Genesee Valley Aero Modelers
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21 Highview Trail Pittsford, NY 14534 Prez Sez It's hard to believe it has been almost four years that I have been president of this great club. My main reminder of this is that we have elections coming up at the November meeting. Looking back over the last four years, I can honestly say I have enjoyed holding this position. There were only a few times I can even think of where there was any kind of problem that needed attention. After all, we have a great group of people in the club. We have a good core of members and though we may not be growing, we do seem to have a regular stream of new and returning members to keep things going. My main responsibilities as president have been to run the meetings, write this column, and talk to all of you. That last part is the one I like the best. Ok, where am I going with this? I have always felt that leadership needs to change from time to time. As much as I have enjoyed serving as your president, I would like to see someone else hold the position for the next few years. Occasional change in leadership is good for an organization. It brings new ideas and can help keep a club from becoming stale and boring. I have seen too many examples of clubs that have had the same officers for many years and very little change. I have never been fond of the phrase "well that’s the way we've always done it." If you have ever considered running for office, or even if you held office a while ago, would you please think about it again. Now that I have stated the above, If no one were to come forward wanting to be president, I would not just jump ship. The club needs a president who wants to be one. I really love this hobby and the club that brought it to me. Because of this, I would willingly serve as an officer in the club as long as I am able; I just think we need new ideas periodically. Please give this some thought and I'll see you at the November meeting. Max At The Field By Glenn Crocker Well the cool/cold weather has finally set in. The next dry stretch we have we will take down the shelters. We had an outstanding season even though it was quite warm the wind treated us right. Even the Titusville Terror was too warm. Almost everyone avoided the trees this year. There were one or two tree top arrivals but they avoided Ned’s tree. Ned has his chain saw at the ready for the next time he and the tree have an argument. Oh yes there was also one pond arrival without the benefit of floats. I thought the new to us lawn tractor did an outstanding job this year. We didn’t have any problems with the dandelions and no one was heard complaining the grass was too high. In fact the grass was so short the gang mower we had been using was only used once this year because it couldn’t cut that short. Even some of the park fliers could take off from the grass. Charlie led the charge at Canadice this year. We ended up flying on Tuesdays and Fridays. The use of Max’s boat made plane retrieval a lot less exciting. We usually had an interclub float fly twice a week with GVAM, RAMS & RCCR members participating. The "GVAM electricians" went to the NEAT Fair downstate again this year with much better weather results. Max has included an article and some photographs in the Newsletter. Our Ladies Night Out dinner is history for 2005. We held it at the Valley Inn again this year. There were 35 in attendance and we all had a great time. The weather was a little damp but at least it wasn’t snow. Having the bartender on the same floor with us was a good move. Thank you Dick N. for making the recommendation. Our next event will be our 22nd annual frozen finger fly on New Years Day. If you fly between now and then watch for the Honeoye snow snakes.
This is our annual Deer Hunting message. Each year we refrain from flying during deer season. There is hunting on either side of the field and a stray slug may injure someone. This year Deer season starts 11/19 and runs thru 12/11. This year Deer season starts on Saturday instead of Monday. Your cooperation would be appreciated.  Club Elections It is time to elect new Club officers. The term is for two years. We seem to have had a limited pool of recourses to draw from at past elections. The jobs are neither difficult or time consuming and relatively pain free. It would be great if there was some new blood and ideas in the candidate pool. Tips and Hints by Larry Dudkowski This column is a collection of things I learned while looking up other things. Sometimes I run across hints, tips, or articles that aren’t big enough for a whole column but are interesting enough to pass along, so here they are. • Voltage is a critical factor in determining propeller speed in an electric model. I tried to fly my A-10 using a two-cell Li-Poly pack (7.4 volts 1200 mA). It promptly floundered into the ground. I switched to a six-cell Ni-Cd pack (8.4 volts 600mA) and found that I had a good performing aircraft. The same was true for my Tiger 400. Just switching from a two-cell (7.4 volts) to a three-cell (11.1 volt) Li-Poly made all the difference in the world. Simply put, it is battery voltage that determines the propeller speed and therefore causes aircraft speed. It is battery capacity (mA) that determines the flight time. • The next time you out grocery shopping check out the stationary section of the store. Look in the section where the rulers and protractors are. Pick up a set of small triangles. They usually come in a set with a 45° and 60° angle. They work great for squaring up the fins and rudders against the stabilizers and elevators (or any other spot where you need to have a 90° angle). You may find that they will work a little better if you cut off about a ½-inch of the 90° corner of each triangle. I also like to use them to position the control horns in relation to the servo arm. For constant cord wings, set the base of the triangle along the control surface. Slide it along until it aligns with the servo arm and mark the spot on the control. The same is true for the rudder and elevator. • Here’s one for you builders out there—if there are any left. When I have wing-mounted servos, I make some paper tubes to use as guides for the servo wires. Just roll up some stiff paper (typing or printer paper will do)
into a tube slightly larger than the servo connector. You want to make sure the
connector will pass through the tube easily.
By Max Wright For those of you who are not familiar with the Neat Fair it stands for Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology Fair. Neat is definitely easier to say. In a few short years it has become the largest Electric RC meet in the northeast. The best way I can describe it is a combination between going to a very large RC meet and attending one of the RC trade shows such as the Wrams show. There are lots of planes, helicopters and other flying objects on display and flying as well as rows of vendors selling lots of stuff. If you watched carefully, that plane you were just looking at in the vendor’s booth might now be flying. Some of you may recall that Eric, Jim and my self attempted to attend the Neat Fair last year but Mother Nature had other plans and the Fair was cancelled Saturday morning. Being glutens for punishment we all decided to try it again this year and I can say we are all glad we did. The fair lived up to all our expectations and kept us very busy. The flight line had eight flight stations that were busy most of the time, even after the official activities were over. There were over thirty vendors displaying and selling everything you needed for electric flight. A large tent was set up for the many seminars by some of the best builders and flyers. Demonstration flights by several vendors and their pilots took place several times during the day on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday night had two great events. The first was an indoor meet at the local high school gym for micro flyers. When they say micro they mean it. Several of these planes are weighed in grams and can be held in the palm of your hand. Most of them use our current radios but one of the vendors was demonstrating planes that use 900 mhz equipment and can be flown in your living room. You can buy an RTF version for only $300. The second event of the evening was held back at the field after dark. It was a pylon race for park flyers with lights. Because of the concern for midair's, no lithium batteries were allowed. Both events were great fun to watch. If you were to ask what the hot item at the show was, I would have to say the new lithium batteries with taps on them. Most current batteries have the two main positive and negative leads that are used for both charging and flying. New battery packs have an additional connector with one negative lead and a positive lead going to each cell. This allows you to test the voltage of each cell independently to make sure they are balanced with each other. Also, if you have one of the new chargers, each cell can be charged independently. Yes Charlie, that means you will need another charger. Don't go looking for one right away though, there are only two companies making them so far and nothing is standardized. Overall the Neat Fair was a good time and I definitely plan to put it on my schedule for next year.
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