accommodate
various types of
Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (sUAS).
Our models are in
danger of being
reclassified in ways
that could literally
outlaw our hobby.
AMA has some
capable people
lobbying and
negotiating with
the government. It
does not help to
have some kook
post a video of an
RC helicopter or
airplane shooting
rockets or dropping
pyrotechnics. We
want to publicize
the truth about our
models: that they
are fun, educational, wholesome, and
neato.
Nonmodelers might get the wrong idea
if a sensational news story breaks about
some possible evil misuse of our hobby.
You can imagine what might happen.
During the brief news frenzy, all of
those dumb videos will be found and
shown, and the call will go out to “do
something” about the “RC terror” crisis.
Some media outlets are hungrier for
sensational stories than cold, hard facts.
They specialize in blowing things out of
proportion. When they get done with us,
we’ll be running model trains and reminiscing
about the good old
days of RC flight.
Dave Gee | Safety Comes First [email protected]
CamCap turns heads—into camera mounts
Also included in this column:
• Cake-box work stand puts
the icing on the—rudder
• Armed models could shoot
down our hobby
• Expanding on foam repairs
• Bandit 2.4 GHz systems
Machine guns are okay on full-scale aircraft, but armed models
could target our hobby. Layton Briggs handles the .50-caliber
weapon on a restored Huey.
A resourceful James Driver recycled a pastry box into a handy
work stand for his profile foamie.
Foam RTFs are popular these days. How are you at repairing minor
damage to such an airframe? Tony Naccarato brings one in on final.
THE AGE OF VIDEO is upon us, and
our little flying machines look cool in
digital movies. It is getting easy and
inexpensive to use a video camera to film a
model in flight. Even I have tried it since I
want to be on TV but am not fool enough
to sign onto a reality show. Search
YouTube for “StukaDave” to see my
videos.
Bob Schumann sent a photo of his
CamCap, a low-tech way to use a high-tech
device. Bob wanted to film his model in
the air but had a hard time multitasking
flying with camera work.
He wrote:
“I got one of these $25 cameras and a
freebie hat, cut a hole in the brim that
would accommodate the camera body, and
had a self-following mount for the
minicam. The results turned out great! Not
often does a 5-minute solution work as
well as this did.”
The camera is always on the airplane,
since he keeps his eyes where they should
be during an RC flight. Brilliant!
Bob wanted me to give fair warning to
young, hip modelers who might have a
problem with his automatic in-flight
tracking system: it only works when the
ball cap is worn with the bill in front, dude.
There is a dark side to this wave of
online-posted aeromodeling videos. Many
of us have heard of people who have done
a dumb thing with a model, but now they
can compound this poor judgment by
posting footage of the foolish act for all to
see.
Our hobby is in a tough spot right now.
Aviation laws are changing to
November 2010 101
There is plenty of fun to be had with
our models without risking such a disaster.
Remember, nobody has to get hurt to
cause this mess. Just a video of a model
dropping or shooting things (in violation
of the AMA Safety Code) could do it.
I am not convinced by those who tell
me that they do this stuff while flying in
the middle of the desert, miles from
anything. Sorry, but dumb is dumb
wherever it happens, and videotaping it
kills the isolation factor.
Hey, our sport has some terrific ways
to get a thrill, if you have the skill and
desire. We have events such as RC and CL
Combat for those who like a little
destruction, and we even have AMAapproved
activities such as paintball
shoot-down.
Those who want to fly “on the edge”
can easily do so without risking our whole
hobby. I don’t need to seek out excitement
that way, since most of my flights involve
violent destruction when I try to land.
One of this month’s photos shows
young Layton Briggs manning the .50-
caliber machine gun on a restored Huey
helicopter. Just as one should not mix
small boys and automatic weapons, our
models should not be seen carrying
weapons and releasing ammunition.
Wow, that rant got out of hand. Lemme
calm down a little and switch to a calmer
subject …
James Driver showed me a jazzy work
stand he made for his DW foamie. He can
tinker with the Park 400 motor while his
airplane rests in a fancy French pastry box,
customized with a slot cut down the
middle to fit the model.
