Genesee Valley Aero Modelers
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Editor: Glenn Crocker As I sit down to write this column, it is the beginning of Thanksgiving week and we have just an absolutely gorgeous weekend. Presumably some of you have gotten up to the field for some late fall flying, just before the official three-week "no fly period" (November 19th to December 11th) during deer hunting season. If you did fly on the 17th and 18th you had close to perfect flying weather. I envy you. I have had a very full plate these past several months and I just couldn’t get away. This will be my last column as GVAM president, and as usual, it’s hard to realize how quickly the past two years have gone by. Although I was reluctant to assume the position initially, it has turned out to be a very positive experience for me. It has been a pleasure and privilege to serve and I have enjoyed every minute. One of the side benefits is that I have gotten to know some of you a little better. Moreover, I can state with complete honesty that it is not a difficult job. If this position is ever offered to you sometime in the future, don’t be afraid of it. Max Wright will be taking over the duties as our new president in January, along with Eric Higham, the new vice-president. John Street and Glenn Crocker will continue as Secretary and Treasurer respectively. I do have one final item of unfinished business. It is a mea culpa. My failure to attend last month’s meeting was due to one simple fact: I forgot! I never thought about the meeting until Friday morning, when I got up, came out to my desk, checked the calendar for the day, and realized what I had done. My reaction was, Oh Shee-utt!! Some of you feared that something had happened to me. Thank you for your concern. Something actually did happen to me: I had a senior moment! In closing, I want to thank everyone for the help and cooperation that I received and I hope that you will continue this support as Max takes over. I have been a member of several model airplane clubs in my many years of modeling, and I can state with complete honesty that the Genesee Valley Aero Modelers is the best one that I have ever belonged to. You have made the difference. Thanks, fellows!!
'Twas Right Before Christmas 'Twas right before Christmas, And all through the house, Yes, a creature was
stirring, In the basement... the louse. The ribs of the wing were aligned with great care, In hopes that the bird would soon soar through the air. The kids were asleep, all snug in their beds, With fumes from the glue surrounding their heads. My husband still at it, the glue almost dry, Aligning the stab with a glint in his eye. The kit was quite costly, the radio much more, He showed me the bill and I slumped to the floor. He assured me, "My dear, the sport is great fun," I just couldn't wait "till the whole thing was done." I, in my curlers, and "Waldo" below, (Preparing, I'm sure, for the Toledo Air Show), Heard from the roof such a terrible clatter, That I jumped from my bed to see what was the matter. I threw open the window, and what should appear, But Santa himself with eight RC reindeer. He landed quite nicely near the chimney and grating, He assured me he could, with his Pilot 11 rating. He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work, helping my husband with the rudder, the jerk. He did leave some presents for the kids, as you see, And even some things for my husband and me. And placing his finger at the side of his nose, A twinkle in his eye, up the chimney he rose. Transmitter on, To his team gave a whistle, And off they all flew, Like the down of a schneurle ported pylon racer. And I heard him exclaim as he banked to the right, "Flare all your landings and have a good flight." from The Jefco Flyer Bob Corwin, editor robert.a.corwin@worldnet.att.net
At The Field By Glenn Crocker Get the skis on and get ready for some snow flying. We have an invite to fly with the WRAMS at their Macedon field on Tuesday mornings, once there is snow. Charlie and I brought the Canadice Lake retrieval boat back to Charlies house for the winter, so float flying is done for another year. The majority of Tuesday mornings were good for floating with some days being exceptional. Charlie managed to make sure his receiver was turned on so there were no plane/boat Regattas this year. The lawnmower has been sharpened and repaired. It will give us many more years of service. We put the reels in the barn with the tractor for the winter in case you think someone ran off with them. Remember the annual frozen finger fly on January 1st. This will be our 18th annual frozen finger fly. Plan on joining us. Tom Brown is coming all the way from Florida. Says he wouldn’t miss it. If you do any snow flying, watch for the snow snakes and remember those trees are watching and waiting. Calendar of EventsJan. 1 18th annual GVAM Frozen Finger Fly Rochester Indoor Flyers
Jan 20 Balsa Dusters Auction. Details in Newsletter. Feb. 2 Batavia RC Flying Club Auction. Details in Newsletter. Dues Are Due
Membership renewal is due by December 31st. If dues are not received by February 15th a $10.00 late fee will be assessed. If you can’t make the meetings you can mail your dues to me. Use the editor’s address on the first page. From the Fuel Fool I will be taking orders for fuel at the December and January meetings. The fuel prices for what we commonly order are listed below. If you want Helicopter, Diesel or different Nitro content let me know. The prices are based on the 64 Gal. lot size and include the club 5% prepay discount. 2cycle and 4 cycle prices are the same.
