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 Posted - 07/04/2011 : 08:09:22 AM
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Eastern Soaring League Newsletter ¡V July 2011
2011 OFFICERS AND STAFF
http://www.flyesl.org/about_esl/officers.asp
President ¡V Josh Glaab
Secretary/Treasurer ¡V David Beach
Scorekeeper ¡V Luis Bustamante
Contest Coordinator - Jose Bruzual
Web Master and Publisher ¡V Jose Bruzual
Quartermaster ¡V Steve Lucke
Newsletter Editor ¡V Ed Anderson
Hand Launch Director ¡V Doug Harnish
FROM THE EDITOR ¡V Ed Anderson
Welcome to the July ESL Newsletter. It isn¡¦t pretty but hopefully it is packed with things you will find interesting.
The ESL season is well under way. We have had 12 contest days so far this year. I hope you have had the opportunity to attend some of the contests that have already been held. If not, there are still 22 contest days to go. The remaining contests are listed below.
At the time you read this the newsletter the US F3K/DLG team will be in Sweden competing for the world championship title. Some of our ESL members are on the team. And while they are already on the road, they still need your support to help defray some of the costs. I list the link to news updates and the fund raising site so you can help support the team.
The AMA Soaring NATs begin July 10 and run through July 21. Our President and many other ESL members will be there. How about you?
Harley Michaels, of Genie fame, has a report for us on the new RDS drive system he has developed. This is a designed and made in America solution for smoother wings.
We have several contest reports and some previews of future contests. We welcome both so please send us your announcements, your reports and your photos to be published in the Newsletter. And ¡§Found on the Web¡¨ has some links of interest. I hope you find the Newsletter interesting and informative.
FROM THE PRESIDENT ¡V Josh Glabb
At this time, I am desperately preparing for the US R/C Soaring Nationals (I know, should have started sooner). Getting primary and backup planes ready for 3 events (2-M, Unlimited, and F3J) for myself and Josh Jr. and Luke as well as getting some practice time is quite a challenge, but it seems like things are coming together.
I hope to see many from the ESL out at Muncie Indiana during the week of 7/11 for the US R/C Soaring Nationals. It should be an exciting time with RES/NOS/2-M/DHLG/Unlim/F3J all being flown during the week. There are over 100 pilots registered for Unlimited and about 50 for F3J and 2-M to mention a few. The ESL will have an ESL F3J Team (Luis, Steve, Neal, Josh, and Josh Jr.) as well as David Bradley Jr., Dave Beach, and Don Richmond on other teams. It should be a fantastic week of flying.
For those of you who have not been to a Nats, it is definitely something worth experiencing. By going to the NATS you get to visit the AMA National Flying site, which is a very good place to fly, along with the AMA Museum. In addition, you get to meet our next-door neighbors from the mid-west as well as R/C soaring enthusiasts from across the county and sometimes flyers from other parts of the world. The group of folks running the NATS is top-notch and they have become a world-class R/C competition soaring operation.
I look forward to seeing you all on the other side of the NATS!
LET¡¦S GO ESL!!!!!!!!!
JOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
2011 CONTEST SCHEDULE
http://www.flyesl.org/calendar.asp
The ESL calendar can be found at the link above. That is the most current information. However the information and registration links here should work too. Hold the Ctrl key and click the i for information about the contests.