I love a simple, cheap solution. And
James said that the baked goods were
delicious.
Tony Naccarato was at the field that
day too. Check out the photo of him
landing his electric-powered ParkZone T-
28. Note the nice view of the back of his
head, while the cameraman (me) cowers in
a safe spot.
Tony and I have similar RC flying
styles, except that he is way better at it.
We can both put our models into an
inverted flat spin, but he knows this other
maneuver called “recovering,” which still
stumps me.
If I were landing this airplane instead
of Tony, the model would soon be on the
repair table undergoing surgery. I recently
mentioned Pete Basone’s fuselage-repair
job, done with aerosol-can foam, which
worked okay on the model in question.
Daniel McCary wrote to remind me that
our models are made from a variety of
foams, some of which react poorly with
certain glues and especially with the
chemicals in the spray-can type. He
repeated the wise old advice of testing
glue, paint, or filler on a scrap piece of
foam first, to avoid transforming your
expensive aircraft into a puddle of goo.
Daniel has had good results on EPSand
Depron-foam models using Gorilla
Glue mixed with a tiny bit of water.
Gorilla makes an excellent CA product
too. The company donated a supply of it
for the FF area at the AMA Expo and
made a bunch of new customers. Although
it is not foam-rated, I have successfully
used it for repairs many times. Always test
first.
Many pilots these days start with a
foam RTF instead of building a kit. This
gets them into the air immediately. But
when a repair is needed, they have to learn
on the job. Foam models can often be
repaired with tape, glue, and a reinforcing
material such as wire, balsa, or carbon
fiber.
New pilots might not realize that such a
repair will change the weight of the
component so much that a full rebalance
might be needed. Your freshly repaired
airplane might end up with one wing much
heavier than the other. You’ll find out
what a bother that can be in flight. A bit of
ballast on the undamaged wing might save
you from making a second repair.
There was a discussion at the last AMA
Safety Committee meeting about a serious
issue: the marketing of 2.4 GHz radio
systems that are not approved by the FCC.
These systems sometimes have serious
problems with range and reliability, so range-testing is more important than ever.
Such radios come into the country
freely and are distributed by wellrespected
companies as well as some flyby-
night outfits. Worse yet, some of these
“bandit” RC systems have counterfeit FCC
stickers on them. I wouldn’t know the
difference; would you?
A cheapo receiver with limited range
might not ever be a problem in a small
indoor model that never goes far from the
pilot, but there could be trouble in a larger,
more powerful gas aircraft. Should these
radios be allowed at sanctioned events?
How about for regular sport-flying?
There was also mention of some stateof-
the-art European radios that are brought
over for international competitions. Not
FCC approved, but top quality. Who
should be responsible for determining
which is which and for inspecting the
components?
It’s a pickle, all right. Stay tuned for
more developments. There may be a
solution for this issue, but it hasn’t been
found yet. If you have any suggestions, I
would be pleased to pass them along.
Some AMA members have the idea
that there is a massive technical staff in
Muncie, testing and then storing samples
of every hobby product that comes out.
Nope! There are some very experienced
AMA people who do their best to solve
problems, but they depend on reports and
information from members.
I’m in the same boat. Since I can’t be
everywhere, I am grateful to readers who
e-mail and write to me about issues and
incidents that belong in this column.
Please consider sharing your close-call
story, and if I’m wrong about something,
tell me so. It wouldn’t be the first or last
time!
Modeling legend Bob Schlosberg wrote to
kid me about a previous column in which I
claimed that England had eliminated
accidents involving propellers by calling
them “airscrews.” Bob said that he had
been taken in for a moment, wondering
how the British flew models using only an
airscrew instead of a propeller.
To clarify, the English still have accidents where people stick their hands in
the whirly things on the front of their
models, but there hasn’t been a propeller
strike there since the Eighth Air Force went
home. MA
Sources:
YouTube
www.youtube.com
Gorilla Glue
(800) 966-3458
www.gorillaglue.com
AMA Safety Code
www.modelaircraft.org/files/105.pdf
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/11
Page Numbers: 101,102,103
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/11
Page Numbers: 101,102,103
accommodate
various types of
Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (sUAS).
