Warringah
Radio Control
Society Incorporated (Incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1984) Newsletter - November 2006 |
| Warringah
Radio Control
Society Incorporated (Incorporated under the Association Incorporation Act 1984) Newsletter - November 2006 |
Peter Papas, the winner of the Tim Cowan Perpetual Trophy at October Scale Day - report inside |
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The last meeting for 2006 will be held on Tuesday, 14th November 2006 at Tennis Cove, Eastern Valley Way, starting at 7.30 pm. AND don't forget the Christmas Party on Saturday, 9th December 2006, entry by ticket only. |
  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;
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)
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BE IN IT – JUST FOR THE FUN OF IT! Competition Director - David Foster (9948 1790) or dmfost@bigpond.net.au |
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Shepparton Mammoth Scale Rally 16 – 17 September 2006
Incidentally, Clive also won last year's event with a giant Stearman which was also powered by the same engine. AND HERE ARE SOME MORE PICS OF THE MODELS AND PEOPLE AT SHEPPARTON
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 Some recent discussions at the field between members has centred around the apparent ability for a transmitter (say taken out with its owner to the runway whilst they pick up their disabled plane) to swamp or override the signal of a transmitter located at the Pilots Flight line and thus leading to the inevitable. This even though the two transmitters are different or widely spaced frequencies. I must admit that, upon hearing of this I was somewhat sceptical. Wishing to discuss it at a recent committee meeting I rang a couple of experts in the field to get some facts (I have not had time to ask their permission so won’t use their names but rest assured they are TOP NOTCH especially when it comes to radio gear related to our hobby). Yes I was surprised, for both agreed the above effect, known as ‘third level intermodulation’ was well known and understood and could pose a risk in a situation as described above. The transmitter closest to the receiver (even if that receiver is in a flying aircraft) could override/swamp the other frequency. Crikey I thought, what a can of worms, where does it stop, what about walking out to taxied aircraft, walking with trannie in the start up area, range checking etc…aaagh more regulations! Wait on and calm down, as always there is a balance between the technically possible and what is probable. Whether this phenomena occurs is, apparently, subject to a variety of variables…. is the aerial fully up, part up or down, which direction is it pointing in, whats the distance between the trannies, distance to the receiver, what are their brands and age, how many are transmitting and so on. One of the experts indicated that as a precaution one should ensure that the trannie aerial is down when walking onto the field the other said the greater danger was being on the field and active runway itself! The Committee discussion really centred on the balance between what is probable, what was the real life history (not just at WRCS) of this happening, the consequences and the effectiveness of any regulation. There was general agreement that we could not and should not regulate for this due to the inherent combination of factors present. The only real prevention would be to have one transmitter on at a time, great! As in many other areas of life a balanced assessment of the risks and an acceptance of some degree of risk is needed. However it was felt that the subject should be taken up in the Near Miss report so as to raise everyone’s awareness. Good practise (not to mention respect for your fellow club members and your own investment) seems to suggest that we all be aware of this effect and if we have to walk out to the runway, for whatever reason, do so with the trannie aerial down please…better still… leave it at the flight line, preferably with someone ready to switch off at your signal…. this has the added bonus of leaving your hands free for the task at hand and keeping friendships intact! Finally there were two more learnings from the above discussions that we should consider,. Interestingly, whilst chatting to the above gentlemen both were unanimous in considering that the single biggest, most likely to occur, ‘actually has occurred’ risk when using transmitters…is…. CROSSING AERIALS, i.e. when pilots are standing next to each other on flight lines. VERY HIGH probability that this will spoil both pilots day and cause loss, tears, angst or worse. VERY GOOD PRACTISE to try and stand a minimum of two (2) metres from each other and use discipline in not physically following the plane across with your body and therefore have the transmitter aerial describe an arc, cross over and…..well you can guess. Oh!, and the second learning, well that’s another interesting one for us to ponder….that is, just because something is not a rule or regulation doesn’t mean that its not right….or the right thing to do. Ciao Dino
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Report and pics by Dean
Riebolge
Sunday October 15th and the air over the Garrigal
National Park saw some of the most ferocious dogfighting since the days
of Western France circa 1941.Two Spitfires on a ‘rhubarb’ mission, flown
by Englishman Dave “ Paddy “ Pound and his wingman Al “Zig Zag” Zuger had
ambushed the lone FW190 ace Col “ Kommandant” Simpson. Things were looking
grim for Ze Kommandant with the Spittys literally getting in each other’s
way in their eagerness to get into the terminal ‘tail shot’ position. However
the Kommandant was in a vengeful mood, for the morning had seen the shooting
down of Oberst Furzer during a Stuka training sortie…the Oberst was now
M.I.A.
