Pikes Peak Radio Control Club AMA Club Number 179 P.O. Box 25604 Colorado Springs. Colorado 80936 Website: www.pprcflyer.net Pikes Peak RC Club Newsletter Volume 38 Number 11 Club President Mark Gus Grissom; Club Vice President Kevin Kinzel; Club Treasurer - Frank Tuxworth; Club Secretary - Rob Waggoner; Club Newsletter Editor - Keith Davis Next Club Meeting: (Monday) November 1 st 2010 7:00 PM at the ELIC (East Library Info Center) Pikes Peak Public Library on Union Last Month s Minutes... (October) Happy Thanksgiving! 3) Club member Dan Brunson, talked about the Warbirds over the Rockies event that took place last month. The weather was great and about 140 pilots signed up for the event. 4) Club member Rick Paquin, is once again the club Safety Officer, after taking a short break. Airplane Funnies... Submitted by: Jock Jett Meeting Started: 7:00 pm Meeting Adjourned: 8:05 pm Members Attended: 27 New Members: John Ames and Jeff Wasserman. Welcome! Old Business: 1) Club President Gus Grissom, spoke with Avery Asphalt and agreed on a price of $728.00 to make pre-winter repairs on the expanding cracks in the east and west pits. A club vote on the spending was not required since the amount came out of the allotted maintenance budget. Avery will come out and make the repairs as soon as possible. New Business: 1) Club Treasurer Frank Tuxworth, discussed the club s October finances. 2) Frank also mentioned that the 2011 AMA renewal cards are in the mail, make sure you get your 2011 AMA card! A current AMA card is required to fly at the PPRCC airfield. Frank then added that PPRCC will start its 2011 membership renewal in November. I know that Tom used to be a jet pilot in the last war, but putting those air-to-air missiles on his jet really scares me... Another Reminder... At last month s club meeting, a few of the members mentioned that they have found the gate opened with no one at the airfield or that the combination number was still in the lock. Please do your part, secure the gate. Yes, if someone really wanted to get onto the property, the gate won t stop them. But we don t have to make it any easier! PPRCC Newsletter 1
Warbirds over the Rockies About 140 pilots signed in for the warbird event, bringing about 200 airplanes. That pilot s registration fee of $50.00 didn t scare these guys away! It was a perfect weekend to have the last RC warbird event of the year up at Fort Collins. The weather was great, spectators were everywhere and warbirds galore! I went as a spectator, but I was lucky enough to get a crew pass from Mike Evans, so I got to get close-up to some awesome aircraft. (Thanks Mike!) There were some really big and nice-looking warbirds on display. This German Dornier Do- 335 was one of them! The event had plenty of sponsors and venders, a big improvement over last year. Aeroworks was selling their new P-51 Mustang that normally goes for $1800.00, for about $1500.00. It was just a onetime-deal during the 3-day event. Dan on the left with his F-15 Eagle and Larry in the middle with his F-18 Hornet, discussing which jet looks prettier! Some of the PPRCC members that flew in the event was Dan Brunson, Larry Laughlin, Rick Paquin, James Murphy, Kevin Kinzel and Mike Evans. Dan and Larry brought their jets, while the rest of the guys had their prop powered planes, but just as impressive. Some of the Heavies that did a bombing mission later that day. PPRC club members Rick, Mike and Murphy with a front row seat of the event. Not sure where Kevin was, maybe out flying his Hellcat. During the day, all of the WWI airplanes (about 15) were allowed to go up at once and fly for about 10 minutes. When they were done, all of the WWII aircraft (about 20) went up at one time for about 10 minutes. And when they were done, they were followed by the bombers (about 6). During each pass, ground explosions and AA fire went off and you could feel the heat, pretty neat! Check out the PPRCC website for plenty more pictures of the event! PPRCC Newsletter 2
Show & Tell Aviation Museum Guest Speaker Prez Gus Grissom, arranged to have Jim Palmer from the National Museum of WWII Aviation, to speak at the October club meeting. Jim did about a 20 minute slide presentation of the future plans, concept and goals of the museum. The museum will be located next to the Aircraft Restoration Facility, here in Colorado Springs. The museum will be dedicated solely to WWII aircraft. Along with original WWII aircraft on display, there will be touch screen stations to view actual footage and documents of WWII aircraft, where they were built and how they were built. Wayne Cooksey explains how he expanded the plans of Little Fast from the latest edition of the AMA magazine. It s a little bigger than what the plans were, but it flies just as good! Duane Zinke talks about his newly acquired Extra 90 3D that he received from Larry Laughlin. Duane hasn t flown it yet, but he should have that knife-edge maneuver down in no time! Guest speaker Jim Palmer, talks about the future plans of the National Museum of WWII Aircraft. The museum is still in its planning phase and Jim stated that if all the funding was available right now, it would still be about 3 years before the museum is up and running. Gus and Frank (Club treasurer), suggests that instead of having a club scholarship program, that the club donates a set amount of money to the Aircraft Restoration Facility and/or the WWII Aircraft Museum. Several more meetings and discussions will be needed before a final decision is made. In conclusion, Jim expects that the museum will be a great asset to Colorado Springs, to include school field days, aviation conferences and private tours. Mr. Jim Palmer - Thanks for the presentation! PPRCC Newsletter 3
