Patch News – April 2014

It’s May already so time for a new Patch News. I’m really pushed for time at the moment to this edition might be a bit rushed, and I won’t have time to sort out the video footage I’ve taken so I’ll hold it over for next month. The April edition was well received, especially the April Fool photo that Gentleman Jim composed of five Sportjets in close formation.  There were plenty of clues:  It was published on 1st April; there are only four Sportjets in the club; all five pictured had an identical nose repair; and the comments section mentioned Lirpa Loof & Frail Loops… but STILL someone managed to blurt out a daft question about the photo at club! I would name them but Burly Turley gets upset when I pick on him so I won’t…oops!

We started the month with some young bullocks in the field. Those of us who have seen bullocks in the field many times over the years know that although they are really inquisitive and can sometimes be a little aggressive they usually get bored and leave us alone after a while. When I arrived at the barn one morning I was amused to see one member running for the gate chased by a herd of bullocks!  If they get too close and ‘stroppy’ it’s best to just head towards them, not move away, no doubt they could do you a lot of harm given the chance so stand your ground. It’s certainly best not to enter the field alone, you won’t be able to fly anyway as you’ll get surrounded.

Chairman Ron took the role of head herder one misty morning and showed us how to do it.

Speaking of Ron, you may have heard that he has taken on the task of mowing the patch for us. He’s bought a new club mower, a much lighter version than the old one and he’s able to lift it in and out of his car without too much difficulty. On behalf of all the members I’d like to record a huge Thank You Ron, it is greatly appreciated. As I write Ron is sunning himself on foreign shores so thank you Chas for taking over for a couple of weeks!

Cyano Steve has also gone off to sunnier climes, he’s gone on his annual Tarpon fishing trip to Florida Keys but before he went he turned up with this little beauty.It’s an E-Flite UMX Sbach 342 3D from Kings Lynn Models. It may be tiny but it really is a 3D machine, it prop hangs etc just like larger versions, no doubt largely due to its AS3X stabilisation system. The wingspan is just 432mm (17”), it weighs 75gms (2.65oz), and the battery is a 2S 180mAh. I’m looking forward to having a go with it Steve.

Desperate Dan has now had the plaster cast removed from his leg and can reach the patch again. One Sunday he brought along his Skywalker 1900 model fully equipped with FPV gear, and asked me to launch it and be his spotter. Dan flew around for a few minutes and checked the return to home function that should return the model to the launch point if there is a communication failure, and all seemed fine. A couple of times I asked him to bring the model back closer as it was getting difficult for me to see, and surprisingly each time it was only about 500 metres away. This is a 1900mm span model so we obviously don’t fly the majority of our models as far away as we think. Then Dan asked if I’d like a go flying FPV and he handed me the headset while he flew normally. Then I took control and flew around for a few minutes. The model seemed easy enough to fly although I really didn’t have a clue where I was most of the time. There is an awful lot of information on the screens but without having had a chance to study it all on the ground most of it didn’t really mean too much, I was just too busy flying the model to take much time working out what all the numbers meant.  A couple of times Dan said ‘turn left’ or similar to stop me going behind the flight line and occasionally I spotted the patch, the road etc. After a few minutes Dan said I should come closer, the screen said I was something like 650 metres away so it must have been right at the edge of visibility. I said I had no idea which way to turn to get closer and he explained about a line on the screen which should be pointing vertically upwards when I was heading directly back to us. Just as I started to turn back Dan said he’d lost sight of the model and on screen I appeared to be diving. Up elevator made no difference and then the screen suddenly went off.

It was a horrible feeling when I had nothing on the screen and Dan couldn’t see the model! Then Mark shouted from the pits that the model had crashed a long way off. We trudged off along the bearing that Mark had taken but after a long search we returned empty handed. Overnight we checked Google Earth and using the bearing we had and around 700 metres distance we decided the model had to be in a reasonably narrow strip of trees that we had walked through previously. Next day we went back and luckily, on his way down a track, Dan met a farmer who said he’d seen the model. With his directions it only took a few minutes to find, phew! The model was indeed in the strip of trees and was on the ground having suffered very little damage as it came through the trees.

 So what went wrong? The only thing I could think of was maybe I had stalled it and it had gone into a spin, although on the screen I certainly didn’t see a death spiral and the ground suddenly getting really close! Dan reckoned that was very unlikely as the model is almost impossible to stall with any power on at all. The recorded on-board video should have shown us what happened but sadly the video card was cracked in the crash so Dan was unable to view it. Having reviewed all the evidence Dan has come to the conclusion that battery became disconnected, hence loss of everything. He had used an XT60 connector but it was a cheap copy rather than a genuine one and apparently there have been issues reported online with loss of connectivity.  

The minor repairs were quickly completed and a genuine XT60 connector fitted, and Dan has flown it again without further problems.

