Why Barrack Obama is making the right move on Cuba

I agree with President Obama on opening up with Cuba. Probably for very different reasons than why he is doing it. You might disagree and point out Che hated and killed black people and you’d be right. You might also point out all the firing squads and mass graves of Castro’s Socialist revolution. You’d be right. Many horrible things have been done in the name of “the greater good”. Whenever I hear the utterance of that term, it is always employed as justification of violence or threats of violence being used against a persons natural Liberty to peaceably make their own choices. It appeals to the worst element in mankind’s capacity to use violence and force to control others for the achievement ones own personal goals and objectives.

While the Castro’s, Che and many of their past and current actions are truly evil, what of the people that live in Cuba? Is our disgust, is the enemy of Liberty the people who are imprisoned by the Castro’s?

As a first principle, I regard all attempts to control and limit voluntary exchange as evil. If the people of Cuba wish to trade with the people of Florida or Texas or France or Alaska or Russia or whomever, why not? How do you or I gain a right to act as a 3rd party controller preventing two willing and peaceful people from trading? Simply stated, our embargo hasn’t kept one steak or lobster off the plates of the Castro’s. They live like kings off the people they farm in the name of the “greater good” regardless of our personal offense. I see no right, effectiveness or kindness in refusing an element of freedom to an oppressed prison population of a Socialist state.

As an aside, if they wish to be free from the slavery of their service to the Castro’s, it can only happen when they have something to be free for. It can only happen if exposure to glimpses of freedom and Liberty grows in them a desire to take care of business. By interacting with them, we can provide that encouragement and example.

No person has a right to control, limit or inhibit voluntary exchange between two other people. If we wish to be free, we must identify and reject those who claim a right to impose their choices on others by force.

Clearly, if you wish not to trade with Cuba or consume Cuban products or offer products to Cuba, I support you in your choice. I wouldn’t dream of using force to make you consume or provide services to anybody anywhere. I ask simply that you to consider conferring the same respect of personal Liberty to everyone.

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Spirit of Sam Power System Decoded

I’ve had a number of inquiries for an alternate Spirit of Sam power system. I worked out a system for Phil Pearce. He’s had a chance to do some run time and amp draw tests. Here are his comments thus far.

Phil Pearce Spirit of Sam Afterburner Setup
Phil Pearce Spirit of Sam Afterburner Setup

Good morning Dave. Here are a few picture of the little 5 oz Wren, built for the Spirit Of Sam event at the Society of Antique Modelers events. The rules call for the power battery be a single 160 mah lipo. The task is endurance, using the second best flight time of two flights. The motor you provided is an “Afterburner High Performance Brushless Motor. The number on the info. sheet says: MR-012-030-4000-1.5 I ended up using a GWS 9/7 prop. As the picture shows, the rear lipo is for radio power. The BEC is disabled. My procedure for maximum flight time is to hand launch with full power of about 1.5 amp draw, than establish a slight climb at minimal power of probably about 1 amp. I level out at about 200 feet and only use enough power to maintain altitude while looking for signs of lift. The motor will start slowing down at somewhere between 8 and 10 minutes with no thermal help. I must immediately start a landing approach while the prop is still spinning and plan on landing in about 15 seconds. Unfortunately a folding prop is not allowed. The drag on a stopped motor is dramatic on this small light model. I hope this is what you wanted. Thanks again for you help. Regards, Phil

P.S. If you have any advice on another prop, please advise. PP

Phil Pearce and his 5 ounce Wren Spirit of Sam competition model.
Phil Pearce and his 5 ounce Wren Spirit of Sam competition model.

Equipment is a 4000kv 12mm Afterburner with 1.5mm shaft. Running in a GWS LPS gearbox 4.8:1 ratio.

close up of gws lps gearbox with afterburner motor installed.
Close up of GWS LPS gearbox with Afterburner motor installed.

Links to parts supplied by Radical RC:
GWS LPS 5:1 “B” Pinion: GWGER002
GWS LPS 5:1 “B” Blue Spur Gear: GWLPS4B
GWS LPS 5:1 Blue Spur Gear: GWLPS4B
GWS LPS Ball Bearing Set: GWLPS2A
GWS LPS Gearbox Shaft: GWLPS6A
GWS LPS Gearbox Frame: GWLPS5A
Afterburner Motor (Take 1.5mm shaft option): MR-012-030-4000
Screws for AFterburner Motor: MR-SCREW-080-125-2
All parts needed are contained in the system linked below. Replace motor with 12mm Brushless Afterburner. Note, If you buy the brushed motor system to get all the parts, consider buying a pinion. A puller is needed to remove one from the included brushed motor and it can be ticklish. Some skill, minor tools and a drill press (or press of some sort) are required to install a pinion on LPS RXC OR RLC Drive take “B” gear ratio option: GWLPS-RXC or GWLPS-RLC
GWS LPS Gearbox Frame: GWLPS5A

side view motor and rx battery spirit of sam geared brushless power system
Side view motor and RX battery.

