Flying with Fred - Volume IV, No 3
It’s the end of March, and one-fourth of 2008 is gone
already- hard to believe. A strange Winter, this, with
no significant snowfall, and no super-freezes to
recover from- my home heating oil company is very
disappointed. The Good News in March was a great
presentation by Danny C. on covering with Monokote at
the meeting on the 18th. One of Dan’s spectacular
planes- both in size and finish- was featured, and a
number of tips and secrets were passed on. Thanks
again, Dan- as I promised at the end of the
presentation, I stocked up on band-aids for my fingers,
as the amount of single edge razor blades involved in
your precise processes will most undoubtedly lead to a
little bleeding here and there. No pain, no gain, I
guess…
The Bad News in March was the passing of Andy Medwid. Most of us in the modeling community in Westchester either knew Andy personally, or knew of him from other individuals. Andy was the owner of Andy’s Hobby Shop in Elmsford for the better part of 23-plus years, and was instrumental in either starting or helping- either directly or indirectly- just about all of us in the club who’ve been in the hobby since the 70’s. His shop served as the nexus of RC flying for both the MAAW and the WRAM, and for a time, even the WRAM held their meetings in the basement of the store.
At his wake a number of us were telling Andy stories- everyone whom I saw there in Yonkers that evening had some anecdote to tell, some memory to recall. The family had put out a number of pictures of Andy being involved in the hobby, and it was truly a great window into the past to see- and remember- some of these great “flying” memories. A safe flight home, Andy, and happy landings…
Some business before we continue- the Spring Work Day is scheduled for Sunday, April 27th, with the Rain Date 24 hours earlier on Saturday the 26th. The web site will have any confirmed changes due to weather at least 36 hours earlier, so keep an eye out. Please make every effort to attend, bring gloves and a rake, and dress appropriately. We have a number of items that need attention to get the field ready for the season, and many hands will make light work. There will be NO flying until all the to-do items are completed.
Ok, so the first hints of warm weather are…here (it was 65 degrees today). You’ve got the itch- no chores to do, and you figure you have a few hours while the weather holds up. The Mrs. is out and won’t be back for a while. You go downstairs and push the boxes, etc. that have somehow materialized in front of the far corner of the “shop”, and you take down your pride and joy that’s been hanging around since sometime in late October, or so. Gee… there’s a little dust. A quick wipe with moist paper towel, and she looks great, even with a few dings here and there.
Where’s that transmitter… where the heck did I put the field box…this fuel looks kinda funny… and then, just as you have everything at your feet, it hits you. The batteries. Dang it- I was going to put this guy on trickle charge. Hellooo- the meter on the transmitter is reading…rats- it can’t be. Now is when the Little Guy on your left shoulder whispers in your ear: “come on, you wimp- you’ve got almost half a charge in there. Those batteries are only five years old, and you’ve charged the heck out of them- how many times?- hurry up and put it on the quick charger- you’re losing daylight!”.
The Bad News in March was the passing of Andy Medwid. Most of us in the modeling community in Westchester either knew Andy personally, or knew of him from other individuals. Andy was the owner of Andy’s Hobby Shop in Elmsford for the better part of 23-plus years, and was instrumental in either starting or helping- either directly or indirectly- just about all of us in the club who’ve been in the hobby since the 70’s. His shop served as the nexus of RC flying for both the MAAW and the WRAM, and for a time, even the WRAM held their meetings in the basement of the store.
At his wake a number of us were telling Andy stories- everyone whom I saw there in Yonkers that evening had some anecdote to tell, some memory to recall. The family had put out a number of pictures of Andy being involved in the hobby, and it was truly a great window into the past to see- and remember- some of these great “flying” memories. A safe flight home, Andy, and happy landings…
Some business before we continue- the Spring Work Day is scheduled for Sunday, April 27th, with the Rain Date 24 hours earlier on Saturday the 26th. The web site will have any confirmed changes due to weather at least 36 hours earlier, so keep an eye out. Please make every effort to attend, bring gloves and a rake, and dress appropriately. We have a number of items that need attention to get the field ready for the season, and many hands will make light work. There will be NO flying until all the to-do items are completed.
Ok, so the first hints of warm weather are…here (it was 65 degrees today). You’ve got the itch- no chores to do, and you figure you have a few hours while the weather holds up. The Mrs. is out and won’t be back for a while. You go downstairs and push the boxes, etc. that have somehow materialized in front of the far corner of the “shop”, and you take down your pride and joy that’s been hanging around since sometime in late October, or so. Gee… there’s a little dust. A quick wipe with moist paper towel, and she looks great, even with a few dings here and there.