Mile Hi RC Club Grand Opening two days to lay down the 600ft x 58ft long runway and install the pilot stations. He also said that the airfield is on private property. One of the local landowners was happy to rent out the 40 plus acres of land to the club. The club worked out a 10 - year lease with the landowner. I noticed a few weeks ago, that Rob the club webmaster, posted an advertisement on the club website about the grand opening of the Mile Hi RC club s new field. So I decided to check it out. The Mile Hi RC used to fly out of Aurora, Colorado but their new airfield is now about 20 miles east of Aurora. It was a one-day grand opening event and about 50 pilots did show up with plenty of nice airplanes. A snapshot of the amount of pilots and assortment of planes that were at the event. It turned out to be a great event for the club, despite the strong crosswinds all day. The new runway runs east-to-west and of course the winds blew from south-to-north all day! But at least they served plenty of great food for the pilots and the spectators when there was a break in flying. Aerial view of the new Mile Hi airfield. I got there about 9:00 am and pilots were already setting up. A few pilots even drove as far away as Pueblo to attend the grand opening. The day ended around 2:00pm and the club gave out three awards; Best Warbird Award, People s Choice Award and Pilot s Choice. I happened to win the Pilot s Choice Award with my Civil Air Patrol Cessna 182! I also brought my Me-110, but that sat on the ground all day because of the winds. The new runway and pit area is made of Geotex, a form of stretchable rubber, designed by U.S. Fabrics. I got a chance to speak with Gary Brady, one of the co-builders of the airfield. He said that it took about That s me shaking hands with the CD of the event, after winning the Pilot s Choice Award. Check out the PPRCC website for plenty more pictures of the event! PPRCC Newsletter 4
All About Civilian Birds Once again, one of our club members sent me this article and asked if I could put it in the newsletter. This event took place on July 8 th 2010. All you electric guys out there should enjoy this... GENEVA An experimental solar-powered plane took off from western Switzerland on Wednesday for a 24-hour test flight a key step in a historic effort to one-day circle the globe using only energy collected from the sun. The plane with its 207-foot (63-meter) wingspan left Payerne airfield shortly before 7 a.m. after overcoming an equipment problem that delayed a previous attempt, the Solar Impulse Team said. Clear blue skies on Wednesday allowed the prototype aircraft to soak up plenty of solar energy as it flew over the Jura mountains west of the Swiss Alps. The big question, however, was whether the plane's 12,000 solar cells could fill up its batteries with enough energy so the plane could fly through the night. The flight is going "extremely well," said team co-founder Bertrand Piccard, a recordbreaking balloonist whose father and grandfather also accomplished pioneering airborne and submarine feats. "The goal of the project is to have a solar-powered plane flying day and night without fuel," Piccard said. "This flight is crucial for the credibility of the project." By late afternoon, pilot Andre Borschberg had his oxygen mask on and was cruising at almost 29,500 feet (9,000 meters), having earlier dodged low-level turbulence and thermal winds that are frequent in the mountains. At 3 p.m. engineers posted a message on the project's Twitter page saying the batteries were fully loaded. "Sun rays are now for climbing only," they wrote. Borschberg will have to decide Wednesday evening whether to continue through the night using solar power stored in the plane's batteries. Piccard told The Associated Press he was confident but its energy efficiency hadn't yet been tested under real life conditions. "We will most probably take the decision to go through the night," he said. "We'll have to be very careful, because then we have to see if the energy that we have in the batteries will be enough." The plane is flying loops in Swiss airspace and within gliding range of Payerne airport, so it can land if it runs out of energy, he said. The solar plane needs a wide, concrete runway because of its massive wingspan, which is similar to a large passenger jet. Every aspect of the aircraft is monitored by engineers on the ground, with much of it fed onto the team's website and Twitter page. If Borschberg, the plane's only pilot, decides to fly through the night, the plane will slowly descend to 4,920 feet (1,500 meters) before midnight and stay there until he attempts a dawn landing. The 57-year old Swiss, a former fighter jet pilot, is wearing a parachute. Piccard said Wednesday's test flight the third major step after its first 'flea hop' and an extended flight earlier this year will demonstrate whether the ultimate plan is feasible: to fly the plane around the world. The team had hoped to make their 24- hour test flight last week when days in the northern hemisphere were even longer. But there was a problem with a key piece of communications equipment, forcing the team to ground the plane while modifications were made. The solar-powered plane on its first flight. Piccard, who achieved the first nonstop circumnavigation of the globe in a balloon, the Breitling Orbiter III in 1999, said if successful, the next step will be a solar Atlantic crossing. That will be done in a second, lighter prototype, because it will involve new challenges and dangers, he said. Although the goal is to show that emissions-free air travel is possible, the team says it doesn't see solar technology replacing conventional jet propulsion any time soon. Instead, the project is designed to test and promote new energy-efficient technologies. Did You Know? In 1883 Gaston Tissandier was the first to use electric motors in airship propulsion. The following year, Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs flew an airship with a more powerful electric motor. PPRCC Newsletter 5
