Flying with Fred - Volume III, No 2
Just had the
best two weekends of RC flying one could ask for. On
September 8th through the 10th I had a great time at
the 40th (that’s right- FORTIETH) Mid Hudson RC Society
Jamboree at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome. My most favorite
of all aviation spots on the planet. Amazingly, both
the airplanes I brought up flew great (one after an
eleventh-hour “engine-ectomy”, which saw the removal of
a fading 10 year old two-stroke .46 and replacement
with a brand new .65 four stroke) and everything
returned home in one piece. Some stupendous models were
in attendance- the last 5 years or so has seen a marked
increase in the scale fidelity of the models, along
with a preponderance (love that word) of models in the
¼ scale range.
The Saturday night roast beef dinner was great, as always, and this year Stan Segalla (a.k.a. The Flying Farmer- take in his act with a Piper Cub one day at the aerodrome) was the guest speaker. Stan is one of the legends of aviation- no exaggeration. The last of the well-heeled tail-dragger pilots, at age 81 (yup- that’s EIGHT decades plus) is still as energetic as ever, and had many stories to tell the audience in attendance.
Stan hinted that next year may be his last, however, of flying a fantastic routine that has thrilled audiences up and down the East coast, from Florida up through Vermont, just to name a few places. Stan lamented at the lack of tail-wheel airplane instruction out there these days, and we all hoped that he would be proved wrong in the coming years along those lines. I was honored to have my picture taken with him and shake his hand at the end.
Even with the rain that arrived at about 4:30 PM on Saturday (which passed quickly, and made for a wonderful late afternoon flying session) and the wind that would not come down from about 30-40 Mph. on Sunday, it was still a memorable weekend. It was good to see a few M.A.A.W. members in attendance, and it would have been nicer to see more members flying at the event- maybe next year. Make it a point to be there next September, if your schedules and that amazing ongoing series of events know as “Life” allow you to.
As far as the following weekend was concerned, I only was involved at the tail end of it, having arrived at the Peaceful Valley Camp Site in Shinhopple, New York for this year’s N.E.A.T. (as in; Northeast Electric Aircraft & Technology) Fair early in the afternoon on Sunday. It was my first visit to this great event (been trying to get there since year one…) and I only wished I could have been there at least another day.
Your President- Joe Dellutri (who had arrived on Thursday) was flying up a storm with “Rita”- his great sailplane (built up wood- no fiberglass to be found anywhere) and we briefly shared his transmitter, which allowed me to officially getting some flying time in (thanks, Joe- she flew GREAT). Due to Brain Fade on my part involving a switched crystal (which should have take place at home in the workshop, but didn’t) I was not able to throw my Zagi wing around the VERY defined confines of the valley floor grass strip used for the event. Next year I plan to have at least three planes ready (oh, SUUURE!).
The Saturday night roast beef dinner was great, as always, and this year Stan Segalla (a.k.a. The Flying Farmer- take in his act with a Piper Cub one day at the aerodrome) was the guest speaker. Stan is one of the legends of aviation- no exaggeration. The last of the well-heeled tail-dragger pilots, at age 81 (yup- that’s EIGHT decades plus) is still as energetic as ever, and had many stories to tell the audience in attendance.
Stan hinted that next year may be his last, however, of flying a fantastic routine that has thrilled audiences up and down the East coast, from Florida up through Vermont, just to name a few places. Stan lamented at the lack of tail-wheel airplane instruction out there these days, and we all hoped that he would be proved wrong in the coming years along those lines. I was honored to have my picture taken with him and shake his hand at the end.
Even with the rain that arrived at about 4:30 PM on Saturday (which passed quickly, and made for a wonderful late afternoon flying session) and the wind that would not come down from about 30-40 Mph. on Sunday, it was still a memorable weekend. It was good to see a few M.A.A.W. members in attendance, and it would have been nicer to see more members flying at the event- maybe next year. Make it a point to be there next September, if your schedules and that amazing ongoing series of events know as “Life” allow you to.
As far as the following weekend was concerned, I only was involved at the tail end of it, having arrived at the Peaceful Valley Camp Site in Shinhopple, New York for this year’s N.E.A.T. (as in; Northeast Electric Aircraft & Technology) Fair early in the afternoon on Sunday. It was my first visit to this great event (been trying to get there since year one…) and I only wished I could have been there at least another day.
