______________________________
June 2011
The newsletter of the Reno Radio Control Club
P.O. Box 7605, Reno, NV 89510
Website: www.renorcclub.com
____________Editor: Bob Barnett 358-4180 email: barnett29@att.net___________
Please attend the next Meeting: Wednesday June 1 @ 7:30 PM
Fraternal Order of Eagles Hall
416 Pyramid Hwy, Sparks, NV
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 P.M. by
president Dan Mitchell. There were 32 members and one guest present. The
minutes were approved as printed in the newsletter after two small corrections.
The treasurer's report showed a loss for the month because of the investment to
the helicopter contest. Event director Chip reported on the egg hunt and the
T-34 race held last month. The next T-34 race is May
14th. Todd Richman gave his report on the upcoming helicopter rendezvous
on June 10-11-12. He gave us a report on Curtis
Youngblood's accident when a lipo battery blew up in his hand and caused third
degree burns. He left sign up sheets for helpers he needs for the event. He
discussed the move of the helicopter pits to the far south west side of the
property and the safety issues concerning over flights of the helicopters over
the pit area. He will post a sign for the helicopter pilots showing the area
they are to fly in. Dan reported on the investment portfolio and we will leave
it as it is for the time being. We are making some money from it over the long
run. Justin reported on the T-34 race committee's use of the money collected as
entry fees at the races. In the future an accounting will be made to the
treasurer after each race so the club will be aware of income and expenses of
the races. The money is used to buy fuel, trophies, props and raffle prizes
every other year. Old business: The pit repair and resurfacing. Chip will get
current estimates for the work. We discussed fund raising so we will have
enough money to resurface the main runway in the next 3-5 years. We discussed
having raffles at various venues such as the Fallon Air Show, Tonopah Air show
etc. After a heated discussion on the dues structure a motion was made and
seconded to raise the annual dues to $100.00. It passed 30-2. This will take
effect starting in January 2012. We need to
realize that we are paying a very small amount in dues for such a great facility
and we need to keep it in good shape. Without the field there would be no
club. We also discussed the monthly raffle prizes and will discuss this further
next month. It was suggested that we only purchase 50-75 dollars worth of
prizes each month so we will at least break even on the ticket sales. We may
also spend less money on the annual dinner raffle.
Show and Tell: Bob Barnett showed his Bearcat, from a kit, unpainted,
that he wants to use in the scale races. Bruce Hinton showed an electric SR-22
Turbo ARF. Tim Jennings soloed last Saturday.
Raffle: Mel Q. epoxy and mixing cups: Bob Barnett, Sea Bee ARF plane; Mel Q. two
glow plugs: Tom Riddle, foam rubber padding:
Bob Warren, prop balancer that he returned to
the raffle, Roger Mayo, the prop balancer: Bob Warren # 10 hobby blades.
The meeting was adjourned at 9:20 P.M.
Tom White, Secretary.
BOCA REPORT
FOR FLOAT FLYERS
Boca Reservoir is VERY full. Flying is possible, however, you will have to park
at the lot up by the restrooms and carry plane and equipment down to the water.
There is not room at this time for vehicles and still provide a place to set up
your tables and equipment at the water's edge.
There is room for table and equipment and still leave room for a vehicle to
drive by but not park. The weather should be getting more 'stable' from here on
out. Snow melt is coming in at a large pace. The Dam Master has to balance how
much water can be released between all the lakes and reservoirs and how much the
Truckee river can handle. It is only about 30
feet from the parking lot to the water down a not to steep a shallow drop bank.
Lanny
Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q Q
SCALE WARBIRD RACING
There have been several RRCC members indicating that they would like to have the club host a SWRA (Scale Warbird Racing Association) event. While hosting an “official” SWRA event involves a lot of paper work, sanction, recording, etc., it would be possible to have an “unofficial” SWRA type of event for our own local (those who normally race in our T-34 events and those who would race in a “scale warbird event) pilots. I would consider running that event. If the club desires for it to be an “official” SWRA event, then we would need someone to step forward to run it.
