132 MODEL AVIATION
HELLO, EVERYBODY. Now that the
outdoor flying season is winding down, it’s time for a little
reflection.
Remember when I started writing this column? I asked you to
make a few notes and track your progress with your helicopters.
How has it been going? Did you have any goals this year and did
you achieve them?
I am not referring to being on the fast track to becoming the
ultimate pilot. As I have pointed out, there are many aspects of the
hobby and not everyone will get a “fix” focusing on the same element.
Jim Stark reports on the 2007 Al Fuchsen Memorial Fun Fly
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Helicopters Mark Fadely
Also included in this column:
• Learning the pirouetting loop
The Man himself (Jrock), all dressed up and nowhere to go except
to the flightline to put on another killer show.
Jim (Jrock) Stark’s Synergy rocks the house. His fast,
wide-open style was coined “Jrock” style by Darrell
“Big D” Bell at the 2000 IRCHA Jamboree.
Malorie Zastrow’s Bergen Intrepid rips into a tail-down Funnel on
the deck. She was a highlight at Al’s fun-fly.
The flightline was full all day at Al’s event. The only time pilots
cleared out was to enjoy the awesome barbecue Cindy arranges.
10sig5.QXD 8/22/07 2:13 PM Page 132
134 MODEL AVIATION
The “voice” of Al’s, Larry Bowen, hams it up with the Queen of
Al’s event, Judy Fuchsen.
Cindy hugs Mitch Marosis (L) and Tyler Bonta in appreciation of
their talent. The crowd was on its feet everytime they flew.
That reminds me of the great story about the junior high teacher
from Idaho: Dave Hagelganz. He is passionate about helping
youngsters who are passionate about learning to fly helicopters.
You do not have to get that serious about it. I keep bringing
these things up because they are what helicopter fliers are always
asking me about. There is a great deal of interest out there in our
hobby right now. It makes sense to do your best at whatever facet
of the hobby you are into.
Pardon my switching gears, but I’m going to turn things over to
our field representative, Jim Stark. I could not attend this year’s Al
Fuchsen Memorial Fun Fly in Chicago, Illinois, as I have in the
past, so I asked my good friend Jim (Jrock) to do a write-up for
me. He came back with many good things to report about the
event, as follows.
“If you’ve ever visited Chicago, then chances are you’ve
probably heard of or stopped by Al’s Hobby Shop. Owned and
operated by the Fuchsen family for years.
“For the past 6 yrs the hobby shop has held an annual fun fly to
raise funds for the Al Fuchsen Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Scholarships are awarded each year to students attending the
Driscoll High School. But this year’s fun fly was even more
special as it marked the shop’s 60th year of serving the
Chicagoland modeling community.
“It was a real pleasure to attend this year’s event as the dates in
past years have sometimes conflicted with other events like the
XFC. This year the Fox Valley Aero Modelers were gracious
enough to host the Fun Fly at their private field in St. Charles IL.
“It is a superb flying site with all the amenities including a full
paved runway, power hookups, and a pilot’s pavilion that really
came in handy during the Saturday morning showers. Thanks
guys!
“Luckily the rain cleared out early on Saturday and it was time
to get to business. You could tell everyone was itching to fly … I
know I was. Motors were running great with the cool air and the
flight line was full for the rest of the day. Just what I like to see …
“Over the past years we’ve all seen this hobby progress with
up-and-coming talent, and this fun fly definitely illustrated that,
especially from the youth. Two pilots that really put on a show
were Mitch Marosis (age 8, Chicago IL) with his Stratus 90 and
Tyler Bonta (age 13, Elgin IL) with his Synergy N9.
“Both caused such a stir with their flying that it was decided
there would be a Saturday evening flyoff between the two, judged
by crowd appeal of course. It was a real treat to watch both of
these up-and-coming pilots give it all they had, showing the crowd
what they were capable of.
“But after all the musical choreography, rolling tail slides,
pirouetting flips 5 feet above the ground, and precision asphalt
scraping, it was decided by the applause judges that it was a
tie! Great job guys!
“Some better-known pilots also attended and put on a great
show. Malorie Zastrow, from Paw Paw, Michigan, flew some
spectacular demo flights with her Bergen Intrepid. Mal is a worldclass
pilot and still continues to push the limit. It’s always a treat
to watch her do her thing.
