



Welcome to the Dog days of Summer. August club meeting is just around the corner and what a fun time our last event was, Poker Fly (more soon). I was also happy to see how many members showed up, great to see you all and as always looking forward to see more of you out at the field. Thanks Mark and Carl with prepping the Hot Dogs and all the goodies that came with it. Looking forward for our August meeting!!!
A few notes: The surrounding area around the field is very dry. If an aircraft goes down, I know we slowly walk out to it, thinking all is good, which in most cases has been good. Let’s not take it for granted. Fire Extinguishers are more important to have now with the field being dry. Costco had them on sale, not sure if they still are sale. Please, if you’re able to, bring a fire extinguisher with you.
In the last meeting, we had this one question come up a few times about the gate and being the last person and I just want to make sure (no names mentioned here, right Alan) very member is aware of…. You’re the last one out, Lock the Gate behind you as you leave the field! This will maintain the integrity of our field!
Poker Fly
28 members joined in the fun. All were able to draw their first 3 cards. Just like in Vegas, you get a lousy first three cards, some got a pair like Ty with pair of Kings, good for fifth place, way to go Ty! But even with a pair you still need to collect your two remaining cards. Right after receiving your three cards, it was time to fly, come back get your fourth card. Fly come back for your fifth card. Then you had the opportunity to discard a card, fly receive a card and if you still needed too, discard a second, fly get your last card and hopefully you got the had you wanted. So, without further delay here are the winners:
Congratulation to you all!
This Month it’s Altitude Quest. Here is how it’s going to go. Any airplane may play. No Drones allowed. You will be able to drawn, spin to get you altitude anywhere from 25 to 199 feet. A device will be mounted on your plane and will record the altitude you are to achieve. You are going to be judge on your height your aircraft achieves. The closer you are to you mark, wins. Prize will be TBD.
Looking forward to seeing you all at the field!
Jovi
Two recent instances:
First
Just want to tell you about what occurred at the field this past Saturday Aug. 21st.
Upon landing my Maule, (a perfect landing of course) one of the main landing gear wheels came off. The wheel is held on by a very, very small c-clip, (Jesus clip) which because of the hub design is difficult to get back on. Watching me struggle with it Jim, Rick, Jovi, Other Brad, Fredrick, and a few others I can’t remember right now, came to assist me and get the wheel reinstalled.
This may sound like a small thing but it highlights how our club members are always ready, willing, and able to help a member out. This is one of the things that makes SEFSD such a fantastic flying club.
I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Brad who mentored me back into being a fairly competent RC pilot with the assistance of Jovi at times.
Best regards,
Alan Isaacs
Second
A group of us fly at a place with lots of obstacles. One is a kin to Charlie Brown’s “Kite Eating Tree”. On a windy day recently it reached out and grabbed my UMX Waco. Naturally it was about 25 feet up. Everyone stopped flying and came to the rescue. A few of us fashioned a long stick that we used to whack and coax the recalcitrant Waco from the clutches of the tree. We beat poked and prodded. Seemed everyone was keen to get a turn at whacking my poor little plane. During this time I suggested we use Bob’s car to ram into the trunk of the tree and try to shake the plane loose. If that didn’t work then we could back the car up and try again, and again, until it fell out. Bob was not sure he liked the idea. The Waco whacking continued until it slowly got lower and lower in the tree. Finally, Bob stood on Jim’s tailgate and beat it with a metal pole until the completely thrashed little plane fell into Randy’s arms. Thanks guys for your help! It probably took a half hour to get it out. Modelers really are the best. A very short video:
Steve B.
By Bob Stinson
Back in July some of you may have noticed a couple of members – me and Scott V – piloting something different than planes; tanks! Steve B was there to take some photos and published them in our newsletter. More recently, you may have seen me “playing in the dirt” at the east end of the runway. So, what was all that about?
Radio control tanks is a niche hobby that nevertheless enjoys an international following. There are forums dedicated to it and aftermarket suppliers throughout the world. As in our hobby, advances in electronics and battery technology have greatly expanded choices. The most common scale for these tanks is 1:16, which makes them about 12 to 18 inches in length.
A basic r/c tank runs on 2.4ghz, which controls two motors driving each side’s tracks. A motor operates the turret traverse and another controls the main gun elevation. Some tanks have airsoft pellet firing capability and some have infrared emitters and receivers enabling drivers to battle. Many have both. Tanks can have sound and exhaust smoke generators, headlights and taillights. Models span early WW2 through the latest MBT’s currently operating.
