116 MODEL AVIATION December 2004 116
WHAT AN experience—again! I just got
back to reality from four great days of flying
helicopters with some great pilots and the
master himself: Curtis Youngblood.
The second-annual Northeast Model
Helicopter Jamboree, hosted by the Rochester
AeroModeling Society (RAMS) and
Performance Hobbies of Webster, New York,
was held August 27-29. Before the event there
were two days of helicopter school, during
which each of us had some exclusive time
working with Curtis on whatever our little
hearts desired.
Performance Hobbies, Ray Stacy, and the
Pembertons made arrangements and gathered
the funds to have Curtis come up and put on
the school. It was by invitation and cost
everyone some cash to pay for his days there.
He even brought two of his “school machines”
and a buddy box to assist in teaching.
Jim and Erin Pemberton live outside of
Spencerport, New York—a suburb of
Rochester. Their back yard opens up into farm
fields as far as the horizon; it’s a picturesque
place to fly. They graciously opened their
home as a “bed-and-breakfast” to Curtis and
Jeff Swartz, who came in from Ohio to assist
Curtis for those two days. Curtis taught the
flying, and Jeff did a bunch of setups for the
participants.
The list of students was split into two
groups of 12—a dozen for each day. Curtis
flew with each person on the list, starting first
thing in the morning. Every person ended up
with approximately 20 minutes of flying time.
Before each flight, Curtis sat with the
student and discussed what the lesson would
involve, and he prepared them with the
background necessary to get the most out of
the flight. Everyone present could listen in on
the discussions and get as much out of the day
as they wanted.
I was there for Thursday’s activities. When
it came time for me to work with Curtis, I
wanted to learn something I suppose would
seem rather simple to most but has been
eluding me for sometime. I wanted to learn
the secrets of slow- to moderate-speed,
stationary, continuous pirouettes.
My flying routines have been seriously
lacking in any kind of decent pirouette
maneuvers, and it was time for me to work
this out. I would always get through several
slow pirouettes, and then it seemed that the
machine would end up flying out of the spot.
When talking with Curtis, I learned that for
anything but the slowest pirouettes, I was
working much too hard to maintain position
with the machine. He usually corrects once or
twice in a revolution using the nose or tail. He
inputs the correction as he continues the
Dan Williams, 27 Treeline Dr., Liverpool NY 13090; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Curtis School 2004 and Pembertons’ “bed-and-breakfast.” Erin and Jim played host to
Curtis Youngblood and Jeff Swartz for the duration of the Jamboree.
Curtis (R) gets ready for instruction with Bill “B.J.” Jones of Arizona, who was visiting
his son Randy. He filled in while Randy was at work that day.
A view of the second-annual Northeast Model Helicopter Jamboree. To see many more
photos of the event, go to the RAMS club’s Web site: www.rcplane.com.
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 8:57 am Page 116
maneuver. Only during the very slowest pirouettes does he constantly
follow the machine and input continuous corrections.
My mistake was to try to make continuous corrections even for
medium-speed pirouettes—those lasting roughly two seconds for a full
revolution. I was simply overloading my brain with trying to keep up.
One more thing he added was that if he sees the blade disk out of
level, he makes that correction in addition to his normal timing of nose
and tail correction. If all else fails, he stops the pirouette, makes the
correction and gets the machine stationary, and then continues. So then
we flew.
Using one of Curtis’s school machines and a buddy box, he
basically let me take the helicopter to do whatever we discussed. I
didn’t need him to bail me out of my maneuvers because I wasn’t
December 2004 117
E-mail the author for the whole story about how Juan Rodriguez
was flying Curtis’s “school” model when this happened.
Curtis (R) was accessible throughout the event. Sandy Jaffe gets
some checkout time with him at the fly-in.
Greg Alderman’s “HotCat” turbine-powered helicopter gets a
thorough checkout before going up for a demo flight.
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:01 am Page 117
tasking the machine or my ability to keep from
going in. Just having him there, talking
through the corrections, was a big help. After
several minutes I had them nailed.
Then I reversed direction. Remember to
always practice in both directions! I suddenly
learned that the corrections I was getting used
to basically went out the window when I tried
them the other way.
A clockwise-spinning-disk helicopter will
lean to the right when you’re looking from the
tail. That’s because the correction necessary
from the tail rotor tends to push the model to
the left to compensate for torque. (That’s my
simple explanation.)
Doing a counterclockwise pirouette means
that you are removing some tail-rotor pitch,
allowing the machine to spin that way. Some
of the correction necessary is to remove some
of the right cyclic. When going clockwise,
more tail-rotor pitch is needed because the
machine needs to turn against the torque.
More right cyclic is needed.
Curtis was explaining this to me while I
was starting to do the chase thing across the
sky, attempting continuous pirouettes. After a
couple words of encouragement, I had it
figured out. I could have had him help me
work out the basic chaos maneuver for my
turn with him, but without a firm foundation
of the basics I would have wasted my time and
his. I’m a firm believer in the basics.
One of the most memorable things during
the school was when 8-year-old Kyle Stacy
was flying his second session with Curtis.
Kyle’s dad Ray was trying to task him with
something difficult while Curtis was there to
help.
The next thing I knew, Kyle’s model was
on the deck, inverted in a hover and starting to
do a slow pirouette. Ray was speechless.
Considering what Curtis worked on with me, I
was too. I found out later that Kyle was doing
backward, inverted circuits with Curtis the
previous day. Maybe I should take up stamp
collecting.
Each evening Jim and Erin provided a
huge spread of great food for dinner, and then
there was more flying. We flew until we
couldn’t see anymore. Thursday night, Curtis
put on a night-flying demonstration. Why the
cops never showed up because of a UFO
report from one of the neighbors, I’ll never
know. The day was just too darn short.
Friday was the first day of the Jamboree.
