Warringah Radio Control
Society Incorporated 
(Incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1984)

Newsletter - December 2006

 

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HEALTHY AND HAPPY 2007

 
CHRISTMASPARTY  CHRISTMASPARTY  CHRISTMASPARTY
The Christmas Party will be held on Saturday, 9th December 2006, entry by ticket only.
 MEETINGSMEETINGSMEETINGSMEETINGSMEETINGSMEETINGS
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, 13th February 2007 at Tennis Cove, Eastern Valley Way, starting at 7.30 pm. 

 
MAP OF THE FIELD TO HELP READING THE RULES
With the kind assistance of Andrew Baber of the Sunset Soaring Club (who is a professional graphics desgner), this map has been prepared (... yes, it is actually in living colour!!) to avoid any misunderstandings as to defined areas as set out in the Rules. Colour copies are posted in the pound and also available on the Net.

 
WRCS
CHRISTMAS PARTY
by ticket only!!! at 4 pm
on SATURDAY 9th December
(dinner served at 6pm,bring along your ticket to hand it in!!) 
We again are catered for by McGoo’s Spit Roast with lots of yummy food.

Adults $22; 
Children 5-12 $10; 
under 5 FREE

Face painting and Christmas stockings for the kids

Lucky Door prizes for those attending donated by Col Taylor Models

Raffle tickets are $5 each, Prizes are:

First: World Model CAP 232-46R Castrol .46 size ARF kit (donated by Model Aero Products) PLUS Thunder Tiger .46 Pro engine (donated by Kelletts Hobbies)
Second: Galaxy Air-Kill .90 size ARF kit (donated by Extreme Hobbies)
Third: World Models Sky Raider Mach-II low wing .40 size ARF kit (donated by Hobby Headquarters)

See Lynette Austen at the field most Saturdays or send cheque (made out to WRCS) and a stamped self address envelope to:
  Stefanie Grech
  42 Fuller Street

 
Chasing a Leak
by David Pound
Anybody who has ever had anything to do with retracts knows what a contrary set up they are.
I have been chasing a leak in my large 96” Spitfire’s air retract system since the May Scale Day.
The system lasted about ten minutes before needing a recharge and pumping up, when checking the system with soapy water I could see the retract air valve leaking. 
Inside an air valve it is not rocket science, the valve consists of an aluminium case with 5 entry/exit nipples 1 for air in, 2 for air out/up and 2 for air/out down, and a sliding bar inside this case with 2 "O" rings for distributing the air by the bar moving side to side and thus shutting or opening the holes.
So I hunted for new "O" rings from various hardware shops having obtained a box of metric and a box of imperial (both with lots of different sizes in them). I tried some from both boxes but no luck the valve still leaked. That was about all up about 8 hours work.
Ok, get onto Robart in the States to send me some "O" rings made for the systems, after 4 weeks they arrived but the valve still leaked after fitting.
Ok, the valve is stuffed. I tried all my old valves and all the combinations I could work out with the bars and new "O" rings from various places still no luck, still leaking.
Ok, buy some new valves! I ordered 2 Robart sets from the States and 1 from Hstore in Miranda. 10 days later all 3 sets turned up on the same day, the Thursday before scale day coming up on Sunday.
I could not believe it but all 3 new valves leaked, after a further 12 hours of trying various things I could get them to work but only intermittently. By this time you could understand I was pulling my hair out and it was Saturday, so I travelled to Miranda (a 3 hour round trip in heavy traffic in 37 degrees heat) to swap the new leaking valve for a replacement! Not a fun trip from Manly to Miranda in that heat in Saturday morning traffic.
Ok, on fitting the valve at home this 4th new valve also leaked.
I had run out of options and patience so I took the  whole system out, went over to Al Zugar to see if he could shed some light on it. We both fiddled for half an hour and tried one of his new valves and that leaked also, so that’s 5 new valves and they all leaked.
Ok, he had a new retract system set up in his racing AT6 that worked fine on testing and that had the same Robart valve as I had, we then put my leaking valve in his system and BINGO it worked without leaking! I tried all my other new valves in his system and they all worked without leaking.
Ok, so it had to be elsewhere but we both could not think what was making my system leak.
We then chased my system back checking all the way from the valve to the retract cylinder and found the problem.
Inside a retract cylinder a piston is pushed backwards and forwards by air.
The air entering from one end of the cylinder pushes the piston to the further end of the cylinder and that moves the retract leg up and the air entering from the other end of the cylinder pushes the piston back and the retract arm moves then moves down.
What you get when the piston moves is the redundant air from the other side of the piston exhausts out via the retract valve, so what was happening with my system was, air was leaking past the piston "O" ring on the piston continuously and exhausting out the valve and it gave the impression that the valve was stuffed.
So a quick change of the "O" ring on the cylinder piston and that cured the problem. 
Well done Al, I will credit you with this one.
Home and fitted the lot back into my big Spitfire and had a great battle next day at Sundays Scale Day with Al’s 96”Spitfire and Col Simpson's FW109, the 3 of us up at the same time chasing each other's tail.
I took the trophy home for over 7kg Military so it must have been worth it.
CU in the Pits.
Blackfingernail