ESL 2011 CONTEST SCHEDULE ¡V Still to go
07/09 - 07/10 CRRC Hand Launch Classic (HLG) - Sudbury, MA
Information: . Registration: N/A
Anker Berg-Sonne
(978) 897-1750
7/10 - 07/17 AMA/LSF NATS (Not ESL) - Muncie, IN
Not a sanctioned ESL event Jose Bruzual
518 798 1321
07/23 - 07/24 DBSF - Reading, PA - TD
Information: . Registration: N/A
Luis Bustamante
(908)850-5894
08/06 - 08/07 LISF Hand Launch Classic - (HLG) - Syosset, NY
Information: . Registration:
Frank Nisita
516-390-9108
08/13 - 08/14 CRRC Soar-In - Sudbury, MA - TD
Information: . Registration: N/A
Anker Berg-Sonne
(978) 897-1750
08/27 - 08/28 ESL Mid-season @ DBSF - Reading, PA - TD
Information: . Registration: N/A
Luis Bustamante
(908)850-5894
08/27 - 08/28 CASA (HLG) - Rockville, MD - TD
Information: . Registration: N/A
Jay Hunter
202.230.8998
09/10 - 09/11 CASA Open - Warrenton, VA - TD
Information: . Registration: N/A
Skip Schow
703-573-7242
09/17 - 09/18 SKSS Hand Launch (HLG) - Newark, DE
Information: . Registration:
Eric Teder
302-723-9468
09/24 - 09/25 LISF 2 - Syosset, NY - TD
Information: . Registration: N/A
Phil Abatelli
516 946 9707
10/07 - 10/09 DESS/EOS (HLG) - Wilson, NC -
Information: . Registration: N/A
Richard Proseus
252-291-8598
10/08 - 10/09 Reading ESL TD EOS - Reading, PA - TD
Information: . Registration: N/A
Anker Berg-Sonne
(978) 897-1750
COMPETITION SOARING
THE AMA SOARING COMPETITION RULE BOOK
http://www.modelaircraft.org/files/2011-2012RCSoaring.pdf
The AMA National Championships ¡V The NATs
http://modelaircraft.org/events/nats.aspx
http://www.modelaircraft.org/events/nats/natsnews.aspx
Other AMA Updates
AMA Updates on FAA Talks
http://modelaircraft.org/aboutama/gov.aspx
AMA Newsletters
http://modelaircraft.org/publications/newsletters.aspx
TEAM USA F3K (DLG)
THE COMPETITION BEGINS IN SWEDEN
Background Information
http://www.f3x.no/f3k/2011/prelim_info_wc_f3k_2011.htm
FAI Web Site
http://events.fai.org/event?i=5390&f=83
RC Groups discussion thread ¡V Best source for updates that I can find.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1373893&page=33
UK Site that is posting updates and video
http://www.flyquiet.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=2860.15
F3K Team Needs Your Help
www.usaf3kteam.com
The United States will be represented at the 2011 FAI F3K (DLG) World Championships being held in Arboga, Sweden from July 1st to July 10th. This costs a LOT of money so the team is doing a lot of fund raising. They have a great raffle with some terrific prizes. You should visit the site and buy some tickets! Win a great prize AND support the USA
Contest Report - Hampton Roads Silent Flyers/Blue Ridge Area Soaring Society 2011 Eastern Soaring League Unlimited Season Opener
Also on ESL Web Site at http://www.flyesl.org/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=427
The HRSF/BRASS clubs opened the ESL's 2011 Unlimited competition season on May 14th and 15th in scenic Ladd, VA. Josh Glaab was the CD and Tom Broeski was the Co-CD. Both clubs combined to host a great event to bring in the 2011 ESL soaring season.
Several new ideas regarding R/C Soaring competition were evaluated during the competition, such as flying Sportsflyers with the Experts in a Seeded Man-on-Man format, hybrid random Man-On-Man early with Seeded Man-On-Man later, the Constant Delta normalized landing task, and the newly-machined narrow-diameter winch drums. Overall, 13 rounds were flown with 20 competitors each day. Several more competitors were expected, but the very poor forecast kept them away. An outstanding raffle was held too with donations from several club members as well as Horizon Hobbies, Tower Hobbies, Micro Fasteners, and AirTronics.
In keeping with tradition, the HRSF/BRASS ESL contest was success due to outstanding efforts by all who were there. Steve Lucke transported most of the contest gear to the site and worked tirelessly to set up the winches and power system. Luis and Joanne Bustamante brought down the most outstanding ESL PA system as well as setup and ran the scoring tent along with Teresa Zyga.
One thing that is really needed at small competitions are timers. Having volunteer timers enabled us to keep flying. Eric Grovesum and Gary King, new HRSF members, worked the entire weekend timing and driving the golf cart which really helped out. Angela Johns also volunteered to time flights which helped keep the contest moving. Tom Broeski and the BRASS group had the site in excellent condition. Chuck Pinell setup his large tent we used for scoring and storing the gear out of the rain when needed.
Franky Coyner field in Ladd VA was the site for the competition. This field is a very nice location for an R/C Soaring event with the Appalachian mountains providing a picturesque panorama. The field is meticulously maintained by Franky along with help from the BRASS club members. This year the BRASS club was able to claim some more area from the farm part of the property and can now setup a contest to launch in about any direction.
For the last several seasons, the ESL has been evolving the method by which it's competitions are held. In 2009 the league adopted Man-On-Man soaring format over the Open-Winch method used for many years. In 2010 seeded Man-On-Man (S-MOM) became the most popular format with just about all contests being run in that manner. The changes for this year are perhaps more subtle than S-MOM and are intended to continue to build the excitement and fairness of the event.
