PLUS:
> Workshop
makeover
>Winter flying
>Nats update
Let’s go to a contest
by Mike Riggs
[email protected] With the 2012 season upon us, a
brief description of an out-oftown
contest experience seems
to be in order.
Here in National Society of Radio
Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) District
8, going to a contest from my home in
Boise, Idaho, involves driving at least 300
miles. I take Friday off from my day job
for travel, practice, and socializing.
The plan goes into motion the
weekend before the contest. Inviting the
family along is always a polite gesture
that they never seem to take me up on.
Next is practice. I need at least one
after-work practice session before making
the trip to identify areas I’ll be asked for
help with during the contest weekend.
In general the (after work) week lays
out like this: Monday is chore night,
Tuesday is practice, Wednesday is yard
work, Thursday I pack, and Friday I
travel. So far the only money spent has
been to fill the beverage cooler. If I’m
lucky, my wife fills the cooler using
grocery funds. Wink!
Friday at 7 a.m. it’s time to roll. To
stretch time between stops, I don’t eat
or drink until I stop for brunch. Traveling
west I gain an hour, so I eat brunch
instead of lunch after roughly 150 miles
are in the rearview mirror. This generally
costs $10.
After brunch, it’s back on the road for
an hour or two before stopping for gas.
Based on paying $3.25 per gallon for gas,
it costs me roughly $13 per 100 miles to
drive my Honda Element.
After filling up, my next stop is the
contest flying field, where I usually need
to find the nearest outhouse before
saying hello to anyone. Whew! It’s now
early afternoon and time to fly.
Pre-contest Fridays at a host field are
about as good as this hobby gets. There
are plenty of “Hi, how are you?” greetings
from smiling faces. I imagine some
of you are thinking, “Mike, they’re all
friendly and smiling because they know
you. What about new people? People
attending their first contest?”
In my experience the only
difference between being
known or unknown is saying
“Hello” instead of “Hello,
my name is Mike Riggs.”
I extend a handshake
either way. I generally
meet somebody new at
every contest I attend.
Pattern contests spark
the curiosity of
the host club’s
members who
usually have many
questions. It’s a
treat to interact
with modelers
from other clubs.
It is difficult for me to concentrate
on flying (practicing) because of all the
talking I do Friday afternoons. Somebody
always has something new that needs to
be looked at. It’s a good, old-fashioned
day at the flying field, regardless of the
weather. It is relaxing and enjoyable,
partly because all of the equipment was
charged, checked, and double-checked
before being packed (right?).
Either Friday afternoon or Saturday
The author’s flying buddy at
the controls evaluates the RCA
transmitter tray on a chilly
February afternoon.
The author’s workshop in the fall
of 2011 was disorganized, dirty,
and dusty.
Above: A view of the
workshop makeover,
shows the medicine
cabinet at the left
that is used for glue
storage.
Inexpensive rain gutters are screwed to the wall and used to hold stick
wood, dowel rods, piano wire, and carbon rod. Rubber floor tiles insulate
feet from the cold cement.
rc Aerobatics
www.ModelAviation.com May 2012 Model Aviation 97
98 Model Aviation May 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
morning, the CD will ask for money.
Entry fees are roughly $30 and
frequently include Saturday lunch. Not a
bad deal! These dollars support the host
club, NSRCA awards, and your tummy
gets something yummy.
A dinner group usually forms late
Friday afternoon. If you’re new or just
hanging out, don’t be shy; raise your hand
and say, “I want to go, too.” Where we eat
is usually determined by committee and
costs approximately $20. Being from out
of town, I go with the flow.
In the past I have stayed at hotels.
At between $100 and $200 per night,
even with breakfast included, hotels are
the trip’s largest expense. This year I am
going to try camping at the field. I’ll still
eat out with the group every night, but
I intend to try camping in my car at the
field.
The first District 8 contest in 2012
will be in Wenatchee, Washington, in late
May. With running water, electricity, a
clubhouse, and hot showers, camping at
the Red Apple Flyers’ facility is an easy
choice.
