Genesee Valley Aero Modelers
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At The Field Another season is by the boards. To those who are recent members of the club, this has been our 20th year at this location. The shelters have been put away for the winter and the grass has probably been mowed for the last time this year. To the best of my knowledge there has only been one confirmed treetop landing. Ned you can rest easy it was not in your tree so he does not owe you any rent money. I am attempting to verify a rumor that there might have been another one but I am having difficulty tracking down the eye witness. In any event these events will have the appropriate recognition at the Ladies Night out Dinner By the time the Florida group receives the Newsletter the Titusville Terror will have descended upon them. Sorry, we should have gotten our Titusville Terror Alert out in the last Newsletter. Tom really did fly this summer. We managed to keep his thumb off the left stick and his landings were outstanding. He usually opened his eyes shortly after touching down. Max, Jim and Eric went to the North East Electric weekend in the Catskills on September 18 to get the latest dope on what was happening with electrics. From the photos on page 4 it looks like they were almost the center of attraction at a float fly. The creeks overflowed and they awoke Saturday morning surrounded by water and had a difficult time getting home. I know if Charlie was with them he would have tried to get at least one flight in prior to leaving. Don’t forget to mark your calendar for our 20th annual Frozen Finger Fly on January 1st 2005. See you at the field.
Deer season is fast approaching and like always we ask that you not fly during gun season. We are not worrying about scaring the Deer. We are concerned with the club members safety. Gun season runs from November 22 until December 14. Usually the weather is crummy so it shouldn’t make a difference. Charlie is checking with Carol Coye to see if we do get good weather if we could fly off her grass strip. Thanks for your cooperation. Dues Are Due It is that time of year again. Dues are due for 2005. Juniors: Age 0-19 years $1.00 Seniors: Age 20-to Charlies Age $45.00 It will save wear and tear on the Treasurer if you could renew by the end of the year.
By David Nuetzel How do we get so much stuff? I’ll tell you how. We never say no to the question "Am I going to need this later?" Next thing you know we have a drawer full of stuff, a closet full of stuff, then a garage full of stuff. Inevitably, we end up asking ourselves "How did I get so much stuff?" Then comes the garbage bag, the brother-in-law’s pick-up, or the 30-yard commercial dumpster to take away the stuff you thought you needed one to 10 years ago. My mother used to call us "pack rats." That’s right. I am a recovering pack rat, but I prefer to be known as "NO"-challenged. Since my move about two years ago when I had to say "NO" more times than I care to remember, I have found it easier to say "NO," but still falter once in a while. I feel safe now that I am past the days of the whimpering "no" through fits of sobbing. Now for the point of this admission of weakness. During our club’s Combat Sunday in July, I could feel that my "NO" was strong that day. After passing by the pin box a few times, I realized that there was a lot of extra stuff in our pin box. And I wasn’t the only one who noticed. With my courage up and full of conviction, I said "NO" several times and the stuff was gone. Club members and I had turned what someone thought "might be useful to someone so it was left in the pin box" into what it truly was: garbage and recyclables. They were placed in the back of our vehicles for proper disposal. Drained of energy and somewhat shaken, I resolved at that moment to help others with the problem that I had recently overcome. Here’s how it goes. Say it out loud if you have to; don’t be shy. We do not need stuff in our pin box or anywhere else for that matter. The only thing that should be in the box is transmitter pins, transmitters, AMA cards, and recovered items waiting for pick-up. That’s it! No cardboard boxes, mud flaps, plastic bags, string, etc. For those of you who need help saying "NO," I will give you some help. NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO Cut out the "NOs" supplied and put them in your wallet. When undecided between what is stuff and what is garbage, whip out your trusty strip of "NOs." Tear one off and put it with the item, then place them both in a garbage can or recycling bin It’s a tough road for some of us, so don’t forget to share your strip of "NOs" with a friend in need. This will keep our pin boxes free of stuff. If you remain committed, you may some day be pulling your car into the garage. From Ramblings Roxbury Area Moldlers Airplane Club Michael Ramsey editor Chester NJ GVAM Farmall Spotted In Honeoye If you had been in Downtown Honeoye and thought you saw the Club tractor whiz thru town; you were right! You could tell it was our tractor due to all the bird droppings on it. Dave Beckwith felt he needed to do something with his shinny new garage so he and Eric, Jim, Carl and I don’t know who else thought they would bring the Farmall over and give it a physical. Since Charlie has the most stick time farming he has been nominated as the resident tractor expert. The next problem was how to get the tractor from the field to Daves house. Naturally us city folks talked about bringing it over on a trailer. The Honeoye folks decided to drive it to Dave’s house. So at the breakneck speed of 15 mph, (down hill), Carl Burns raced thru the main drag of Honeoye and made it safely to Dave’s. The oil has been changed, the throttle adjusted, the governor looked at but the bird droppings have resisted all attempts to remove them. We will line the street to see if it will climb the hill back to the barn. Seriously, thanks for your efforts!
