K-FACTOR
January 2021 Volume 50 Issue 1
Official Publication of the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics
Can’t you just see the Cajun influence in the nose of this good looking Shinden from CK Aero? Monte Richard’s airplane ready to go for yet another round at the LARKS Contest in Sulphur, LA. ~Photo by Rich Whitlow
January 2021 K-Factor | 1
In This Issue: F3P Indoor
3
NSRCA Officers
4
Member Article
7
District News
8
IMAC 19 Contact Us 21 NSRCA Application
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22
F3P Indoor
F3P Indoor Aerobatics by Sal Piu Local indoor aerobatic contests are currently not planned for this season. Some typical accessible indoor flying sites are still shut down due to collateral impact of dealing with the Covid virus. The USA team trials is still tentatively scheduled for some time in the spring of 2021 at the Sporta Dome in Crowne, Indiana; however, no additional info is available at this time. The NSRCA web site has been modified to add several pages related to indoor RC aerobatics and associated competition. I have already received several complimentary comments from several indoor pilots on this effort. For those that do get a chance to fly F3P indoors, and are well experienced with flying F3P in general, here is the F3P finals sequence AF-21 to practice:
FINAL SCHEDULE AF-21 (2020-2021) AF-21.01 Half Hourglass with two consecutive one eighth rolls, quarter roll, half roll AF-21.02 Half Cuban Eight with roll integrated, two consecutive quarter rolls in opposite direction AF-21.03 Square Horizontal Eight with ¼ roll, ½ roll, ¼ roll, ¼ roll, ½ roll, ¼ roll AF-21.04 Pull-Push-Pull Humpty Bump with quarter roll, two consecutive opposite half rolls integrated, quarter roll AF-21.05 Horizontal Eight with half torque roll, half roll integrated, half torque roll, half roll integrated AF-21.06 Corner Combination with two consecutive quarter rolls, three quarter roll AF-21.07 Reverse Double Fighter Turn with quarter roll, half roll, half roll, quarter roll AF-21.08 Half Loop with integrated roll AF-21.09 Horizontal Square with quarter roll, quarter circle with half roll integrated, two consecutive quarter rolls, quarter circle with half roll integrated, knife edge loop, quarter circle with half roll integrated, two consecutive quarter rolls, quarter circle with half roll integrated, quarter roll AF-21.10 Trombone with three quarter roll, half roll integrated, three quarter roll AF-21.11 Double Stall Turn with quarter roll, half roll integrated, quarter roll
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NSRCA Officers
Hear from Your NSRCA Officers President
Charlie Barrera 2627 Silver Shadow | Conroe, TX. 77304 936.404.0063 charliebarrera@consolidated.net Hello again, everyone. Here’s hoping that you’ve had a happy, peaceful, and healthy holiday season. Maybe you had the extra helping of turkey and pumpkin pie, or just set out cookies and milk for Santa, and mysteriously, they disappeared the next morning. As we begin this new year, there is so much to look forward to. A vaccine for the Covid virus is about to be approved, and distribution will begin by the end of the year 2020 (as I write this article). We have begun planning for the FAI F3A World competition, to be held at the International Aeromodelling Center, in Muncie, IN, July 10-19, 2021. Also, the 2021 Pattern NATS has been scheduled, and planning has commenced. The dates of the Pattern NATS will be July 20-24, 2021. I’m hoping that you are making plans to attend these two great events. At our monthly Board of Directors meeting this past month, several topics were discussed. One of our priorities is, of course, to grow pattern. It seems that the “Small Plane Subset”, as the proposal was presented to the board, did not generate the interest that might have been anticipated. You might recall, this proposal
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was to allow a plane limited on size and power, to compete against the larger two meter planes. This is intended as a way to get into pattern without the expense associated with it. While competing with smaller planes is already done at many contests, the focus was to have a separate provisional class that rewarded these competitors. It would have used the same scoring criteria, the same class structure, but flown with smaller and less expensive models. Please reference my article in the October 2020 KFactor, “Proposal - Small Plane Subset”. Unfortunately, this idea did not get sufficient interest to continue planning. However, we are continuing our search for flying that might increase our ranks. One idea that was presented is a free style competition. The board appointed a committee to research the possibility of having a free style competition during a regular pattern meet. The idea is that any competitor can perform any freestyle he chooses for judging by all competitors present at the meet. This doesn’t necessarily mean hovering, or performing the Harrier maneuvers, etc. These maneuvers can be hazardous to a model’s health, LOL! Seriously, we wouldn’t encourage this type of maneuvers. Instead, the freestyle pilot can perform any “wow” maneuver that he/ she is comfortable performing. This could be a rolling circle, a knife edge loop, knife edge flight from the extreme edges of the box across the flight line, and so on. This could be choreographed and set to music. A time could be set aside for the demonstration, say, during the lunch break at a local contest.At the end of the contest, the competitors in pattern could vote the best Free Style performance and a trophy awarded. It was pointed out at our board meeting that Free Style at IMAC meets generated the most interest, especially by the younger pilots. We are hoping that by encouraging this type of maneuvers, we can attract new pattern pilots. The Sequence Development Committee is in full swing developing sequences for the 2022-2023 pattern years. They are very close to completing selection of
maneuvers for each class, and also begin testing to see if everything “fits”. Once this is complete, they will present their work to the BoD for approval. The sequences will only be approved after extensive testing. They are then presented to the membership in the fall of 2021. The new sequences will be ready for use at the end of 2021. I think you will be happy with the selection of maneuvers. The board is evaluating an amendment to our NSRCA Bylaws. In our current bylaws, the duties of the District Vice President are not explained. We see this as an oversight. The new amendment will specify what is expected by your District Vice President, as he/she carries out his or her duties in the interest of his/her district. An amendment to the bylaws requires membership approval.The amendment will be published in upcoming KFactor editions and voting on approval will follow. Please watch for updates. Until next time… Fly straight; keep your radiuses constant and stay in the box. Charlie Barrera…OUT!