An entry level tank is mostly plastic. This includes the body, wheels and tracks. There are metal upgrades for all of these, as well as additional details to enhance authenticity. There are advanced radios, transmission gears and main control boards. The extent of customization is governed only by imagination and your pocketbook! A full setup – tank, transmitter and a battery – can be as little as $200 or north of $1500. Most use Lithium Ion batteries, but upgrades may include Lipos or Nimh’s. Weight, which is an airplane’s nemesis, is actually an advantage for tanks. It increases traction and realism. Painting, detailing and weathering if desired are all potentially a part of the hobby.
Clubs exist to, among other reasons, provide opportunities for “tankers” to battle each other. using IR capabilities. A tank will receive a number of hits and will stop when this is achieved. You’ll be a dead hulk until a scenario objective is achieved or only one tank survives. Los Angeles and San Diego both have battle clubs. Some battlers travel for hundreds of miles to participate. “Hobby Squawk” is a forum that includes a number of local participants. “RC Tank Warfare” is another forum based in England with members from all over the world. Google will direct you there and undoubtedly reveal more.
I’ve attached some photos of these pocket monsters. Check out SoCalBobS on Instagram and the Hobby Squawk website and Robert Stinson on Youtube for more information about this hobby, or talk to me and Scott V at the flying field.
Bob Stinson
My new T-28 1.1m Aircraft. I’m very excited. I’m not very good with the 800mm Aircraft, also I enjoy my job as turn marshal for the races.
Check out these vids from Randy:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1D1GezQnZ37DeySgVsm8ZtewGlQpBY4Kz
And you thought no one was watching when you botched your landings. . .
We had a pretty fun Electroglide last Saturday. It was an overcast morning with a light wind at 10:00 a.m. Most flight times were on the short side but the real fun was watching the competition between Alex Sutton and Scott Vance.
First launch had four aircraft take to the cloudy sky. Scott Vance had the longest flight with a time aloft of 4:48 minutes with a 30-point landing. Alex Sutton was close behind with a flight of 4:15 minutes and a 20-point landing. Stephen Treger was third with a flight of 2:39 minutes.
Second launch had Scott and Alex again in close competition with Scott flying 3:08 minutes with a 30-point landing and Alex flying for 3:03 minutes, also getting a 30-point landing. Dennis LaBerge was third at 2:30 with a 30-point landing.
Third launch again had short flight times, Alex having the longest at 3:30 minutes with another 30-point landing. Scott flew for 3:09 minutes but landed short of the target circles. Stephen came in third for that launch and picked up a 10-point landing. I managed a 20-point landing.
For the fourth and final launch the wind, which had been gradually building during the first three launches, now brought some lift. It still took a Radian glider to take advantage of this lift, which both Scott and Alex were flying. Scott had the long flight, flying for an impressive 8:17 minutes with a 10-point landing. Alex came in second at 7:35 minutes and nailed his third 30-point landing. Dennis came in third at 5:54 minutes.
The winner with the most flight duration and landing points was Alex Sutton at 222 total points. Scott Vance was second at 187 total points. Dennis LaBerge came in third with 159 points.
It was really fun watching all the pilots fly so well in such marginal conditions and hats off to Alex and Scott for scoring so many bonus point landings.
Thanks to Frank Sutton for the pictures of the event.
Next Electroglide will be on September 18th. First launch at 10:00.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
Bob M.
Roy Orbison grew up very poor. Many don’t know that his hobby was model airplanes. He was apparently very detail oriented when building them, although I can’t find any good photos of the models. I read somewhere that a B-17 he built was very nicely done. Here are a few photos I found. I also read in a model plane magazine that even after he became wealthy when he was between tours he still visited his local hobby shop frequently and he still drove his old beat up pickup truck that he loved.
He died at age 52, but the contributors to his early death were no exercise, little sleep, eating burgers, fries, sodas and shakes on a daily basis between performances and chain smoking. In this B&W Pretty Woman video with Bruce Springsteen you can see the lounge is fuming with cigarette smoke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PLq0_7k1jk
Recently I digitized my old RC videos from the 1993 to 2005. I loaded them onto our website HERE. Some are from SEFSD and some are from other events. You may see some younger versions of folks that are still around.
With Quan’s expert help, we have our For Sale By Members area of the website operational again. If you would like to sell items to make room for more ( of course ) please send your submissions to Steve at editor@sefsd.org. Include a description if the model, components, condition, price, contact information, and a pic or two. To view ads, click the link on the website, see below: