Florida Jets
THE INAUGURAL FLORIDA Jets took place February 25-28, 1997 at Flagler County Airport, Bunnell, Florida. More than 180 pilots registered for the event, which attracted entries from Canada, England, France, Norway, and a number of other countries. Major sponsors were ZAP and RC Jet International. Organizer Frank Tiano pointed out that Florida Jets was not envisioned as an event that would compete with the established Jets Over DeLand Fly-In, held barely a month earlier. Moreover, many pilots I talked to welcomed the additional opportunity to fly. Certainly, in some cases there was pick-and-choose between events, because of travel and vacation considerations, but many pilots attended both events (see JODL coverage this issue, page 32). Sunny skies, with temperatures in the mid-80s, were prevalent, though a gusty crosswind from behind the pit area was also present throughout
Free Flight: Duration
When in doubt...bunt! Andrew Barron (Champaign, Illinois) has been developing Seraph 5, a bunting Nordic. The model uses a scroll-type mechanical timer and a Russian-style mechanism to change stab incidence (see photos). Andrew is one of the first fliers east of the Mississippi to begin work on what will evidently become state-of-the-art in F1A.
The Haught Corner
Tech. . .tech. . .tech: In this issue we present the first of a two-part article by Andy Lennon on model aircraft structural design. An editor's note at the beginning of Part I touches on problems encountered in preparation of the piece, and refers readers to this column for details. So: After the problems we encountered with the last technical article we ran, I decided that all future tech pieces would be subject to peer review prior to publication. My hope was that this would eliminate the intramural squabbling we've had in the past over who's right/wrong/smarter.
The Haught Corner
This Magic Moment: An unseasonably warm March Saturday allowed a number of us with "cabin fever" to head out to the flying field for a brief respite from what a fellow modeler called "this most vile of winters." It was a chance to do a little testing, and to enjoy being outdoors again. My eight-year-old son and I were alone on our section of the flying field. Until now, Robby had only flown simple gliders and rubber-powered models. Part of my game plan for this year is to introduce him to powered flight-learning to start and adjust an engine, being careful around the prop arc, etc. I built a Pee Wee 30 model for him to learn with when I wasn't using it in contests; with a remote needle valve and no timer, I figured that would give him fewer things to be concerned about.
The Haught Corner
My involvement in this hobby is a bit unusual in that I really don't have a great love for full-scale aviation. Most modelers seem to have dreamed about flying since birth, or flew in the service, or were byproducts of the Lindbergh era. Models are an extension of that interest. I am fond of a handful of "real" airplanes-the XB-70 is an all-timer-but by and large it's models and their history that gets my attention.