There were a couple of other incidents on the same day; firstly Dougal Entendre (sometimes known as Mark Agate) had a minor mid-air with Bob Hill. Bob was flying his aged Seagull trainer and I think Mark was flying his MX2 when they touched, but neither thought there was any serious damage. Bob noticed a small trim change so landed and discovered that his tailplane had been well chewed by Mark’s prop! Lucky he had done the correct thing and landed, there may not have been such a happy outcome if he had continued with the flight. Mark got away with a couple of minor dings in one wing.

The other incident involved Steve 1066 and a crosswind ’landing’.  The wind had shifted during the flying and most of the morning was spent with the pits in the wrong place. Needless to say as soon as the decision was made to move the pits the wind shifted back to where it had been earlier. According to 1066 it was all my fault (what’s new?!) so I am pleased to include a photo of his misfortune:It seems he wasn’t overjoyed at having his photo taken but was anxious to point out that he’d only had one crash… at least I think that’s what he’s indicating. Thanks go to Smiffy for the photo; he was heard gleefully muttering something about getting his own back.

Chris Hard has got a new model, a Radjet 800. He’s has been flying the smaller Radjet 420 for a while and decided to try the 800mm version.  Chris has fitted a HET 3W 400 watt motor which draws around 38A from a 3s 2350 lipo and the model only weighs 572g so it’s not underpowered. I was flying my Gripen the other day and all I saw of the Radjet was a blur as it kept passing me!

Another new model comes from Nick Squire, a Great Planes Super Sportster 40.  The span is 1410mm (55.5”) and it weighs about 2.3kg (5lbs). Nick seems to have regressed since last month, this model is fitted with an I/C motor and 35meg radio gear. Nostalgia’s not what it used to be…      It flies well despite those deficiencies and is proving to be a good all round sport machine.

Fanfare time, all stand please, Mark passed his BMFA Examiner’s Test on Saturday. Well done to Mark and thanks to Area Chief Examiner Steve Warren for coming along to our patch to test him.

I went along to observe and to help Mark where needed but to be honest I didn’t see much of the flight. Mark was about a quarter of the way through the test when the shepherd drove across the field, south of the patch, to check the many sheep in the field. About two hundred sheep and lambs that had been down by the gate decided to run after the shepherd and charged straight over the patch. They had just reached him when he got back in his vehicle and drove back past us on the north side of the patch, so they all charged back again! The noise of hundreds of bleating sheep and lambs was incredible and drowned out the model noise totally, I heard Mark say “I’m trying not to be distracted”! By the time he got to the landing the sheep were all grazing happily again behind us as if nothing had happened!  Steve Warren must have been slightly bemused, probably thinks we’re an odd bunch that always run around the field chasing sheep. I tried to explain that it’s usually only Smiffy who does that… 

So then it was question time and Mark was a bit surprised to be asked about dethermaliser snuffer tubes on free flight models and control-line pull tests amongst all the more expected questions on flying displays and CAP658 etc. But he did well and sailed through so now we have two club examiners again and can take ‘B’ tests for anyone to wants to have a go. Form an orderly line please…

While we were at the field for Mark’s test we watched lots of paragliders enjoying the north easterly wind both along by Old Winchester Hill and at the usual site by the masts.  Amongst them was a ‘proper’ hang-glider which looked like a very sophisticated machine, nothing at all like the old style triangular frames covered in nylon.  We watched as he caught a thermal and circled up to a great height before passing over our field and disappearing off to the west.  We finished flying and were home by lunchtime, but Desperate Dan went to the field in the afternoon. Before he started flying he was surprised by a hang-glider flying low overhead with the pilot shouting at him, wanting to know the wind direction. He duly landed in the field and promptly had a pee; it turned out it was the one we had watched in the morning returning after a five hour flight! Fortunately Dan took some photos so we can see it’s an Atos VR.A quick Google finds that it’s from a German manufacturer and has a wing span of 13.8 m (45 ft), wing area of 14.7 m² (158 sq ft) and aspect ratio of 13.3:1. It has minimal cable bracing and incorporates both flaps and spoilers for roll control and as you can see it has a small vee tailplane.

And finally…I said in the last Patch News that Smiffy always has to have more of everything than everybody else, it turns out that this even applies to model clubs. He sent me a photo of his latest model but it was as at the Guildford club’s patch not ours. Andy didn’t give me any details but I’m pretty sure it’s a Sebart Sukhoi 29S 50E V2, whatever it is it looks absolutely gorgeous. Come on Smiffy, bring it to our patch, I want to drool…

That’s all for now, I’m off to Zante, hope to see you all at Blackbushe on the 17^th, check it out at:  www.blackbushemodelairshow.co.uk/
“Why is there mistletoe hanging over the baggage counter?” asked the airline passenger caught in the holiday rush. The check-in girl replied “It’s so you can kiss your luggage goodbye”.

Colin Cowplain