The site was the RAMS’ Macedon, New
York, field. The club consists mostly of fixedwing
pilots, but Ray has managed to do a great
deal of converting in the past few years so that
there’s a great mix of helicopter and fixedwing
fliers. And both fly at the same time.
Think about that for a minute.
Imagine getting a fixed-wing club’s
members to give up their flying site for
three days and then have them work their
butts off to put on a helicopter event. It
boggles the mind. They set the standard
that all clubs should follow for putting on
an event such as this. There was great food,
great music, and great running commentary
during the whole event.
By the peak of the day Saturday, more than
65 pilots were registered, representing 17
states and two Canadian provinces. That’s not
too shabby for only the second running of this
event.
Besides Curtis and Jeff, top pilots who
attended included Pete Niotis and Mallory
Zastrow of Michigan, Jeff Green of New
Jersey, and a bunch of others, but I didn’t get
their names. Sorry. Most of the helicopter
brands were represented.
There was some awesome flying, plenty of
flying time, and few casualties throughout the
event. It was a relaxing and fun time. Curtis
was available for any kind of question,
including inquiries about the new JR
helicopter—the Vibe—which he flew during
most of the demonstrations.
Jeff Swartz flies for Thunder Tiger, and he
demonstrated the latest version of the 90
Raptor. Jeff Green from Model Rectifier
Corporation was there with the Hirobo XSpec.
Mallory Zastrow was flying for Bergen
RC, and Larry Bergen—everybody’s favorite
person in the helicopter hobby—was there to
support her. Pete Niotis flies for Miniature
Aircraft, and he tore up the sky for his
demonstrations with one of the Fury
machines.
All of these pilots were accessible for the
duration of the event. Many of them spent
time with people and helped them out with
flying, setups, or both. I’d like to thank them
and all the pilots who helped out and turned a
wrench on someone’s machine or helped stir
118 MODEL AVIATION
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:01 am Page 118
their transmitter sticks to test a setup. In
many cases, this is the only access many
fliers have to professional help. These pilots
realize what it takes to keep this great hobby
moving forward.
There was even a turbine-powered
helicopter! Greg Alderman came all the way
from Virginia to show off his JetCat-powered
Vario. He flew demonstrations every day.
Everyone got quiet so that we could hear this
machine self-start and run up before taking
off. This is the extreme edge of the hobby.
These turbines have come such a long way.
I didn’t realize what these pilots have to
go through to fly turbine-powered models at
a public event. Greg explained to me that to
fly at an AMA sanctioned event, he has to
keep an accurate log of every one of his
machine’s flights. He has to present that
record for review by the event director or
CD, along with the rest of the paperwork
required by AMA to fly. It is a thorough
process. The RAMS members in charge of the
event did a good job of following the rules.
The weather this summer wasn’t the
greatest, and there were rain showers every
afternoon during the event. It was a good
excuse to get some dinner. By the time we
were finished, the weather cleared and
evening flying would commence.
There was night-flying Friday and
Saturday. Curtis did something really special
for that. Junior pilots Kyle Stacy and 14-yearold
A.J. Jaffe got some quality stick time with
Curtis via a buddy box on his machine, and
both did everything at night that they were
doing during the day. Curtis has this way with
people that makes them feel at ease and brings
out the best in their flying abilities.
Sunday Curtis gave Kyle his V-Blades
straw hat he wore at the AMA Nationals, the
3-D Masters, and the Xtreme Flight
Championships. Kyle looked good in it. Curtis
is a class act. What a spokesman for the sport!
It’s time for me to say farewell. It’s been a lot
of fun, and I hope I made this column
enjoyable for most people. Thanks to all who
sent E-mails of encouragement, ideas, and
generally had positive things to say. To all
who would rather sit behind a monitor and
keyboard, fire off nasty E-mails, and try and
get a rise out of me, thank you as well. You
didn’t.
To all who are just getting going in this
great hobby, work as hard as you can to get the
information you need. Fly as much as possible.
Get out to some events and seek help there.
You will find good help if you keep looking.
Make it a goal to show those who won’t help
you just what you’ve learned without them.
I’m turning this column over to someone
who has been deserving of the position for a
while. Ray Stacy has helped me immensely
throughout my career as a writer for the sport.
He is an extremely capable pilot and has a
passion for the sport. He’s a professional. Ray
has good access to all that is cutting edge in
the hobby, and I’m sure he’ll share it with you.
He certainly did with me.
Ray is a good personal friend, but I
recommended him because I know he’ll do a
great job. Best of luck to you, Ray.
Someone needs to invent a spacebar
(simulator reset) for models. MA
Herr Engineering
A Division of SIG MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.
Visit our Web Site: www.iflyherr.com
P. O. Box 520 • Montezuma, Iowa 50171-0520 • 641-623-5154
Herr Little Extra ARF
Specifications:
Wing Span: 36.5 inches
Wing Area: 344 sq. inches
Fuse Length: 32.75 inches
Flying Weight: 18 - 22 oz.
Engines: .074 2-stroke
Radio: 4 channel with 4 servos
Wow the crowds with this super sharp aerobatic performer from Herr Engineering.
Don’t be fooled by the small size of this airplane. Just like the full size version from Waltert
Extra, the Herr Little Extra ARF performs the three T’s - tumbles, torque rolls, and tail slides -
mixed in among snap rolls, Cuban 8’s, and other maneuvers you didn’t know a plane of this size
could do.
Constructed of the best balsa and plywood, each Herr Little Extra is expertly finished in
genuine AeroKote™. A complete hardware package including fuel tank, motor mount, durable
landing gear, scale-like tailwheel assembly, and qualityy control linkages leave nothing to
chance.
Grab some X-citement with the Herr Little Extra ARF. Available at leading hobby retailers.
1//2A X--Ciitteemeentt!!
Available in two different color choices
HRR600ARFP - Purple & White
HRR600ARFT - Teal and Cream
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:03 am Page 120
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/12
Page Numbers: 116,117,118,120
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/12
Page Numbers: 116,117,118,120
116 MODEL AVIATION December 2004 116
WHAT AN experience—again! I just got
back to reality from four great days of flying
helicopters with some great pilots and the
master himself: Curtis Youngblood.