 
The Flight of the "Mossie"
(Scale Day October 06)
Pics and comments by Doug Radford
 We have received many photos of the "Swalwell/Masterton Mosquito" all the October Scale Day pics are available on the Webpage for those interested.
We publish this selection which is accompanied by a commentary by Doug Radford.
 
 

Left: Jim Masterton servicing the “Mossie” 
 
 

Below left:: “Mossie" in flight 
 
 

Below right: Low pass
Left: Concentration from Graham Swalwell and Jim Mastertonduring the “Mossie” flight. Lots to cope with
Right: Due to undfercarriage problem “Mossie” was brought in for belly landing (successfully  completed) and this is just before touch down, full flap, one engine cut and fully committed.

Above: General view of the pits area on Scale Day 

 
MORE PICS FROM OCTOBER SCALE DAY
Pics by Doug Radford and Marty Cowan
We hope these photos give you some idea of the flavour of the event and the great models that were displayed and flown by WRCS members. For a full picture gallery or to download the "big picture", why not visit our Webpage?
 


 


 


 


 


 
Trophy Tales:
The Tim Cowan Scale Trophy
by Dino Riebolge

You might recall the picture on the cover of the last newsletter showing Peter Papas, the winner of the Tim Cowan Trophy at the October Scale Day. You may have also noticed the trophy itself and I thought it would be an idea to share some of the history behind one of the most important club awards of the year.
Tim Cowan was a member of the club throughout the 80’s and 90’s and an avid builder and flyer of scale models of all types (he is also the father of current member Martin (‘Marty’) Cowan, recently returned from a stint working and living in Canada and heavily involved in the jet scene). Tim sadly passed away in 2004 at the age of 75. His passion was real planes…by that I mean biplanes and in particular WW1 and the type where you had to do a lot of woodworking and sanding yourself to get an end result.
Such was Tim’s enthusiasm for the scale art that in 1982 he commissioned the creation of a trophy which would serve to foster greater activity and recognition of achievements in the building and flying of scale models. 
The trophy, which came  to benamed after Tim after his passing, is a magnificent and significant piece of work in its own right. It stands at just under half a meter in height, and consists of a highly polished circular column, made from an extremely rare and valuable piece of fossilised Rosewood, which tapers gradually upwards. Attached around the column are small silver medallions reserved for recording past and future winners of the scale day. 
Sitting on top of the beautiful, lustrous wood is an exact, and if you look closely at accompanying photos you will realise I mean ‘exact’, 1/72 scale reproduction of a Bucker Jungmeister biplane. The Bucker Jungmeister was, in the pre WW2 flying world, the Pitts Special of its day. Flown throughout the world, one was actually in the hold of the airship LZ129, better known as the ‘Hindenburg’, when it went up in flames at Lakehurst Naval station in New York in May1937.
Anyway, back to the subject at hand, this amazing 1/72 reproduction is one of those pieces where the closer you look, the more detail you notice and the higher your appreciation of the craftsmanship involved becomes. It was forged by Wal Van Heekeren, one of Australia’s leading silversmiths at the time (and also a WRCS member) and is solid silver. Look closely and you can see that the patterns in the fabric covering are visible, as is the wing rib stitching. You can’t tell from the photos but theres' a joystick in the cockpit and did anyone pick up the mudguard covers over the wheels! 
The first winner was John Power in 1982 with a Harriot, subsequent winners also provide for interesting reading;
1983 Mike Linnet 
1984 Mike Minty (Magister)
1985 Doug Radford 
1990 Alan Place
1993 Mike Minty (DLV)
1994 Mike Minty (DLV)