Where’s that transmitter… where the heck did I put the field box…this fuel looks kinda funny… and then, just as you have everything at your feet, it hits you. The batteries. Dang it- I was going to put this guy on trickle charge. Hellooo- the meter on the transmitter is reading…rats- it can’t be. Now is when the Little Guy on your left shoulder whispers in your ear: “come on, you wimp- you’ve got almost half a charge in there. Those batteries are only five years old, and you’ve charged the heck out of them- how many times?- hurry up and put it on the quick charger- you’re losing daylight!”.
It is at this point where you should DEFINITELY put the
brakes on, tell the Little Guy where to stick it, and
deal with what should be the NUMBER ONE ITEM on your
list for returning to flying in the Spring. I won’t go
into great detail here, because there is a mountain of
web sites that, in fact, tell you how to store
batteries and get them ready for use after
“hibernation”. Go there, and familiarize yourself
THOROUGHLY with their contents. What I will definitely
tell you is that, if your batteries (either TX or RX)
have had three or more pretty active flying seasons,
it’s probably time to replace them. Yup- dispose of
them in an environmentally safe manner, and invest in
brand-new ones, which these days are cheaper than ever.
Important note- I’m referring to NiMH’s or NiCAD’s here, not Lipos. I have not seen a consensus of opinion as to whether frequently used Lipos should hang around for a shorter (or longer?) period of time. Disposing of Lipos is a VERY specific process- don’t just chuck ‘em in the garbage, or you could end up on the Evening News as a local item involving your Fire Department! Check with the manufacturer along these lines. Check also with the forums such as RC Groups and see what folks out there are doing, or NOT doing out there. The bottom line: make SURE your batteries are reliable and will give you plenty of poop per charge for your flying. If you’re not 100% sure, you know what to do…
While you’re at it, now that you know you botched it with the batteries on your Beauty, and while your computer is warming up so you can read all about same, take a moment and use some more of that paper towel, along with Windex, or whatever your favorite is, and completely go over all of your squadron, taking off fuel residue, dust, mud, and whatever else is there that shouldn’t be there, surface-wise.
Drain the storage oil from the engine (you DID put in after-run oil after your last flight last year, to avoid rust and other crap from clogging the engine, DIDN’T you?) and make sure the carb opening is clean, and the linkage moving smoothly. Check your fuel- I buy quarts, not gallons, which keeps the moisture out a bit better, and is easier to lug around. If you have a container that’s less than ½ full from last year, dispose of it (again, in an environmentally friendly way) and get a fresh quart or gallon out. Last, but not least- go over the entire plane looking for things like broken hinges, loose fittings, dings, rips, cracks, etc. Anything that would affect the structural integrity of the model. Make a list, and fix those suckers!
Take your time with all of this. There will be many more warm days ahead, and a properly prepared and REALLY ready-to-go plane and components are a tremendous load off your mind- you’ll fly better, believe me. Next time we’ll bring your engines back to life, and talk about an interesting- and potentially dangerous- phenomenon known as… “Adverse Aileron Yaw”.
Until then, fly safely, but FLY!
Important note- I’m referring to NiMH’s or NiCAD’s here, not Lipos. I have not seen a consensus of opinion as to whether frequently used Lipos should hang around for a shorter (or longer?) period of time. Disposing of Lipos is a VERY specific process- don’t just chuck ‘em in the garbage, or you could end up on the Evening News as a local item involving your Fire Department! Check with the manufacturer along these lines. Check also with the forums such as RC Groups and see what folks out there are doing, or NOT doing out there. The bottom line: make SURE your batteries are reliable and will give you plenty of poop per charge for your flying. If you’re not 100% sure, you know what to do…
While you’re at it, now that you know you botched it with the batteries on your Beauty, and while your computer is warming up so you can read all about same, take a moment and use some more of that paper towel, along with Windex, or whatever your favorite is, and completely go over all of your squadron, taking off fuel residue, dust, mud, and whatever else is there that shouldn’t be there, surface-wise.
Drain the storage oil from the engine (you DID put in after-run oil after your last flight last year, to avoid rust and other crap from clogging the engine, DIDN’T you?) and make sure the carb opening is clean, and the linkage moving smoothly. Check your fuel- I buy quarts, not gallons, which keeps the moisture out a bit better, and is easier to lug around. If you have a container that’s less than ½ full from last year, dispose of it (again, in an environmentally friendly way) and get a fresh quart or gallon out. Last, but not least- go over the entire plane looking for things like broken hinges, loose fittings, dings, rips, cracks, etc. Anything that would affect the structural integrity of the model. Make a list, and fix those suckers!
Take your time with all of this. There will be many more warm days ahead, and a properly prepared and REALLY ready-to-go plane and components are a tremendous load off your mind- you’ll fly better, believe me. Next time we’ll bring your engines back to life, and talk about an interesting- and potentially dangerous- phenomenon known as… “Adverse Aileron Yaw”.
Until then, fly safely, but FLY!