Peris JN-1
The JN-1 and its shadow are about to meet after its third test flight. MOST OF US get "turned on" by one or more full-size airplanes my latest turn-on is the Pens JN-1. My interest was stimulated by R.G. Schmitt's article in the November 1990 Model Builder on a small electric RC version of the JN-1. My JN-1 is based on Schmitt's drawing, but structurally it is very different. It weighs 2 lb. 14 oz., flies nicely with an O.S. 15 engine, and has a wing loading of 14 ounces per square foot.
What one industry member is doing to Recruit Beginners
Many manufacturers in the model industry (such as Sig, Midwest, Airtronics, etc.) actively support their own programs or those of others to get newcomers into model aviation. Here's how one of those manufacturers (Cox Hobbies) has been helping to encourage youth interest by planting seeds for future growth via air shows, materials for schools, and special model flying sessions.
Rams Club: Field of Dreams
SO MANY of us who belong to a model club have experienced the trauma associated with the loss of a flying site. We know all too well that it can result in a very long and frustrating search to locate a new one. Very few clubs in the country make any effort to reduce the chances of this happening to them. Those clubs that do are taking bold steps toward protecting the interests of their members and at the same time are casting the benchmark of protecting our hobby at large. Think about it: Do nothing now, and someone else will determine your club's destiny later. So then, why do nothing now?
Lacey M8 1/2
THIS DESIGN started life as a 14-gram Bostonian semiscale Lacey M-10. The idea for the metamorphosis came when "cousin" Tom Schmitt, who was still with HiLine, Ltd. at the time, told me that the motor used in HiLine's Mini-6 unit was available without the gearing. (The HiLine motor is now available as the Micro-4.) Don Srull, Tom said, had built and flown several small models successfully using this little gem of a motor and two 50-mAh batteries, so that the entire power train weighed only 20 grams.
Busy Bee
FREE FLIGHT IS ALIVE and well! It may need a little sprucing up here and there, but nothing in aeromodeling can match the thrill of witnessing your latest project wheeling overhead, whether in light lift or in a genuine monster thermal. Watching the model speck out on that solid max flight amply justifies those frenzied hours of designing, building, and testing. Today's smaller flying sites have spawned several new events, among them the very successful P-30 Rubber class, Walt Mooney's West Coast Bostonian for 14-gram models, and any number of Scale and semiscale events promoted by the Flying Aces Club. Many newcomers to the Free Flight community have entered through these classes.