One change implemented at the HRSF/BRASS contest was the Constant Delta (C-Delta) landing task. Basically, C-Delta landing task is a normalized landing with the pilots' landing score based on measured landing and his actual flight time. It is probably best to consider the landing score to a percentage of the flight time which is then combined with the flight time for the normalization process. The maximum landing score is adjusted based on flight time to ensure that the difference between a perfect landing and zero landing is constant and eliminates situations where landings could contribute 200 to 300 or more round points.
For this contest the C-Delta landing was set to 100 round points. Pilots can out soar the competition and maximize their round score without scoring any landing points as a result of the normalized landing. Another benefit of normalized landings is that significant changes in landing conditions, such as wind-shifts, ground thermals, good-lift, can be accommodated in a similar way that flight times are.
The C-Delta landing task came into play on Round 5, Group E (the leader group) on Saturday that was flown in poor thermal conditions as all had to struggle. Neal Huffman had the highest flight time (8:48) and opted to try to get more flight points and risk the landing. He missed the landing and did not win the group as I had a 8:19 and a 64 pt measured landing, but Neal came away with a 987 only losing (or not earning) 13 round points. Note for a 8:48 flight time, the max landing score is a 55.44.
Had this been a non-normalized landing task, Neal would have ended up with a 1,000 and I would have had a 1,009. Both of our scores would be nowhere near a max round score of 1100 which could have been earned with non-normalized 100pt landings by someone in another flight group that had good lift. As it turned out, Neal won the day edging me out by 45 points in the end.
Oddly enough, while all of this was transpiring in Round 5, Lysek had us both beat. However, Lysek was trying to maximize his flight time and bury Neal and myself but miscalculated his position and got caught behind the trees near the spots. He landed out with a zero, but he would be back.
Another feature for the contest was the use of Random MOM (R-MOM) rounds in the morning, followed by Seeded MOM rounds later in the day. This was done in response to comments from several pilots that they do not like flying against the same pilots all the time as is frequently the case with S-MOM. We flew two rounds of R-MOM to start each day which provided a mix of pilots in each group from each class. It seemed like everyone enjoyed the variety afforded by this approach.
We also experimented with flying the Sportsflyers with the Experts for the entire contest. The reason this was implemented was to enable those who are looking for LSF points a chance to easily compute their LSF scores. This would also greatly improve the ESL advancement points system. In addition, the higher-level LSF levels require at least 20 competitors for the contest tasks.
Flying the Sportsflyers separately from the Experts makes it hard, but not impossible, to combine the scores in a normalized event. While the expected result did usually occur and the Sportsflyers were flying against each other in the later rounds, periodically Sportsflyers would be flying in one of the higher groups and having to work hard to maintain a lead over the other Sportsflyers. That is kind of a nice challenge. Another unexpected result was that sometimes top-Experts would get a zero flight and be relegated to the lowest group. This would create a very unbalanced group and may suggest that flying S-MOM with all groups in one class may not be a great idea.
Throughout the weekend, many impressive battles were taking place in Group E. The last two rounds Sunday were probably the most dramatic. As we went through the day, we could see clouds and rain to the SE and sun to the NW.
Just after lunch Round 5 was started with some very light rain with heavy clouds overhead. By the time we got to Group E conditions were pretty sketchy. Most of that group went to an area of lift for the previous group. I went the other way and headed for the distant sunny area. I was able to put several minutes of air-time on Group E, no small task as the top pilots were in that group. While that put me in the lead for the final round, the house-cleaning performed in Round 5 would let Lysek back into the top group.
As CD, and with some consultation, I rolled the dice for Round 6 and hoped that the rain would stay to the SE, it didn¡¦t and by the time we got to Group E it was raining pretty well. We launched anyway in an attempt to complete the round. Lysek flew his Explorer very well and ended up putting 29 seconds on me (he got a 7:05). I knew I needed all the points I could get at the end and nailed a 98-point measured landing. However, Lysek had an 83-pt measured landing to overcome the lead I had going into the round and win the competition on Sunday.
Note again with the C-delta landing method my landing score was a 43.1, Lysek¡¦s was a 39.2. Lysek needed only to have a measured-landing a little better than a 50 to win the day given the additional air-time he had.