Standard lubricant is 19% (can increase to 20% without additional cost) made up of 2% Castor and 98% Synthetic. They will mix any Castor content we order but do not recommend any more that 2%. In past years most of the club has ordered and used a 50% Castor 50% Synthetic lubricant without any problem.
GVAM 18th Annual Frozen Finger Fly Plan to attend our 18th annual Frozen Finger Fly on New Years Day 2002. We will be flying at Coye field. Flying will begin around 10:00 AM and
continue until we are having so much fun we can’t stand it any more. We will
then take over the Village of Honeoye and the Country Skillet and thaw out. R/C Auction Food: On sale at site Directions: (from South, East, or West) Exit 47 (LeRoy exit of NYS Thruway).Rt 19 North thru Village of Bergen - past rail-road tracks - take first left - Fire Hall is on corner. Rear entrance and parking. Info: Call Bob Ray @ 716-494-2580 or leave message. Sticky Situationfrom National Newsletter I got this hint many years back from Tom Durham. To epoxy hinges in place; flatten a plastic straw, mix your epoxy with a bit of (denatured) alcohol, dip the straw into the epoxy and hold the other end with your finger, insert the straw into the hinge slot and blow into the straw. This will place the epoxy all the way into the slot. Insert the hinge and let the epoxy dry, then do the other end.I have used this technique for several years and never had a hinge come out. By Dave Price Funny Story In a recent issue of Meat & Poultry magazine, editors quoted from "Feathers," the publication of the California Poultry Industry Federation telling the following story: It seems the US Federal Aviation Administration has a unique device for testing the strength of windshields on airplanes. The device is a gun that launches a dead chicken at a plane’s windshield at approximately the speed the plane flies. The theory is that if the windshield doesn’t crack from the carcass impact, it’ll survive a real collision with a bird during flight. It seems the British were very interested in this and wanted to test a windshield on a brand new speedy locomotive they’re developing. They borrowed FAA’s chicken launcher, loaded the chicken and fired. The ballistic chicken shattered the windshield, broke the engineer’s chair and embedded itself in the back wall of the engine cab. The British were stunned and asked the FAA to recheck the test to see if everything was done correctly. The FAA reviewed the test thoroughly and had one recommendation: Use a thawed chicken. Submitted by E. Say Removable Tail Wheel Assembly From National Newsletter A lot of kits have you mount the tail wheel right the on the rudder or have the tiller sunk into the rudder, There are some problems with these methods. If the tail wheel is mounted on the rudder, all the shocks from that wheel are absorbed by the rudder hinges! This is not recommended for long life. A better system is to use a tail wheel bracket to take all the loads. If the tiller is embedded in the rudder, there are still potential problems. For instance, there is little turning shock absorption; most of those shocks will be transmitted back to your servo. Also, after several landings, the tiller tends to turn the inside of the rudder to mush. If the tiller breaks through the rudder, or if the wire strut breaks, there is no way to remove and replace it without ripping up half the rudder. A removable assembly, as shown in the diagram, circumvents those problems. Use a wheel collar on the bottom to transmit the loads to the bracket. On the tiller, put on a piece of inner nyrod, then some fuel tubing. This will help dampen turning shock loads, easing the load on the rudder servo. The yoke that goes around the tiller and is bolted to the rudder can easily be bent from clevis rod wire. And, bracket does not have to be lined up with the rudder hinge line.
Ever Wonder ?
A Better Saw Blade From RCMagazine Tired of not finding the right saw blade when working on a special project or maybe not finding a strong enough blade for your hobby knife handle? Go to your local hardware store and purchase a package of saber saw blades. The saw blade variety is much better. Modify your hobby knife to accept the wider saber saw blade by widening the slot in the end with a hacksaw. Submitted by Joe Landry, Plano, TX.
G.V.A.M. Newsletter
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