Our models are in
danger of being
reclassified in ways
that could literally
outlaw our hobby.
AMA has some
capable people
lobbying and
negotiating with
the government. It
does not help to
have some kook
post a video of an
RC helicopter or
airplane shooting
rockets or dropping
pyrotechnics. We
want to publicize
the truth about our
models: that they
are fun, educational, wholesome, and
neato.
Nonmodelers might get the wrong idea
if a sensational news story breaks about
some possible evil misuse of our hobby.
You can imagine what might happen.
During the brief news frenzy, all of
those dumb videos will be found and
shown, and the call will go out to “do
something” about the “RC terror” crisis.
Some media outlets are hungrier for
sensational stories than cold, hard facts.
They specialize in blowing things out of
proportion. When they get done with us,
we’ll be running model trains and reminiscing
about the good old
days of RC flight.
Dave Gee | Safety Comes First [email protected]
CamCap turns heads—into camera mounts
Also included in this column:
• Cake-box work stand puts
the icing on the—rudder
• Armed models could shoot
down our hobby
• Expanding on foam repairs
• Bandit 2.4 GHz systems
Machine guns are okay on full-scale aircraft, but armed models
could target our hobby. Layton Briggs handles the .50-caliber
weapon on a restored Huey.
A resourceful James Driver recycled a pastry box into a handy
work stand for his profile foamie.
Foam RTFs are popular these days. How are you at repairing minor
damage to such an airframe? Tony Naccarato brings one in on final.
THE AGE OF VIDEO is upon us, and
our little flying machines look cool in
digital movies. It is getting easy and
inexpensive to use a video camera to film a
model in flight. Even I have tried it since I
want to be on TV but am not fool enough
to sign onto a reality show. Search
YouTube for “StukaDave” to see my
videos.
Bob Schumann sent a photo of his
CamCap, a low-tech way to use a high-tech
device. Bob wanted to film his model in
the air but had a hard time multitasking
flying with camera work.
He wrote:
“I got one of these $25 cameras and a
freebie hat, cut a hole in the brim that
would accommodate the camera body, and
had a self-following mount for the
minicam. The results turned out great! Not
often does a 5-minute solution work as
well as this did.”
The camera is always on the airplane,
since he keeps his eyes where they should
be during an RC flight. Brilliant!
Bob wanted me to give fair warning to
young, hip modelers who might have a
problem with his automatic in-flight
tracking system: it only works when the
ball cap is worn with the bill in front, dude.
There is a dark side to this wave of
online-posted aeromodeling videos. Many
of us have heard of people who have done
a dumb thing with a model, but now they
can compound this poor judgment by
posting footage of the foolish act for all to
see.
Our hobby is in a tough spot right now.
Aviation laws are changing to
November 2010 101
There is plenty of fun to be had with
our models without risking such a disaster.
Remember, nobody has to get hurt to
cause this mess. Just a video of a model
dropping or shooting things (in violation
of the AMA Safety Code) could do it.
I am not convinced by those who tell
me that they do this stuff while flying in
the middle of the desert, miles from
anything. Sorry, but dumb is dumb
wherever it happens, and videotaping it
kills the isolation factor.
Hey, our sport has some terrific ways
to get a thrill, if you have the skill and
desire. We have events such as RC and CL
Combat for those who like a little
destruction, and we even have AMAapproved
activities such as paintball
shoot-down.
Those who want to fly “on the edge”
can easily do so without risking our whole
hobby. I don’t need to seek out excitement
that way, since most of my flights involve
violent destruction when I try to land.
One of this month’s photos shows
young Layton Briggs manning the .50-
caliber machine gun on a restored Huey
helicopter. Just as one should not mix
small boys and automatic weapons, our
models should not be seen carrying
weapons and releasing ammunition.
Wow, that rant got out of hand. Lemme
calm down a little and switch to a calmer
subject …
James Driver showed me a jazzy work
stand he made for his DW foamie. He can
tinker with the Park 400 motor while his
airplane rests in a fancy French pastry box,
customized with a slot cut down the
middle to fit the model.