NSRCA Officers Vice President
all local pattern contests. Additionally, NSRCA provides communication among its members through our website (nsrca. us), Facebook, and monthly magazine (K-Factor). The Executive Officers are confirmed for the new 2021/2022 term. The previous officers continue to serve: President Charlie Barrera, Secretary Heedo Yun, and Treasurer John Decker.The position of Vice President is still vacant. Please let us know if any NSRCA member is interested in and willing to serve the club as Vice President.
Position Open
Secretary
Heedo Yun 4610 Willow Pond Ct. \ Sugar Land, Tx 77479 281.512.9163 | Heedo.Yun@gmail.com NSRCA wishes all club members a Happy New Year of 2021! We are hopeful this year will mark the end of the global pandemic and the resuming of our regular pattern activities. As of mid-December, 2020, the total number of NSRCA’s registered and fee paying members is 372. We encourage all members to continue to renew their membership for 2021 if they have not done so already. NSRCA works closely with AMA as a Special Interest Group (SIG) supporting the nation’s pattern flying activities. Specifically, NSRCA provides support for the NATS, World Championship, U.S. team trials, and
We are in the middle of the District Vice Presidents’ (DVP) term of 2020/2021. Two DVPs (Robert Campbell of District 3 and Art Kelly of District 8) resigned for personal reasons near the end of 2020.The Board of Directors (BoD) has appointed James Hannah as the new District 3 DVP and John Ventley as the new District 8 DVP for the remainder of the current term which ends in December, 2021. Please join us in welcoming the new DVPs and also in thanking our former DVPs Robert Campbell and Art Kelly for their excellent service. The club’s supporting staff also continues their service in 2021. They are the WebMaster Derek Koopowitz, and the K-Factor Editor Scott McHarg. It would not be possible to have the NSRCA website and the K-Factor magazine in the present excellent form without their selfless contributions. Thanks for your service, Derek and Scott! The position of Advertisement Manager has been vacant for a while, and we encourage any club member who’s willing to serve to please step forward. The 2020 District Champions of each district will be announced and awarded with free NSRCA shirts in February. Unfortunately, due to the difficulties of the global pandemic not all districts were able to have sufficient pattern contest activities in 2020 to select the district champions. Selection details will be announced in February.
finals as well as the closing ceremony will be on Monday, July 19. The 2021 U.S. team was selected at the team trials/selections event at Munci, IN in September, 2020. The selected U.S. team members who will represent USA at WC are Peter Collinson, Andrew Jeski (Team Captain), Jennifer Kimball, Grayson Pritchett, Kal Reifsneider (Junior Competitor), Jason Shulman, and Joseph Szczur. The 2021 NATS will be held at Munci, IN in July immediately following the WC event. The event will commence with the pilot and airplane processing day at the AMA Museum building on Tuesday, July 20. The competitions will be on Wednesday, July 21 through Saturday, July 24 with the Awards Banquet on the final day’s evening. Registration for the NATS will open soon, and the fee is planned to be $195 per pilot. Both WC and NATS will be held at the International Aeromodelling Center (AMA HQ) in Munci, IN. NSRCA has been considering new ideas to promote the hobby of pattern flying among young generations. (1) Include an additional award to winners who fly smaller than full size pattern airplanes. The purpose is to enable beginners to enjoy the hobby with smaller airplanes, while allowing for ease of handling and transportation as well as a smaller budget. (2) Add free style flying to the regular pattern contests. This can be in the form of a demo flight during lunch time or a separate event.The freestyle may include any 3-D and pattern maneuvers. (3) Include an event for flying Electric Ducted Fan (EDF) aircrafts in simplified pattern sequences. Such events are already in place in some districts with positive results, occurring on Sunday afternoons after the completion of regular pattern contests. We consider this a difficult but important subject for the future of this hobby. The club is working hard to find good working solution and would appreciate your input and support in this endeavor. Again, we wish you all a Happy and Safe New Year. Heedo Yun, Secretary
The 2021 FAI F3A World Championship event (WC) will be held at Muncie, IN, U.S. in July. The event will start on Saturday, July 10 and end on Monday, July 19. The semifinals will be on Sunday, July 18 and the
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NSRCA Officers Treasurer
enough on the runway and is constantly an issue with grabbing the pants. If anything goes awry, you are fixing a landing gear plate. I recently tried to find the best way to attach wheel pants, the most durable, and honestly it was an issue unless you have a 50cc+ plane. I know axles are also an item that are integral, so I am seeking advice for that as well.
