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Bullsheet - October 2001
Vol. 01 No. 10 - October 2001 |
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President's Message |
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I can't believe it's October already, leaves are turning colors, and nights are getting shorter. Our flying season is winding down, short nights and weekends are all that is left. We still have a lot of work to do to get our field back to the way it was. At the Sept 11 meeting the school was closed due to the "Attack on America". We had 26 members present, all gathered in the parking lot. The meeting was called to order under a street light that did not look very promising, as other streetlights were already lit. I told the club members since the last meeting the officers made the decision to turn the field around as I stated in the Bullsheet. I opened the floor up for discussion, there was very little, and what was said was positive. I would like to thank the membership for standing behind the officer's decision in turning the flight line around. I also told the club we have permission to put removable sleeves on the vent pipes and after these are installed we would move the flight line up ten feet and stake it out so the membership could get a feel for it. We would like to here any input the membership has of the new layout. As I write this, none of this work has been completed. I hope to have the sleeves installed before next meeting and the new flight line staked also. Please be patient. We are talking about a couple, maybe three weekends to accomplish all of this. One day to dig the holes and pour the posts. One day to stretch and tie the wire. One day to dig and pour the new footings for the shelter. One Day to move shelter! We also need to remove our other fence we left in Litchfield. We will use these posts to extend our pit and parking area! As I stated before, there is a lot of work left to do. I personally don't see all of this taking place this year. If anyone would like to tackle any of these jobs before spring, please step forward at the next meeting! We'll fix you right up! As for me, and the rest of this season, there is a sign hanging on my door, and it says ----- GONE HUNTING! I hope to see you all at the October meeting. -- Harry Peters Jr. |
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September SOAR "Good Day" |
| Photos by Rich Kelley Well the glider contest has come and gone. There were 10 contestants in a mix between 2 meter, 7 cell electric and open classes. Early in the morning the thermals were light and a challenge to make the time. By the second round the thermals were starting to cook, with more people attaining max times. By noontime you could soar a rock, several ships had the opportunity, and took it, to sample the vapor at cloud base. Mark Drela during the noon hour was tossing his Apogee hand-launch glider; this is a great way to learn how to catch those low-level thermals. I would like to thank all that provided support for the effort. Harry and Rich provided the food support and everything was great. Andrzej Rutkowski and Karl Hofer provided constant support at the frequency board and scoring table. Throughout the day various contestants and spectators interested in the contest helped out with running the winch / retrievers and timing. Except for some minor startup cockpit piloting problems (seems like just when you think you've thought of everything you discover what you forgot!). The day went smoothly with 80 flights taken. A big thank you to all that participated. I will say that one of the most rewarding moments for me at the contest was Peter Skentzos flight, where he caught a nice thermal and rode it up quite high for a really nice time on the flight. As far as I know Peter has never flown a sailplane before this summer. His enthusiasm and excitement brought back memories of when I caught my first big ride, a feeling impossible to describe, I have been terminally hooked ever since, Peter, I hope you feel the same. The results are: 7 cell Electric 2 meter Open Congratulations to all, and thanks for coming, start building soon for next year; spring will be here with all new thermals before you know it. -- John Hayes -- photos by Rich Kelley |
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John Hayes launching his "Majestic" with John Marien ready to time the flight. |
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Darrell Wagner making last minute tweaks before committing to the air. |
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Chuck Keller with one of the new generation electrics called the Eclipse. |
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Darrell Wagner getting "Back to Basics" with Luis Pinard watching the clock. |
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Mark Drela with another fabulous flight with John Hayes doing the timing. |
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Harry Peters practicing his "foam cutting" techniques. (hehe) |
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Mark Drela showing us all how it's done! X marks the spot landing. |
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Glow Plugs (part 2) |
| ED Note: This is the continuation of the article from the September issue.