“Eric Anderson made the trip up from Lafayette, Indiana, and
also did some great flying with his Vibe 90. Chris Gini also
stirred up the sky with an impressive giant scale aerobatic
demonstration.
“Food, food, and more food! I’d like to personally thank Cindy
Baurle for feeding us on Saturday. What a feast!
“Despite a few rain showers early Saturday, this year was a
real hit. If you missed it, you missed out. Hopefully we’ll see you
next year.”
Thanks for the report, Jim. It seems like you all had a great
weekend, even with some bad weather. Cindy always has that big
smile on her face. I’ll bet it is because her food is so darn good. I
remember having that same smile the last time I ate the Saturdaynight
barbecue there. Those are some good people up there.
It is impressive that Al’s Hobby Shop has been in business for
60 years. Every time I have dealt with them they have been great.
It is exciting to hear about those young pilots up there too. That is
the future of our hobby.
Since it is almost the end of the season, you all need something to
work for on the simulator. I get many requests for information
about the infamous pirouetting loop.
This is one of the more difficult maneuvers to execute well. I
have noticed that many of you are manhandling your way through
pirouetting flips. If you do that, you will be unable to do a nice,
round pirouetting loop. It is quite the finesse move.
Pirouetting loop practice will make your pirouetting flips
10sig5.QXD 8/22/07 2:33 PM Page 134
much smoother and vice versa. I wrote
about pirouetting-flip execution a couple
columns ago; I’ll assume you have it
mastered before starting this.
A major obstacle in beginning
pirouetting loops is that you need to orient
them parallel to the flightline. When we
learn pirouetting flips, we usually key off
the nose or tail and they are oriented toward
the pilot. That works okay for the flip, but
the loop needs to be viewed side-on so you
can see the shape—not at a 45° angle to the
flightline, as I see at so many fun-flys.
There is only one problem with this
side-orientation issue: you have to relearn
the entire maneuver. Darn!
As I have warned you, when you start
practicing a maneuver in a new orientation
you are really learning a completely new
move. It is frustrating because you might
be really good at something to the right and
you cannot do it to the left without
crashing.
To do the pirouetting loop, learn a
pirouetting flip with a left- or right-side
orientation starting position and make the
imaginary loop figure off the helicopter’s
nose or tail and aligned with the flightline.
Practice until spring 2008 at getting good
at this side-on orientation and using your
collective elegantly until you can make a
nice, round loop on demand.
If you think this is too hard, wait until
2009. Then we are going to do a Cuban 8
pirouetting to the left and then follow the
same line for another Cuban 8, but with the
tail pirouetting in the opposite direction.
I don’t mean to scare you, but if you
want to keep up with the trend, that is the
future. It never ends! I think I am going to
need a memory upgrade for my brain soon.
Until next time, keep up the good work.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/10
Page Numbers: 132,134,136
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/10
Page Numbers: 132,134,136
132 MODEL AVIATION
HELLO, EVERYBODY. Now that the
outdoor flying season is winding down, it’s time for a little
reflection.
Remember when I started writing this column? I asked you to
make a few notes and track your progress with your helicopters.
How has it been going? Did you have any goals this year and did
you achieve them?
I am not referring to being on the fast track to becoming the
ultimate pilot. As I have pointed out, there are many aspects of the
hobby and not everyone will get a “fix” focusing on the same element.
Jim Stark reports on the 2007 Al Fuchsen Memorial Fun Fly
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Helicopters Mark Fadely
Also included in this column:
• Learning the pirouetting loop
The Man himself (Jrock), all dressed up and nowhere to go except
to the flightline to put on another killer show.
Jim (Jrock) Stark’s Synergy rocks the house. His fast,
wide-open style was coined “Jrock” style by Darrell
“Big D” Bell at the 2000 IRCHA Jamboree.
Malorie Zastrow’s Bergen Intrepid rips into a tail-down Funnel on
the deck. She was a highlight at Al’s fun-fly.
The flightline was full all day at Al’s event. The only time pilots
cleared out was to enjoy the awesome barbecue Cindy arranges.
10sig5.QXD 8/22/07 2:13 PM Page 132
134 MODEL AVIATION
The “voice” of Al’s, Larry Bowen, hams it up with the Queen of
Al’s event, Judy Fuchsen.
