Patch News June 2012

We had a surprise visitor to the patch in May. A few of us were flying one Saturday when we spotted a Tiger Moth heading our way and the pilot had obviously spotted us as well. He flew a circuit around the field, presumably to check we were aware of his presence and, once he could see we had landed all the models, he treated us to a low pass…and I mean LOW!  We thought he was going to do a touch and go but he stayed a few feet up. I just managed to snatch a quick photo with my mobile as he passed, poor quality I’m afraid but you get the idea.  He returned our waving as he passed and then pulled up and round and as he crossed the patch again he did a lovely loop right over the top of us!  It certainly made our day, and the pilot seemed to be enjoying himself as much as we were.

During the rest of May the weather went downhill to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee at the beginning of June, but there was another highlight when we were visited by a familiar looking couple. Apparently they dropped by to present our Chairman with a special certificate for Services to the Glue Industry… about time he was certified!

As I write we have just emerged from the wettest June on record so not surprisingly the flying has been a bit limited. Some of us braver idiots did get out to fly on a few of the better days, although we sometimes got caught by the showers. We had some unusual problems against us this month, caused by the weather, starting with a large tree that got blown down across the track to the barn. Roland leapt into action and attacked it with his chainsaw, aided by some of the flyers, but the tree was just too big for both the chainsaw and the helpers. We tidied it up as best we could and after a couple of efforts Roland managed to clear a path wide enough for walkers and bikers but not cars. We had to reach the car parking area via the bottom road for a few days but then the farm workers arrived with some seriously large machinery and cleared the lot in under an hour!

 
The other weather related problem is the length of the grass. George (our farmer) has been letting the field grow for hay but because it has been so wet he hasn’t been able to cut it and at the moment it’s well above knee height. Walking to the patch means a good soaking and it’s hard work for those of us with trolleys. Can’t be helped and no doubt it’s more of a worry for George than it is for us. He told us he’ll cut it as soon as he can so fingers crossed the weather improves soon. Meanwhile the patch is in excellent condition although harder to land on than usual because of the long grass all around it.
 
Ron Vears brought his swing-wing Tornado to show us at club one meeting and the model has now flown successfully several times. It flies pretty much like other EDF’s with the wings in the forward position, and there’s not too much change with them in the mid position. In these positions the ailerons are very positive, even with low rates and plenty of exponential dialed in, it rolls like a drill!  But when the wings are fully swept back the ailerons become pretty ineffective despite programming in maximum movement and zero expo. Overall the model flies really well and is very impressive in the air, particularly when pulling into a vertical climb with the wings fully swept. Care is needed on the landing approach as the small wings mean the speed has to be kept high, I wouldn’t want to try landing it if the wings jammed in the fully swept position!  Ron is using his new Multiplex radio on the Tornado and the wing positions are set using Flight Phases which means simply flicking one switch slowly moves the wings and automatically sets the rates, expo, and trims to whatever has been chosen for the Phase it’s in. 

 
Ron is also using the Multiplex telemetry and has fitted a current sensor that displays various info on the transmitter screen.  One of the functions acts like a fuel gauge and sounds an alarm when the battery reaches a pre-set level, warning him it’s time to land.  I am using the same system on my Multiplex, and Steve Montague uses similar telemetry on his Spectrum DX8, and Andy Smith on his Hitec Eclipse… it’ll never catch on, it’s just toys.
 
Ron found he had a problem with carrying several models and transmitters from the car to the patch but came up with a novel approach that seems to work well:

 
If you have read Nick’s Blackbushe Report you’ll know that Viv Burgess splashed the cash at the 4-Max store and emerged with a bag full of chargers, motors, batteries etc. (His wife Vicky tells me he spent almost £10! ).  Viv tends to fly larger models but has now converted both his almost new PT-19 and his Chipmunk to electric power with seemingly few problems, I hear there a some large 4-strokes up for sale…
 
Must dash now, the sun’s out and I’m off flying  🙂
Colin Cowplain