In Sportsflyer, Chuck Pinell was consistent and consistently good all weekend winning both days. Chuck flew his Pike Perfect very well. Another particularly good performances in Sportsflyer class was Ward Warren, new BRASS member, who flew the heck out of his Sprite and earned a lot of competition points. I think we will see a lot of good flying from Ward in the future. Rob Johns, HRSF, flew my old Ava very well and seems to be very much interested in competition soaring. I think we will see a lot from Rob as well as Gary King in future ESL events.
After the flying was done on Sunday, and we dried out a little, we had a raffle. We had a lot of great stuff to give away, including a Senior Telemaster, Horizon Hobby Radian BNF, a foamie A380 and a collection of gift certificates, micro-fasteners, and hats. The big-winner was Duane Beck who walked away with the Telemaster. Bob Buxton was the lucky winner of the Radian, and Reto won the A380 (there was some concern that Reto¡¦s car may not be large enough to transport the A380 home ;-)).
Overall, we had a very good weekend of soaring and tried out some new ideas. I think the C-Delta landing worked well and should be used for more competitions. The hybrid R-MOM/S-MOM also worked well and provided some desirable benefits. Flying Experts and Sportsflyers together has some benefits but some undesirable aspects. More discussion is needed there. I want to thank everyone for attending and helping to run yet another great event. I am looking forward to seeing you all on the competition circuit this year as well as the 2012 HRSF/BRASS event!
Saturday¡¦s Scores:
Place Name Class Total
1 Huffman, Neal Expert 6,937.36
2 Glaab, Josh Expert 6,892.36
3 Schlitzkus, Peter Expert 6,704.11
4 Bustamante, Luis Expert 6,663.08
5 Lucke, Steve Expert 6,652.93
6 Cochrell, Kerry Expert 6,362.52
7 Richmond, Don Expert 6,287.93
8 Beach, David Expert 6,134.41
9 Buxton, Robert Expert 6,128.77
10 Broeski, Tom Expert 6,054.05
11 Beck, Duane Expert 6,005.79
12 Strickland, Lenny Expert 5,953.94
13 Zyga, Leszek Expert 5,940.38
14 Guide, Tony Expert 5,685.39
1 Pinnell, Chuck Sportsflyer 5,684.35
2 Procino, Anthony Sportsflyer 5,336.79
3 Johns, Robert Sportsflyer 5,332.35
4 Jenkins, Will Sportsflyer 5,140.56
5 Warren, Ward Sportsflyer 2,514.50
6 Hartzler, Phil Sportsflyer 522.52
Sundays Scores
Place Name Class Total
1 Zyga,Leszek Expert 5,923.22
2 Glaab,Josh Expert 5,906.14
3 Bustamante,Luis Expert 5,682.87
4 Strickland,Lenny Expert 5,655.04
5 Huffman,Neal Expert 5,648.88
6 Beach,David Expert 5,558.63
7 Cochrell,Kerry Expert 5,444.31
8 Broeski,Tom Expert 5,171.00
9 Fiolka,Reto Expert 4,949.02
10 Guide,Tony Expert 4,863.97
11 Beck,Duane Expert 4,605.86
12 Jenkins,Will Expert 4,548.53
13 Lucke,Steve Expert 4,516.50
14 Richmond,Don Expert 4,497.71
1 Pinnell,Chuck Sportsflyer 4,288.74
2 Procino,Anthony Sportsflyer 3,934.25
3 Schlitzkus,Peter Sportsflyer 3,906.89
4 Johns,Robert Sportsflyer 3,794.60
5 White,Regis Sportsflyer 3,339.45
6 Buxton,Robert Sportsflyer 2,980.12
Contest Report ¡V News Coverage of the
BASS F3K/DLG Contest June 4/5
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1449512
Contest Report ¡V LISF 1 June 25, 26
By Ed Anderson
This is the ESL contest that almost wasn¡¦t. In fact on Wednesday of the week of the contest we still did not know if we would have to cancel the contest.
You see, the Long Island Silent Flyers field is located in a nature preserve. This means that it can¡¦t be developed, which is good for us. And since it is County land, only the County is allowed to cut the grass. This is normally also a good thing as we don¡¦t incur the cost of cutting. However this year a number of events hit all at once which almost left us with a field of 4 foot high grass for the contest. Those were County budget cuts, equipment that kept breaking and a group of naturalists who feel that no blade of grass should ever be cut at Stillwell Field, despite the fact that this is a designated Nassau County Flying Field for gliders.
Frank Strommer, or CD was in a cancel/no cancel state for two weeks. We did not want to cancel the contest, but we did not want to wait to the last minute to tell people that the field was not flyable. What to do, what to do?