The second-annual Northeast Model
Helicopter Jamboree, hosted by the Rochester
AeroModeling Society (RAMS) and
Performance Hobbies of Webster, New York,
was held August 27-29. Before the event there
were two days of helicopter school, during
which each of us had some exclusive time
working with Curtis on whatever our little
hearts desired.
Performance Hobbies, Ray Stacy, and the
Pembertons made arrangements and gathered
the funds to have Curtis come up and put on
the school. It was by invitation and cost
everyone some cash to pay for his days there.
He even brought two of his “school machines”
and a buddy box to assist in teaching.
Jim and Erin Pemberton live outside of
Spencerport, New York—a suburb of
Rochester. Their back yard opens up into farm
fields as far as the horizon; it’s a picturesque
place to fly. They graciously opened their
home as a “bed-and-breakfast” to Curtis and
Jeff Swartz, who came in from Ohio to assist
Curtis for those two days. Curtis taught the
flying, and Jeff did a bunch of setups for the
participants.
The list of students was split into two
groups of 12—a dozen for each day. Curtis
flew with each person on the list, starting first
thing in the morning. Every person ended up
with approximately 20 minutes of flying time.
Before each flight, Curtis sat with the
student and discussed what the lesson would
involve, and he prepared them with the
background necessary to get the most out of
the flight. Everyone present could listen in on
the discussions and get as much out of the day
as they wanted.
I was there for Thursday’s activities. When
it came time for me to work with Curtis, I
wanted to learn something I suppose would
seem rather simple to most but has been
eluding me for sometime. I wanted to learn
the secrets of slow- to moderate-speed,
stationary, continuous pirouettes.
My flying routines have been seriously
lacking in any kind of decent pirouette
maneuvers, and it was time for me to work
this out. I would always get through several
slow pirouettes, and then it seemed that the
machine would end up flying out of the spot.
When talking with Curtis, I learned that for
anything but the slowest pirouettes, I was
working much too hard to maintain position
with the machine. He usually corrects once or
twice in a revolution using the nose or tail. He
inputs the correction as he continues the
Dan Williams, 27 Treeline Dr., Liverpool NY 13090; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Curtis School 2004 and Pembertons’ “bed-and-breakfast.” Erin and Jim played host to
Curtis Youngblood and Jeff Swartz for the duration of the Jamboree.
Curtis (R) gets ready for instruction with Bill “B.J.” Jones of Arizona, who was visiting
his son Randy. He filled in while Randy was at work that day.
A view of the second-annual Northeast Model Helicopter Jamboree. To see many more
photos of the event, go to the RAMS club’s Web site: www.rcplane.com.
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 8:57 am Page 116
maneuver. Only during the very slowest pirouettes does he constantly
follow the machine and input continuous corrections.
My mistake was to try to make continuous corrections even for
medium-speed pirouettes—those lasting roughly two seconds for a full
revolution. I was simply overloading my brain with trying to keep up.
One more thing he added was that if he sees the blade disk out of
level, he makes that correction in addition to his normal timing of nose
and tail correction. If all else fails, he stops the pirouette, makes the
correction and gets the machine stationary, and then continues. So then
we flew.
Using one of Curtis’s school machines and a buddy box, he
basically let me take the helicopter to do whatever we discussed. I
didn’t need him to bail me out of my maneuvers because I wasn’t
December 2004 117
E-mail the author for the whole story about how Juan Rodriguez
was flying Curtis’s “school” model when this happened.
Curtis (R) was accessible throughout the event. Sandy Jaffe gets
some checkout time with him at the fly-in.
Greg Alderman’s “HotCat” turbine-powered helicopter gets a
thorough checkout before going up for a demo flight.
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:01 am Page 117
tasking the machine or my ability to keep from
going in. Just having him there, talking
through the corrections, was a big help. After
several minutes I had them nailed.
Then I reversed direction. Remember to
always practice in both directions! I suddenly
learned that the corrections I was getting used
to basically went out the window when I tried
them the other way.
A clockwise-spinning-disk helicopter will
lean to the right when you’re looking from the
tail. That’s because the correction necessary
from the tail rotor tends to push the model to
the left to compensate for torque. (That’s my
simple explanation.)
Doing a counterclockwise pirouette means
that you are removing some tail-rotor pitch,
allowing the machine to spin that way. Some
of the correction necessary is to remove some
of the right cyclic. When going clockwise,
more tail-rotor pitch is needed because the
machine needs to turn against the torque.
More right cyclic is needed.
Curtis was explaining this to me while I
was starting to do the chase thing across the
sky, attempting continuous pirouettes. After a
couple words of encouragement, I had it
figured out. I could have had him help me
work out the basic chaos maneuver for my
turn with him, but without a firm foundation
of the basics I would have wasted my time and
his. I’m a firm believer in the basics.
One of the most memorable things during
the school was when 8-year-old Kyle Stacy
was flying his second session with Curtis.
Kyle’s dad Ray was trying to task him with
something difficult while Curtis was there to
help.
The next thing I knew, Kyle’s model was
on the deck, inverted in a hover and starting to
do a slow pirouette. Ray was speechless.
Considering what Curtis worked on with me, I
was too. I found out later that Kyle was doing
backward, inverted circuits with Curtis the
previous day. Maybe I should take up stamp
collecting.
Each evening Jim and Erin provided a
huge spread of great food for dinner, and then
there was more flying. We flew until we
couldn’t see anymore. Thursday night, Curtis
put on a night-flying demonstration. Why the
cops never showed up because of a UFO
report from one of the neighbors, I’ll never
know. The day was just too darn short.
Friday was the first day of the Jamboree.