I would bring suggestions of how we might do a local “unofficial” SWRA event, and receive other suggestions from club members at one of our regular RRCC monthly meetings as to how the club desires to run such an event.
SWRA racing is not head to head racing as we now do in our T-34 racing or our .46 class and unlimited class warbird racing. In the SWRA event you have 10 lap races with breakout times for four classes of racers.
1. Gold class: breakout time of 1 minute, 38 seconds
2. Silver “ : breakout time of 2 minutes, 08 seconds
3. Bronze “ : breakout time of 2 minutes, 38 seconds
4. Novice “ : This is a 5 lap race; BOT of 1 minute, 19 seconds
HELP NEEDED: 1 contest director; 1 flagman; 2 pylon judges; 4 lap counters/timers; 2 scale judges; 1 tabulator; 2 safety inspectors.
There is also some other 'specific' equipment suggested, that could be modified. The other item that we would need to do is make a new pylon course. The SWRA race course has to be 750 feet in length in order to have the breakout times work. There are many other items in the rules, however, the above are the basics.
So, there you have it. Bring your thoughts and suggestions to the June meeting. If the club decides to do a type of SWRA event, then we may decide to drop the warbird race. The SWRA race would be a one day event in and of itself.
Respectfully, Lanny
HIGH DESERT RACING – T-34 RACE REPORT
The May 14th race has come and gone, with 13 pilots making the trip out to the field. (Technically 14 pilots, but one of us forgot his transmitter.) I suspect the threat of interesting weather helped keep some folks at home, but while the sky looked pretty ominous all morning, the wind held off until the medal races were finished. Based on the way things went, I'm going to use this column to help everyone brush up on Justin's Rules of racing.
Last month's good luck with crashes seems to have worn off, as we had our first wreck approximately one and a half seconds before the first race of the day even started. Brandon McKinnon may have experienced a bit of tunnel vision during the sprint to the starting line, because he just kept sinking until he hit the ground. Rule #1 of racing: The most unforgiving obstacle on the race course is the ground. Fortunately he had a backup airplane. Unfortunately he didn't learn Rule #1 of racing, because in his next heat race, he tested that theory again by over-rotating on turn 1 and pulling “up” into the dirt. Bob Barnett didn't want him to feel bad about it, so he did the same thing on the same turn.
In Brandon Lee's second heat race, he re-acquainted his airplane with Pylon Two. Rule #2 of racing: The second most unforgiving obstacle on the race course is the pylon. The debris field was about 50 yards long. I've lost count of how many times Brandon has hit a pylon, but he's bound and determined to win that fight before he quits racing. For those keeping track at home, that's four airplanes lost in the second race of the season. All of a sudden forgetting my transmitter didn't seem like such a bad idea! The only other notable tidbit from the heat races was that there was not a single cut in any heat race all day. But we'd like to thank Clay and Scott, our pylon judges, for keeping an eye on things anyway.
At the end of the heat races, the overall points leader for the day was Rudi Zink. He was joined in the gold medal race by Don Lee, Shannon McGuffey, and Todd Richman. The silver race consisted of Chuck Hughes, Shawn McGuffey, Guy Kent, and Dave Becher, and the bronze race included Brent Lee, Mac Douglass, and Brandon Lee. The clean racing continued through the medal rounds, which means for the first time I can ever remember, we made it through a whole day without a single cut. Also of note from the medal races was the silver race, where Dave Becher and Chuck Hughes's airplanes tried to occupy the same spot at the same time. Rule #3 of racing: The third most unforgiving obstacle on the race course is another airplane. Dave won that fight, as he was able to get his airplane back with just a broken prop. Of course, he broke it slicing Chuck's tail off, so Chuck's airplane didn't fare too well. Final standings are below, and special thanks to Chip for cooking us all hot dogs.