Saturday starts out with charging
batteries, assembling airplanes, and
attending a pilots’ meeting, after which
the four-round grind begins.
If you’re a certified judge, chances
are you will be asked to judge a round
or two. The CD passes out judging
assignments during the pilots’ meeting.
The best thing about judging is that you
get a front-row seat to all the action in
other classes. I hope to pass the written
test and become a judge this year.
Round after round we fly. Perfecting
my “between-round” routine is a priority
for me this year. If there’s enough wait
time between rounds, it’s possible to
fly the entire contest with one battery
pack. I can see the benefits of using one
or many packs during a contest. I would
hate to miss a round because I didn’t
have a flight pack charged, which is what
almost happened in Tri-Cities last year.
This season I’ve decided to charge
two packs Saturday morning, using and
recharging the best pack for each round,
leaving the second pack as a backup.
If I’m in the running for round six, I’ll
fly the best pack and take the backup
home fully charged; otherwise, I’ll fly the
backup pack in round six.
Regardless of how many packs I used
at a contest, I’ll check voltages on the
receiver and power packs before they go
into the ready box for each flight. Further
reducing the time available to charge
between rounds, you move up in flying
order every round. The person to fly first
in a round flies last in the next round.
A day of contest flying always leaves
me exhausted; my sensory perception is
overloaded all day.
After the flying is over, again
everybody gathers for dinner. Saturday
dinners usually have more people and tall
tales. It’s fun for everyone.
On Sunday morning, it’s more of
the same thing: a brief pilots’ meeting
followed by two or three rounds of
flying. With at least six hours of driving
ahead of me, my goal is to be on the
road by noon local time, which is 1 p.m.
Boise time. Arriving home anytime after
7 p.m. on Sunday evening makes for a
very long day at the office on Monday
Cost breakdown:
Food: $75
Gas (600 miles): $78
Hotel ($150/night): $300
Entry Fee: $30
Total: $483
For the same nearly $500 cost I can go
to two contests by sleeping in my car. I
hope my 6-foot, 6-inch frame can deal
with sleeping on an air mattress!
Workshop Makeover
Many have written about the dangers
of LiPo batteries. Please indulge me
while I share a story about the dangers
of 3-inch deck screws. Common,
ordinary deck screws can be deadly
when driven into household wiring.
I spent most of late fall/early winter
giving my workshop/garage a makeover.
The work consisted of adding more
electrical outlets, converting the
attic to a storage area, building new
workbenches, rearranging cabinets, and
painting the walls and ceiling.
As do electric Pattern airplanes,
workshops have electricity. I have been
fortunate not to have had any electrical
mishaps with my airplanes; however, I
had a big electrical mishap hanging a
tool channel on a workshop wall. Not
only did I make a boo-boo, I left my wife
to take care of getting it fixed while I
went away on a business trip.
In true Pattern pilot fashion, I didn’t
drive just one screw into the household
wiring, I drove several screws in a
horizontal row. If it were a contest, I
surely would have been awarded a 10 for
hitting the Romex wiring dead center—
six times in a row!
The electricians who came to fix my
blunder, eyed my new mini refrigerator
and instantly concluded that adult
beverages were to blame for the darkness.
Right: The author’s
Baby-O and flying
buddy Jim Welsh’s
Great Planes
Sequence are goodflying,
inexpensive
aircraft.
Sportsman of the Month is
Arvada Associated Modelers
member Lanny Hansen, who
is displaying his modified,
scratch-built Bridi Escape
with O.S. Hanno .61 Special
and Hatori header and pipe.
rc Aerobatics
Only after they placed a level on my
work did they realize the precision of my
execution.
The wiring is fixed and the project is
completed. In all seriousness, be careful
in your workshop, no matter what you’re
doing.
Winter Flying
After the garage makeover project, I
completed a Breeze-Mini for our indoor
season. The Breeze repeatedly bounced
off the walls of the small high school
practice gym because it was extremely
tail-heavy. I hope things go better next
time.
My winter surprise has been how well
the 47-inch 3D Hobby Shop Osiris flies.
I call it Baby-O, and with three flights
under my belt, all I can say is “wow”.
Other than size, it’s like flying the big
ones and will make an excellent practice
airplane. Best of all, it fits in my car fully
assembled.
2012 RC Aerobatics Nats
This year’s RC Aerobatics Nats will be
held July 22-26 at the AMA International
Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
Event director Archie Stafford reports
that Intermediate and Advanced awards
will be presented at the catered banquet
to be held in the National Aviation
Museum’s McCullough Educational
Facility the night before the finals.
Archie would like all contestants to
be aware that every airplane will be
weighed at this year’s Nats. Entry forms
are in the mail to last year’s contestants
and available electronically on the AMA
website. No entries or (AMA) refunds
after July 9, 2012.
Flight complete.
SOURCES:
NSRCA
http://nsrca.us
AMA Nats entry form
www.modelaircraft.org/files/2012natsentry.pdf
3D Hobby Shop
(717) 814-5316
www.3dhobbyshop.com
Great Planes
(800) 637-7660
www.electrifly.com/largeelectrics/gpma1575.html
RCA Models
(248) 894-1934
www.rcamodels.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/05
Page Numbers: 97,98,99
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/05
Page Numbers: 97,98,99
PLUS:
> Workshop
makeover
>Winter flying
>Nats update
Let’s go to a contest
by Mike Riggs
[email protected] With the 2012 season upon us, a
brief description of an out-oftown
contest experience seems
to be in order.
Here in National Society of Radio
Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) District
8, going to a contest from my home in
Boise, Idaho, involves driving at least 300
miles. I take Friday off from my day job
for travel, practice, and socializing.
The plan goes into motion the
weekend before the contest. Inviting the
family along is always a polite gesture
that they never seem to take me up on.
Next is practice. I need at least one
after-work practice session before making
the trip to identify areas I’ll be asked for
help with during the contest weekend.
In general the (after work) week lays
out like this: Monday is chore night,
Tuesday is practice, Wednesday is yard
work, Thursday I pack, and Friday I
travel. So far the only money spent has
been to fill the beverage cooler. If I’m
lucky, my wife fills the cooler using
grocery funds. Wink!
Friday at 7 a.m. it’s time to roll. To
stretch time between stops, I don’t eat
or drink until I stop for brunch. Traveling
west I gain an hour, so I eat brunch
instead of lunch after roughly 150 miles
are in the rearview mirror. This generally
costs $10.
After brunch, it’s back on the road for
an hour or two before stopping for gas.
Based on paying $3.25 per gallon for gas,
it costs me roughly $13 per 100 miles to
drive my Honda Element.
After filling up, my next stop is the
contest flying field, where I usually need
to find the nearest outhouse before
saying hello to anyone. Whew! It’s now
early afternoon and time to fly.
Pre-contest Fridays at a host field are
about as good as this hobby gets. There
are plenty of “Hi, how are you?” greetings
from smiling faces. I imagine some
of you are thinking, “Mike, they’re all
friendly and smiling because they know
you. What about new people? People
attending their first contest?”
In my experience the only
difference between being
known or unknown is saying
“Hello” instead of “Hello,
my name is Mike Riggs.”
I extend a handshake
either way. I generally
meet somebody new at
every contest I attend.
Pattern contests spark
the curiosity of
the host club’s
members who
usually have many
questions. It’s a
treat to interact
with modelers
from other clubs.
It is difficult for me to concentrate
on flying (practicing) because of all the
talking I do Friday afternoons. Somebody
always has something new that needs to
be looked at. It’s a good, old-fashioned
day at the flying field, regardless of the
weather. It is relaxing and enjoyable,
partly because all of the equipment was
charged, checked, and double-checked
before being packed (right?).
Either Friday afternoon or Saturday
The author’s flying buddy at
the controls evaluates the RCA
transmitter tray on a chilly
February afternoon.