The site was the RAMS’ Macedon, New
York, field. The club consists mostly of fixedwing
pilots, but Ray has managed to do a great
deal of converting in the past few years so that
there’s a great mix of helicopter and fixedwing
fliers. And both fly at the same time.
Think about that for a minute.
Imagine getting a fixed-wing club’s
members to give up their flying site for
three days and then have them work their
butts off to put on a helicopter event. It
boggles the mind. They set the standard
that all clubs should follow for putting on
an event such as this. There was great food,
great music, and great running commentary
during the whole event.
By the peak of the day Saturday, more than
65 pilots were registered, representing 17
states and two Canadian provinces. That’s not
too shabby for only the second running of this
event.
Besides Curtis and Jeff, top pilots who
attended included Pete Niotis and Mallory
Zastrow of Michigan, Jeff Green of New
Jersey, and a bunch of others, but I didn’t get
their names. Sorry. Most of the helicopter
brands were represented.
There was some awesome flying, plenty of
flying time, and few casualties throughout the
event. It was a relaxing and fun time. Curtis
was available for any kind of question,
including inquiries about the new JR
helicopter—the Vibe—which he flew during
most of the demonstrations.
Jeff Swartz flies for Thunder Tiger, and he
demonstrated the latest version of the 90
Raptor. Jeff Green from Model Rectifier
Corporation was there with the Hirobo XSpec.
Mallory Zastrow was flying for Bergen
RC, and Larry Bergen—everybody’s favorite
person in the helicopter hobby—was there to
support her. Pete Niotis flies for Miniature
Aircraft, and he tore up the sky for his
demonstrations with one of the Fury
machines.
All of these pilots were accessible for the
duration of the event. Many of them spent
time with people and helped them out with
flying, setups, or both. I’d like to thank them
and all the pilots who helped out and turned a
wrench on someone’s machine or helped stir
118 MODEL AVIATION
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:01 am Page 118
their transmitter sticks to test a setup. In
many cases, this is the only access many
fliers have to professional help. These pilots
realize what it takes to keep this great hobby
moving forward.
There was even a turbine-powered
helicopter! Greg Alderman came all the way
from Virginia to show off his JetCat-powered
Vario. He flew demonstrations every day.
Everyone got quiet so that we could hear this
machine self-start and run up before taking
off. This is the extreme edge of the hobby.
These turbines have come such a long way.
I didn’t realize what these pilots have to
go through to fly turbine-powered models at
a public event. Greg explained to me that to
fly at an AMA sanctioned event, he has to
keep an accurate log of every one of his
machine’s flights. He has to present that
record for review by the event director or
CD, along with the rest of the paperwork
required by AMA to fly. It is a thorough
process. The RAMS members in charge of the
event did a good job of following the rules.
The weather this summer wasn’t the
greatest, and there were rain showers every
afternoon during the event. It was a good
excuse to get some dinner. By the time we
were finished, the weather cleared and
evening flying would commence.
There was night-flying Friday and
Saturday. Curtis did something really special
for that. Junior pilots Kyle Stacy and 14-yearold
A.J. Jaffe got some quality stick time with
Curtis via a buddy box on his machine, and
both did everything at night that they were
doing during the day. Curtis has this way with
people that makes them feel at ease and brings
out the best in their flying abilities.
Sunday Curtis gave Kyle his V-Blades
straw hat he wore at the AMA Nationals, the
3-D Masters, and the Xtreme Flight
Championships. Kyle looked good in it. Curtis
is a class act. What a spokesman for the sport!
It’s time for me to say farewell. It’s been a lot
of fun, and I hope I made this column
enjoyable for most people. Thanks to all who
sent E-mails of encouragement, ideas, and
generally had positive things to say. To all
who would rather sit behind a monitor and
keyboard, fire off nasty E-mails, and try and
get a rise out of me, thank you as well. You
didn’t.
To all who are just getting going in this
great hobby, work as hard as you can to get the
information you need. Fly as much as possible.
Get out to some events and seek help there.
You will find good help if you keep looking.
Make it a goal to show those who won’t help
you just what you’ve learned without them.
I’m turning this column over to someone
who has been deserving of the position for a
while. Ray Stacy has helped me immensely
throughout my career as a writer for the sport.
He is an extremely capable pilot and has a
passion for the sport. He’s a professional. Ray
has good access to all that is cutting edge in
the hobby, and I’m sure he’ll share it with you.
He certainly did with me.
Ray is a good personal friend, but I
recommended him because I know he’ll do a
great job. Best of luck to you, Ray.
Someone needs to invent a spacebar
(simulator reset) for models. MA
Herr Engineering
A Division of SIG MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.
Visit our Web Site: www.iflyherr.com
P. O. Box 520 • Montezuma, Iowa 50171-0520 • 641-623-5154
Herr Little Extra ARF
Specifications:
Wing Span: 36.5 inches
Wing Area: 344 sq. inches
Fuse Length: 32.75 inches
Flying Weight: 18 - 22 oz.
Engines: .074 2-stroke
Radio: 4 channel with 4 servos
Wow the crowds with this super sharp aerobatic performer from Herr Engineering.
Don’t be fooled by the small size of this airplane. Just like the full size version from Waltert
Extra, the Herr Little Extra ARF performs the three T’s - tumbles, torque rolls, and tail slides -
mixed in among snap rolls, Cuban 8’s, and other maneuvers you didn’t know a plane of this size
could do.
Constructed of the best balsa and plywood, each Herr Little Extra is expertly finished in
genuine AeroKote™. A complete hardware package including fuel tank, motor mount, durable
landing gear, scale-like tailwheel assembly, and qualityy control linkages leave nothing to
chance.
Grab some X-citement with the Herr Little Extra ARF. Available at leading hobby retailers.
1//2A X--Ciitteemeentt!!
Available in two different color choices
HRR600ARFP - Purple & White
HRR600ARFT - Teal and Cream
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:03 am Page 120
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/12
Page Numbers: 116,117,118,120
116 MODEL AVIATION December 2004 116
WHAT AN experience—again! I just got
back to reality from four great days of flying
helicopters with some great pilots and the
master himself: Curtis Youngblood.