John Decker 2878 Carrera Ct | League City, TX 77573 281-627-9474 | johndecker@sbcglobal.net Wheel pants. Such a dilemma. The plane looks better with them‌everyone tells me. I like them but what a pain. When you fly off grass, which in the South during the growing season (about 10 months of the year) it is a problem to keep the grass low
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Please post your suggestions to the NSRCA Facebook page so everyone can profit from your suggestions. https://www.facebook.com/nsrca Thanks for your suggestions. Always land wheels down, John Decker
Member Article
Keeping Skills During the Off-Season by Patrick Harris
{Editor’s Note: This article was written by Patrick Harris for the NSRCA District 8 article published February 2017 in the KFactor. Please enjoy!} As I am writing this article, I am looking out my den window to about a half a foot of snow (who said it only rains in Portland). We were actually spared the brunt of the storm. Several outlying areas have close to a foot and a half of snow. What does this have to do with pattern flying? It’s really more a matter of the “lack thereof” of pattern flying. Unlike our friends in the South, us Northern folks don’t get a lot of flying in during the winter months. So how do we do we get our flying fix? You likely guessed it “a simulator”. Now I have to admit, I am somewhat reluctant to talk about simulators. It seems as though every time I bring the subject up to pattern fliers about simulators, the conversation soon turns negative. Oh...those things aren’t like the real thing...the plane just turns into a dot....you can’t see the horizon.....on and on and on. Well, some of those things are true, but the way I see it, the alternative (not flying) is worse! For me, flying the sequence with a simulator helps keep me dialed in. I try to fly most every day, but I only fly maybe five to ten minutes at the most. I usually fly the whole P schedule once and work on one or two maneuvers a few times. That’s it, quick and dirty, done in no-time. I think the thing that the simulator does for me is keep me tuned on rudder inputs. I see missed rudder inputs all the time at the field and contest where guys haven’t been able to fly a lot. Let’s face it, in the upper classes, rudder is what wins contest....period. Due to simulator use, I feel I can go to the field after a month or more layoff and still put in a pretty good flight from the get-go. In my case I fly RealFlight 6.5. I haven’t flown any of the other simulators available, but I think they are all very close in reality. I haven’t seen a great need to upgrade to
the latest version of RealFlight.The version I fly, comes with a Futaba controller, that is very comfortable to fly. The newer version of RealFlight allows you to use your own transmitter, but I haven’t found the need. Let’s talk about the some of the limitations of simulators and how to work around them. First off, the planes that come with RealFlight are pretty much useless for our purpose. Most all are sport planes or helicopters. On RealFlight’s web site, they have a section that you can download planes that have been constructed by individuals free of charge. There are only a few pattern planes available, on this site and most are borderline at best. A few years ago, someone built a Krill Evo that was the closest I had found to the real thing. I spent a lot of time modifying it and have it flying about 95% to the real thing. If you are flying RealFlight and want a copy of it, just shoot me an email.
are working on a particular maneuver. Just hit rewind and start all over. It saves a lot of time as you are already set up for the maneuver. That’s about it. I keep it pretty simple. Some guys hook their computer to a big screen TV which sounds cool. I just have mine set up on my laptop that I can grab in seconds and be flying. I set it on my lap so the screen size appears about like a big screen from a distance. Will a simulator make you a better pattern pilot? Maybe, but only if you use it! I have said it before; if you aren’t flying simulator, you are likely going to be beat by someone who is.
One of the biggest limitations in flying the sequence with a simulator is the plane turning into a dot and you can’t see a thing. The way I get around this is to fly in “Auto Zoom” mode all of the time (just hit the “Z” key twice). In this mode, the plane will stay pretty much the same size all the time with the downside being, you can’t see the horizon in most cases. Without the horizon, it’s very difficult to determine if you are centering a maneuver to the field. I just look at that as a limitation to the simulator and don’t worry about centering. Once I am at the field, I now focus on centering, as I have most of the maneuver dialed before I ever get there. To save a lot of time, I don’t take off and land with the simulator. Once I have the plane straight and level coming into the box, I hit the “P” key (Park). What that does is, park the airplane in that very same spot, so the next time you pick up the controller you just hit the “reset” button and you are back to that very same spot. RealFlight has a cool feature I use a lot. If you hold the reset button down, you can “rewind” your flight. This is great if you
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Districts
District News
D1 |Salvatore Piu spiurc@comcast.net CT•ME•MA•NH•NJ•NY•PA•RI•VT
It is mid-December as I started writing this article, winter weather has essentially arriving in the D1 area.Yet, a few days after starting on my initial draft of this article, local weather changed again, with sunny, mild wind, and 60’s temperature! D1 has collectively decided not to have a district championship in 2020 due to adverse Covid impacts resulting in reduced quantity of events and reduced event participation. Next, on to preparing for the 2021 season. We had an on-line video meeting of most of D1’s contest directors to discuss the 2021 potential contest season. Provided the Covid issue is not problematic, a tentative schedule was established with participating CDs. Our first two nonflying annual events (annual meeting and training session) will most likely be virtual connection events. I think both events can be done virtually: I will pre-coordinate this with key people as soon as possible. I’ll get the word out to D1 on connectivity details as soon as possible. Here is a summary of the D1 tentative schedule, which will be uploaded and updated as I receive new information: z February 20, 4pm: D1 Meeting, online video style, probably via Google Meet z April 24: D1 Judge Training Session, online video style, probably via Google Meet