The author’s workshop in the fall
of 2011 was disorganized, dirty,
and dusty.
Above: A view of the
workshop makeover,
shows the medicine
cabinet at the left
that is used for glue
storage.
Inexpensive rain gutters are screwed to the wall and used to hold stick
wood, dowel rods, piano wire, and carbon rod. Rubber floor tiles insulate
feet from the cold cement.
rc Aerobatics
www.ModelAviation.com May 2012 Model Aviation 97
98 Model Aviation May 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
morning, the CD will ask for money.
Entry fees are roughly $30 and
frequently include Saturday lunch. Not a
bad deal! These dollars support the host
club, NSRCA awards, and your tummy
gets something yummy.
A dinner group usually forms late
Friday afternoon. If you’re new or just
hanging out, don’t be shy; raise your hand
and say, “I want to go, too.” Where we eat
is usually determined by committee and
costs approximately $20. Being from out
of town, I go with the flow.
In the past I have stayed at hotels.
At between $100 and $200 per night,
even with breakfast included, hotels are
the trip’s largest expense. This year I am
going to try camping at the field. I’ll still
eat out with the group every night, but
I intend to try camping in my car at the
field.
The first District 8 contest in 2012
will be in Wenatchee, Washington, in late
May. With running water, electricity, a
clubhouse, and hot showers, camping at
the Red Apple Flyers’ facility is an easy
choice.
Saturday starts out with charging
batteries, assembling airplanes, and
attending a pilots’ meeting, after which
the four-round grind begins.
If you’re a certified judge, chances
are you will be asked to judge a round
or two. The CD passes out judging
assignments during the pilots’ meeting.
The best thing about judging is that you
get a front-row seat to all the action in
other classes. I hope to pass the written
test and become a judge this year.
Round after round we fly. Perfecting
my “between-round” routine is a priority
for me this year. If there’s enough wait
time between rounds, it’s possible to
fly the entire contest with one battery
pack. I can see the benefits of using one
or many packs during a contest. I would
hate to miss a round because I didn’t
have a flight pack charged, which is what
almost happened in Tri-Cities last year.
This season I’ve decided to charge
two packs Saturday morning, using and
recharging the best pack for each round,
leaving the second pack as a backup.
If I’m in the running for round six, I’ll
fly the best pack and take the backup
home fully charged; otherwise, I’ll fly the
backup pack in round six.
Regardless of how many packs I used
at a contest, I’ll check voltages on the
receiver and power packs before they go
into the ready box for each flight. Further
reducing the time available to charge
between rounds, you move up in flying
order every round. The person to fly first
in a round flies last in the next round.
A day of contest flying always leaves
me exhausted; my sensory perception is
overloaded all day.
After the flying is over, again
everybody gathers for dinner. Saturday
dinners usually have more people and tall
tales. It’s fun for everyone.
On Sunday morning, it’s more of
the same thing: a brief pilots’ meeting
followed by two or three rounds of
flying. With at least six hours of driving
ahead of me, my goal is to be on the
road by noon local time, which is 1 p.m.
Boise time. Arriving home anytime after
7 p.m. on Sunday evening makes for a
very long day at the office on Monday
Cost breakdown:
Food: $75
Gas (600 miles): $78
Hotel ($150/night): $300
Entry Fee: $30
Total: $483
For the same nearly $500 cost I can go
to two contests by sleeping in my car. I
hope my 6-foot, 6-inch frame can deal
with sleeping on an air mattress!
Workshop Makeover
Many have written about the dangers
of LiPo batteries. Please indulge me
while I share a story about the dangers
of 3-inch deck screws. Common,
ordinary deck screws can be deadly
when driven into household wiring.
I spent most of late fall/early winter
giving my workshop/garage a makeover.
The work consisted of adding more
electrical outlets, converting the
attic to a storage area, building new
workbenches, rearranging cabinets, and
painting the walls and ceiling.