Gold
- Todd Richman
- Rudi Zink
- Shannon McGuffey
- Don Lee
Silver
- Shawn McGuffey
- Guy Kent
- Dave Becker (wins tiebreaker because his airplane finished more of the course than Chuck's)
- Chuck Hughes
Bronze
- Brandon Lee
- Mac Douglass
- Brent Lee
The next race is June 18th. We hope to see
everyone out there!
Justin
P.S. Apparently World Models will not have any T-34 kits available until mid-late July, so if you want to get into racing or you're prone to needing a spare airplane, you may have to dig to find one.
Congratulations to Tim Jennings for his first solo during May. He has practiced a great deal on his flight simulator and is a testament to how this serves as a valuable tool. He received help and pointers from Tom White but has never flown on a buddy box. Tim continues to be at the field often while improving his flying skill !
____________________________________________________________________________
FOR SALE:
Brand New In The Box , 36" Sea Commander floats "Gull" fiber glass.
Bob these are close to $200.00 floats; I want $99.99
Contact Brandon McKinnon who submitted photos of these very nice floats.
530-257-0663 or metalmck415@yahoo.com
F F F F upcoming events E E E E
Helicopter Meet including Saturday night flying Friday, Saturday, and Sunday June 10-12
High Desert Racing T-34 race Saturday June 18
Boca Float Fly Wednesday June 22 per HSRCC
Boca Float Fly Saturday June 25 per RRCC
Letter to the Editor : I am not happy about the dues being raised when we have such a large amount of money in the bank. The general consensus is that the money is there for a new runway. I would like to see the new runway first, then and only then, a dues increase should be considered if a true need is realized. I believe a new runway will attract new members which will increase income. It has been my experience in two previous clubs that I have been a member; both had bank accounts of around $3000 and both successfully built new runways and relocated to different sites through innovative cost saving strategies. Sorry I don’t buy the generalizations that are used to justify this dues increase.
Bob Barnett
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Folks I am submitting the next article as a reminder for all of us to remain vigilant around spinning propellers since we continue to see members coming out to the field with bandages on our hands in pain.
From the Rouge Eagles R.C. Club, Medford, Oregon
Propeller Safety
Respect and alertness are mandatory if you want to keep all your fingers. If you continually ignore safety, you or someone close to you will be injured eventually. By adopting good safety practices we can minimize risk and enjoy our wonderful sport for many years.
The most destructive type of propeller injury, aside from being struck by a flying aircraft, is when the engine is operating at or near full throttle. At full speed, a .40-size, two-stroke engine with an 11 x 6 propeller can generate as much power as a 10-inch table saw. Just as a table saw demands your respect and attention, so does an aircraft propeller.
Before you mount your propeller or even start your engine, you should take a
moment to review some basic pre-flight recommendations for propeller safety.
General Propeller/Rotor Blade Inspection and Preparation:
1. Look over for obvious nicks or gouges.
2. Flex it gently back and forth along its length and look for cracks.
3. If you find any damage, other than some minor scuffs at the tip,
discard/destroy immediately.
4. Wood propellers cause less damage than composite propellers.
5. Remove the sharp edges from composite propellers using fine sandpaper. Just
take off the edge. Do not alter airfoil.
6. Always use a balanced propeller. Vibration is the enemy.
7. Make sure the propeller arc is visible by painting the tips a contrasting
color.
Ground Safety:
1. Always have someone hold the airplane while starting.
2. Use some form of eye protection, like safety glasses.
3. After starting, move around behind the propeller to remove the glow plug
igniter and to make other engine adjustments.
4. Never ever reach over a spinning propeller.
5. Be conscious of the propeller arc. Do not let spectators stand in line with,
or in front of, the spinning propeller and don’t you stand there any longer than
necessary.
6. If starting by hand, use a thick glove or chicken stick.
7. Use an approved spinner or propeller hub.
8. Before starting, be sure the propeller is on tight. If the engine came with
backup safety nuts, use them.
9. Have a first aid kit stocked and available.
Q