Cindy hugs Mitch Marosis (L) and Tyler Bonta in appreciation of
their talent. The crowd was on its feet everytime they flew.
That reminds me of the great story about the junior high teacher
from Idaho: Dave Hagelganz. He is passionate about helping
youngsters who are passionate about learning to fly helicopters.
You do not have to get that serious about it. I keep bringing
these things up because they are what helicopter fliers are always
asking me about. There is a great deal of interest out there in our
hobby right now. It makes sense to do your best at whatever facet
of the hobby you are into.
Pardon my switching gears, but I’m going to turn things over to
our field representative, Jim Stark. I could not attend this year’s Al
Fuchsen Memorial Fun Fly in Chicago, Illinois, as I have in the
past, so I asked my good friend Jim (Jrock) to do a write-up for
me. He came back with many good things to report about the
event, as follows.
“If you’ve ever visited Chicago, then chances are you’ve
probably heard of or stopped by Al’s Hobby Shop. Owned and
operated by the Fuchsen family for years.
“For the past 6 yrs the hobby shop has held an annual fun fly to
raise funds for the Al Fuchsen Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Scholarships are awarded each year to students attending the
Driscoll High School. But this year’s fun fly was even more
special as it marked the shop’s 60th year of serving the
Chicagoland modeling community.
“It was a real pleasure to attend this year’s event as the dates in
past years have sometimes conflicted with other events like the
XFC. This year the Fox Valley Aero Modelers were gracious
enough to host the Fun Fly at their private field in St. Charles IL.
“It is a superb flying site with all the amenities including a full
paved runway, power hookups, and a pilot’s pavilion that really
came in handy during the Saturday morning showers. Thanks
guys!
“Luckily the rain cleared out early on Saturday and it was time
to get to business. You could tell everyone was itching to fly … I
know I was. Motors were running great with the cool air and the
flight line was full for the rest of the day. Just what I like to see …
“Over the past years we’ve all seen this hobby progress with
up-and-coming talent, and this fun fly definitely illustrated that,
especially from the youth. Two pilots that really put on a show
were Mitch Marosis (age 8, Chicago IL) with his Stratus 90 and
Tyler Bonta (age 13, Elgin IL) with his Synergy N9.
“Both caused such a stir with their flying that it was decided
there would be a Saturday evening flyoff between the two, judged
by crowd appeal of course. It was a real treat to watch both of
these up-and-coming pilots give it all they had, showing the crowd
what they were capable of.
“But after all the musical choreography, rolling tail slides,
pirouetting flips 5 feet above the ground, and precision asphalt
scraping, it was decided by the applause judges that it was a
tie! Great job guys!
“Some better-known pilots also attended and put on a great
show. Malorie Zastrow, from Paw Paw, Michigan, flew some
spectacular demo flights with her Bergen Intrepid. Mal is a worldclass
pilot and still continues to push the limit. It’s always a treat
to watch her do her thing.
“Eric Anderson made the trip up from Lafayette, Indiana, and
also did some great flying with his Vibe 90. Chris Gini also
stirred up the sky with an impressive giant scale aerobatic
demonstration.
“Food, food, and more food! I’d like to personally thank Cindy
Baurle for feeding us on Saturday. What a feast!
“Despite a few rain showers early Saturday, this year was a
real hit. If you missed it, you missed out. Hopefully we’ll see you
next year.”
Thanks for the report, Jim. It seems like you all had a great
weekend, even with some bad weather. Cindy always has that big
smile on her face. I’ll bet it is because her food is so darn good. I
remember having that same smile the last time I ate the Saturdaynight
barbecue there. Those are some good people up there.
It is impressive that Al’s Hobby Shop has been in business for
60 years. Every time I have dealt with them they have been great.
It is exciting to hear about those young pilots up there too. That is
the future of our hobby.
Since it is almost the end of the season, you all need something to
work for on the simulator. I get many requests for information
about the infamous pirouetting loop.
This is one of the more difficult maneuvers to execute well. I
have noticed that many of you are manhandling your way through
pirouetting flips. If you do that, you will be unable to do a nice,
round pirouetting loop. It is quite the finesse move.
Pirouetting loop practice will make your pirouetting flips
10sig5.QXD 8/22/07 2:33 PM Page 134
much smoother and vice versa. I wrote
about pirouetting-flip execution a couple
columns ago; I’ll assume you have it
mastered before starting this.