As do electric Pattern airplanes,
workshops have electricity. I have been
fortunate not to have had any electrical
mishaps with my airplanes; however, I
had a big electrical mishap hanging a
tool channel on a workshop wall. Not
only did I make a boo-boo, I left my wife
to take care of getting it fixed while I
went away on a business trip.
In true Pattern pilot fashion, I didn’t
drive just one screw into the household
wiring, I drove several screws in a
horizontal row. If it were a contest, I
surely would have been awarded a 10 for
hitting the Romex wiring dead center—
six times in a row!
The electricians who came to fix my
blunder, eyed my new mini refrigerator
and instantly concluded that adult
beverages were to blame for the darkness.
Right: The author’s
Baby-O and flying
buddy Jim Welsh’s
Great Planes
Sequence are goodflying,
inexpensive
aircraft.
Sportsman of the Month is
Arvada Associated Modelers
member Lanny Hansen, who
is displaying his modified,
scratch-built Bridi Escape
with O.S. Hanno .61 Special
and Hatori header and pipe.
rc Aerobatics
Only after they placed a level on my
work did they realize the precision of my
execution.
The wiring is fixed and the project is
completed. In all seriousness, be careful
in your workshop, no matter what you’re
doing.
Winter Flying
After the garage makeover project, I
completed a Breeze-Mini for our indoor
season. The Breeze repeatedly bounced
off the walls of the small high school
practice gym because it was extremely
tail-heavy. I hope things go better next
time.
My winter surprise has been how well
the 47-inch 3D Hobby Shop Osiris flies.
I call it Baby-O, and with three flights
under my belt, all I can say is “wow”.
Other than size, it’s like flying the big
ones and will make an excellent practice
airplane. Best of all, it fits in my car fully
assembled.
2012 RC Aerobatics Nats
This year’s RC Aerobatics Nats will be
held July 22-26 at the AMA International
Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
Event director Archie Stafford reports
that Intermediate and Advanced awards
will be presented at the catered banquet
to be held in the National Aviation
Museum’s McCullough Educational
Facility the night before the finals.
Archie would like all contestants to
be aware that every airplane will be
weighed at this year’s Nats. Entry forms
are in the mail to last year’s contestants
and available electronically on the AMA
website. No entries or (AMA) refunds
after July 9, 2012.
Flight complete.
SOURCES:
NSRCA
http://nsrca.us
AMA Nats entry form
www.modelaircraft.org/files/2012natsentry.pdf
3D Hobby Shop
(717) 814-5316
www.3dhobbyshop.com
Great Planes
(800) 637-7660
www.electrifly.com/largeelectrics/gpma1575.html
RCA Models
(248) 894-1934
www.rcamodels.com
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/05
Page Numbers: 97,98,99
PLUS:
> Workshop
makeover
>Winter flying
>Nats update
Let’s go to a contest
by Mike Riggs
[email protected] With the 2012 season upon us, a
brief description of an out-oftown
contest experience seems
to be in order.
Here in National Society of Radio
Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) District
8, going to a contest from my home in
Boise, Idaho, involves driving at least 300
miles. I take Friday off from my day job
for travel, practice, and socializing.
The plan goes into motion the
weekend before the contest. Inviting the
family along is always a polite gesture
that they never seem to take me up on.
Next is practice. I need at least one
after-work practice session before making
the trip to identify areas I’ll be asked for
help with during the contest weekend.
In general the (after work) week lays
out like this: Monday is chore night,
Tuesday is practice, Wednesday is yard
work, Thursday I pack, and Friday I
travel. So far the only money spent has
been to fill the beverage cooler. If I’m
lucky, my wife fills the cooler using
grocery funds. Wink!
Friday at 7 a.m. it’s time to roll. To
stretch time between stops, I don’t eat
or drink until I stop for brunch. Traveling
west I gain an hour, so I eat brunch
instead of lunch after roughly 150 miles
are in the rearview mirror. This generally
costs $10.
After brunch, it’s back on the road for
an hour or two before stopping for gas.