Note, the point of this blog post is to record what we did in a way that will last longer than my memory. If you want to do the same thing, all the links are provided. 😉

Some thoughts that I have based on what I know thus far: An “A” ratio (less reduction) could be considered in order to reduce the pitch or perhaps the disk diameter. That might lead to a 9-4.7 or 9-5 or 8-6 being optimal. I’m tickled by the idea of a 4 or 5″ high rpm setup in order to try and get the model to glide with a stopped prop longer than Phil reports with 9″ props. Not being experienced in the competition, my thoughts might be completely off base here. The higher KV Afterburner motor should be avoided because the higher no-load current. Although it might be more efficient at wide open throttle, the minimum no-load current would kill you in cruise (partial throttle flight). So, the lesson is stick to the 4000kv motor. Anything you can do in this contest to utilize a low non-load current motor would probably be an advantage over most motors with higher no-load currents. The no-load current rating is one of the fixed parameters (motor constants) of every motor. Explaining it fully is beyond the scope of this article.

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Micro Stick Fleet Tryout

Gil Weiss from southeast PA sends a beautiful photo of his Micro Stick. Just test flown. Looks Great Gil!

Gil Weiss Micro Stick from South East PA.

Hi Dave,

Several years ago I built a Micro Stick. The kit went together very nicely. The little plane sat on a shelf until today. I enjoyed the last nice day of calm warm weather here in SE PA and test flew the plane. It was a real Hoot! Flew great and had an unbelievable roll rate. Landed fine. Other than add some more “expo”, no changes were required. I will keep this plane in my active fleet from here on out.

Regards, Gil Weiss

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John Harper’s Creamsicle Stick 600 Part 4

Hi Dave…
The Stick 600 got its maiden flight today. Test pilot Doug says it’s a real sweetheart, and had it alternating between floating and zooming. My watt meter says I’m getting around 248-250 watts with the 11×5.5 prop, and we had about 70% of the 3s 2200 battery left after a 6-7 minute flight. Due to my complete imeptness attaching photographs, Susie is going to send you some pics and short videos. As you can see from the takeoff there’s no shortage of power. Nice plane!
Thanks, John

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Stick 600 – Creamsicle Part 3

creamsicle comparison stick 600
How does she stack up?

John gives us a comparison photo between his Stick 600 and a Great Planes ElectroStick. His comments: “Here’s a comparison with Test Pilot Doug’s Great Planes Electrostick. It’s about 5 lb. with a .32 Rimfire. It flies nice but not very slow.”

Front 3/4 View of John Harpers Stick 600 Creamsicle
Front 3/4 view.

John Says: “Here’s a front quarter view. All pictures by my lovely and talented wife Susie, who is a damn fine pilot in her own right.”

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Stick 600 – Creamsicle Part 2

stick 600 creamsicle
John Harpers Stick 600, the business end.

To: John Harper: (July 31, 2014)

I made a mistake in that last email. I calculated the Power 15 from Eflight. If you used a Power 10 then it’s 36 amps, 11×5.5 prop, 2357 feet per minute at 83 degrees. Should be very impressive. That is a much smaller motor and battery than my lowest recommendation. I think your test flight is going to prove to me that I could have recommended something even smaller than I did.

I think you’ll end up around 405 watts if you meter it. You may be using a different motor than the E-Flight. I’m just guessing. Hope you can balance it. The normal motor on the small end of 3S that I recommend is about 8 ounces hanging out in front of the firewall. You’re only 4.3 ounces.

It should be a barrel of fun. You’r ship will do all that mine will do but at 1/2 pound lighter, it will be cable of doing them even slower. I’m wondering if you’ll have to add a touch of throttle to keep the glide from getting uncomfortably slow? That’s the only thing I would watch out for. It’s capable of descending under control in a nose high probably 45 degree angle of descent. But, you need a little speed to find a flair at the end. 😉 You’ll be amazed at how low and slow you can trust this airplane. If you’ve been flying a bunch of overweight models, this is really going to be different for you.