Enter our hero, Rich Verriest, LISF Treasurer and County Liaison. You all know Rich as the master of the scoring table.
Thanks to Rich¡¦s diplomatic efforts we finally got the grass cut on Thursday and Friday. They did not finish till 18 hours before the contest. Richard will be awarded the honorable order of the master negotiator and has been invited to settle the disputes in the Middle East. Thanks Rich, we owe you one!
Frank Strommer, our CD, is a master of organization and keeping things moving. Assisted by a number of LISF members, the winches were set in a Northwest direction. The weather gave us a little trouble on Saturday. It seems that someone ordered fog for Saturday morning, so our start was a little delayed. But after the sun burned it off, we were able to start the contest and get things rolling.
The contest was flown man-on-man with 3 to 4 man flight groups. Scoring was done according to the constant-delta normalized landing method, developed by our President, Josh Glabb. The first two rounds were flown in random groups with the remaining groups flown based on seeding. Experts were grouped with Experts and Sportsman with Sportsmen with our one Novice flying with the Sportsmen. Thanks to David Beech for developing the scoring program that makes this all possible.
We had 34 pilots registered for the contest, but in the end I believe we had 29 pilots on Saturday and Sunday including one Novice who flew with the Sportsman.
After his stellar performance over the weekend we have decided that this Novice, Marc Gottlieb, will have to fly Sportsman next time. No more sand bagging Marc, you have clearly earned your wings. Well done! ļ
We had moderate breezes on Saturday morning. There was lift but it was not abundant and you had to go hunting for it. There were many strong sink cycles that saw Expert and Sportsman groups down way short of the task time. Thank goodness for man on man scoring.
Shortly after lunch, a tasty repast of heroes and salads, the wind reversed on us so that the last two rounds were flown with downwind launches. But the wind speeds were not too high so this was more of an inconvenience than a problem. I believe we flew 7 rounds on Saturday. (The final scores were not yet posted as of this writing). In other words we had a great soaring day that challenged our skills.
During the awards on Saturday Steve Lucke received a special award, the order of the clean T-Shirt. The nature of the award was not disclosed but many suspect it is some kind of secret society. There will be a full investigation.
Saturday night a meeting was held at Major¡¦s Steak House. What was the subject of the meeting? Why whether to have ribs or rib eye, naturally. The group consumed mass quantities of protein in order to be prepared for the next day¡¦s contest.
Sunday started off as a beautiful day without Saturday¡¦s morning fog. There was a bit more breeze but not enough to call out the ballast box or to deter the many RES planes that were being flown in Sportsman and Expert.
I believe we flew 6 rounds on Sunday. While the lift was a bit more consistent on Sunday, we were still visited by some of those sink cycles that just seem to take the whole field down. Here you are coming down 3 minutes short of your time, figuring you have failed in your task, only to find you are last man down. Cool!
Between the excellent maintenance that has been done on the ESL winches, and the new drums, the winches worked perfectly on Saturday and Sunday. One battery charger did give up the ghost but a sub was ready to go, so no problems there. And as I recall we only had only 2 or 3 line breaks all weekend and at least one of those was a knot that did not do its job.
Overall the weekend was filled with great flying, lots of laughs and smiles and very few incidents of a serious nature. One tail boom got caught in a line and a couple of planes were sucked in by the trees, but these types of events were few and far between. Overall a great weekend of flying. The final scores will be posted on the ESL web site.
LISF will welcome the ESL back two more times this season. On August 6 and 7 LISF will host the ESL for the LISF Hand Launch Classic. Bring your DLGs and fly according to F3K rules. Come fly with David Ashinsky, member of the USA F3K team. LISF is proud to have him as a member of our club. AS this is being written, David and the USA F3K team are in Sweden giving the world a lesson in how F3K should be flown.
Our CD, Frank Nisita, orders abundant lift for the LISF F3K events. Frank runs a great contest, so don¡¦t miss it!
Then in September the winches come back to LISF on September 24 and 25 for LISF 2. Rumor has it that Frank Strommer, our CD, will have excellent flying conditions on hand, with a few twists to keep things interesting. I forecast a great weekend and a good time to be had by all.
Contest Announcement - Silent Knights Soaring Society Presents -
Fall Fling 2011- Saturday and Sunday: September 17th and 18th
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1416252#post17843229
We are back with more F3K fun, excitement and camaraderie at our incomparable, immaculately maintained and centrally located flying field, right here in northern Delaware!