Based on paying $3.25 per gallon for gas,
it costs me roughly $13 per 100 miles to
drive my Honda Element.
After filling up, my next stop is the
contest flying field, where I usually need
to find the nearest outhouse before
saying hello to anyone. Whew! It’s now
early afternoon and time to fly.
Pre-contest Fridays at a host field are
about as good as this hobby gets. There
are plenty of “Hi, how are you?” greetings
from smiling faces. I imagine some
of you are thinking, “Mike, they’re all
friendly and smiling because they know
you. What about new people? People
attending their first contest?”
In my experience the only
difference between being
known or unknown is saying
“Hello” instead of “Hello,
my name is Mike Riggs.”
I extend a handshake
either way. I generally
meet somebody new at
every contest I attend.
Pattern contests spark
the curiosity of
the host club’s
members who
usually have many
questions. It’s a
treat to interact
with modelers
from other clubs.
It is difficult for me to concentrate
on flying (practicing) because of all the
talking I do Friday afternoons. Somebody
always has something new that needs to
be looked at. It’s a good, old-fashioned
day at the flying field, regardless of the
weather. It is relaxing and enjoyable,
partly because all of the equipment was
charged, checked, and double-checked
before being packed (right?).
Either Friday afternoon or Saturday
The author’s flying buddy at
the controls evaluates the RCA
transmitter tray on a chilly
February afternoon.
The author’s workshop in the fall
of 2011 was disorganized, dirty,
and dusty.
Above: A view of the
workshop makeover,
shows the medicine
cabinet at the left
that is used for glue
storage.
Inexpensive rain gutters are screwed to the wall and used to hold stick
wood, dowel rods, piano wire, and carbon rod. Rubber floor tiles insulate
feet from the cold cement.
rc Aerobatics
www.ModelAviation.com May 2012 Model Aviation 97
98 Model Aviation May 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
morning, the CD will ask for money.
Entry fees are roughly $30 and
frequently include Saturday lunch. Not a
bad deal! These dollars support the host
club, NSRCA awards, and your tummy
gets something yummy.
A dinner group usually forms late
Friday afternoon. If you’re new or just
hanging out, don’t be shy; raise your hand
and say, “I want to go, too.” Where we eat
is usually determined by committee and
costs approximately $20. Being from out
of town, I go with the flow.
In the past I have stayed at hotels.
At between $100 and $200 per night,
even with breakfast included, hotels are
the trip’s largest expense. This year I am
going to try camping at the field. I’ll still
eat out with the group every night, but
I intend to try camping in my car at the
field.
The first District 8 contest in 2012
will be in Wenatchee, Washington, in late
May. With running water, electricity, a
clubhouse, and hot showers, camping at
the Red Apple Flyers’ facility is an easy
choice.
Saturday starts out with charging
batteries, assembling airplanes, and
attending a pilots’ meeting, after which
the four-round grind begins.
If you’re a certified judge, chances
are you will be asked to judge a round
or two. The CD passes out judging
assignments during the pilots’ meeting.
The best thing about judging is that you
get a front-row seat to all the action in
other classes. I hope to pass the written
test and become a judge this year.
Round after round we fly. Perfecting
my “between-round” routine is a priority
for me this year. If there’s enough wait
time between rounds, it’s possible to
fly the entire contest with one battery
pack. I can see the benefits of using one
or many packs during a contest. I would
hate to miss a round because I didn’t
have a flight pack charged, which is what
almost happened in Tri-Cities last year.
This season I’ve decided to charge
two packs Saturday morning, using and
recharging the best pack for each round,
leaving the second pack as a backup.
If I’m in the running for round six, I’ll
fly the best pack and take the backup
home fully charged; otherwise, I’ll fly the
backup pack in round six.
Regardless of how many packs I used
at a contest, I’ll check voltages on the
receiver and power packs before they go
into the ready box for each flight. Further
reducing the time available to charge
between rounds, you move up in flying
order every round. The person to fly first
in a round flies last in the next round.
