Radio Control Helicopters - 2010/04
Spring and the smell of burning nitro are in the air
Mark Fadely [[email protected]]
Spring is definitely my favorite time of year. I think I wrote the same thing almost one year ago. I hope I am not beginning to repeat myself and start calling the kids by the dog’s name.
Let’s pray for nice spring flying weather. Most of the country is emerging from the winter ice age. Surprisingly, it even got cold in Florida this year. I feel so sorry for those people—not!
Now it is time for all nitro-powered models to see the light of day again. I wrote about preparing your nitro models for storage, and what you should look for to make sure your helicopter is airworthy for the 2010 season.
After a long season of flying electric-powered indoor models, it is nice to hear a gas engine fire up. There is something about the sound, the smell of the fuel, and those pretty smoke trails you associate with liquid-fuel helicopters.
Some funny things happen to helicopters when they haven’t been flown for a while. Sometimes you will take your model out for its first flight of the new season and find that it has a nasty vibration that was not there before.
You may find out later that you put the main blades on opposite sides than before. Or it may be a mystery where that new vibration is coming from. Sometimes main shafts or spindles will bend during the off-season from a fall off of the workbench. Kids or spouses seem to forget to mention if those things happened while you were away.
The lesson learned is to go back and double-check things before you make that first flight. Helicopters are complex machines that seem to autonomously cause problems for themselves.
Fun-flys and why you should go
Fun-flys are often mentioned in this column. If you have never been to one, you are missing out on one of the most enriching aspects our hobby has to offer. Fun-flys are diverse environments. They range from small gatherings of a dozen or so pilots all the way up to the biggest spectacles, such as the International Radio Controlled Helicopter Association (IRCHA) Jamboree that boasted 954 registered pilots last year.
There is much information available to a pilot when attending a fun-fly. One of the best things to do is spend time talking with fellow pilots and gleaning good advice from those exchanges. It is also beneficial to get in a lot of flights during the events. When other pilots see you fly, they will know how to help you or how you can help them. Someone might see you perform a certain maneuver and then ask you how you did it.
If you have not been to a fun-fly, make it a priority to attend one this year. That is a part of the hobby I look forward to the most.
Sometimes helicopter pilots tend to be loners and try to figure things out on their own. If this describes you, make a change this season and get to know some like-minded people in your area. Camaraderie among pilots is motivating. There is nothing like a good friend to help keep you going when you are struggling. Who knows? You may be exactly what someone else needs to help reach his or her full potential.
Think seriously about getting more involved this year. I hope to see some of you at events during 2010.
Wheeler fun-fly (April 24) and a windy day
There is a fun-fly coming up on April 24 in Wheeler, Indiana. Wheeler is roughly an hour southeast of Chicago. This is the first outdoor event of the season in the northern Midwest region. Last year roughly 50 pilots attended, so it was a great place to meet new people. The flying site is home to the Midwest Sundowners RC club. This club originated in the 1950s and has 150 members. Everyone seemed to have had a good time, and CD Terry Driver and the other club volunteers took care of everybody.
You never know what the weather will be like in the Chicago area at that time of year. In 2008 it rained all day, so everyone was praying for a dry day in 2009. The prayer for no rain was answered, but we all forgot to ask for calm winds.
The wind started blowing at approximately 30 mph at sunrise and then continued to get stronger throughout the day. At midday the gusts were reaching 40 mph. It was challenging to fly. Incredibly, there were helicopters in the air almost continuously during the day. When other pilots saw someone flying, they figured it must not have been too bad and took their helicopters out to the flightline and gave it a shot.
If you have never flown in a 40 mph wind, you have to try it. I am just kidding. Actually, it can be dangerous to fly in certain wind conditions. If the wind is in your face on the flightline, even a 10 mph wind can transform an easy flight into a lethal situation.
When you are maneuvering your helicopter in uncomfortable positions, it takes only a split second for a moderate wind to help push the helicopter over the flightline and into a very dangerous spot. The wind, and counteracting its forces, is something you should be aware of at all times while flying.
Notable pilots at Wheeler
Many great helicopter pilots from the Chicago area attended the Wheeler event in 2009. Chris "Surfer Dude" Gini took some buddies. Chris competed in the 2009 Extreme Flight Championships (XFC) as an airplane pilot. Some of the top model airplane pilots in the world are also avid helicopter fliers.
Jason Russell made the trip from Muncie, Indiana. He flew his Raptor 90 as if there were no wind at all that day. Jason has matured as a pilot during the last few years. His smooth, sophisticated flying style is a pleasure to watch.
Sara Cerwinski was another attendee from Chicago. She flies a beautiful Synergy N9 with a spectacular blue airbrushed paint job. This is Sara's third year as an RC helicopter pilot. She says she likes flying helicopters because you have to use both sides of your brain and it is mentally stimulating. That makes perfect sense to me.
Final thoughts
If you have never flown in a 40 mph wind, you have to try it. (Just kidding — don’t.) Be cautious about wind direction and strength, double-check your machine before the first flight of the season, and get out to a fun-fly this year. That does it for this month in helicopters. Keep the rotors turning and out of the dirt until next month.
MA
Sources
- IRCHA: www.ircha.org
- Midwest Sundowners: www.midwestsundowners.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