A major obstacle in beginning
pirouetting loops is that you need to orient
them parallel to the flightline. When we
learn pirouetting flips, we usually key off
the nose or tail and they are oriented toward
the pilot. That works okay for the flip, but
the loop needs to be viewed side-on so you
can see the shape—not at a 45° angle to the
flightline, as I see at so many fun-flys.
There is only one problem with this
side-orientation issue: you have to relearn
the entire maneuver. Darn!
As I have warned you, when you start
practicing a maneuver in a new orientation
you are really learning a completely new
move. It is frustrating because you might
be really good at something to the right and
you cannot do it to the left without
crashing.
To do the pirouetting loop, learn a
pirouetting flip with a left- or right-side
orientation starting position and make the
imaginary loop figure off the helicopter’s
nose or tail and aligned with the flightline.
Practice until spring 2008 at getting good
at this side-on orientation and using your
collective elegantly until you can make a
nice, round loop on demand.
If you think this is too hard, wait until
2009. Then we are going to do a Cuban 8
pirouetting to the left and then follow the
same line for another Cuban 8, but with the
tail pirouetting in the opposite direction.
I don’t mean to scare you, but if you
want to keep up with the trend, that is the
future. It never ends! I think I am going to
need a memory upgrade for my brain soon.
Until next time, keep up the good work.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/10
Page Numbers: 132,134,136
132 MODEL AVIATION
HELLO, EVERYBODY. Now that the
outdoor flying season is winding down, it’s time for a little
reflection.
Remember when I started writing this column? I asked you to
make a few notes and track your progress with your helicopters.
How has it been going? Did you have any goals this year and did
you achieve them?
I am not referring to being on the fast track to becoming the
ultimate pilot. As I have pointed out, there are many aspects of the
hobby and not everyone will get a “fix” focusing on the same element.
Jim Stark reports on the 2007 Al Fuchsen Memorial Fun Fly
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Helicopters Mark Fadely
Also included in this column:
• Learning the pirouetting loop
The Man himself (Jrock), all dressed up and nowhere to go except
to the flightline to put on another killer show.
Jim (Jrock) Stark’s Synergy rocks the house. His fast,
wide-open style was coined “Jrock” style by Darrell
“Big D” Bell at the 2000 IRCHA Jamboree.
Malorie Zastrow’s Bergen Intrepid rips into a tail-down Funnel on
the deck. She was a highlight at Al’s fun-fly.
The flightline was full all day at Al’s event. The only time pilots
cleared out was to enjoy the awesome barbecue Cindy arranges.
10sig5.QXD 8/22/07 2:13 PM Page 132
134 MODEL AVIATION
The “voice” of Al’s, Larry Bowen, hams it up with the Queen of
Al’s event, Judy Fuchsen.
Cindy hugs Mitch Marosis (L) and Tyler Bonta in appreciation of
their talent. The crowd was on its feet everytime they flew.
That reminds me of the great story about the junior high teacher
from Idaho: Dave Hagelganz. He is passionate about helping
youngsters who are passionate about learning to fly helicopters.
You do not have to get that serious about it. I keep bringing
these things up because they are what helicopter fliers are always
asking me about. There is a great deal of interest out there in our
hobby right now. It makes sense to do your best at whatever facet
of the hobby you are into.
Pardon my switching gears, but I’m going to turn things over to
our field representative, Jim Stark. I could not attend this year’s Al
Fuchsen Memorial Fun Fly in Chicago, Illinois, as I have in the
past, so I asked my good friend Jim (Jrock) to do a write-up for
me. He came back with many good things to report about the
event, as follows.
“If you’ve ever visited Chicago, then chances are you’ve
probably heard of or stopped by Al’s Hobby Shop. Owned and
operated by the Fuchsen family for years.
“For the past 6 yrs the hobby shop has held an annual fun fly to
raise funds for the Al Fuchsen Memorial Scholarship Fund.
Scholarships are awarded each year to students attending the
Driscoll High School. But this year’s fun fly was even more
special as it marked the shop’s 60th year of serving the
Chicagoland modeling community.
“It was a real pleasure to attend this year’s event as the dates in
past years have sometimes conflicted with other events like the
XFC. This year the Fox Valley Aero Modelers were gracious
enough to host the Fun Fly at their private field in St. Charles IL.
