Patch News History

 

May was quite a busy month although I didn’t manage to get to the patch much midweek so I’m a bit short of pics etc.  The weather was variable but there were plenty of flyable days and members made the most of them.

17^th May saw lots of us heading to the Blackbushe Model Air Show in perfect conditions. Personally I didn’t feel it was as good as previous years, due in part to the absence of Ali & the Bishops with their Red Arrows Hawks, and also because there were an awful lot of crashes/incidents.  The most notable crash was the show opener Steve Carr with his new 60% scale Extra which suffered severe flutter about 45 seconds into the flight followed by structural failure, the whole flight lasting under a minute.  I know little about the LMA inspection system or pre display flight tests but I do know that crashes like that should never happen. Apart from that I think we all enjoyed the day and there were some lovely models present.

One of my favourites was Steve Holland’s large OV-10 Bronco, I didn’t get any details but it’s big and flew beautifully.

Another was this Viperjet, yes it’s scale, you can buy a real one from the manufacturers Dan & Scott Hanchette,  although you’ll need about half a million dollars and 3500 thousand hours as it’s a kit build!

Nick Squire took loads of photos during the day so no doubt he’ll be doing a full write-up shortly.

Not too many new models appeared this month but Dougal Entendre (Mark Agate) brought along a Radjet 800. It’s not actually new, it was previously owned by one of Mark’s work colleagues. Chris Hard also has a Radjet 800 and Mark’s seems to fly just as well. It’s very smooth, fast, quiet, and a good all round performer.

Desperate Dan has got another DLG (Discus Launch Glider). No details I’m afraid but I’m happy to report that it’s an impressive performer, several flights I watched were around the one minute mark and that was on a day when there didn’t seem to be any thermal activity. Not too sure what he’s doing here!

I managed to inadvertently provide lots of amusement a couple of Sundays ago:  Dougal, 1066, and I decided to fly our identical Sportjets together.  We managed to get nice and close on a downwind run and began a fairly tight turn back to do a low level run over the patch. As we turned I waggled my wings to make sure I was flying the correct model and carried on in the turn. Within a few seconds I saw one of the models dive straight into the deck and I shrieked with laughter shouting “Who was that?!”  Within a couple of seconds the remaining two Sportjets shot past us and I thought “Mine looks much cleaner than when I launched it…”.  Then I heard Mark & Steve laughing and the realisation dawned… somehow I’d managed to switch models.  The resulting wreckage was not pretty but at first glance all the hardware seems to have survived without damage. I’ve had several hundred flights with it and it was certainly getting pretty tatty and grubby (white foam and a grass patch with sheep or cow poo don’t really mix too well) so I wasn’t really too upset at its loss, and at least it gave everybody present a good laugh! As always on such occasions plenty of ‘kind friends’ were eager to help out with photos of the wreckage, these were donated by Dougal Entendre…

Viv burgess turned up last Sunday with a huge new model, a lovely Seagull Models Ercoupe. It has a wingspan of 2.5M (98.4”) and is designed for a 33-40cc I/C engine but Viv has converted it to electric and is using a 10 cell pack feeding a monstrous motor via 120A speed controller.  I forget what motor he is using but it’s producing over 2kW of power which should be more than enough for a model weighing in at around 15lbs. Sadly our small patch didn’t seem to be big enough to enable the Ercoupe to take off and Viv is having to think again about CG, elevator movement etc.  To me there seemed to be an awful lot of weight on the nose wheel although the CG appeared to be correct. I thought it seemed to build up enough speed to take-off so I don’t think the problem was lack of power. I’m sure Viv will sort it and all will be fine eventually, it’s certainly a beautiful and impressive model, one of those that just looks like it should be a lovely flier.

The other new model to arrive was Woody’s Yak-9, a VQ model designed for either electric or I/C power. It looks absolutely stunning in its two tone blue camouflage scheme and Woody has fitted the optional retracts to make it totally authentic.   It’s powered by the recommended 5 cells but the model came out nose heavy so Woody had to alter the battery mount to allow it to slide back further under the canopy to correct it.  He obviously got it right as it flew beautifully and certainly had more than enough power. There was a vibration when I went to full throttle which I initially thought was probably an out of balance spinner, but it gradually got worse as the flight continued so I decided an early landing was required. That meant I didn’t get a chance to check out the slow speed handling or the stall so it came it a little bit rapidly and both the oleo legs snapped. When we examined them it was apparent that they were very weak at the pivot point and I think if Woody can fit solid legs into the retract units all will be fine. The vibration turned out to be a loose motor mount, in fact by the time I got the plane down it was very loose, almost hanging off, but nothing that isn’t easily sorted. I was very impressed by the way it flew and I look forward to the next flight. Nice one Woody.

Thanks go to John Wheeley for this months’ tale:

His request approved, the CNN News photographer quickly used a cell phone to call the local airport to charter a flight. He was told a twin-engine plane would be waiting for him at the airport.

Arriving at the airfield, he spotted a plane warming up outside a hanger. He jumped in with his bag, slammed the door shut, and shouted, ‘Let’s go’. 

The pilot taxied out, swung the plane into the wind and took off.

 Once in the air, the photographer instructed the pilot, ‘Fly over the valley and make low passes so I can take pictures of the fires on the hillsides.’

‘Why?’ asked the pilot. ‘Because I’m a photographer for CNN’, he responded, ‘and I need to get some close up shots.’

The pilot was strangely silent for a moment, finally he stammered, ‘So, what you’re telling me, is …. You’re NOT my flight instructor?’

Colin Cowplain

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

 
 

NO FLYING Sunday 11th May 2014

The sustainability are holding their Green Day again this year on Sunday the 11th May.
As the field will be used as a car park there will be no flying on that day for safety reasons.

At last! We’ve had some decent flying weather in March, let’s hope April follows suit. It’s been variable and some days have been cold and windy but others have been perfect. Sadly the mowing problem hasn’t been solved yet but I’m sure it will soon be sorted.
I’ll start off this month with my latest toy, a little Saab JAS39 Gripen from HobbyKing. I was ordering a few bits & pieces and got tempted…

It’s about £48 for the plane already fitted with a 50mm fan, the motor, 2 servos, and speed controller, so all that’s required is a receiver, battery, and a little glue. The recommended battery is a 3 cell 800mAh lipo so I ordered a couple whilst hoping the 3 cell 1000’s I use in the Mustang would fit. Flight times are only around 3 minutes on the 800’s so I was happy to find I could indeed fit the 1000’s in which extends the flight times to around 4 minutes.

Before I flew it I read lots of reviews etc online and (as always) found both good and bad comments, but mostly bad. The instructions state the ailerons need about 7 or 8mm of reflex, I think some people must either ignore instructions or just think they know better! I set the reflex and C of G where the instructions said and its first flight went with no problems at all. I had to add a little lead to the tail to achieve the correct C of G, even with the receiver and battery as far back as possible and have since added a little more but apart from that I’ve altered nothing. Some comments said “keep the speed up on landing”, I’ve no idea why, it comes floating it at a crawl and has no vices at all. I’ve had around 25 flights now and have only had one problem; on one flight there was suddenly an odd noise from the fan, I thought it had thrown a blade. I got it down ok and found it had lost all 5 blades! As supplied the motor wires are held in a groove in the top of the duct by a piece of fibreglass tape. The tape had come off and got eaten by the fan!

I was unable to find a replacement 5 blade fan but Giant Shark had a 6 blade fan and housing for less than £3 so I ordered a couple of those. I kept the original housing and, with slight modification, fitted just the new fan. It flies just the same and maybe has a touch more power than before. So I’m very happy with it, it looks great both on the ground and in the air, flies well, and was cheap, perfect!
 
As I mentioned last month several members are now flying the HK Sportjets, they’re excellent fliers and a lot of fun. We’ve been fooling around with formation flying which has proved a bit hit & miss, mostly miss, but Gentleman Jim managed this great shot when we all briefly got it together recently.

 
On the subject of formation flying, John Warren and Bob Hill decided it would be nice to fly John’s Albatross and Bob’s SE5A together. ‘Together’ turned out to mean both were somewhere in the south of England but with a bit of luck you might spot both planes ‘together’ in this months’ video. You’ll find the link towards the end of this Patch News.

John might have been rubbish at formation flying with Bob’s SE5A but he got pretty close during an attack on Cyano’s new Crack Yak!

 
March saw the return to flying of John McEvoy, a welcome return. John chose a very windy day to have his first flight for about eighteen months but had no problems at all. His Spacewalker has one of those quaint old fashioned dirty noisy smelling things up front but flies (and sounds) a treat. Now get and take your ‘A’ test John!


 
Tony Neal also turned up with a couple of I/C models one day, his P51 Mustang and his PC9. The PC9 had an ‘aborted’ take-off, followed by an ‘interesting’ take-off, but once it was up and trimmed all was well. Both take-offs are in the video at the end of this Patch News.