Tech Tips After the past few years of sharing the same frequency channel (43) with several club members, I decided that I would buy a 2.4ghz radio this year. Since my current equipment is Futaba, I went with the new Hitec 2.4ghz Aurora 9 radio, because it is compatible with Futaba servos and receivers. I used the exact same 4.8v battery and servos (Futaba 3004 s) that I was using with my Futaba 72.mhz radio. The Aurora manual didn t say anything about using 6.0v batteries with the Hitec receiver! I can t speak for the other 2.4ghz radio systems out there. but if you decide to go with the Hitec 2.4ghz system, Hitec RECOMMENDS that you use at least a 6.0 volt battery for the receivers, Finally, Hitec is about to sell the Flight Information Module that plugs into the receiver. It will send information back to the Auroara 9 radio, giving you airspeed, altitude and a fuel tank reading. So a 6.0v battery is a must! Support your local Hobby Store! So, What is this Airplane? The new Hitec 2.4ghz Aurora 9 radio. So I got my new radio earlier this year and right away set up my Big Stick for its first test flight. Using my standard 4.8v battery with the Hitec receiver, right away I started losing control of my plane but luckily got it back on the ground. At the time I didn t know it but I was getting Brown Out conditions. I sent the radio back to Hitec for possible repairs. A few days later the Hitec rep called me and said the radio is in perfect shape and then asked what voltage batteries was I using. I told him 4.8v batteries. He said That s the problem. The new 2.4ghz Hitec receivers not only receive but they also transmit information back to the radio, which requires more battery voltage. You should be using 6.0v batteries! He then asked if the radio was Beeping during the flight. I told him yes. He said that was the radio telling you that I was getting a Brown Out or Low Voltage Warning from the receiver to the radio. Even before I took-off on that first flight, the radio did indicate a full 5.0 receiver battery voltage, but when I started flying and moving all the sticks around, the voltage was dropping down to 3.2 volts! Clue #1: Built during WWII by the Lockheed aircraft Company, this airplane was designed to be an extreme long-range fighter to replace the P-38. Clue #2: This plane was to have four 37mm cannons mounted in the nose. But the heavy rounds dropped so severely when fired, designers considered mounting the entire nose section on hydraulic pistons. This would allow the pilot to raise or lower the nose to get the correct firing angle on target. The idea was later dropped. Last month s airplane was a Culver Model V. Bill Sanderman sent the picture in, so he couldn t answer. Sorry, but no one else answered either. PPRCC Newsletter 6
World s Most Dangerous Airports A few months ago, the History Channel did a 2 hour special about the world s top ten most dangerous airports. It was pretty amazing, and pretty scary! So what does this have to do with RC flying? Well with winter fast approaching and limiting our RC flying days, this will be a good time for you to practice some challenging touch and goes! During the show, the Dehavilland Twin Otter was used to take-off and land at most of the airports, I have the Microsoft 2004 Flight simulator, so I also used the Twin Otter to try some take-offs and landings. I did try a few other airplanes, but they did not fair as well. The ten airports were rated on traffic congestion, weather conditions, take-off and landing obstacles and location. Many of these airports prohibit jets or private pilots from landing there. Some of the other airports require pilot Check-Outs and certifications before being allowed to operate from the airport. Here is the list of the top ten world s most dangerous airports. If you have a computer flight simulator, good luck and happy landings! #1: Lukia, Nepal (VNLK) #2: Toncontin, Honduras (MHTG) #3: St Barthelemy, Bahamas (TFFJ) #4: St. Maarten, Bahamas ((TNCM) #5: Gibraltar, Spain (LXGB) #6: Hong Kong, China (VHHX) Lukia, Nepal, the world s #1 most dangerous airport. It has treacherous weather, a short runway and a 2000 foot drop at the end. If you own the Microsoft flight simulator or something similar to it, you can type in the airport name or its 4- letter identifier and see how good of a pilot you really are. #7: Courchevel, France (LFLJ) #8: Vail, Colorado (KEGE) #9: Maderia (LPMA) #10. San Diego, California (KSAN) Honorable mentions: #1: Ronald Reagan International, VA (KDCA) #2: Island of Saba, Dutch Antillies (TNCS) #3: Matekane, Lesotho (FXME) If you don t have a computer flight simulator, you can always go on the internet You Tube, type in the airport ID and watch actual videos of planes trying to take-off and land from some of theses airports. After that, you may want to change your travel plans! Vail, Colorado, made the #8 spot because of its high elevation, steep approaches and mountains on the departure end. Do you have an article, story or a picture that you want to share with the club? Get it to me at: Lkdavis02@msn.com Keith Davis PPRCC Newsletter Editor PPRCC Newsletter 7
Upcoming Events: Nov 1 st 2010 (Mon) PPRCC Meeting Dec 7 th 2010 (Tue) PPRCC Meeting Jan 1 st 2011 (Sat) PPRCC s Frozen Needle Fun Fly Jan 4 th 2011 (Tue) PPRCC Meeting Feb 1 st 2011 (Tue) PPRCC Meeting PPRCC Newsletter 8