RADIO CONTROL AEROBATICS - 2005/05
Eric Henderson 303 Shady Ln., Marlton NJ 08053 E-mail: [email protected]
NSRCA / AMA and the 2005 Aerobatics Nats
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 information 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.
Key dates and registration
- June 1: early registration deadline (after this date entry fees double).
- No entries will be accepted after July 10, 2005.
- You cannot register online, but you can download and print the entry form from the AMA website (www.modelaircraft.org), fill it out, and mail it to AMA.
Event operations and inspections
- 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
- model-identification requirements (your AMA number on the airplane)
- A courtesy equipment check will be available Sunday afternoon during practice.
Practice schedule and sites
- Practice will be Saturday, July 16, while RC Combat is finishing up. When the Combat frequency pins are returned, those 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.
Certification and clinics
- 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 countries is welcome and encouraged to attend this clinic.
Social/events
- 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 website (www.nsrca.org) and in the NSRCA membership publication, the K Factor. If you have comments, questions, or 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!
The Pinnacle (Oxai Models)
This month I 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.
Construction and finish
- 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 must be touched to be really appreciated; if you close your eyes and run your 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 handle it and see the detail work up close. The wings fit perfectly, the stabilizers are accurately aligned, and all control surfaces come prehinged.
Assembly
- 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 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—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 and 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.
Ordering and price
- 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. 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 winter to go away.
Troy Newman has already been competing successfully with the "standard"-color-scheme version. If you are interested in this airplane, contact Sam Johnson of Oxai (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 a while ago this column featured women 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 beginner 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.
Tru-Turn Spinners and FAI Cone Update
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 3½ inches in diameter and has an FAI cone.
The FAI cone is a bit shorter than the other 3½-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 (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 3½ inches (in metric terms it is close to 91 mm) 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.tru-turn.com/.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