I love a simple, cheap solution. And
James said that the baked goods were
delicious.
Tony Naccarato was at the field that
day too. Check out the photo of him
landing his electric-powered ParkZone T-
28. Note the nice view of the back of his
head, while the cameraman (me) cowers in
a safe spot.
Tony and I have similar RC flying
styles, except that he is way better at it.
We can both put our models into an
inverted flat spin, but he knows this other
maneuver called “recovering,” which still
stumps me.
If I were landing this airplane instead
of Tony, the model would soon be on the
repair table undergoing surgery. I recently
mentioned Pete Basone’s fuselage-repair
job, done with aerosol-can foam, which
worked okay on the model in question.
Daniel McCary wrote to remind me that
our models are made from a variety of
foams, some of which react poorly with
certain glues and especially with the
chemicals in the spray-can type. He
repeated the wise old advice of testing
glue, paint, or filler on a scrap piece of
foam first, to avoid transforming your
expensive aircraft into a puddle of goo.
Daniel has had good results on EPSand
Depron-foam models using Gorilla
Glue mixed with a tiny bit of water.
Gorilla makes an excellent CA product
too. The company donated a supply of it
for the FF area at the AMA Expo and
made a bunch of new customers. Although
it is not foam-rated, I have successfully
used it for repairs many times. Always test
first.
Many pilots these days start with a
foam RTF instead of building a kit. This
gets them into the air immediately. But
when a repair is needed, they have to learn
on the job. Foam models can often be
repaired with tape, glue, and a reinforcing
material such as wire, balsa, or carbon
fiber.
New pilots might not realize that such a
repair will change the weight of the
component so much that a full rebalance
might be needed. Your freshly repaired
airplane might end up with one wing much
heavier than the other. You’ll find out
what a bother that can be in flight. A bit of
ballast on the undamaged wing might save
you from making a second repair.
There was a discussion at the last AMA
Safety Committee meeting about a serious
issue: the marketing of 2.4 GHz radio
systems that are not approved by the FCC.
These systems sometimes have serious
problems with range and reliability, so range-testing is more important than ever.
Such radios come into the country
freely and are distributed by wellrespected
companies as well as some flyby-
night outfits. Worse yet, some of these
“bandit” RC systems have counterfeit FCC
stickers on them. I wouldn’t know the
difference; would you?
A cheapo receiver with limited range
might not ever be a problem in a small
indoor model that never goes far from the
pilot, but there could be trouble in a larger,
more powerful gas aircraft. Should these
radios be allowed at sanctioned events?
How about for regular sport-flying?
There was also mention of some stateof-
the-art European radios that are brought
over for international competitions. Not
FCC approved, but top quality. Who
should be responsible for determining
which is which and for inspecting the
components?
It’s a pickle, all right. Stay tuned for
more developments. There may be a
solution for this issue, but it hasn’t been
found yet. If you have any suggestions, I
would be pleased to pass them along.
Some AMA members have the idea
that there is a massive technical staff in
Muncie, testing and then storing samples
of every hobby product that comes out.
Nope! There are some very experienced
AMA people who do their best to solve
problems, but they depend on reports and
information from members.
I’m in the same boat. Since I can’t be
everywhere, I am grateful to readers who
e-mail and write to me about issues and
incidents that belong in this column.
Please consider sharing your close-call
story, and if I’m wrong about something,
tell me so. It wouldn’t be the first or last
time!
Modeling legend Bob Schlosberg wrote to
kid me about a previous column in which I
claimed that England had eliminated
accidents involving propellers by calling
them “airscrews.” Bob said that he had
been taken in for a moment, wondering
how the British flew models using only an
airscrew instead of a propeller.
To clarify, the English still have accidents where people stick their hands in
the whirly things on the front of their
models, but there hasn’t been a propeller
strike there since the Eighth Air Force went
home. MA
Sources:
YouTube
www.youtube.com
Gorilla Glue
(800) 966-3458
www.gorillaglue.com
AMA Safety Code
www.modelaircraft.org/files/105.pdf
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
Edition: Model Aviation - 2010/11
Page Numbers: 101,102,103
accommodate
various types of
Unmanned Aircraft
Systems (sUAS).
Our models are in
danger of being
reclassified in ways
that could literally
outlaw our hobby.
AMA has some
capable people
lobbying and
negotiating with
the government. It
does not help to
have some kook
post a video of an
RC helicopter or
airplane shooting
rockets or dropping
pyrotechnics. We
want to publicize
the truth about our
models: that they
are fun, educational, wholesome, and
neato.
Nonmodelers might get the wrong idea
if a sensational news story breaks about
some possible evil misuse of our hobby.
You can imagine what might happen.
During the brief news frenzy, all of
those dumb videos will be found and
shown, and the call will go out to “do
something” about the “RC terror” crisis.
Some media outlets are hungrier for
sensational stories than cold, hard facts.
They specialize in blowing things out of
proportion. When they get done with us,
we’ll be running model trains and reminiscing
about the good old
days of RC flight.
Dave Gee | Safety Comes First [email protected]
CamCap turns heads—into camera mounts
Also included in this column:
• Cake-box work stand puts
the icing on the—rudder
• Armed models could shoot
down our hobby
• Expanding on foam repairs
• Bandit 2.4 GHz systems
Machine guns are okay on full-scale aircraft, but armed models
could target our hobby. Layton Briggs handles the .50-caliber
weapon on a restored Huey.
A resourceful James Driver recycled a pastry box into a handy
work stand for his profile foamie.
Foam RTFs are popular these days. How are you at repairing minor
damage to such an airframe? Tony Naccarato brings one in on final.
THE AGE OF VIDEO is upon us, and
our little flying machines look cool in
digital movies. It is getting easy and
inexpensive to use a video camera to film a
model in flight. Even I have tried it since I
want to be on TV but am not fool enough
to sign onto a reality show. Search
YouTube for “StukaDave” to see my
videos.
Bob Schumann sent a photo of his
CamCap, a low-tech way to use a high-tech
device. Bob wanted to film his model in
the air but had a hard time multitasking
flying with camera work.
He wrote:
“I got one of these $25 cameras and a
freebie hat, cut a hole in the brim that
would accommodate the camera body, and
had a self-following mount for the
minicam. The results turned out great! Not
often does a 5-minute solution work as
well as this did.”
The camera is always on the airplane,
since he keeps his eyes where they should
be during an RC flight. Brilliant!
Bob wanted me to give fair warning to
young, hip modelers who might have a
problem with his automatic in-flight
tracking system: it only works when the
ball cap is worn with the bill in front, dude.
There is a dark side to this wave of
online-posted aeromodeling videos. Many
of us have heard of people who have done
a dumb thing with a model, but now they
can compound this poor judgment by
posting footage of the foolish act for all to
see.
Our hobby is in a tough spot right now.
Aviation laws are changing to
November 2010 101
There is plenty of fun to be had with
our models without risking such a disaster.
Remember, nobody has to get hurt to
cause this mess. Just a video of a model
dropping or shooting things (in violation
of the AMA Safety Code) could do it.
I am not convinced by those who tell
me that they do this stuff while flying in
the middle of the desert, miles from
anything. Sorry, but dumb is dumb
wherever it happens, and videotaping it
kills the isolation factor.
Hey, our sport has some terrific ways
to get a thrill, if you have the skill and
desire. We have events such as RC and CL
Combat for those who like a little
destruction, and we even have AMAapproved
activities such as paintball
shoot-down.
Those who want to fly “on the edge”
can easily do so without risking our whole
hobby. I don’t need to seek out excitement
that way, since most of my flights involve
violent destruction when I try to land.
One of this month’s photos shows
young Layton Briggs manning the .50-
caliber machine gun on a restored Huey
helicopter. Just as one should not mix
small boys and automatic weapons, our
models should not be seen carrying
weapons and releasing ammunition.
Wow, that rant got out of hand. Lemme
calm down a little and switch to a calmer
subject …
James Driver showed me a jazzy work
stand he made for his DW foamie. He can
tinker with the Park 400 motor while his
airplane rests in a fancy French pastry box,
customized with a slot cut down the
middle to fit the model.