Sponsored by the Silent Knights Soaring Society at our Big Pond flying site in the White Clay Creek State Park. If you haven¡¦t seen our field you will love it. Check out the interactive photo taken by our resident photographer extraordinaire John Kirchstein, at our annual ESL Thermal Duration contest.
Awards for Expert, Sportsman and Novice each day, as well as ESL points toward your yearly standing. AMA sanctioned and, most importantly, lunch will be provided. Last year¡¦s gang had a blast with some of the best soaring weather ever!
We even found a nice, cheap place for you to stay. A Super 8 Motel that's in the beautiful college town of Newark, Delaware. The rooms are either $75 or $85 a night plus tax. Here's the motel's phone number: 302-737-5050. And here are the directions from the SKSS field to the Super 8 Motel.
Unofficial dinner at the local brew pub drew a crowd of stellar and not-so-stellar pilots. A lively discussion about flying, glider design and general philosophizing ensued. Restaurants, bars and coeds: it's just like heaven, only better.
Register with the ESL here.
Directions to the field. Right ¡Vclick on the blue, L-shaped, field and select ¡§Directions-to-here¡¨.
Questions??? Contact the CD, Eric Teder.
SKSS 1 ¡V June 11 & 12. Photo by Peter Schlitzkus
LOOKING FOR A PLACE TO STAY AT ONE OF THE CONTESTS?
http://www.flyesl.org/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=17
RCSOARING DIGEST -
The newest issue of RC Soaring Digest is now available for downloading from the RCSD web site. http://www.rcsoaringdigest.com/highlights.html
NEW WINCH DRUMS ON ESL WINCHES ARE A BIG SUCCESS
Report by Steve Lucke
Let me tell everybody the new winch drums put together by Dave Bradley, Sr., with design help from Anker Berg-Sonne, worked extremely well at the BRASS. The quality of the drums is outstanding, and with the new 2 inch diameter drums I think we will see fewer winch issues at contests from now on.
I launched off all four winches and the power on each one was just about the same, strong, without wasting the winch motors. In addition I did not hear any complaints about the winches during the entire contest.
Thanks again to Dave and Anker for their great work on the winch drum project!
Also, Tony Guide put new brakes and guides on the winches and I think we will see a lot less 'glove' work needed at the Daniel Boone contests. The new brakes and line guides gave us a good wind up after the launches. Tony also handled the off season maintenance of the winches so the equipment is all set. I can also report the ESL pole is in perfect working order as we used it to knock Tony's Supra out of a tree. :-)))
NEW RDS DEVELOPMENTS
By Harley Michaelis, LSF023.
What has become known as the RDS independently popped into my head in 1988 when I became disenchanted with hardware hanging out of my hand crafted sailplane wings. In 1999, in collaboration with Kimbrough Products, a coupler to attach a wire shaft to the servo got produced.
Never advertised and then with the advent of the ARF made for horn-clevis-pushrod hardware or some version of it, the RDS concept slipped by unnoticed except for my little blurbs in sailplane publications. A couple of years back, Dieter Mahlein of Shred Air fame wrote me that the Europeans into F3B were using expensive, custom machined forms of it, some with the Kimbrough couplers, and that it could work its way into mainstream use. On the other end of the spectrum, some foreign all foam ARF ships are offered with a limited version of the RDS pre-installed.
The idea of coming up with a new ¡§Universal, USA-made RDS¡¨ for mainstream use in all kinds and sizes of RC craft struck me as being a worthy contribution back to the hobby for tons of friends and fun I¡¦ve enjoyed in it since a little kid.
Having done about 50 installations in my original design sailplanes using the original coupler for wire shafts, I knew it would not work for ¡§universal, mainstream¡¨ use. A new one had to be designed along with a new array of shafts, pockets and other accessories. I got the new coupler designed and Kimbrough would mold it if someone else would pay for the tooling. I asked and sailplane friends generously came up with $2,700 for that work and some other needs.
Knowing the coupler would be produced, I contacted modeler-machinist Walt Dimick (IRF Machine Works) about making and offering a new line of hardware. We worked out the details and all is available. Walt is and will be the sole source for all parts. My website, www.geniebuild.com/harleys_genie.html reveals all and provides extensive modeler support with a series of documents I¡¦ve written that include the Installation Instructions.
With others having financed the couplers, Kimbrough had no upfront costs to recover and Walt is able to offer them for $3.50 a pair. These little injection molded jewels with their hex ended rear openings are a masterpiece of engineering and come with a tree of double-splined adapters to fit a wide array of popular servos.