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z June 5: HVRC, Haverstraw, NY – currently un-confirmed status z June 12-13: Sky Chief’s Canandaigua, NY, tentative per Jim Quinn z June 26-27: LVRCS, Easton, PA – uncertain per Dale Hart z July 10: BCRC, Pemberton Airport, NJ – currently planned per Rich Afflerback z July 31: ARCS, Marcellus, NY – confirmed per Michael Gosson z August 7: BCAM, Kutztown, PA – confirmed per Dale Hart z August 14-15: Aero Guidance Society, Endicott, NY – Confirmed, but possibly reduced to one-day per Jeff Hatton z August 28-29: Mohawk Valley Firebirds, NY- confirmed per Jim Quinn z September 11: AFRCF, Somerset, NJ – confirmed per Joe Lachowski The NSRCA board has been actively searching for ways to grow/promote precision aerobatics. The board began discussions at the December board meeting on another new avenue: introducing some form of a free-style event flown to music. Years ago, there use to be an invitational Tournament Of Champions event that I believe used giant-scale models flying under this combined condition. FAI offers the AFM class for indoor aerobatics to fly a free-style event to music competitively. I foresee this idea evolving over the next few months at least within the USA, with some sort of initial introductory in some of the 2021 contest events throughout the USA. Maneuver complete, Sal Piu
D2 | Tim Pritchett 1417 Deer Forest Drive Fort Mill, SC 29707 | tjpritchett@aol.com DC•DE•MD•NC•SC•VA
We’re finally writing for 2021, and while it hasn’t arrived just yet, we’re all hoping for good things…better things, really. We’re anxiously awaiting the magical mystical vaccine that will restore the ‘normalcy’ we long for. That’s fine as far as the pattern community is concerned; there were way too many cancellations last year, not all due to our own paranoia. Many municipalities, private fields, and parks closed us down externally. Hopefully, we’ll take advantage of the opening of the community to carry on with our sport for those that have been waiting in the wind, so to speak! While I usually prefer to write until after we’ve had our quarterly District meetings, but this time, the article has to be submitted the day before our meeting. So rather than divulging our plans, I can only allude to them. Our hope and expectation is to bring back our full schedule as planned for 2020. A Judging Clinic, Aynor SC, Monroe NC, …something else, then the NATS. In the fall, Harrisonburg VA, FARM VA, Mocksville NC, and back to Aynor SC. That’s the tentative plan for now anyway. Also on the agenda will be flying Silver class in the district for next year. We’ll also will discuss some of the goings on with the NSRCA, and how they might affect the district. The new VP duties composed by the EBoD, the NSRCA Context Expectations, and the touted Small Plane Proposal are on the agenda. We’ll see how the district feels about those items.
Districts Enough speculation. The district is quite quiet, with just a few calls and activities going on now. The year has been mild so far, weather wise, so there are plenty of flying/practicing opportunities. There are also a good looking set of new aircraft offerings for next year. The new Epilogue from BJ is getting good reviews. It looks as if it’s similar to the Nuance G2, but with a can. The Oxygen & Oreka are now available, along with a couple of new bipe’s which seem all the rage. And there’s a few on the horizon like the Quark, for those looking for something different. Joe S. has his hand in development of the Gemini as well, so there’s a lot of ‘new’ to choose from this year. Let’s hope your Christmas Tree is adorned with something composite this year! One thing we haven’t really chatted up is the NATS for 2021. The original plan was to have it the week after the Worlds, but very little has been said/discussed about it. Strange; being the pinnacle event for our organization, it seems as if there would have been a few comments or even a plan. So far no one has stepped forward to ED the event. Let’s hope we can get past last years upheaval and at least have one. Little has been said about the Worlds either. I expect that the FAI is looking to the vaccine success too before getting too committed to the plan there. Tony is still the AMA’s ED for the event, so far as we know. By the time we write again, the holidays will be passed. I hope the time off, and home with family graces you all, including a little bit of flying time. After this year, you all deserve some quiet time at the field!
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Districts That’s how ideas come to me. Anyway, an idea appears and I file it away in my mind and go about life while my brain assembles little tidbits of phrases and coincidences and clever or profound things other people have said, things that seem to stick to the original idea. Then I sit down and let it all run out my fingertips onto my keyboard.
D3 | Position Open AL•FL•GA•MS•PR•TN
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So, after writing about the D4 Champs/ Team trials I was feeling pretty good about D4 in general, so “What makes a good district?” was an idea just waiting to slam into my brain. The obvious, but rather meaningless answer is “The People”. That’s sort of like a Miss America contestant saying she’ll work for World Peace if chosen. After all, pirate ships and opium dens have people too. People matter, of course, but more on that later. A sort of luck of the draw factor in district success is geographic size. D4 is a size that lets pilots go from one corner to another in six hours or so. Drives that long can be a chore, but they still get you home before dark on a summer evening if your contest wraps up around 2:00.
D4 | Scott McNickle P.O. Box 163 | Mt. Pleasant, OH 43939 nelson_jett@comcast.net | 740.769.7882 IN•KY•MI•OH•WV
What Makes a Good District? I suppose everyone who writes periodic columns goes about it differently. Here’s how it goes for me: A week or so after I finish an article an idea pops into my head. Don’t know where they come from, but despite not being a mystic it feels like ideas are out there with an existence of their own and they drift around until they bump into someone. In an old cartoon, or an old joke, there were these creatures called Foo Birds that flew so fast they were invisible. You caught one by holding a board up over your head until one slammed into it.
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It lets you get up at a reasonable hour and still make the contest site in time for a practice flight or two on Friday. Being within semi-convenient driving distance means most of the pilots can make most of the contests baring other life encumbrances. Some districts are either so large that contests can be prohibitively far away, with contestants seldom seeing those from the other end. That cuts into the feeling of unity. Good flying sites are absolutely necessary. My late friend Chuck was a traveling salesman and made a point of visiting flying fields wherever he went on business and bringing back pictures. Some of the places people fly model airplanes can only be described as testimonials to human perseverance and would in no way be suitable for a Pattern contest. We’re blessed in D4 with many fine sites, some with paved or GeoTek runways, others with manicured grass and all with good flyover areas.