HOT and COLD Now that we know how a glow plug works and why it fails, the next question is what is meant by a hot or cold glow plug. A HOT plug has a large hole with a long distance between the coil and the steel wall. This allows the coil to remain hot by NOT draining off the heat to the sidewall. Obviously COLD is just the opposite, a small hole (or large diameter coil) to allow the red heat of the coil to transfer to the large area of the steel wall of the plug. Note: if the coil is not centered in the hole, you now have a very cold plug no matter what you thought you purchased. There are other factors that determine hot-cold pugs, but they are minor in comparison. WHAT DO YOU NEED If you are running high nitromethatne content (more than 20%), you need a hot plug. The nitromethane does not burn on contact with a catalyst like methanol and needs the burning methanol to light its fire. So the high percentage nitromethane along with the 20% oil tends to put the glow plug out or rob its catalytic fire. Just like a fireman, put the wet stuff on the red stuff. If you are running very rich, then you need a very hot plug. In general, 4-cycles need hot plugs so the coil will remain reasonably warm during the engine’s dead stoke that has no fire. A heavier gauge coil is also characteristic of a hotter, or sometimes a better grade 4-cycle plug - it takes longer to cool off. Don’t get excited, the difference in wire size is very small to make a big difference, just costs more. If your engine needs a warm up period before it stays running, then you may need a slightly hotter plug. If your plug burns out every few flights, then you probably have too hot a plug. If you are experiencing some denotation (a growling or slight popping noise at high speed), then you may have too hot a plug. The methanol is igniting too soon. Speaking of differences, one manufacture’s hot plug is another’s medium plug, regardless of the label, go figure. IDLE BARS Stay with me for this last bit. Now why do some glow plugs have idle bars? Simple - 20 years ago when beginners were trying to adjust their engines; they were always too rich on the bottom end (idle) for a variety of reasons. The richness splashed raw fuel into the non-Schneurle (cross flow) engine combustion chamber and put out the glow plug. Thus, the idle bar prevented raw fuel from splashing directly onto the hot glow plug allowing the engine to keep running under poor conditions. Sorry to burst your bubble, but the idle bar does not glow red-hot, is not made of platinum, and is not magic. You probably do not need them, period. FUEL Oh, you read that part about 20% oil, did you? If you are not using at least 18% oil (manufacturers generally use 16%) then you are trying your best to destroy your engine. 4-Strokes especially, need 20%, not the 12% some are selling, egad!?!?!. The manufactures like to sell you low oil content because it is cheaper for them, and you think you are getting better gas mileage. Sure, you engine will run with the low oil content, but it will run hotter thus reducing engine life by a LOT! Buy some KLOTZ (SIG packages it in quart bottles for sale by the hobby dealers) and add 4 (four) fluid ounces per gallon of 16-18% oil fuel. That amounts to about 3-4% oil addition. Your engine will love you. You should not hurt for power, but if you do, you are on the ragged edge of not enough nitromethane, buy higher nitromethane content fuel. Up to about 20% will not hurt your engine and your idle will be fantastic. -- Tom Loose |
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TOUCH & GO - Events of Interest! |
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Local Hobby Shops |
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NEW Hobby Shop! |
| Hello Members!
My name is Ted Zadlo and I recently became a member of the club. As the owner of Pat O'Brien's Country Framer & Hobbies, I would like to extend an invitation to visit our quaint store. We specialize in aviation art, general hobbies and basic R/C supplies such as fuel, hardware, props, balsa, kits, etc. Soon we will be stocking motors and radios. We carry SIG products, Balsa USA, Nelson paints and hardware, Graupner electric products, with more on the way. We are a dealer for Fiberclassics, Yellow Aircraft, Dare Hobbies, Clark Industries, Megatech, Tamiya, Irvine Engines, First Place Engines, B&B Mufflers and Quadra Engines. We offer discounts to club members on all aviation art and custom framing. Special orders are never a problem.
We are looking forward to serving you! -- Ted Zadlo |