While Walt offers pre-made pockets, making them is time-consuming and reflected in the price. I¡¦ve easily made my own for years. The document ¡§Making Your Own Pockets¡¨ in my website details how. The rest of the equipment needed runs $39 for a 4 servo wing.
This new system is ¡§The Generation 2, USA-made, Universal, All-Internal, Non-Yoked, Invisible Rotary Driver Control System¡§, which I suggest hereafter being forever known ¡§G2 System¡¨.
Be sure the Chinese, Asians will take a clue from the Europeans and get into the RDS act. It¡¦s destined to render the archaic, horn-clevis-pushrod system obsolete except for entry level aircraft.
RDS eliminates the main servo screw, output arm/wheels, clevises, keepers, pushrods, horns, exit guides, ball links/sockets, etc.
If the wing has plug-in tips, the aileron servos can go in the center section. Wipers can protrude from its ends to slide into slots in the end of the ailerons. See the Const. File 3, Part 2 in my website about this. Wiring and connectors into the tips are eliminated. Aileron moving mechanics automatically engage when tips are attached. Mass is moved inboard for better response in the roll axis.
The G2 System was most carefully thought out to be inexpensive and still provide unique and innovative needed features. Let me take you around it.
Besides being inexpensive, the injection molded couplers/adapters are rugged and temperature and moisture stable. They attach, detach and adjust rotationally on the output gear with no strain on the gear. A flat-headed Auxiliary Servo Screw threads into the output gear. The single coupler set screw is captured behind it without pressure, but it cannot slip off. All slack with the set screw is taken up with a screwdriver working through the hex end to adjust the ASS screw for no play with that set screw. Any system that bears set screws on the servo splines is less than ideal.
In any RDS installation in which the planes of the hinging and the pocket are non-coincident, the shaft wants to move fore-aft during deflection. If it¡¦s restricted, then there¡¦s stress or bind going on whether apparent or not. The unique, hex sliding fit between the coupler and the drive shaft automatically allows fore-aft sliding if needed. In some installations the shaft will want to ¡§float¡¨ up and down as it is pushed by the pocket in the deflecting surface. A guide tube should not restrict this ¡§float¡¨ or bind is going on. You¡¦ll see systems with a guide tube at the hinge line and this is okay if planes are coincident, such as both centered, but that is commonly not the case.
You¡¦ll see pictures of foreign RDS shafts with no provision for fore-aft motion. This is fine if the hinging and pocket planes are co-incident but that is commonly not the case. For example, a flap or aileron may be top hinged, but even a pocket mounted under the top skin will have a center plane that is lower. If the pocket is mounted lower, there¡¦s more unfavorable stress on the hinging or structure.
The ¡§G2 System¡¨ comes with 6¡¨ long drive shafts. These allow servos to go forward where there is more overhead space and it also helps with balancing out a ship. If you are not doing extreme F3B or F3J launches, shaft stiffness is less of an issue and can be longer. For maximizing stiffness, the Standard Shaft can be fitted over with a HD shaft as detailed in the document ¡§Converting Standard Shafts to Super Heavy Duty Double Walled¡¨.
The array of accessories allows ¡§ala carte¡¨ customizing the system to your needs with different wiper diameters and bends.
Weight for the coupler, 2¡¨ of standard shaft, standard wiper and a pocket is 8 grams.
The DLG has not been forgotten. There are some really neat, turned aluminum couplers with a hex opening that take a hex ended hypo shaft that accepts a 1/16¡¨ wiper. 2-3grams. No yokes.
It¡¦s USA engineered and made by those who originally conceived and developed the RDS concept.
All is available by mail order or On-Line Internet ordering. You have access to the extensive supporting website and can e-mail any of several fellows for answers to questions that may not be addressed in the various documents. If addressed, we will point out where. You can give input in the Guest Book. You can write me direct at harleyem@charter.net, but go easy on me about answers to technical questions. Rather, get into the website references given for those.
FOUND ON THE WEB
Covering Tutorial Thread
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=711624" target="_blank">http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=711624
Discus Launched Gliders ¡V various angles
From the nose ¡V note the stress on the tail boom
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlp3Rv4uZBA&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlp3Rv4uZBA&feature=related
Here is a combo I never expected to see
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPFzsMVhe0A&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPFzsMVhe0A&feature=related
What is the optimum dihedral angle?
