Genesee Valley Aero Modelers
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21 Highview Trail Pittsford, NY 14534 Prez Sez As I was looking for something to write about this month I looked back on what I had written two years ago this month. At that time I had purchased my Great Planes Tiger Moth and was telling you about the test flights on it. Well after two wonderful years of flying this plane, it went through a major change this winter. These long silver things called floats were added and the testing began all over. The first challenge was balancing the model after the addition of floats. I did not want to add any more weight than necessary so I kept adjusting the gear to move the pontoons forward as much as possible. Several ounces of lead still needed to be added to the front of the pontoons to balance the plane. At this point I thought the plane was ready and waited with Charlie for the right day for a test flight. Several days of wind of course followed. The first reasonable day we set out for the test flight. The plane was assembled, it taxied well, the throttle went up and the plane dove into a wave and broke the prop. Day two of testing was much calmer but a new problem showed up. At speed the plane would porpoise and did not want to take off. After several tries, I did get the plane off the water only to find I needed full up elevator to climb at all and a lot to keep it in the air. As to the landing, lets just say it was not the planes day to die… After much conversation, some research, and some words of wisdom from Charlie, we discovered the angle of the floats to the bottom wing was wrong. It had a positive incidence instead of zero or a negative one. After rebuilding the gear, another test flight was done at the "Sandy Bottom Float Fly" last weekend. The result was great. Two good flights at the meet and a summer of float flying to look forward to. See you at the field or the lake! Max  At The Field The shelters are finally up. Between the cold weather and the wind it seemed the gods were against us. It was cold enough that we did not need to get out of the sun. Club night (Thursdays) has begun. The routine is familiar; fuel models until around 7:30 PM, then a scramble for the electrics when the wind goes down. Eric, Jim and John are fixtures each Thursday. Charlie has been known to make an appearance now and then to offer encouragement. Tuesday floating has started. We need to arm wrestle the fisherman this year as the last two Tuesdays our primary flying location was in use. Hopefully the fishing is bad and they will go elsewhere. The Titusville Terror actually made a trip to the field to raise the noise level with his harassment. We haven’t seen him for the last week. Maybe he went back to Florida! I am not sure the Floridians could take a return visit so soon. The field is in great shape. It has been rolled twice and the new mower has been able to keep the dandelions cut down. Abe Sickles has cut the high grass so the site looks like a park. Thank you Abe! Abe is in the process of building a new house. Rumor has it he will be the only kid on his block with a grass strip in his back yard. Things are in great shape so be sure you take advantage of the good weather and field conditions. See you at the field! Spring flying check list by Randy Turner, safety officer Ron Swift, editor Editor’s note: It’s almost spring, and with nice weather comes the urge to fly. Now is the time to check your airplane. Why not make a quick check list? Start with something like this . . . General overall condition Hinges—make sure they are tight and not binding Bolts, nuts, and screws—make sure they are tight Covering—make sure it is tight, not torn, and does not have any small holes Servos—make sure it is not binding or loose Batteries—make sure they are cycled and charged with no damages or leaks Flight box—make sure you have all necessary tools and spare items (this year, how about putting some Band-Aids in your flight box) Attitude—make sure you keep it good from the Barnyard Buzzards Model Airplane Club, Monroe 2005 Mowing Schedule
6/24, 25 – Ray Edmonds Memorial Fun Fly 7/9, 10 – STARS Scale Rally. Olean Airport 7/23, 24 – RAMS Open House. Macedon field. 7/23, 24 – Sky Rovers 2005 Air Show Phelps NY 8/7 – GVAM Family Picnic. Coye Field. Rain Date 8/14 8/26, 27, 28 – 3rd Annual Northeast Helicopter Jamboree. Macedon Field. 10/15 – GVAM Ladies Night Out. Using nylon bolts by Dino Vlahakis, editor Here is a neat little tip for those nylon wing bolts. Usually they come with round, slotted heads. They work, but your screwdriver has a good chance of going through your wing after it slips during installation. Take a 7/16-inch hex nut, and run it all the way under the round head on the screw. Now you can sand the nylon bolt to match the hex pattern on the nut. When the nut is removed, the nylon wing bolt will be transformed into a hex bolt that can be easily tightened with your four-way glow plug wrench. from the Woodland Aero Modelers, Woodbridge IL Keep your pilot in your airplane Ray Pick, editor Have you ever seen someone’s pilot-figure rolling around in the canopy? Not very cool especially if the pilot is an F-15 figure. Try this idea to make sure your pilot doesn’t eject too soon. Since most pilot figures are hollow, enlarge the rubber hole in the bottom of your figure. Make it about 1/4-inch to 3/8-inch wide. Go down to your favorite hardware store and purchase some drywall hole-hanger screws. Get the ½ inch or ¾ inch thick size. Which size to use will depend on your cockpit size and the thickness of your pilot’s rubber base. Now drill a hole in the cockpit floor (where your pilot will sit.) The cockpit hole needs to line up with the hole in the bottom of your figure. Now glue your pilot down and take the drywall screw and push it up through the bottom of the cockpit floor. Put the base of your figure on top of the drywall screw and tighten the screw. As the screw is tightened, the casing’s external fingers will collapse or spread out inside your figure securely attaching your pilot to the cockpit floor. Now if your airplane crashes, at least you know your pilot will still be securely attached! Des Moines Modelaires, Ankeny IA
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