The best field in the world is useless unless it’s run by a club willing to give up a weekend to the Pattern tour. That can come from having Pattern guys in the leadership of the club, or from a club having respect for the Pattern pilot(s) among their members.Our behavior towards those clubs can go a long way toward maintaining our welcome. We need to be friendly, courteous, willing to answer questions and above all show excellence without acting superior. And speaking of the best field in the world, well, we are blessed to have the AMA site in Muncie smack dab in the middle of our district. A good district needs a large number of people willing to put on contests. Many of us have staged contests and know how much goes into it. Field procurement, field prep, food, drink and snacks, weather protection, arranging for scoring, scouting out restaurants, possibly organizing group dining….and, oh yeah, coordinating with other contest promoters to divide up the surprisingly scarce summer weekends. In many 2020 events contest prep involved arranging a Saturday meal at the field or in someone’s back yard. And that leads us to something else that makes a good district…cooperative contestants. The complication of putting on a contest shrinks as cooperation between contestants grows. It’s a happy contest director who doesn’t have to cajole pilots into judging, who has a field crew to get the property ready, some club members anxious to act as hosts by preparing and serving food, and most of all someone who will be at every contest to take charge of scoring. A good district has pilots who know how things run and do their part. A lot of this comes from having a group that’s been flying together for a while, and a group who is willing to accept newcomers by teaching them how it’s done. A good district has good pilots who teach and respect new pilots. They remember what it was like to start out and how terrifying it can be to stand in front of judges.
Districts A good district is populated by pilots who are willing to cut the other guy a little slack when he’s having a bad day and gets just a little out of line. A good district is filled with people who know when to back off when differences of opinion threaten to derail what is an escape from real life. A good district is welcoming and tolerant, always ready to welcome back pilots who have left us for one reason or another and always looking to bring new pilots into the group. A good district sees our differences and accepts, even celebrates them. Religion, profession, race, politics, income and competitive drive are all things that can separate us, but can also add so much richness to our experience. The 2020 season was a very trying one and we were fortunate to get through it with plenty of contests and strong attendance. We were fortunate to have most of our fields available and contestants willing to take at least a little in the way of precautions against the virus. It’s been a real burden on all of us and it’s been hard to stay encouraged, but as I write this the first doses of the first vaccine are being administered. Springtime 2021 will look a whole lot different from 2020. We have some old pilots anxious to join us again (gonna hold you to that, Pete and Anthony) some newbies from last year anxious to get to season two, and a lot of enthusiasm carrying over for the rest of us. I’m proud to be part of D4. district.
E n jo y yo ur d a y at t h e f i e ld !
It’s a good
PRECISION MODEL PRODUCTS
100 West First Street, Deer Park, Texas 77536 281-479-9600 • www.tru-turn.com
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Districts
D5 | Vicente Bortone vincebrc@gmail.com IL•IA•KS•MN•MO•NE•ND•SD•WI
I got two articles from two good pattern friends and pilots. The first one is by John Ford. John was (or still is) a pattern pilot for many years and he was very active helping the NSRCA in different positions over the years. I know John since more than 20 years ago. Rudder Boost Tab by John Ford Well, I thought that the third time building this same plane, I’d make no mistakes.What actually happened, was that I managed to create a whole new set of mistakes…lol Hi, this is John Ford, a distracted and somewhat retired pattern pilot of more than 25 years of contesting. So, Vince asked me to write an article for K-Factor to describe a unique feature on this plane that I had included on my 1998 Olympian, and had written an article about for K-Factor at that time. So this is a Groundhog Day for me. Let’s start with the short version of the long story about this plane… Looking for a new 2-meter plane in 1995, I chose the Greg Marsden/Henry Piorun Legend 5 with a YS 120SC. I flew that successfully until 1998 and put it up in the rafters and there it stayed until 2006, when my son, Adam, decided he’d like to fly pattern.
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So, the Legend 5 came down from the rafters and got a new paint job, new covering, and a rebuilt YS140L, which he flew for Sportsman and Intermediate until we both decided to get Integrals…so the Legend 5 went back up in the rafters in 2008. After another 12 years in the rafters…it was time to either toss it in the garbage or rebuild it…so being bored during COVID lockdown, I decided to rebuild it. The rebuild would include an electric conversion, restoration to the 1995 paint scheme, and a rudder boost tab…which is the topic of this article.
Back in the early 2 meter, 4-Stroke days, we used to have push-pull rudder controls with the biggest, highest torque servo that money could buy. Even then, after a season, these premium servos would get buzzy and need to be replaced. So, taking inspiration from airliners while sitting at the Detroit airport, I figured there was a better way.
I decided to use a micro servo that would actually be mounted/embedded in the rudder…that would drive an aerodynamic boost tab, which in turn would drive the rudder itself. I modified the rudder on the 1997 Olympian and now on the Legend 5. Both planes have very similar flight characteristics…full rudder authority and extended rudder servo life while substituting a heavy servo for a lighter one, and eliminating the big pulley and cable systems. If you look at the pictures (Oly and Legend) you will see two linkages… …the primary linkage is from the servo to the boost tab …the secondary linkage is from the servo to the fuselage hard point.
Districts and couldn’t work with flat rudder trailing edges on modern pattern designs. Weight isn’t as much of an issue now as it was 20 years ago, and there are smaller servos today that produce the same (or more) torque as premium servos of the late 90’s. So, this article has some “cool factor”, but isn’t very practical for modern pattern planes, unless there’s a desire to try it on bigger IMAC-style planes.