Your President- Joe Dellutri (who had arrived on Thursday) was flying up a storm with “Rita”- his great sailplane (built up wood- no fiberglass to be found anywhere) and we briefly shared his transmitter, which allowed me to officially getting some flying time in (thanks, Joe- she flew GREAT). Due to Brain Fade on my part involving a switched crystal (which should have take place at home in the workshop, but didn’t) I was not able to throw my Zagi wing around the VERY defined confines of the valley floor grass strip used for the event. Next year I plan to have at least three planes ready (oh, SUUURE!).
Nonetheless,
a FANTASTIC collection of electric planes, wings,
heli’s, gyros- you name it- was in attendance. If they
could put an electric motor on/in it, it was FLYING!-
From a phenomenal four-engine B-17 bomber, to
hyper-maneuverable 3-D foamies, to a superb Sikorsky
S-30 flying boat, to what looked like an open box about
one foot square, just to name a few. And the vendors!
It seemed everywhere you looked there were folks
offering the latest and greatest in the industry, which
is mushrooming at a tremendous rate.
So there they are- two great RC events, on back-to-back weekends- during the best time of the year (no snow, great temperatures, and- for the most part- little or no rain). One is one and one half hour away from lower Westchester. The other, a little longer- two and a half hours. Both can be done as day trips, and both are worth the gas to get there. Folks come cross-country (and from other nations) to be at both- and we have them just about at our doorstep. Mark ‘em down for next year…
For those who’ve been asking, thank you and yes, I did pass my kidney stone. The one that the urologist said back on August 10th had “dissolved”. Got the surprise of my life on the morning of September 8th in the old Water Closet, let me tell you. One more time let me remind you to drink at least 10,000 gallons of water a day, so you will not have the pleasure of dealing with one of these little devils.
We have a few more weeks of flying left before things begin to chill up (down?) and the flying season comes to an end for most of us. Get out there and fly! Congratulations to our newly minted solo pilots who have earned their wings this Spring and Summer. Remember your responsibilities- to the club and to your fellow pilots.
I will leave you with a bit of tech data I’ve just recently discovered. Inverted engines like to have the fuel tank below- as in way below- their carb line. If you can’t have this set up, then remove any muffler pressure completely, and add an on-board glow plug driver. These can be cheap (if you want just an on-off arrangement handled by a switch or dedicated channel on your radio) or expensive (if you want a almost-ready-to-plug-in, programmable unit sensitive to throttle position, etc.).
There’s a whole world of info out there on this topic, and in my case I was able to distill it all down to a working answer for a newly installed four-stroke that refused to run inverted at anything but full throttle. I went for the expensive solution, being a true amateur when it comes to soldering, and wanting some fine-tuning options. The results over the skies of Rhinebeck Aerodrome were well worth the time and expense. If you have any Inverted Engine Stories, let’s hear them!
Until next time, fly safely, but FLY!
So there they are- two great RC events, on back-to-back weekends- during the best time of the year (no snow, great temperatures, and- for the most part- little or no rain). One is one and one half hour away from lower Westchester. The other, a little longer- two and a half hours. Both can be done as day trips, and both are worth the gas to get there. Folks come cross-country (and from other nations) to be at both- and we have them just about at our doorstep. Mark ‘em down for next year…
For those who’ve been asking, thank you and yes, I did pass my kidney stone. The one that the urologist said back on August 10th had “dissolved”. Got the surprise of my life on the morning of September 8th in the old Water Closet, let me tell you. One more time let me remind you to drink at least 10,000 gallons of water a day, so you will not have the pleasure of dealing with one of these little devils.
We have a few more weeks of flying left before things begin to chill up (down?) and the flying season comes to an end for most of us. Get out there and fly! Congratulations to our newly minted solo pilots who have earned their wings this Spring and Summer. Remember your responsibilities- to the club and to your fellow pilots.
I will leave you with a bit of tech data I’ve just recently discovered. Inverted engines like to have the fuel tank below- as in way below- their carb line. If you can’t have this set up, then remove any muffler pressure completely, and add an on-board glow plug driver. These can be cheap (if you want just an on-off arrangement handled by a switch or dedicated channel on your radio) or expensive (if you want a almost-ready-to-plug-in, programmable unit sensitive to throttle position, etc.).
There’s a whole world of info out there on this topic, and in my case I was able to distill it all down to a working answer for a newly installed four-stroke that refused to run inverted at anything but full throttle. I went for the expensive solution, being a true amateur when it comes to soldering, and wanting some fine-tuning options. The results over the skies of Rhinebeck Aerodrome were well worth the time and expense. If you have any Inverted Engine Stories, let’s hear them!
Until next time, fly safely, but FLY!