The second-annual Northeast Model
Helicopter Jamboree, hosted by the Rochester
AeroModeling Society (RAMS) and
Performance Hobbies of Webster, New York,
was held August 27-29. Before the event there
were two days of helicopter school, during
which each of us had some exclusive time
working with Curtis on whatever our little
hearts desired.
Performance Hobbies, Ray Stacy, and the
Pembertons made arrangements and gathered
the funds to have Curtis come up and put on
the school. It was by invitation and cost
everyone some cash to pay for his days there.
He even brought two of his “school machines”
and a buddy box to assist in teaching.
Jim and Erin Pemberton live outside of
Spencerport, New York—a suburb of
Rochester. Their back yard opens up into farm
fields as far as the horizon; it’s a picturesque
place to fly. They graciously opened their
home as a “bed-and-breakfast” to Curtis and
Jeff Swartz, who came in from Ohio to assist
Curtis for those two days. Curtis taught the
flying, and Jeff did a bunch of setups for the
participants.
The list of students was split into two
groups of 12—a dozen for each day. Curtis
flew with each person on the list, starting first
thing in the morning. Every person ended up
with approximately 20 minutes of flying time.
Before each flight, Curtis sat with the
student and discussed what the lesson would
involve, and he prepared them with the
background necessary to get the most out of
the flight. Everyone present could listen in on
the discussions and get as much out of the day
as they wanted.
I was there for Thursday’s activities. When
it came time for me to work with Curtis, I
wanted to learn something I suppose would
seem rather simple to most but has been
eluding me for sometime. I wanted to learn
the secrets of slow- to moderate-speed,
stationary, continuous pirouettes.
My flying routines have been seriously
lacking in any kind of decent pirouette
maneuvers, and it was time for me to work
this out. I would always get through several
slow pirouettes, and then it seemed that the
machine would end up flying out of the spot.
When talking with Curtis, I learned that for
anything but the slowest pirouettes, I was
working much too hard to maintain position
with the machine. He usually corrects once or
twice in a revolution using the nose or tail. He
inputs the correction as he continues the
Dan Williams, 27 Treeline Dr., Liverpool NY 13090; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Curtis School 2004 and Pembertons’ “bed-and-breakfast.” Erin and Jim played host to
Curtis Youngblood and Jeff Swartz for the duration of the Jamboree.
Curtis (R) gets ready for instruction with Bill “B.J.” Jones of Arizona, who was visiting
his son Randy. He filled in while Randy was at work that day.
A view of the second-annual Northeast Model Helicopter Jamboree. To see many more
photos of the event, go to the RAMS club’s Web site: www.rcplane.com.
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 8:57 am Page 116
maneuver. Only during the very slowest pirouettes does he constantly
follow the machine and input continuous corrections.
My mistake was to try to make continuous corrections even for
medium-speed pirouettes—those lasting roughly two seconds for a full
revolution. I was simply overloading my brain with trying to keep up.
One more thing he added was that if he sees the blade disk out of
level, he makes that correction in addition to his normal timing of nose
and tail correction. If all else fails, he stops the pirouette, makes the
correction and gets the machine stationary, and then continues. So then
we flew.
Using one of Curtis’s school machines and a buddy box, he
basically let me take the helicopter to do whatever we discussed. I
didn’t need him to bail me out of my maneuvers because I wasn’t
December 2004 117
E-mail the author for the whole story about how Juan Rodriguez
was flying Curtis’s “school” model when this happened.
Curtis (R) was accessible throughout the event. Sandy Jaffe gets
some checkout time with him at the fly-in.
Greg Alderman’s “HotCat” turbine-powered helicopter gets a
thorough checkout before going up for a demo flight.
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:01 am Page 117
tasking the machine or my ability to keep from
going in. Just having him there, talking
through the corrections, was a big help. After
several minutes I had them nailed.
Then I reversed direction. Remember to
always practice in both directions! I suddenly
learned that the corrections I was getting used
to basically went out the window when I tried
them the other way.
A clockwise-spinning-disk helicopter will
lean to the right when you’re looking from the
tail. That’s because the correction necessary
from the tail rotor tends to push the model to
the left to compensate for torque. (That’s my
simple explanation.)
Doing a counterclockwise pirouette means
that you are removing some tail-rotor pitch,
allowing the machine to spin that way. Some
of the correction necessary is to remove some
of the right cyclic. When going clockwise,
more tail-rotor pitch is needed because the
machine needs to turn against the torque.
More right cyclic is needed.
Curtis was explaining this to me while I
was starting to do the chase thing across the
sky, attempting continuous pirouettes. After a
couple words of encouragement, I had it
figured out. I could have had him help me
work out the basic chaos maneuver for my
turn with him, but without a firm foundation
of the basics I would have wasted my time and
his. I’m a firm believer in the basics.
One of the most memorable things during
the school was when 8-year-old Kyle Stacy
was flying his second session with Curtis.
Kyle’s dad Ray was trying to task him with
something difficult while Curtis was there to
help.
The next thing I knew, Kyle’s model was
on the deck, inverted in a hover and starting to
do a slow pirouette. Ray was speechless.
Considering what Curtis worked on with me, I
was too. I found out later that Kyle was doing
backward, inverted circuits with Curtis the
previous day. Maybe I should take up stamp
collecting.
Each evening Jim and Erin provided a
huge spread of great food for dinner, and then
there was more flying. We flew until we
couldn’t see anymore. Thursday night, Curtis
put on a night-flying demonstration. Why the
cops never showed up because of a UFO
report from one of the neighbors, I’ll never
know. The day was just too darn short.
Friday was the first day of the Jamboree.
The site was the RAMS’ Macedon, New
York, field. The club consists mostly of fixedwing
pilots, but Ray has managed to do a great
deal of converting in the past few years so that
there’s a great mix of helicopter and fixedwing
fliers. And both fly at the same time.