Words of wisdom
By Pat Tritel Many years ago, covering a model airplane meant hours at the workbench, inhaling dope fumes, spraying tissue or silk with water to draw it tight, and waiting many hours drying time between coats of dope to seal and paint the cover. I’ve heard this era of modeling referred to as "the good old days." Personally, I really enjoy doing this type of covering, but for the modeler with a limited amount of hobby time, there are several alternatives that require far less skill and still produce a nice looking finish in less time and with a lot less effort. Within the realm of iron-on covering, there are three basic types: the weaves, the Mylars, and the synthetic tissues. Within those major groups are some subgroups. For the weaves, there is Solartex (also found as Colortex) and Super Fabric. Also in that group, you’ll find 21st Century pre-painted fabric, Nelson Lightfab, and Super Coverite. These materials are available in eight basic colors. In the Mylar realm, there is MonoKote, UltraKote, TowerKote, EconoKote, Oracover, and Nelson Litefilm. The color selection of these materials is excellent. Finally, there are iron-on synthetic tissues, found under the names Litespan, Airspan, and Black Baron Coverlite. Again, color selection when used on liquid-fueled airplanes will require some type of sealer coat to eliminate fuel soaking that holds dirt and grime in the weave and is very difficult to remove. Iron-on films There are two basic classes of iron-on films: MonoKote and UltraKote. The easiest way to distinguish one from the other is that MonoKote is stiff, where UltraKote is more pliable and rubbery. These films are available in several colors, but MonoKote still offers the best selection. The MonoKote class materials are applied and shrunk at a higher temperature than UltraKote, but UltraKote handles compound curves much more easily, though offers less torsional strength than MonoKote over an open structure. Over fully-sheeted models, I prefer UltraKote since it goes on with much cooler temperatures and is not prone to bubbling like MonoKote. For trimming, UltraKote can be applied over MonoKote since it is applied with cooler temperatures, though MonoKote shouldn’t be ironed onto UltraKote. Also, when MonoKote is applied with heat as a trim material over MonoKote, the adhesive will tend to gas off and cause bubbling between the layers. The only way to avoid this problem is to apply the trim with commercially available solvents or even Windex glass cleaner (or other types of cleaners that contain Ammonia D). Finally, there is Nelson Litefilm, which is also available under the name Solar Film, and is recommended for small park flyer electric models, although I’ve heard of people using it on gas models up to 10 size with excellent results. This material is applied at very low temperatures, shrinks beautifully, and handles compound curves better than any other iron-on material I’ve used. What’s even better is that it will shrink only as much as needed to eliminate puckers and wrinkles and will not distort even the lightest of airframe structures. Even though Litefilm is applied at very low temperatures, the adhesive is very aggressive, and as a result, the material is prone to sticking to itself if the adhesive side contacts itself. The instructions offer a clear description of the solution and should be followed closely. Synthetic iron-on tissue The iron-on synthetic tissues are available in two types: Litespan and Airspan. Litespan is also available from Black Baron under the name Coverlite. Both of these materials are identical, except that Litespan has a sealer coat applied and Airspan doesn’t. This type of material is an excellent choice for electric park flyers, but I’ve also used it on gas models up to .074 size engines. Neither of these materials has adhesive applied, so before it is ironed onto the model, a coat of Balsa-Loc must be applied to the model, everywhere you want the cover to stick. Having used several different adhesives to apply Litespan, I found the water-based Balsa-Loc to be the best choice since it releases with heat, allowing the cover to be pulled and tugged around to eliminate wrinkles.
Rocky Mountain Flying Machine Bob McCachren, editor Wax Paper A wad of crumpled wax paper comes in handy when covering your model. When your iron starts to get sticky from the glue, or the colors start to transfer, clean the iron with the wax paper and then wipe the excess wax off with a clean rag. The slick surface will make the job a lot easier. From The Tail Spinner Longmont Aircraft Modelers Association Longmont, CO
c/o Glenn Crocker, Editor 21 Highview Trail Pittsford, NY 14534 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