1995 Martin Cowan (Fieseler Storch)
1996 Ron Lucas (Pitts)
1997/98 Stan Begg (P40E)
1999 Alan Place (AVRO 504K)
2000 Stan Begg (ME110)
2001 Stan Begg (ME110)
2002 Stan Begg  (Kittyhawk)
2003 Gary Morris (Extra 300L)
2004 Grant Furzer (TU95 “Bear”)
2005 Simon Press (P38J)
2006 Peter Papantoniou (Pitts S2A) 
So, quite aside from the not insignificant monetary value, it's clear that the Tim Cowan Trophy represents a tradition that (apart from a couple of small gaps where it went M.I.A.) extends back nearly a quarter of a century (YES…some of you are THAT old!). 
As such it should instil firstly a sense of pride that WRCS is the sort of club where such continuity can happen in the first place and secondly respect for what Tim wanted to leave as a legacy.
Now I’ll also take the opportunity to ask a favour from you all. To finalise some of the club records we are seeking a complete list of all the pilots and planes awarded the Tim Cowan Trophy. If you can fill in some of the gaps from the list above, please contact me direct or through the Webmaster email. I believe Brian is also trying to build up a historical record of all club newsletters, so if you can help in this please contact him as well. 
In fact just recently a long time ex member George Lamponi (who will be hopefully rejoining soon) gave us a complete list of club newsletters from 1978 and 1979. I’ll be sharing some insights into club workings and politics for you in some future articles….as you can imagine they make for some interesting reading!
Hopefully the above background gives you a sense of some of the history in WRCS and inspires you to start thinking about, and building, the next Tim Cowan Scale Trophy winning model….Good Luck.
Ciao Dino
(NB: thanks to Marty Cowan & Chris Hebbard for sharing some of the insights above)

 
The Gloucester Cup is back on for March 2007,  Mark Rickard will further report on details if any members are interested (as one would expect a really good turnout for this competition event between the Gloucester Club and WRCS). 

We keep reminding Members that our worst enemy in relationship with neighbours and keeping our beautiful field is NOISE!! At least 2 other clubs have either lost their homes or had flying times disrupted and limited after complaints from neighbours. Please assist by making sure that your model doesn't offend and that you keep strictly to the flying times.

A member using the Spektrum DX6 2.4Ghz radio for a while now on small electric planes has been very impressed, and as Spektrum are shortly releasing the DX7 (a ‘full range’ system) has enquired whether the DX 7 will be allowed to be used at Belrose in any size aircraft. The MAAA placed restrictions on the DX6. and they are currently testing the DX7 to see if they will approve it for use in models of any size, with or without restrictions. As soon as the results are known and if approval is given, WRCS will adopt all MAAA recommendations.

The results of the Cootamundra Races can be found through our racing link on the internet page. In the meantime, our competition calendar for 2006 has finished, thanks to Tom Sparkes and all the Competition Directors for their great work during the year. As soon as the results are in they will be posted on the Net, and don't forget the 2007 programme!!

 
Competitions Calendar for 2007
These are the dates that are set by the Committee for 2007. We have tried to cater for all interests, flying in the friendly competitions offered is guaranteed to improve your flying,  safety is paramount. 
We again welcome Tom Sparkes as the Competition Convenor.
Please keep these dates diarised:

Sun 18 February - Glider & Electric -CDs: David Foster and Mike Minty 
 Open to all gliders and electric models. A Perpetual Trophy  donated by the family of  the late John Meake, will be awarded  for the Glider section.

Sun 18 March - Combat -CD: Warren Lewis
 Classes: Sport, Open, Stock, 1/12 scale. 