The linkage to the fuselage hardpoint is necessary for two things…to steer the tailwheel on the ground, and to perform stall-turns at near zero airspeed. I have demonstrated both planes with the secondary link to the hard point REMOVED. Once in the air, there is NO DIFFERENCE in rudder response, except that I can’t do stall turns. But, knife edge flight and knife edge loops through the bottoms are no problem! In terms of tuning the system prior to maiden flight, I adjusted the linkages so that the deflection angle of the boost tab is always “ahead” of the rudder deflection, so that the rudder control is positive and the flight loads on the rudder boost tab servo are minimal, if anything. I only have a dozen flights on the Legend so far, but the Olympian had three full contest seasons on it and the rudder boost tab servo never needed to be replaced. In terms of details, nothing magical. I cut out the boost tab and hinged it with Robart pin hinges so the pivot axis was in line with the rudder servo linkage. The design, shape, and position of the boost tab is roughly 12% of rudder area centered on the Mean Aerodynamic Chord of the rudder. The aspect ratio of the boost tab is more cosmetic “to taste” than anything else. Obviously, this boost tab works on vintage planes with sharp rudder trailing edges,
The hex flange is removed by turning it on a drill. It is glued into the drilled & tapped hole with JB Weld or sleeve retainer Locktite.
Beyond that, it was fun to do an electric conversion on a “narrow-body” plane. The Himax F3A motor and 20x15 prop are clearly too much for the plane, but that allows me to complete Masters or F3A-P with far less than 4000mah. It took a bit of tinkering to get the Supra retracts to work with a modern retract servo, but it works. I even have a pair of Verne Koester’s original Pro-Mag wheels on it…a touch of nostalgia. So, a vintage contest winner flies again! John Ford Lee’s Summit The second article was sent via text by Art Warner. I just transferring the information. Here is: Glow Engine Lubrication By Art Wagner Hey Vince, just modified my OS 65AX for grease injection (at the end of a flying day). My 140s & 160s have this & I don’t have to change bearings at all! I mix cool power oil 50:50 with NAPA #715-1246 Multi-Purpose Lithium Grease. I load it in a large syringe & hook it to the nipple on the engine. This airplane is a SPA legal Intruder. A small amount. I fill the fuel tube about 3/4. Then I use an empty syringe to force the grease into the bearings (while turning the engine over). Over-servicing a bad idea! Center intake port on sleeve can clog. I know this from experience!
Thank you again Art and John for providing the articles. If you have something that has been working really well for you and you would like to share it please let me know.
I never get a hydraulic lock like after-run oil causes. The engine has no difficulty in clearing the grease (this formula does not put the “fire” out). The nipple is a Dubro 6-32 pressure nipple.
January 2021 K-Factor | 15
Districts Depending on one’s level of experience this could be anything from handling certain wind conditions to specific maneuvers. Once comfortable with a schedule, one should be focusing on the highest K-factor maneuvers. A statement of the obvious for sure, but it is easy to get distracted from the bigger picture trying to perfect a low K-Factor maneuver.
D6 |Justin Wells 20811 Surrey Creek Ct. | Katy, TX 77450 832-356-6408 | justin@jtwells.com AR•CO•LA•NM•OK•TX
January 2021 – D6 VP Since we write these articles in advance, and it’s December, it’s hard to imagine January 2021. I hope that you have had a good and successful holiday season and are gearing up for what we all hope will be a successful pattern season. This is a great time to work through your equipment and do any maintenance, I have a routine for this I’ll publish in February. For this month I want to focus on Practice, I found an article written by Andre Brouchard in the 2003 K-Factor that I really clicked with me but also challenged me more. I discussed and reviewed the article with Andre and he agreed that it was still relevant to what he believes, and gave permission to republish. If you will, I encourage you to give it a read, it’s very helpful. – Justin Practicing by Andre Brouchard We spend a large fraction of our time practicing for contests, yet there has not been much discussion in the K-Factor about practicing approaches. This may be due to practice being individual-specific, however, I think there are some general considerations. Most of us have a limited amount of time to practice, and this means we need to make the most of the time we have at the field. To that end, one should have a plan for each flying session. This plan needs to address the weaknesses in your flying that have the largest impact on scoring.
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It is necessary to have regular input about your flying from knowledgeable observers. If you look at many of the most successful pattern flyers, they have or have had significant coaching. Regular critique of your flying will help identify weaknesses that are very difficult to diagnose by yourself, and you will improve more rapidly. How many times have you seen even very experienced flyers consistently make the same mistake? You become blind to the defect by virtue of repetitive execution. Coaching input is probably the aspect of practice that yields the greatest benefit, yet is something most people do not take full advantage. Concentration (read that as focus) is important. We all concentrate when we fly, but on what? It is important to identify the critical elements of maneuvers and train yourself to focus on these elements. For example, the position of the wings prior to pulls or pushes gives many people trouble. What is probably happening is that they are focusing more on completing the maneuver rather than on how to get to vertical. It is useful to have a diversity of flying conditions and locations. Many of us fly at the same location, in usually the same direction, and at the same time of day. Flying at the same location, particularly, if it has some unique visual queues, can lead to problems in performing at contests due to different visual references. The same goes for light conditions; consider that front-light will cause you to fly further out, while back-light will cause you to fly closer, and that the visual references on the airplane will appear different. Weather conditions are also a consideration, as you do not get an option on the weather at a contest. For this reason, you will always find me at the flying field on days when the wind is opposite the normal direction, a crosswind, or turbulent.