I love a simple, cheap solution. And
James said that the baked goods were
delicious.
Tony Naccarato was at the field that
day too. Check out the photo of him
landing his electric-powered ParkZone T-
28. Note the nice view of the back of his
head, while the cameraman (me) cowers in
a safe spot.
Tony and I have similar RC flying
styles, except that he is way better at it.
We can both put our models into an
inverted flat spin, but he knows this other
maneuver called “recovering,” which still
stumps me.
If I were landing this airplane instead
of Tony, the model would soon be on the
repair table undergoing surgery. I recently
mentioned Pete Basone’s fuselage-repair
job, done with aerosol-can foam, which
worked okay on the model in question.
Daniel McCary wrote to remind me that
our models are made from a variety of
foams, some of which react poorly with
certain glues and especially with the
chemicals in the spray-can type. He
repeated the wise old advice of testing
glue, paint, or filler on a scrap piece of
foam first, to avoid transforming your
expensive aircraft into a puddle of goo.
Daniel has had good results on EPSand
Depron-foam models using Gorilla
Glue mixed with a tiny bit of water.
Gorilla makes an excellent CA product
too. The company donated a supply of it
for the FF area at the AMA Expo and
made a bunch of new customers. Although
it is not foam-rated, I have successfully
used it for repairs many times. Always test
first.
Many pilots these days start with a
foam RTF instead of building a kit. This
gets them into the air immediately. But
when a repair is needed, they have to learn
on the job. Foam models can often be
repaired with tape, glue, and a reinforcing
material such as wire, balsa, or carbon
fiber.
New pilots might not realize that such a
repair will change the weight of the
component so much that a full rebalance
might be needed. Your freshly repaired
airplane might end up with one wing much
heavier than the other. You’ll find out
what a bother that can be in flight. A bit of
ballast on the undamaged wing might save
you from making a second repair.
There was a discussion at the last AMA
Safety Committee meeting about a serious
issue: the marketing of 2.4 GHz radio
systems that are not approved by the FCC.
These systems sometimes have serious
problems with range and reliability, so range-testing is more important than ever.
Such radios come into the country
freely and are distributed by wellrespected
companies as well as some flyby-
night outfits. Worse yet, some of these
“bandit” RC systems have counterfeit FCC
stickers on them. I wouldn’t know the
difference; would you?
A cheapo receiver with limited range
might not ever be a problem in a small
indoor model that never goes far from the
pilot, but there could be trouble in a larger,
more powerful gas aircraft. Should these
radios be allowed at sanctioned events?
How about for regular sport-flying?
There was also mention of some stateof-
the-art European radios that are brought
over for international competitions. Not
FCC approved, but top quality. Who
should be responsible for determining
which is which and for inspecting the
components?
It’s a pickle, all right. Stay tuned for
more developments. There may be a
solution for this issue, but it hasn’t been
found yet. If you have any suggestions, I
would be pleased to pass them along.
Some AMA members have the idea
that there is a massive technical staff in
Muncie, testing and then storing samples
of every hobby product that comes out.
Nope! There are some very experienced
AMA people who do their best to solve
problems, but they depend on reports and
information from members.
I’m in the same boat. Since I can’t be
everywhere, I am grateful to readers who
e-mail and write to me about issues and
incidents that belong in this column.
Please consider sharing your close-call
story, and if I’m wrong about something,
tell me so. It wouldn’t be the first or last
time!
Modeling legend Bob Schlosberg wrote to
kid me about a previous column in which I
claimed that England had eliminated
accidents involving propellers by calling
them “airscrews.” Bob said that he had
been taken in for a moment, wondering
how the British flew models using only an
airscrew instead of a propeller.
To clarify, the English still have accidents where people stick their hands in
the whirly things on the front of their
models, but there hasn’t been a propeller
strike there since the Eighth Air Force went
home. MA
Sources:
YouTube
www.youtube.com
Gorilla Glue
(800) 966-3458
www.gorillaglue.com
AMA Safety Code
www.modelaircraft.org/files/105.pdf
Dave Gee
Box 7081
Van Nuys CA 91409