Think about that for a minute.
Imagine getting a fixed-wing club’s
members to give up their flying site for
three days and then have them work their
butts off to put on a helicopter event. It
boggles the mind. They set the standard
that all clubs should follow for putting on
an event such as this. There was great food,
great music, and great running commentary
during the whole event.
By the peak of the day Saturday, more than
65 pilots were registered, representing 17
states and two Canadian provinces. That’s not
too shabby for only the second running of this
event.
Besides Curtis and Jeff, top pilots who
attended included Pete Niotis and Mallory
Zastrow of Michigan, Jeff Green of New
Jersey, and a bunch of others, but I didn’t get
their names. Sorry. Most of the helicopter
brands were represented.
There was some awesome flying, plenty of
flying time, and few casualties throughout the
event. It was a relaxing and fun time. Curtis
was available for any kind of question,
including inquiries about the new JR
helicopter—the Vibe—which he flew during
most of the demonstrations.
Jeff Swartz flies for Thunder Tiger, and he
demonstrated the latest version of the 90
Raptor. Jeff Green from Model Rectifier
Corporation was there with the Hirobo XSpec.
Mallory Zastrow was flying for Bergen
RC, and Larry Bergen—everybody’s favorite
person in the helicopter hobby—was there to
support her. Pete Niotis flies for Miniature
Aircraft, and he tore up the sky for his
demonstrations with one of the Fury
machines.
All of these pilots were accessible for the
duration of the event. Many of them spent
time with people and helped them out with
flying, setups, or both. I’d like to thank them
and all the pilots who helped out and turned a
wrench on someone’s machine or helped stir
118 MODEL AVIATION
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:01 am Page 118
their transmitter sticks to test a setup. In
many cases, this is the only access many
fliers have to professional help. These pilots
realize what it takes to keep this great hobby
moving forward.
There was even a turbine-powered
helicopter! Greg Alderman came all the way
from Virginia to show off his JetCat-powered
Vario. He flew demonstrations every day.
Everyone got quiet so that we could hear this
machine self-start and run up before taking
off. This is the extreme edge of the hobby.
These turbines have come such a long way.
I didn’t realize what these pilots have to
go through to fly turbine-powered models at
a public event. Greg explained to me that to
fly at an AMA sanctioned event, he has to
keep an accurate log of every one of his
machine’s flights. He has to present that
record for review by the event director or
CD, along with the rest of the paperwork
required by AMA to fly. It is a thorough
process. The RAMS members in charge of the
event did a good job of following the rules.
The weather this summer wasn’t the
greatest, and there were rain showers every
afternoon during the event. It was a good
excuse to get some dinner. By the time we
were finished, the weather cleared and
evening flying would commence.
There was night-flying Friday and
Saturday. Curtis did something really special
for that. Junior pilots Kyle Stacy and 14-yearold
A.J. Jaffe got some quality stick time with
Curtis via a buddy box on his machine, and
both did everything at night that they were
doing during the day. Curtis has this way with
people that makes them feel at ease and brings
out the best in their flying abilities.
Sunday Curtis gave Kyle his V-Blades
straw hat he wore at the AMA Nationals, the
3-D Masters, and the Xtreme Flight
Championships. Kyle looked good in it. Curtis
is a class act. What a spokesman for the sport!
It’s time for me to say farewell. It’s been a lot
of fun, and I hope I made this column
enjoyable for most people. Thanks to all who
sent E-mails of encouragement, ideas, and
generally had positive things to say. To all
who would rather sit behind a monitor and
keyboard, fire off nasty E-mails, and try and
get a rise out of me, thank you as well. You
didn’t.
To all who are just getting going in this
great hobby, work as hard as you can to get the
information you need. Fly as much as possible.
Get out to some events and seek help there.
You will find good help if you keep looking.
Make it a goal to show those who won’t help
you just what you’ve learned without them.
I’m turning this column over to someone
who has been deserving of the position for a
while. Ray Stacy has helped me immensely
throughout my career as a writer for the sport.
He is an extremely capable pilot and has a
passion for the sport. He’s a professional. Ray
has good access to all that is cutting edge in
the hobby, and I’m sure he’ll share it with you.
He certainly did with me.
Ray is a good personal friend, but I
recommended him because I know he’ll do a
great job. Best of luck to you, Ray.
Someone needs to invent a spacebar
(simulator reset) for models. MA
Herr Engineering
A Division of SIG MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.
Visit our Web Site: www.iflyherr.com
P. O. Box 520 • Montezuma, Iowa 50171-0520 • 641-623-5154
Herr Little Extra ARF
Specifications:
Wing Span: 36.5 inches
Wing Area: 344 sq. inches
Fuse Length: 32.75 inches
Flying Weight: 18 - 22 oz.
Engines: .074 2-stroke
Radio: 4 channel with 4 servos
Wow the crowds with this super sharp aerobatic performer from Herr Engineering.
Don’t be fooled by the small size of this airplane. Just like the full size version from Waltert
Extra, the Herr Little Extra ARF performs the three T’s - tumbles, torque rolls, and tail slides -
mixed in among snap rolls, Cuban 8’s, and other maneuvers you didn’t know a plane of this size
could do.
Constructed of the best balsa and plywood, each Herr Little Extra is expertly finished in
genuine AeroKote™. A complete hardware package including fuel tank, motor mount, durable
landing gear, scale-like tailwheel assembly, and qualityy control linkages leave nothing to
chance.
Grab some X-citement with the Herr Little Extra ARF. Available at leading hobby retailers.
1//2A X--Ciitteemeentt!!
Available in two different color choices
HRR600ARFP - Purple & White
HRR600ARFT - Teal and Cream
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:03 am Page 120
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/12
Page Numbers: 116,117,118,120
116 MODEL AVIATION December 2004 116
WHAT AN experience—again! I just got
back to reality from four great days of flying
helicopters with some great pilots and the
master himself: Curtis Youngblood.