How much to practice? Most of us probably would like to have, or need, more practice time than we are able to get. You practice when you can, but I have found it is not productive to practice when you are not in the mood to; little results from forcing yourself to practice. I do most of my serious practicing in the evening after work, and there have been numerous times when I have gone to the field, only to decide I was too tired to practice productively--save the equipment and go home. What you want is quality time. Make every flight count and implement your plan for the day. Make the first flight of the day as if you were at a contest, then go and work on elements. Do not bail-out of the flight if something is not right, assuming you will come up to peak performance in subsequent flights. That approach will lead to problems performing “on demand” at a contest. Fly as many flights as your mental sharpness will allow, but stop when performance starts to degrade; I think it is useful to leave the field with a positive feeling about your flying. You can “cram” your flying, but not every day, and I think significant advancements are made during such sessions. You have to be careful not to over-practice and ruin your mental edge. Slight under-practice is actually better. One week prior to a contest I reduce practice to a maintenance mode, where I fly 2 or 3 complete flights for maybe 3 days in order to rest. I might be in this mode two weeks prior to the Nats. Flying more complex or aggressive maneuvers other than what are in your schedule can help you advance more rapidly, and I have observed a number of people make very significant advancements this way. For many people, practicing the schedule is exclusively the flying they do. “Out of the box” flying can help overcome what might currently be challenging maneuvers. One only has to think about maneuvers from previous schedules that at the time were testy and now seem simple in order to recognize the benefits of increasingly challenging one’s limits. Now, you cannot hot-dog all the time, but you may find benefit in trading patternflying time for less structured and more challenging flying. What do you do in the off-season? Andre Bouchard Jan. 15, 2003
Districts Some of our friends here in District 7 made a special effort to remember some of our best friends in our community that have passed over the last several years. Frank Capone and Robert Obregon have created a memorial plaque which has now become a fixture at one of our favorite D7
D7 - Dan Lipton nsrcad7dvp@gmail.com AZ•CA•HI•NV•UT
Hello District 7 Happy New Year to my favorite district :-) I have been in touch with our contest directors, and the 2021 contest schedule is shaping up, and with the first vaccinations taking place today, as I finish up writing this article (Dec. 14), I am very optimistic that we will see a normal pattern season this year. The first events, in Arizona, are schedule for the last weekend of February and the first weekend of March. And I am working with some of our friends in the district to put together what I hope will be a fantastic D7 Championship at a great venue in October. Stay tuned.
https:// nsrca.us/index.php/d7-contestschedule/2021 for more updates and Please
keep
an
eye
on
links for registration.
In other news, the new sequences for 2022/2023 are taking shape in the committee. I will look forward to seeing them when they are ready and collecting our feedback. On the weekend before Thanksgiving, the Riverside club hosted the last event of the 2020 season, The Larry Roberts Memorial Pattern Contest. Lynn Burks was the CD and there was a good turnout for both AMA/F3A as well as EDF. Judging by these photos from Kris Fitzsimmons, it looks like
they had great skies and air for the event. The final standings are: Sportsman: 1st: Steve Harris 2nd: David Coe Advanced: 1st: 2nd:
Tatsujiro Takayama Bruce Brown
Masters: 1st: 2nd: 3rd: 4th:
Kris Fitzsimmons Jerry Budd Robert Fish Lynn Burks
F3a Silver: 1st: 2nd: 3rd:
Bill Wallace Gary Banducci Jarvis Johnson
F3A: 1st: 2nd: 3rd: 4th:
Chip Hyde Derek Emmett James Woodward Steve Hannah
fields, the Sacramento Area Modelers. This plaque is in honor and memory of our friends Bud Garric (1945 - 1996), Roy Speights (1931 - 2018), Don Atwood (1945 - 2018), Dave Wick (1931 - 2011), and Richard Mendonsa (1943-2018). I know many, if not all of you, got to know these wonderful people, and like me were even helped in our flying and competition by one or more of them. Thanks to Frank and Robert for making this beautiful tribute to them. Smooth Flying Dan.
January 2021 K-Factor | 17
Districts compass. As contests resume we’ll be examining whether we’ve suffered erosion. And how the new year develops will be heavily dependent on what each member of our great association takes upon h/h self to draw new pilots to the hobby. It won’t happen without our efforts.
At this point there is no option locally to fly indoors as the one venue that was open shut down because of increased government restrictions on gatherings. I doubt there will be any opportunity for indoor flying this winter. Time to pull out the micro heli and quads and fly in the living room.
D8 | Art Kelly 367 Golf View Drive | Medford, OR. 97504 541.905.2954 | afkelly25@gmail.com AK•ID•MT•OR•WA•WY
This is my last KFactor article as D-8 DVP. While I didn’t make it to either of the two contests of 2020, I thoroughly enjoyed the increased contact and communication I had with all of you D-8 pilots through email, ZOOM and FaceTime. It is comforting to know that the position will be undertaken by the very capable hands of John Bentley. And today, as this is written non F3A aircraft are lifting from runways and turning their noses towards all points of the compass. Their collective contents are hope in the form of thousands of small glass vials. The arms of exhausted health care workers are exposed, waiting for the needle’s jab and the life saving relief that follows. We’ve gone through an incredibly difficult year, decisions made on the run, contests collapsing in weeks, flying among masked friends. Intense conversations about should we go or not? 2021 now lies just a few days away. As the new year approaches the NSRCA is need of a jab. The opportunities for those jabs lie just a few weeks out on the horizon. Many of us found this pattern hobby as youngsters while others hooked on as non-youngsters. Chances are, whether we were youngsters or not the single most important action that drew us to pattern was a smile, a hand shake and the simple question “why don’t you give this a try?” The next few months will be important in our administering jabs in all parts of the
18 | K-Factor January 2021
Winter events are beginning to look like they will all be held virtually. Clubs are holding meetings using the various online meeting platforms. MAAC held its first ever virtual Annual General Meeting in mid December and plans to hold the 2021 AGM virtually in April. While clubs have been able to continue to meet using virtual meeting technology I do miss the social aspects of club meetings and other events. It is hard to have a show and tell on a computer screen.
Contest Schedule
Canada | Paul Brine 25 Robertson St. | Fergus Ontario N1M3P7 519.787.5144 | pbrine@uoguelph.ca Welcome to 2021 and the start of a new year. At last 2020 is behind us. I have been looking forward to 2021 as it can’t be any worse than 2020. Hopefully everyone had a great holiday season is and re-energized for the year ahead. It is beginning to look like we may be seen the beginning of the an end to the COVID pandemic as a vaccination program got underway in mid December. Unfortunately we will need to get through the winter and it is beginning to look like there will be increased restrictions and lockdowns as cases count continue to increase in the short term. Hopefully by the time the nice weather comes in the spring we will be able to hold events and travel again. There is nothing new to report as outdoor flying in this part of the world is shut down for the winter. Most club fields in my part of the country are closed until spring. After all there is a reason they call it the great white north. I am fortunate to belong to a club that has all weather access and a heated club house so I have the opportunity to fly all winter if I were willing to brave the cold and snow.
Here are a couple of tentative dates for contests in 2021. Fergus Pattern Primer - June 12. Jim Eichenberg Memorial - July 24-25 Both of these dates are tentative and will depend on what, if any restrictions are in place at the time. Check the event listings on the MAAC website and the F3A Canada website for the latest information. That’s all for now. Stay safe. Flight complete. Paul
IMAC
IMAC - In the Box Happy Holidays! This year certainly gives us an opportunity to reflect on the “Reason for the Season”. I hope you get the most out of the holidays and family time and you find some joy in the season and minimize the burdens that come with this time of year. I wanted to talk a bit about the IMAC Organization and what is going on now. Now is a good time to do this, because IMAC just completed their election process and we have our new officers in place. The elections are held every two years. The new officers are as follows: President: Doug Pilcher Vice-President: Alex Dreilling Secretary: Rick Crow Treasurer: Jim McCall Northwest Regional Director: Gale Vazquez Southwest Regional Director: Jacques Telles North Central Regional Director: Toby Silhavy South Central Regional Director: Amanda Darling Northeast Regional Director: Dave Dupre Southeast Regional Director: Primo Rivera Latin America Regional Director: Oliver Soto European Regional Director: Manrico Micuzzi Asian Pacific Regional Director: Michael Hobson
held safely and we can continue with our schedule. First up is our International Judging School. This is traditionally not only a school, but a means to “Teach the Teachers” and get Regional Instructors trained and up to date on current rules and interpretations. This year we will not hold the school, but will have a class for the Judging Instructors Online. This is usually a very interesting meeting of the minds and can have some lively discussions! If any of this interests you or you want to find out when a Regional School will be held or possibly an Online School, contact your Regional Director. They are there to help! I sincerely hope Santa is good to everyone and you get a new IMAC AND Pattern plane to add to your stable. Also, my family would like to wish your family a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS and a Happy New Year. I hope to see everyone of you in the upcoming season. Rich Whitlow IMAC SC Regional Director.
If you have IMAC questions or want to talk planes with any of these guys, you can find their information on the website after the first of the year at: IMAC Organization (mini-iac.org) We all are planning for a full schedule next year. We are exploring some recommendations on hosting a safe contest and may put out some guidelines towards that. But that is a tough thing because IMAC is an International Organization and every region and every country and every local has its own challenges. But, I think we have proven that a contest can be
January 2021 K-Factor | 19
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20 | K-Factor January 2021
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January 2021 K-Factor | 21
Contact District VP’s
District 6
Justin Wells 20811 Surrey Creek Ct. Katy, TX 77450 832-356-6408
District 1
Salvatore Piu spiurc@comcast.net
Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont.
justin@jtwells.com Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
District 2
Tim Pritchett 1417 Deer Forest Drive Fort Mill, South Carolina 29707 864.871.1902 tjpritchett@aol.com
Dan Lipton nsrcad7dvp@gmail.com
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah.
District 3
Position Open
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, Tennessee.
District 8
Art Kelly 367 Golf View Drive Medford, OR. 97504 541.905.2954 afkelly25@gmail.com
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington, Wyoming.
District 4
Scott McNickle P.O. Box 163 Mt. Pleasant, OH 43939 740.769.7882 nelson_jett@comcast.net
Canada District
Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia.
President
Charlie Barrera 2627 Silver Shadow Conroe, TX 77304 936.494.0063 charliebarrera@consolidated.net
Vice President
District 7
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia.
NSRCA Executive Board
Paul Brine 25 Robertson St. Fergus Ontario N1M3P7 519.787.5144 pbrine@uoguelph.ca
District 5
Vicente Bortone vincebrc@gmail.com
Position open
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Heedo Yun 4610 Willow Pond Ct. Sugar Land, Tx 77479 281.512.9163 Heedo.Yun@gmail.com
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22 | K-Factor January 2021
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January 2021 K-Factor | 23
24 | K-Factor January 2021