Tony also flew the Fast Forward that was one the club raffle prizes. It flies well but as you’d expect its definitely not a stooge around model, it keeps the adrenaline flowing!

 
Steve 1066 Hastings has been dripping on that he’s never featured in Patch News so I’ll put that right. He seems to have found a cheap source of second hand models, cast offs from Cyano Steve. 1066 is into the same 3D flying as Cyano so is happy to take any models that Cyano no longer requires.

He is pictured clutching an Extra 330S, his latest purchase, and he’s getting it set up to his liking. In the other photo 1066 is working on the 330s and in the background is his 330SC. The SC version is made from EPP foam and as you can see has a slab-sided, almost profile like fuselage which helps give it an amazing knife-edge performance. If you see Steve flying knife-edge right across the field at about 5 feet altitude it’s probably the EPP one, just superb!

 
A new model appeared early in March, another from John Warren. It’s an EPO E-Flite Hawker Sea Fury, and although it’s just 845mm (33”) span it comes complete with retracts. I test flew it and it flew beautifully although the retracts with tiny wheels just weren’t up to our rather rugged patch.

Sadly the model was perhaps a step too far for John, or rather a flight too far away, as John soon discovered that small models disappear rapidly and orientation becomes a problem.

The damage from the resulting crash was fairly extensive but I’m sure the repairs aren’t beyond John’s capabilities so hopefully the model will fly again. From the little flying I did with it I would definitely recommend the E-Flite Sea Fury but it would probably be best to stick to hand launching and belly landing.
 
Meanwhile, alongside his larger models, Cyano Steve has been flying a Twisted Hobbys Crack Yak 55. It’s a 32” EPP model that looks as if it should only fly indoors but Steve assures me it’s an outdoor model. Twisted Hobbys (no that IS how they spell it) actually do the Crack Yak, and several others, in Standard, Lite, and Supa Lite versions.

I assume Steve’s is the Standard version as it flies outdoors although it’s certainly not up to windy conditions on a hilltop field!  Steve has a fair size garden so he can fly the Crack Yak there when he doesn’t have time to drive to the field. However the garden is surrounded by some fairly large trees…
 
We had a ‘first’ at the field in March…not only did Nick Squire fly his first electric model, it was also his first on 2.4 GHz, and his first foamie! It’s yet another of the EPP P51 Mustangs but it’s not a new model at all, Nick bought the model and radio from Hapless Harper. This means it’s been put together well and flies excellently.  The photo was taken after Nick’s first flight with it and the big smile shows he was happy with both electric power and 2.4gig.


 
Last Sunday saw Mark Agate flying his Skyfun. The model has flown a lot and has had several different motors and speed controllers. Mark has been experimenting with reverse thrust by using an esc intended for use in an R/C car. The results have certainly been ‘different’ but Mark has found that slowing the Skyfun to almost zero means that gravity takes over and it heads vertically down albeit at a slow speed. Lack of air over the control surfaces, which are only elevons in this case, means there is little control to do anything except fall.  Mark uses a discus launch to get it airborne without making contact with the prop and the technique usually works well. However the first attempt on Sunday went a little awry and the ground bit the model. I’m think there was probably a little unseen damage as although it got away safely on the second attempt it hadn’t been flying long when the canopy became detached. Losing the canopy isn’t usually a major issue on a model but it obviously upset the aerodynamics of the Skyfun as it proved unflyable. Mark was kind enough to send me a photo of the resulting damage and says the model will now be retired.

For a video of some of the planes I’ve mentioned see here: March 2014 Video  This month Ron’s grandson Eddy leads off with an excellent take-off, which is then followed by various aircraft on various days and in various weather conditions,  listen to the wind noise in some of the shots! It ends with Nigel baker showing us how to land an Acro-Wot…
Thanks are due to Richard King as he contributed some of the video this month.  Richard’s  own flying is improving rapidly and he has now done several excellent landings under the guidance of mentor Mark. The landing of his model in the video was NOT done by Richard, that was Mark trying to show how close he could fly to the camera…!
 
No Patch News is complete without a mention of Smiffy. We all know his mantra is More; more equipment, more expensive, more complicated, in fact more anything! When he turned up recently part of his field equipment was a large flight box labelled on each end with ‘4S 4000’.

I queried why and he explained it’s so he knows what batteries are in the box. I foolishly asked if he changed the labels when he uses different batteries, but no, Smiffy has a different flight box (with labels) for every different battery pack he uses!
 
What’s the difference between a female flight attendant and a jet engine? At the end of a flight the jet engine stops whining!
Colin Cowplain