The second-annual Northeast Model
Helicopter Jamboree, hosted by the Rochester
AeroModeling Society (RAMS) and
Performance Hobbies of Webster, New York,
was held August 27-29. Before the event there
were two days of helicopter school, during
which each of us had some exclusive time
working with Curtis on whatever our little
hearts desired.
Performance Hobbies, Ray Stacy, and the
Pembertons made arrangements and gathered
the funds to have Curtis come up and put on
the school. It was by invitation and cost
everyone some cash to pay for his days there.
He even brought two of his “school machines”
and a buddy box to assist in teaching.
Jim and Erin Pemberton live outside of
Spencerport, New York—a suburb of
Rochester. Their back yard opens up into farm
fields as far as the horizon; it’s a picturesque
place to fly. They graciously opened their
home as a “bed-and-breakfast” to Curtis and
Jeff Swartz, who came in from Ohio to assist
Curtis for those two days. Curtis taught the
flying, and Jeff did a bunch of setups for the
participants.
The list of students was split into two
groups of 12—a dozen for each day. Curtis
flew with each person on the list, starting first
thing in the morning. Every person ended up
with approximately 20 minutes of flying time.
Before each flight, Curtis sat with the
student and discussed what the lesson would
involve, and he prepared them with the
background necessary to get the most out of
the flight. Everyone present could listen in on
the discussions and get as much out of the day
as they wanted.
I was there for Thursday’s activities. When
it came time for me to work with Curtis, I
wanted to learn something I suppose would
seem rather simple to most but has been
eluding me for sometime. I wanted to learn
the secrets of slow- to moderate-speed,
stationary, continuous pirouettes.
My flying routines have been seriously
lacking in any kind of decent pirouette
maneuvers, and it was time for me to work
this out. I would always get through several
slow pirouettes, and then it seemed that the
machine would end up flying out of the spot.
When talking with Curtis, I learned that for
anything but the slowest pirouettes, I was
working much too hard to maintain position
with the machine. He usually corrects once or
twice in a revolution using the nose or tail. He
inputs the correction as he continues the
Dan Williams, 27 Treeline Dr., Liverpool NY 13090; E-mail: [email protected]
RADIO CONTROL HELICOPTERS
Curtis School 2004 and Pembertons’ “bed-and-breakfast.” Erin and Jim played host to
Curtis Youngblood and Jeff Swartz for the duration of the Jamboree.
Curtis (R) gets ready for instruction with Bill “B.J.” Jones of Arizona, who was visiting
his son Randy. He filled in while Randy was at work that day.
A view of the second-annual Northeast Model Helicopter Jamboree. To see many more
photos of the event, go to the RAMS club’s Web site: www.rcplane.com.
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 8:57 am Page 116
maneuver. Only during the very slowest pirouettes does he constantly
follow the machine and input continuous corrections.
My mistake was to try to make continuous corrections even for
medium-speed pirouettes—those lasting roughly two seconds for a full
revolution. I was simply overloading my brain with trying to keep up.
One more thing he added was that if he sees the blade disk out of
level, he makes that correction in addition to his normal timing of nose
and tail correction. If all else fails, he stops the pirouette, makes the
correction and gets the machine stationary, and then continues. So then
we flew.
Using one of Curtis’s school machines and a buddy box, he
basically let me take the helicopter to do whatever we discussed. I
didn’t need him to bail me out of my maneuvers because I wasn’t
December 2004 117
E-mail the author for the whole story about how Juan Rodriguez
was flying Curtis’s “school” model when this happened.
Curtis (R) was accessible throughout the event. Sandy Jaffe gets
some checkout time with him at the fly-in.
Greg Alderman’s “HotCat” turbine-powered helicopter gets a
thorough checkout before going up for a demo flight.
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:01 am Page 117
tasking the machine or my ability to keep from
going in. Just having him there, talking
through the corrections, was a big help. After
several minutes I had them nailed.
Then I reversed direction. Remember to
always practice in both directions! I suddenly
learned that the corrections I was getting used
to basically went out the window when I tried
them the other way.
A clockwise-spinning-disk helicopter will
lean to the right when you’re looking from the
tail. That’s because the correction necessary
from the tail rotor tends to push the model to
the left to compensate for torque. (That’s my
simple explanation.)
Doing a counterclockwise pirouette means
that you are removing some tail-rotor pitch,
allowing the machine to spin that way. Some
of the correction necessary is to remove some
of the right cyclic. When going clockwise,
more tail-rotor pitch is needed because the
machine needs to turn against the torque.
More right cyclic is needed.
Curtis was explaining this to me while I
was starting to do the chase thing across the
sky, attempting continuous pirouettes. After a
couple words of encouragement, I had it
figured out. I could have had him help me
work out the basic chaos maneuver for my
turn with him, but without a firm foundation
of the basics I would have wasted my time and
his. I’m a firm believer in the basics.
One of the most memorable things during
the school was when 8-year-old Kyle Stacy
was flying his second session with Curtis.
Kyle’s dad Ray was trying to task him with
something difficult while Curtis was there to
help.
The next thing I knew, Kyle’s model was
on the deck, inverted in a hover and starting to
do a slow pirouette. Ray was speechless.
Considering what Curtis worked on with me, I
was too. I found out later that Kyle was doing
backward, inverted circuits with Curtis the
previous day. Maybe I should take up stamp
collecting.
Each evening Jim and Erin provided a
huge spread of great food for dinner, and then
there was more flying. We flew until we
couldn’t see anymore. Thursday night, Curtis
put on a night-flying demonstration. Why the
cops never showed up because of a UFO
report from one of the neighbors, I’ll never
know. The day was just too darn short.
Friday was the first day of the Jamboree.