Dave

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An Interesting Stick 600 is Birthed! Creamsicle Part 1

Edgar Harper has just finish “Creamsicle”. Orange has been my favorite color of late.

radical rc stick 600 creamsicle
John Harper’s Stick 600 “Creamsicle”

Hi Dave- (July 31, 2014)

Thought you might be interested in how my stick went together. It hasn’t flown yet, but is in the final stages of tweaking. Nice kit, parts fit well, although the tiny 8-1/2x11planform is a little hard for us old guys to decipher. ……

Here’s the thing- with a .10-size 370-watt motor and a 3s 2200 mah battery, it came out at 2.5 pounds! My club buddies are quite impressed, as I am not known for building “light.” I had to check to make sure I hadn’t left anything out. Guess I got the kit with ALL the good wood.

I’ll send you some pics and a flight report if you would like. Thanks for making such an excellent kit.

John

Thanks for the report. …………

Yes, it is a very light kit. Lighter than every other 40 size sweet stick kit every produced by at least 2 pounds. You’ve also used and exceptionally small motor and battery. My smallest recommended setup is probably about 8 ounces heavier. Were you able to balance it without lead?

I’m going to calculate your motor now and see what I think of your choices…..

Ok, looks like 3S and 12-6 prop you should be at 45mph pitch speed, 66 ounces static (weight 40 ounces), 2670 foot per minute climb rate at 90 degrees. Should be an amazing aircraft.

Hope we cross paths at an event someplace. I’d love to fly it. Send me some photos if you can. A video would be great.

Dave

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Independence Day Observed

It occurs to me on this July 5th that my evening was spent with my neighbors performing a patriotic duty. We enjoyed a wonderful fireworks filled evening of fun and celebration. I even corrupted a couple of young boys by giving their father highly illegal bottle rockets. I enjoyed watching the father teach his sons about what “bottle rockets” are. How to launch them safely and that good ol dad really is a barrel of fun. Between myself and my neighbors, we had quite a display. Over an hour of entertainment and reminders of what we did to the Liberty Objecting British of old. All of those fireworks, every rocket, every giant bloom, every explosion was quite assuredly against the law. Most patriotic of all; we were civilly disobedient. We did what we wanted, we harmed no one. Liberty!

What is Liberty? Liberty is the capacity to act without hindrance according to one’s own self interest without inhibiting others from the same. A group does not approve of something other people wish to do. So they write it down on paper and vote among themselves to use force and violence to assure compliance with their own personal choices. Their voting does not make the behavior they wish to impose on others moral. Nor does it make the use of violence moral against those who force no one. I’m pointing out that immoral laws which substitute our choices with the will of others cannot stand in the face of mass disobedience. Or should I say, cannot long stand in the burning gaze of free people. The 4th of July is a day of civil disobedience. Disobedience to the crown, disobedience to King George who claimed a right to impose his law and will on people. It’s a celebration of our declaring our independence against the imposition of law. It is a reminder of what can be accomplished against tyranny if we are only willing to stand boldly against it together. By lighting off high altitude fireworks for an hour, we are clearly not depending on “luck” not to get caught. Our burning eyes stare down those who would force their personal choices on us. Let our dear Sheriff come to quash a celebration of freedom and Liberty. He is elected. Let the police officer arrive who’s chief is hired by the mayor who is elected. Apparently these patriots, by not arriving to squash Independence Day are civilly disobedient with us. As they should be, lest they become exposed in the white hot public spotlight.

Independence Day refreshes my resolve to remain free. I pound my chest when I state boldly, I am for Liberty.

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Springfield Barnstorming Carnival July 19-20

New event near Dayton Ohio. This full scale fly in takes place with area pilots and those stopping over on their way to Oshkosh.

barnstorming carnival springfield ohio
Join real barnstorming pilots an model pilots for an entertaining weekend full of activities

Check it out at: Barstorming Carnival

Antique biplane rides
Vintage 1920 and 1930 aircraft on display with actual barnstorming pilots
Aircraft fly-by’s
RC Model airplane and Helicopter demonstrations
Skydiving demonstrations
Custom car cruise – in
Ford Model A cars
Airplane rides
Kids model rocket build ( 3:00 pm ) * See additional information*
Kids Bounce house
Pancake/ Fly-in breakfast (Saturday 8:00am- 11:00am)
Outdoor barnstorming movie Held at Young’s Dairy Farm. *Free admission!*

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