“It is a superb flying site with all the amenities including a full
paved runway, power hookups, and a pilot’s pavilion that really
came in handy during the Saturday morning showers. Thanks
guys!
“Luckily the rain cleared out early on Saturday and it was time
to get to business. You could tell everyone was itching to fly … I
know I was. Motors were running great with the cool air and the
flight line was full for the rest of the day. Just what I like to see …
“Over the past years we’ve all seen this hobby progress with
up-and-coming talent, and this fun fly definitely illustrated that,
especially from the youth. Two pilots that really put on a show
were Mitch Marosis (age 8, Chicago IL) with his Stratus 90 and
Tyler Bonta (age 13, Elgin IL) with his Synergy N9.
“Both caused such a stir with their flying that it was decided
there would be a Saturday evening flyoff between the two, judged
by crowd appeal of course. It was a real treat to watch both of
these up-and-coming pilots give it all they had, showing the crowd
what they were capable of.
“But after all the musical choreography, rolling tail slides,
pirouetting flips 5 feet above the ground, and precision asphalt
scraping, it was decided by the applause judges that it was a
tie! Great job guys!
“Some better-known pilots also attended and put on a great
show. Malorie Zastrow, from Paw Paw, Michigan, flew some
spectacular demo flights with her Bergen Intrepid. Mal is a worldclass
pilot and still continues to push the limit. It’s always a treat
to watch her do her thing.
“Eric Anderson made the trip up from Lafayette, Indiana, and
also did some great flying with his Vibe 90. Chris Gini also
stirred up the sky with an impressive giant scale aerobatic
demonstration.
“Food, food, and more food! I’d like to personally thank Cindy
Baurle for feeding us on Saturday. What a feast!
“Despite a few rain showers early Saturday, this year was a
real hit. If you missed it, you missed out. Hopefully we’ll see you
next year.”
Thanks for the report, Jim. It seems like you all had a great
weekend, even with some bad weather. Cindy always has that big
smile on her face. I’ll bet it is because her food is so darn good. I
remember having that same smile the last time I ate the Saturdaynight
barbecue there. Those are some good people up there.
It is impressive that Al’s Hobby Shop has been in business for
60 years. Every time I have dealt with them they have been great.
It is exciting to hear about those young pilots up there too. That is
the future of our hobby.
Since it is almost the end of the season, you all need something to
work for on the simulator. I get many requests for information
about the infamous pirouetting loop.
This is one of the more difficult maneuvers to execute well. I
have noticed that many of you are manhandling your way through
pirouetting flips. If you do that, you will be unable to do a nice,
round pirouetting loop. It is quite the finesse move.
Pirouetting loop practice will make your pirouetting flips
10sig5.QXD 8/22/07 2:33 PM Page 134
much smoother and vice versa. I wrote
about pirouetting-flip execution a couple
columns ago; I’ll assume you have it
mastered before starting this.
A major obstacle in beginning
pirouetting loops is that you need to orient
them parallel to the flightline. When we
learn pirouetting flips, we usually key off
the nose or tail and they are oriented toward
the pilot. That works okay for the flip, but
the loop needs to be viewed side-on so you
can see the shape—not at a 45° angle to the
flightline, as I see at so many fun-flys.
There is only one problem with this
side-orientation issue: you have to relearn
the entire maneuver. Darn!
As I have warned you, when you start
practicing a maneuver in a new orientation
you are really learning a completely new
move. It is frustrating because you might
be really good at something to the right and
you cannot do it to the left without
crashing.
To do the pirouetting loop, learn a
pirouetting flip with a left- or right-side
orientation starting position and make the
imaginary loop figure off the helicopter’s
nose or tail and aligned with the flightline.
Practice until spring 2008 at getting good
at this side-on orientation and using your
collective elegantly until you can make a
nice, round loop on demand.
If you think this is too hard, wait until
2009. Then we are going to do a Cuban 8
pirouetting to the left and then follow the
same line for another Cuban 8, but with the
tail pirouetting in the opposite direction.
I don’t mean to scare you, but if you
want to keep up with the trend, that is the
future. It never ends! I think I am going to
need a memory upgrade for my brain soon.
Until next time, keep up the good work.