The site was the RAMS’ Macedon, New
York, field. The club consists mostly of fixedwing
pilots, but Ray has managed to do a great
deal of converting in the past few years so that
there’s a great mix of helicopter and fixedwing
fliers. And both fly at the same time.
Think about that for a minute.
Imagine getting a fixed-wing club’s
members to give up their flying site for
three days and then have them work their
butts off to put on a helicopter event. It
boggles the mind. They set the standard
that all clubs should follow for putting on
an event such as this. There was great food,
great music, and great running commentary
during the whole event.
By the peak of the day Saturday, more than
65 pilots were registered, representing 17
states and two Canadian provinces. That’s not
too shabby for only the second running of this
event.
Besides Curtis and Jeff, top pilots who
attended included Pete Niotis and Mallory
Zastrow of Michigan, Jeff Green of New
Jersey, and a bunch of others, but I didn’t get
their names. Sorry. Most of the helicopter
brands were represented.
There was some awesome flying, plenty of
flying time, and few casualties throughout the
event. It was a relaxing and fun time. Curtis
was available for any kind of question,
including inquiries about the new JR
helicopter—the Vibe—which he flew during
most of the demonstrations.
Jeff Swartz flies for Thunder Tiger, and he
demonstrated the latest version of the 90
Raptor. Jeff Green from Model Rectifier
Corporation was there with the Hirobo XSpec.
Mallory Zastrow was flying for Bergen
RC, and Larry Bergen—everybody’s favorite
person in the helicopter hobby—was there to
support her. Pete Niotis flies for Miniature
Aircraft, and he tore up the sky for his
demonstrations with one of the Fury
machines.
All of these pilots were accessible for the
duration of the event. Many of them spent
time with people and helped them out with
flying, setups, or both. I’d like to thank them
and all the pilots who helped out and turned a
wrench on someone’s machine or helped stir
118 MODEL AVIATION
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:01 am Page 118
their transmitter sticks to test a setup. In
many cases, this is the only access many
fliers have to professional help. These pilots
realize what it takes to keep this great hobby
moving forward.
There was even a turbine-powered
helicopter! Greg Alderman came all the way
from Virginia to show off his JetCat-powered
Vario. He flew demonstrations every day.
Everyone got quiet so that we could hear this
machine self-start and run up before taking
off. This is the extreme edge of the hobby.
These turbines have come such a long way.
I didn’t realize what these pilots have to
go through to fly turbine-powered models at
a public event. Greg explained to me that to
fly at an AMA sanctioned event, he has to
keep an accurate log of every one of his
machine’s flights. He has to present that
record for review by the event director or
CD, along with the rest of the paperwork
required by AMA to fly. It is a thorough
process. The RAMS members in charge of the
event did a good job of following the rules.
The weather this summer wasn’t the
greatest, and there were rain showers every
afternoon during the event. It was a good
excuse to get some dinner. By the time we
were finished, the weather cleared and
evening flying would commence.
There was night-flying Friday and
Saturday. Curtis did something really special
for that. Junior pilots Kyle Stacy and 14-yearold
A.J. Jaffe got some quality stick time with
Curtis via a buddy box on his machine, and
both did everything at night that they were
doing during the day. Curtis has this way with
people that makes them feel at ease and brings
out the best in their flying abilities.
Sunday Curtis gave Kyle his V-Blades
straw hat he wore at the AMA Nationals, the
3-D Masters, and the Xtreme Flight
Championships. Kyle looked good in it. Curtis
is a class act. What a spokesman for the sport!
It’s time for me to say farewell. It’s been a lot
of fun, and I hope I made this column
enjoyable for most people. Thanks to all who
sent E-mails of encouragement, ideas, and
generally had positive things to say. To all
who would rather sit behind a monitor and
keyboard, fire off nasty E-mails, and try and
get a rise out of me, thank you as well. You
didn’t.
To all who are just getting going in this
great hobby, work as hard as you can to get the
information you need. Fly as much as possible.
Get out to some events and seek help there.
You will find good help if you keep looking.
Make it a goal to show those who won’t help
you just what you’ve learned without them.
I’m turning this column over to someone
who has been deserving of the position for a
while. Ray Stacy has helped me immensely
throughout my career as a writer for the sport.
He is an extremely capable pilot and has a
passion for the sport. He’s a professional. Ray
has good access to all that is cutting edge in
the hobby, and I’m sure he’ll share it with you.
He certainly did with me.
Ray is a good personal friend, but I
recommended him because I know he’ll do a
great job. Best of luck to you, Ray.
Someone needs to invent a spacebar
(simulator reset) for models. MA
Herr Engineering
A Division of SIG MANUFACTURING COMPANY, INC.
Visit our Web Site: www.iflyherr.com
P. O. Box 520 • Montezuma, Iowa 50171-0520 • 641-623-5154
Herr Little Extra ARF
Specifications:
Wing Span: 36.5 inches
Wing Area: 344 sq. inches
Fuse Length: 32.75 inches
Flying Weight: 18 - 22 oz.
Engines: .074 2-stroke
Radio: 4 channel with 4 servos
Wow the crowds with this super sharp aerobatic performer from Herr Engineering.
Don’t be fooled by the small size of this airplane. Just like the full size version from Waltert
Extra, the Herr Little Extra ARF performs the three T’s - tumbles, torque rolls, and tail slides -
mixed in among snap rolls, Cuban 8’s, and other maneuvers you didn’t know a plane of this size
could do.
Constructed of the best balsa and plywood, each Herr Little Extra is expertly finished in
genuine AeroKote™. A complete hardware package including fuel tank, motor mount, durable
landing gear, scale-like tailwheel assembly, and qualityy control linkages leave nothing to
chance.
Grab some X-citement with the Herr Little Extra ARF. Available at leading hobby retailers.
1//2A X--Ciitteemeentt!!
Available in two different color choices
HRR600ARFP - Purple & White
HRR600ARFT - Teal and Cream
12sig4.QXD 10/25/04 9:03 am Page 120