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1428410" target="_blank">http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1428410
Carbon Clearance Sale at ACP Composites
Many are exactly what we like to use for spars, wings and other RC structures
www.acp-composites.com/home.php?cat=253" target="_blank">http://www.acp-composites.com/home.php?cat=253
DX8 Product Review
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1367619" target="_blank">http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1367619
Big Sky Longest Duration Contest for e-gliders
If you are trying to get someone interested in soaring competition, this may be a way to get them interested using their e-glider
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1463065" target="_blank">http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1463065
Who Sells New Winches? - Discussion about sources and designs
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1447573" target="_blank">http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1447573
INTERESTING ARTICLE ON CONVECTIVE WINDS
http://fam.nwcg.gov/fam-web/pocketcards/reference_cd_2009/10_miscellaneous/pms_425_Fire_Wx_ch_07.pdf
BIRDS, THERMALS AND SOARING FLIGHT
www.aerospaceweb.org/question/nature/q0253.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.aerospaceweb.org/question/nature/q0253.shtml
THERMAL SCOUT ¡V Full scale glider pilots have devices that help them know when they are in lift. You can also get such devices for RC gliders, however they can be expensive costing over $150. The Thermal Scout came out about a year ago. I was reading about it on the forums and decided to order one. I can report that it works as advertised. Makes a great training tool.
www.wingedshadow.com/thermalscout.html" target="_blank">http://www.wingedshadow.com/thermalscout.html
LISF Club Build and One Design Contest
www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1331363" target="_blank">http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1331363
RC Flying Article in the Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB10001424052702304066504576341780810193932-lMyQjAxMTAxMDEwMzExNDMyWj.html
LAUNCHING FULL SCALE GLIDERS
Bungee
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFFJx4pwHnU" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFFJx4pwHnU
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6-EeuEi-KY&NR=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6-EeuEi-KY&NR=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6-EeuEi-KY&feature=player_detailpage" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6-EeuEi-KY&feature=player_detailpage
Hand launching a full scale glider
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwVRLw7TD5I&NR=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwVRLw7TD5I&NR=1
Foot launching a full scale glider
www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_EjsgLXdb8&NR=1&feature=fvwp" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_EjsgLXdb8&NR=1&feature=fvwp
Winch launching a full scale glider
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DrcQQWfoSM&NR=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DrcQQWfoSM&NR=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Qh95I_YM0&feature=fvwrel" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Qh95I_YM0&feature=fvwrel
www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZO0tezDgZw&NR=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZO0tezDgZw&NR=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtUJIvD6KHA&NR=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtUJIvD6KHA&NR=1
Line Break!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8FP_MIB7gw&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8FP_MIB7gw&feature=related
Aerotow launching a full scale glider
www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtbK5auAEdY&NR=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtbK5auAEdY&NR=1
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzlYi1s-PQs&NR=1" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzlYi1s-PQs&NR=1
Just Foolin Around Man!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-XC0dxerYs&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-XC0dxerYs&feature=related
What goes up must come down
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1au6V1E5CyI&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1au6V1E5CyI&feature=related
www.youtube.com/watch?v=40F2gslPhvo" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40F2gslPhvo
www.youtube.com/watch?v=L28DNthc0cA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L28DNthc0cA
Turn baby Turn! This must be what it is like on a DLG in a low thermal
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyExt-ZUWrA&feature=related" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyExt-ZUWrA&feature=related
ESL SHIRTS, SWEATSHIRTS AND MORE
ESL logo items can be ordered from Cafepress. They have t-shirts, sweatshirts, mugs and mouse pads. If you would like to show off the League logo, you can order whatever you like. There is no minimum order. T-shirts start at $9 and sweatshirts start at $33. S TO XXL. www.cafepress.com/mf/15036977/eslshirtjpg_tshirt?shop=FLYESL&productId=80485595" target="_blank">http://www.cafepress.com/mf/15036977/eslshirtjpg_tshirt?shop=FLYESL&productId=80485595
HERE TO SERVE YOU
I hope you have enjoyed the ESL Newsletter. Send your notes, photos, compliments or complaints to Ed Anderson, ESL Newsletter Editor, at aeajr@optonline.net
Previous editions of the ESL newsletter can be found here:
www.flyesl.org/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=16" target="_blank">http://www.flyesl.org/forums/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=16
If anyone would like to become involved in the Newsletter please contact me. Or, if you are a graphics or format guru and would like to spice up the appearance, I would welcome the assistance. |
Best regards,
Ed Anderson
Long Island Silent Flyers
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Edited by - aeajr on 07/04/2011 10:15:11 PM |
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ESL NEWSLETTER - JULY 2011
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