the back of the rudder! You can contact Tru-
Turn at (713) 943-1867 or visit www.truturn.
com/. MA