A day of contest flying always leaves
me exhausted; my sensory perception is
overloaded all day.
After the flying is over, again
everybody gathers for dinner. Saturday
dinners usually have more people and tall
tales. It’s fun for everyone.
On Sunday morning, it’s more of
the same thing: a brief pilots’ meeting
followed by two or three rounds of
flying. With at least six hours of driving
ahead of me, my goal is to be on the
road by noon local time, which is 1 p.m.
Boise time. Arriving home anytime after
7 p.m. on Sunday evening makes for a
very long day at the office on Monday
Cost breakdown:
Food: $75
Gas (600 miles): $78
Hotel ($150/night): $300
Entry Fee: $30
Total: $483
For the same nearly $500 cost I can go
to two contests by sleeping in my car. I
hope my 6-foot, 6-inch frame can deal
with sleeping on an air mattress!
Workshop Makeover
Many have written about the dangers
of LiPo batteries. Please indulge me
while I share a story about the dangers
of 3-inch deck screws. Common,
ordinary deck screws can be deadly
when driven into household wiring.
I spent most of late fall/early winter
giving my workshop/garage a makeover.
The work consisted of adding more
electrical outlets, converting the
attic to a storage area, building new
workbenches, rearranging cabinets, and
painting the walls and ceiling.
As do electric Pattern airplanes,
workshops have electricity. I have been
fortunate not to have had any electrical
mishaps with my airplanes; however, I
had a big electrical mishap hanging a
tool channel on a workshop wall. Not
only did I make a boo-boo, I left my wife
to take care of getting it fixed while I
went away on a business trip.
In true Pattern pilot fashion, I didn’t
drive just one screw into the household
wiring, I drove several screws in a
horizontal row. If it were a contest, I
surely would have been awarded a 10 for
hitting the Romex wiring dead center—
six times in a row!
The electricians who came to fix my
blunder, eyed my new mini refrigerator
and instantly concluded that adult
beverages were to blame for the darkness.
Right: The author’s
Baby-O and flying
buddy Jim Welsh’s
Great Planes
Sequence are goodflying,
inexpensive
aircraft.
Sportsman of the Month is
Arvada Associated Modelers
member Lanny Hansen, who
is displaying his modified,
scratch-built Bridi Escape
with O.S. Hanno .61 Special
and Hatori header and pipe.
rc Aerobatics
Only after they placed a level on my
work did they realize the precision of my
execution.
The wiring is fixed and the project is
completed. In all seriousness, be careful
in your workshop, no matter what you’re
doing.
Winter Flying
After the garage makeover project, I
completed a Breeze-Mini for our indoor
season. The Breeze repeatedly bounced
off the walls of the small high school
practice gym because it was extremely
tail-heavy. I hope things go better next
time.
My winter surprise has been how well
the 47-inch 3D Hobby Shop Osiris flies.
I call it Baby-O, and with three flights
under my belt, all I can say is “wow”.
Other than size, it’s like flying the big
ones and will make an excellent practice
airplane. Best of all, it fits in my car fully
assembled.
2012 RC Aerobatics Nats
This year’s RC Aerobatics Nats will be
held July 22-26 at the AMA International
Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
Event director Archie Stafford reports
that Intermediate and Advanced awards
will be presented at the catered banquet
to be held in the National Aviation
Museum’s McCullough Educational
Facility the night before the finals.
Archie would like all contestants to
be aware that every airplane will be
weighed at this year’s Nats. Entry forms
are in the mail to last year’s contestants
and available electronically on the AMA
website. No entries or (AMA) refunds
after July 9, 2012.
Flight complete.
SOURCES:
NSRCA
http://nsrca.us
AMA Nats entry form
www.modelaircraft.org/files/2012natsentry.pdf
3D Hobby Shop
(717) 814-5316
www.3dhobbyshop.com
Great Planes
(800) 637-7660
www.electrifly.com/largeelectrics/gpma1575.html
RCA Models
(248) 894-1934
www.rcamodels.com