Someone would be made to pay. Members of the Observer Corps on the ground let out a series of involuntary oohs and aahs as the planes swooped, dived, rolled and desperately tried to out turn and turn into each other at treetop height. Fours minutes later, and just as quickly as it had started, the sky was suddenly empty. Zig when you should Zag Zuger, bleeding profusely from a variety of cannon wounds, had landed, overshot and was now trapped in the smoking wreckage at the edge of the field. Paddy Pound had landed but, with brakes shot to pieces, the Spitfire had dug its nose in at the end of the runway…” I won, I won” he cried but Kommandant Col, outgunned but not outflown, had smoothly brought the crippled Focke Wulf, hydraulics blasted useless, to a belly landing on the main runway, next to his fallen foes and was climbing out just in time to exact his revenge……….hold on…. what was that someone just said……the last couple of snags on the barby are going? ……off we go then! Undoubtedly one of the highlights of Scale Day 06 was the above encounter, which provided a sense of the spectacle of a dogfight between traditional foes. The day had started inauspiciously with Grants Stuka falling victim to disorientation. Understandable given the low light and poor visibility that was present throughout the day. Unlike the May Scale day the weather Gods were more fickle, threatening throughout and then making good on the threat with persistent drizzle shortly after the lunch break, thus forcing the contest coordinators to call off ‘judgeable’ flying shortly after 1 pm. However there were highlights and memories for all with the full span of aviation history and types on show. These ranged from David Fosters elegantly fragile WW1 Bristol through to Cols latest acquisition, a one-day-old Macchi 339 of gargantuan proportions and destined, one hopes, to consume copious quantities of Jet A1 for breakfast. Jim Masterton and Graeme Swalwell worked like trojans to get their equally large De Havilland Mosquito mission ready, and after sustaining battle damage pulled off a magnificent belly landing (a video ‘vignette’ of which is available at http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=583221 for those of you who frequent the RCGROUPS forum). They would be rewarded for their efforts and bravery by winning the award for best representation of the manufacturers theme for the day, obviously for De Havilland marques. Interspersed were Gee Bees, P40s, P47s, a DH88 Comet, ME109s and although not all flew (admittedly some were not even flyable) they were a delightful, aviation smorgasbord nevertheless. Tom Sparkes managed the Fokker Triplane well, in what was for that type, challenging conditions and finished his flight with “the best Sparkes landing ever” according to the men with the mikes. There were some interesting flying sequences put on by pilots, one of the more notable being the ‘on your belly who needs wheels’ take off by Peter Papas in a Euromodels electric ducted fan MIG 15. In fact the day saw what was probably a first, that being the first electric jet dogfight between said MIG 15 and Harrys ME163 KOMET, which although not ducted was still a jet ! Piper Cubs were in abundance with Peter Sharpes invasion striped L4 variant and Al Zugers and Doug Radfords civilian versions. Ron Clark had his gracefully large Ryan STA flying as it should and Simon Press put on a typically flawless prototypical sequence in his silver AT6 and doesn’t that engine just literally purrrrrr along! Although it was said to be a bit down on numbers, the day was still enjoyable and a great spectacle as befits the long tradition of this event. Visiting guest judge Sandy Howard, a current serving Qantas line captain and director of De Havilland projects at HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) proved very approachable and willing to share his knowledge throughout the day, he also finished with some parting wisdoms on scale and display flying principles. Realistic scale flight speed, positioning at crowd central (i.e. not too close in so the manoeuvres are viewable), management of flying vectors (not towards the crowds when you have lots of energy on the go) and speed ratios of manoeuvres (for example when did you last see a full size warbird do 2 rolls a second!) seemed to be the major ‘take homes’. And so finally, to the winner of the magnificent Tim Cowan Perpetual Trophy. Yes Peter Papantoniou (Papas) or "Paps", as he is known to all and sundry, finally took out the big one (won’t it be an interesting challenge for the engravers to fit THAT name on the trophy). Peter showed us a wide range of skills on the day. These ranged from flying showmanship and exuberance, over a range of aircraft types, through to dogged determination, after some earlier landing mishaps, backed up by excellent field repair skills! It's believed that Peter was so happy he was smashing plates on the floor at home (in the best Greek tradition) till late in the evening and intends to ‘frame’ his mount (the lovely Miss N5J or the Advanced Scale Models Pitts S2A) for posterity. Congratulations Peter ! However the last word must go to the not inconsiderable numbers of helpers and coordinators. To Lynette, George and helpers in the canteen, to Kerry , Mark and Chris at the judges stand/flight line, to Grant, Ron, Brian and others who, as usual, had the field pristine. A lot has been said recently about the acknowledgment of the relatively few members who consistently do the work and it seems fitting to conclude this report with a thank you to all the above and the others unnamed ( and to whom I apologise in advance ). The rest of us derive our fun and passion from your efforts……so lets make sure we thank them when we pass their way in the future. Now, I simply must get my hands on a Spitfire and show the Kommandant ‘what for’…………. Ciao Dino
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"BIGGLE" earns his "S" - Keith Soloes story and pics by Garry
"the Good" Welsh
 After
his first landing at age 75, our regular Thursday flyer, Keith Walmsley
(Biggle), the third eldest in the club came off the apron strings and did
his first solo flights on Thursday 21st September.
Keith is now 79 years old and he had four successful solo flights on that Thursday with the motor still running after the fourth landing. An unassuming chap that I first met at St Mathew's, West Pymble, Keith was CEO of David Brown Tractors and Industrial Gears, (Aston Martin Cars) and in later years he was Secretary of the NSW Bible Society. One of his sons has achieved several patents to the computer world and the youngest son travels the world surfing and managing resort hotels. Jonathan went to Thailand the day after the solo flights and after dropping down to the field to see what his old Dad got up to. John decided that there was a lot more to model aeros than he had originally thought. Keith was in the Air Training Corps in 1944 but was disappointed when the RAAF didn't want any more pilots. So he joined the AIF and trained at the jungle training camp at Kanungra. It wasn't until 1947 that he got some training in flying Tiger Moths.  Keith
came along to a few WRCS Scale days and then asked me how to get started.
We selected a 40 sized trainer and I set up an old version of RealFlight
on his PC.
It has been a "bumpy" ride, but I haven't seen a happier old rascal than Keith after the solo flights. That night I rang Hillary to tell her that "Biggle" has earned his "s" and we can call him Biggles now that he has soloed. As we all know, the real flight learning gets put to the test when there is no savoir on the end of the trainer cord and we live by our own decisions as we have replays in our heads - "I could have avoided that, why did I decide to turn left instead of right, or why didn't I go around........" Here is the question we can pose for all you young fellers ... what new activity will you take up in your 70's and stick at for 5 years until you master it.......bronze wings.....an aging model.....dreams? Keith was at a PROBUS meeting when the lady promoting the benefits of an active mind in later life indicated that some good activities may be chess, cards, model aeros etc, and Keith was over the moon when was the one able to stick his hand up proudly amongst his peers to indicate his fulfilment through model aeros! WELL DONE BIGGLES!
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A LIGHTHEARTED LOOK AT THE RULES??
Very often the conversation between Members
seems to get onto the subject of the Club Rules and discussions and arguments
as to whether the Rules are necessary, over regulatory, or in any case
lack common sense (and whether the rules should be strictly policed by
constantly reminding those who break the rules, or whether it is better
to rely on the spirit of co-operation that a club like WRCS should have
among its members.
Here are the Regulations:
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His wife suddenly looks across at him and speaks in a clear voice. "I know we've been married for twenty years, but I want a divorce." The husband says nothing, keeps looking at the road ahead but slowly increases his speed to 45 mph. The wife speaks again. "I don't want you to try and talk me out of it," she says, "because I've been having an affair with your best friend, and he's a far better lover than you are." Again the husband stays quiet, but grips the steering wheel more tightly and slowly increases the speed to 55. She pushes her luck. "I want the house," she says insistently. Up to 60. "I want the car, too," she continues. 65 mph. "And," she says, "I'll have the bank accounts, all the credit cards and the boat!" The car slowly starts veering towards a massive concrete bridge. This makes her nervous, so she asks him, "Isn't there anything you want?" The husband at last replies in a quiet and controlled voice. "No, I've got everything I need," he says. "Oh, really," she inquires, "so what have you got?" Just before they slam into the wall at 65 mph, the husband turns to her and smiles. "The airbag." |
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 Pyromaniacs (your Editor included) have been requested to refrain from burning crashed models in the BBQ. As the Rules say, all rubbish including crashed models must be taken from the field. |
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See
Lynette Austen at the field most Saturdays or send cheque (made out to
WRCS) and a stamped self address envelope to:
Keith's
planes are shown in the photo, they are: