RC Flying Today
WHEN PEOPLE DISCUSS CAD (Computer Aided Drawing) software, you have a right to ask "Why should I care?" You are not afraid to use a computer, and CAD is one way to do it. Drawing is one way to communicate information. Universal drawing conventions represent a three-dimensional world on a two-dimensional sheet of material. Those conventions extend language. You want to learn to draw, swiftly and accurately, so you can communicate better. Think of a map: people understand maps, whether or not they speak the language of the map-maker. Maps are a sketch of reality.
RC Flying Today
AMA IS an association of sport fliers: It didn't start that way! AMA was launched as a scientific and educational organization. The aim was to teach boys and girls to scientifically design model aircraft. AMA competitions were designed to reveal which boys and girls best understood the science of aviation, as demonstrated by the performance of their creations. Winning the Nats was evidence of academic achievement, as well as of craftsmanship and flying skills. That's why AMA was named the Academy of Model Aeronautics. An academy is a place where scientific knowledge is exchanged.
RC Flying Today
SOLVING the three-mile problem: You can't do much RC Flying Today without insurance. Site owners demand insurance. You may have noticed that the AMA Safety Code states that "I will not knowingly operate an RC system within three miles of a preexisting model club flying site without a frequency sharing agreement with that club." That's because AMA Frequency Committee members George Steiner and Bill Hershberger have carefully measured the strength of RC transmitter signals over flat ground, and have measured the responses of modern narrow band RC receivers to determine the minimum safe distance under their conditions. The AMA Executive Council adopted their recommendations and amended the Safety Code. You must follow the Safety Code in order to have the protection of the AMA insurance. How do you do that? How do you measure the distance?
RC Flying Today
THE PURPOSE of "RC Flying Today" is to examine trends in the hobby and explain why we do what we do. This month, I look at how and why some wet-power clubs support Electric flying. The Long Island Fly Together Society (LIFTS), an AMA-chartered wet-power club, held an AMA-sanctioned Float-Fly on Lake Ronkonkoma, New York on October 10, 1993. The biannual event is open to all, and is held before and after the swimming season. The Silent Electric Fliers of Long Island (SEFLI) had attended past events and were expected again. SEFLI did not disappoint. Half of the of models flown (30) were Electric seaplanes. Notable among the Electrics was Art Thoms' giant (11-foot wingspan) Yankee Clipper, which I discussed in my last column. Art came from the Pine Barons RC Club in New Jersey.
RC Flying Today: New RCD All-Channel Transmitter RF Module
This is written in advance of production, but the item should be available by the time this column is published. an FM transmitter module for the Hitec Master and Challenger 720 series of transmitters (which, as everyone knows, are plug-compatible with the Futaba G-series transmitters) which selects all 80 frequencies in the 72 and 75 MHz bands. It will be narrow band and FCC Type Accepted. The module will allow you to switch-select all 72 MHz plus all 75 MHz channels. You do it by using two 0-9 switches on the inside surface of the module to designate the channel number desired (11-60 and 61-90). The characteristics of the channels are stored in the unit's memory, so the memory automatically instructs the transmitter to generate the selected frequency. Yes, you must remove the module to choose a channel.