Sun 20 May - Scale -CD: Mark Rickard
 Classes: Military, Civil, both Small and Large Scale. 
 Special manufacturer category is "Central Powers" and  "AXIS". In other words any warplane that flew FOR THE
 OTHER SIDE IN EITHER WORLD WAR. Bring along your  Fokkers, Taubes, Messerschmitt's, Stukas, Dorniers, Focke- Wulfs, Heinkels and less known stuff.

Sat 16 June - Biplane -  CDs: Peter Papas; Dean Riebolge
 2 or more winged models eligible. Flying for all standards.

Sun 22 July - Racing -CD: Mark Connor
 Classes: Open, Sport,  Stock, Novice

Sun 19 August - Helicopters -CD: Andrew Moss 
 A special day for those who fly without wings

Sun 21 October - Scale - CDs: Mark Rickard
 Classes: Military, Civil, both Small and Large Scale. 
 Special manufacturer category is “Golden Era”.  Any  aircraft from the thirties, and this category usually applies to
 civilian planes although some military models used as racers  may be in the category. If in doubt, check!!

Sun 18 November - Funfly - CD: David Foster
 Classes: Open, Sport, Stock, Novice

 
A VISIT TO OLD WARDEN
Mike Minty came back from the UK in October, but just before he left there he filed this (edited) report.
I made an exciting was a visit to Old Warden, the site of the wonderful Shuttleworth collection of flying vintage aeroplanes (another website worth a visit), for a model meeting.
 
There was a good collection of RC models but the undoubted star was Ali Mashinchy (of Al’s Hobbies) and his Gruman Cougar. I built a Keil Kraft Jetex version of this in 1956 and it just shows what 50 years of development have achieved! It is an amazing scale model, superb surface finish, sliding canopy, air brakes, working lights, Jetcat 160 turbine to push all 39lbs of it around BUT you should see him fly it!  Smooth is the word, it really does groove and looks so real ……..but then he throws in a few specials like low passes ……..inverted and hesitation rolls a few feet off the ground. 
Here are a few pictures 
See what I mean! 
Scary stuff some of it.
But while all this hi-tech stuff was going on there was another world at the end of the field, and I have to say, I spent more time there. It was all free flight, rubber powered, small diesels, rocket assisted and some amazing CO2 stuff.
A lovely Frog Venus from the 50s with its tissue covering, balsa wheels and hand carved prop (pic left below)  floated silently in at my feet as I cycled to the main area.
The owner of the one on the right below had a grin from ear to ear as it completed a well trimmed flight of about 5 minutes after a steady circling climb powered(!) by a Mills .75.
And this one on the left has incredible detail …….and it’s not his competition model, just a hack to fly around!
On the right  is a rocket powered tissue covered SR53 masterpiece. They get the rockets from a place in Eastern Europe, from a manufacturer of Semtex amongst other stuff. They cost £1 each so you have to get them trimmed pretty quickly!
He apologised for the colour of the props on this – not exactly scale but the two tiny electric motors flew it beautifully. He had a miniature circuit board attached that was programmable to give a timed high power (Hah! High powered from 1 teeny weeny LiPo cell) climbing period, a medium power cruising period and then shuts down for the glide to landing. The whole thing weighs a couple of ounces. 
Oh yes, this one on the right is his comp model, just look at that engine detail and the plane is only about 20” span and weighs a few ounces!
Happy flying
Mike

 
USEFUL HINT ...  BALSA STRIPPER
(from an old publication)
A handy, inexpensive gadget you can make for cutting strips of balsa for planking, longerons. spars etc.
Using hard balsa build up a small cutting guide and glue the razor blade into the block with cyano. Various sizes (widths) can be made.

 
FROM THE WORKSHOP
Peter Sharpe is seen here with his recently built ARF Spitfire

The model is powered by an 80 OSx4


 

CONGRATULATIONS
to VAL PINCZEWSKI
on achieving his GOLD WINGS

 
This entertaining cartoon was found in a loose page from an old publication, unfortunately we don't know the source so we cannot give proper credit to the cartoonist. Nevertheless we thought our readers would enjoy the cartoon

 

 
CORRECTION
The invitation reported in the November issue Column 9.9 to test-fly large models at the Blacktown Club was based on a mistaken report, please disregard it. Sorry ... OOPS

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