Indoor News and Views

BONG EAGLES FREE FLIGHT MODEL AIRPLANE CLUB

Rantoul Hangar 3 Fall Indoor contest

CATEGORY II (44.5’) site – AMA Sanctioned event.

SATURDAY and SUNDAY, October 1^st and 2nd, 2016 

9:00 AM TO 9:00 PM Saturday, 9:00 AM TO 4:00 PM Sunday

SPONSOR: BONG EAGLES – http://www.bongeagles.org

ENTRY FEE COVERS ALL EVENTS

SENIOR & OPEN: $50.00 for one day, $75 for both.

Juniors $5.00/day or included with paying adult.

CONTEST DIRECTOR: Kurt Krempetz

1143 Driftwood Lane, Bartlett, IL 60103 Cell: 730/772-4009

Assist. CD: Mike Kirda Cell: 312-907-3831

All Indoor Free flight AMA Events available to fly.

FAC and Science Olympiad flyers welcomed. Bring your kids!

Additional events: Pole race, Phantom Flash, Mashup.

Mashup plan here: http://www.hippocketaeronautics.com/hpa_plans/details.php?image_id=8199

Hangar 3 was part of the shuttered Chanute AFB. The floor space is 200×240’, with 200’x200’ flyable. Porta-potties will be available. Electricity available. No water is available on-site. The CD will have bottled water available on-site.

1. Must have AMA license and sign Village of Rantoul waiver to fly.
2. Tables and chairs extremely limited, be prepared to bring your own.
3. Record attempts will be given precedence. We ask that folks use common sense here to avoid fouling up an attempt.
4. Contest will be West Baden format, self-service in a binder. Processing to be done for records or when requested.

Additionally, we will have seminars both days.

On Saturday, Kurt will talk about gliders. On Sunday, Mike Kirda will talk about VP prop mechanisms.

Bring it, fly it and most of all, HAVE FUN!

Bong Eagles Mini Air Racing Rules

• Model must resemble a “Golden Age” Air racer. (Reasonable imitation) CCW rotation
• CD will supply 1-strip of 1/4″ X 24″ rubber.
• CD will also plan race pairings per how many contestants enter.
• Contestant must use provided rubber. Replacements will be provided.
• Only design rules are: Built up fuselage,(sheet or stick) 12″ wingspan min., swivel eye in wingtip. ROG landing gear with 2-wheels.
• Models must have a visible racing number on tail sides and wing.
• Models will sport racing colors.
• 2- up format on one pole. Both models to start ROG 180-degrees apart.
• Timer starts models with a 3-2-1 ….release.
• First model to fly the fastest 5-laps is the winner.
• Overall winner is determined through elimination flyoffs.
• No fouls or grievances due to entanglements. This is supposed to be fun!
• Models need 1-wing connection to the line from the pole. A fishing clip/snap swivel is to be imbedded at the wingtip.
• The pole stands 5-feet tall with one top rotation point at 5-feet and 1-bottom rotation point at 3-feet above the ground. The timer will flip coin to see who gets what position.
• The line to each model is 2-4# Spiderline (fishing line) with a small ring at each end.

Al Stone is providing the pole and line and a $40 cash pot for the winner.

Link to PDF Flyer

Bill Silin’s National Championship Helicopter

Click here to download a PDF of the plan.

Bill Silin’s 10mAh Electric Free Flight Model

Click here to download a PDF of the plan.

Nick Ray’s Cat IV Record F1R

Click here to download a PDF of the plan.

F1R – Photo taken prior to hang up and recovery

Setting indoor duration records always comes with a series of challenges. My most recent F1R record came after a hang-up on one of the Kibbie Dome “clouds” and possibly one of the worse recoveries I have made in recent memory. After all the usual tricks had failed, I decided to try dangling Scotch tape off of the wooden retrieval rig I had attached to a mylar balloon. I caught wing tip, and as the torque from the motor spun the model around the prop also stuck to the tape.

Once I got the model down, I had a ball of balsa and film, and more Scotch tape than I knew what to do with. Somewhere in the process of separating the pieces with solvent Chris Borland came by and snapped a picture.

F1R remains after retrieval (Photo by  Chris Borland) 

I an hour later, I returned to my table with all the pieces and set to work repairing the model. Jake Palmer helped by giving me some patching material and by the late afternoon I was ready to fly again. I switched to a larger diameter prop, and retrimmed the model. After a few test flights I was ready to resume making my contest flights. The flight was largely uneventful, reaching an altitude of 37 yards, and only required a brief steer before landing to avoid getting caught on the goal posts.

I would like to dedicate this record to my long time friend Bill Clark. He often took me to contests when I was a kid and firmly believed than any problem could be fixed with epoxy and duct tape. In this case it was Scotch tape and Ambroid, but I think he would agree that it’s close enough.

~Nick Ray

Click here to download a copy of the results form.

A New Wood Cutter – Krucoun Krucky

Krucoun Krucky of the Czech Republic has started cutting high quality indoor balsa. He provided three sheets for me to review at the 2016 F1D world Championships. I chose three sheets at random out of a stack of more than 100 sheets. Each of the three sheets was a bit over 20 inches long. Thus, they are an ideal length for making two F1D motor stick blanks out of one sheet.

Generally when reviewing wood we consider the packing and grading of the wood, but neither are applicable in this case. Since I took possession of the sheets directly from the stack, I cannot comment on how the sheets would be packed for shipping. Furthermore, the sheets are ungraded, as such, no commentary can be offered on accuracy of the grading.

Sheets 1 – 3 (from top to bottom) laid out on a table

Sheets 1 and 2 are relatively straight along the length of the sheet, however sheet 3 curved with the center rising 0.25 inches above the ends when paced against a straight edge.

Surface finish of sheet 1

The surface of the sheet is smooth and there are no visible saw marks.

The above chart shows the thickness of the sheet in thousands of an inch. Samples were taken at the edges and center of the sheet at two inch intervals. The density was calculated using the average thickness of the sheet.

Surface view of sheet 2

The surface of the sheet is smooth and there are no visible saw marks.

The above chart shows the thickness of the sheet in thousands of an inch. Samples were taken at the edges and center of the sheet at two inch intervals. The density was calculated using the average thickness of the sheet.

Surface finish of sheet 3

The surface is relatively smooth, but there are some visible saw marks in the top left of the photo. The marks are more visible when viewing the sheet in person.

The above chart shows the thickness of the sheet in thousands of an inch. Samples were taken at the edges and center of the sheet at two inch intervals. The density was calculated using the average thickness of the sheet.

Krucoun Krucky is offering sheets for $5 plus postage. I would like to thank him for the opportunity to review the sample sheets.

Nick Ray  ~ 7.16

Click here to download a PDF of the plan.