Thoughts from the workbench of Radical RC. The online retailer of electronics and kits for radio control aircraft. Dave Thacker shares his thoughts and knowledge of electronics, batteries, kit design and overall enjoyment of the hobby.
Category: Blog Entries
All Radical RC Workbench posts
Posted on
Dave,
I ordered your Slowstick Biplane kit a few months ago and it has sat. I finally finished it up Friday and maidened it on our beautiful Michigan Saturday at the Greater Detroit Soaring and Hiking Society field. What an absolute hoot!. I’m a sport poly sailplane pilot and not real familiar with regular fixed wing. On the second flight I was hanging it on the prop hovering in a 5mph breeze and then climbing over the top into inverted flight. The guys were laughing and wondering why I was flying 3D with a Slow Stick. What a great product. I’m quickly approaching retirement and with more time on my hands I’ll need a few more toys. I have enjoyed your service and Radical is on my very short preferred vendor list.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke
How common is it that the good people outnumber those with evil (selfish) intent and yet evil prevails? Your part may be a small, however, it is an important part of good winning. Step up and speak up when evil is seeking a foothold. You cannot lay aside your responsibility to act or step by step your rights slip away.
I recently was compelled to speak at a public zoning meeting where the City of Riverside was was attempting to use predatory zoning practices under the sweet sounding name of “Urban Compact” in an attempt to force citizens in my neighborhood to pay for a conversion of our properties into an office/shopping/residential complex at the home owners expense. They wanted to require any home that was sold to be brought up to a modern design and zoning standard before it could be reoccupied by it’s new owner. Silly things like selling your home or replacing the siding with siding that has specific vertical groove spacing, building shields to hide any AC units. Shielding any antenna’s from public view. Selling your home or making any repairs in excess of $5000 would trigger the “must update or destroy (refusal of occupancy permit)” zoning clause. Imagine a limb falls and damages your roof or the wind blows and you need a new roof and that the cost is over $5000. What if you have a small kitchen fire and wish to repair it? Now you have to bring your home up to the new standard or sell it to somebody willing to tear it down or make the updates to the new community shopping/office standard. The new zoning rules even included the phrase “no current building will be encouraged to continue”. Clearly, the “Urban Compact” zoning scheme was designed to bring the clinking of bulldozer tracks to me and my neighbors.
The city has made several attempts to clear out the neighborhood for development over the years. This attempt lead to so many people showing up for the zoning board meeting that it had to be moved the city garage. Good people can stand up and defend themselves, their way of life, their country and their property rights.
Don’t lay down for it, get out there and stand up for yourself and your country.
The city’s prior attempt including declaring an entire block of properties including my own as “Blighted”. Mine it was claimed should be turned over to city ownership because it had an area of cracked paint, a crack in the parking lot with a puddle after it rained. Of course they hired an “impartial” service to provide the exact report they wanted for every home and building in the block. This attempt to push people out of their homes was foiled by supreme court rulings before the city’s plan and the citizens rights could be executed.
At this same meeting, I learned of a law passed a year ago banning all signs. Even political ones. In the prior meeting minutes that were read, evidentaly the city attourny had been on hand explaining the problem of denying people free speech. Yes, it required somebody with a law degree to explain it to them.
Those that purport to be public servants over time can become arrogant and lose sight of what being a servant of the citizens is. It is required for citizens to stand up and re-adjust these attitudes from time to time. This is what elections and counsel meetings are all about. Anytime you hear a public official justifying stripping Americans of their rights for the “greater good” you know you have encountered this arrogance (or possibly worse). I can tell you absolutely without any reservation that I won’t lay down for it. Politicians responsible for these kinds of activities should be replaced regardless of party affiliations.
It might shock you to learn that I am of course in favor of the neighborhood developing. However, the right way is for the city to purchase the properties one by one and do with them what they wish. Not to use the mechanics of beurocracy to beat citizens out.
MIAMI TWP., Ohio —
The Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office has declined to file criminal charges against the deputy police chief of the Miami Twp. Police Department, concerning the decontamination of a 17-year-old girl after her July 12 arrest, according to prosecutor’s spokesman Greg Flannagan.
The decontamination was related to the girl being….
A grown armed man representing the Miami Township here in Ohio arrests a 17 year old girl. Apparently before arresting the teen he sprays her with pepper spray. After arresting her and taking her into custody she is transported to the Sheriffs office where she is stripped naked and hosed down with a garden hose by this very Sheriff. The alleged public servents name according to the DDN story is Maj. John DiPietro. Apparently Public Servant John DiPietro was alone in the room with the naked wet teen while he was hosing her down. The department calls this act “decontamination”. Yeh right! This event is a clear abuse of this teen and the public trust.
Asking a local officer in our shop about these situations, he said it’s normal procedure to supply the pepper sprayed individual with a bottle of water and a cloth to clean their face. He said he tells them it will burn again in the shower as some could wash down into the eyes again. Seems reasonable enough to me that a 17 year old could clean their own face with basic supplies such as these. Something less than a hosing down in the nude might, just might have cleaned the face. But then maybe another purpose was being served here. I’m proud to say punishing of crimes and criminals should be left to the Judge and Jury. Certainly forcing a young woman to present herself in the nude to a male officer for a one on one private hose down might be exceedingly out of line, mean and inhumane.
I am reminded of the scene from First Blood where a corrupt and abusive small town sheriff expresses his dominance and power by hosing down John Rambo, a Vietnam war vet in his custody.
We lay back in our society and think that this kind of abuse is only in the movies when in reality this kind of abuse of our citizens and their freedoms goes on behind the doors of some law enforcement offices. What’s worse is these incidents always seem to be ruled “There was no wrong doing”. Often it’s the local prosecutor who is pressured to overlook these incidents in order to have a continued good relationship with the department he works closely with. Often it’s the internal affairs investigators (fellow union members and officer brothers) who arrive at the “Never Guilty” conclusion. It’s a prime example of the “code”. A corrupt system by which horrible servants are allowed to continue in public service. Protecting a member of the group is held in higher regard than the oath given to serve. The idea that a public service employee group could be trusted with honorable self investigation is laughable. These kinds of bureaucratic mechanisms are merely put in place to deflect and dissuade further serious inquiry. I remember trying to enter a complaint with the city of Dayton only to be told over and over “Mr. Thacker, you have no complaint.” It’s bull squeeze on the highest order.
I am completely and profoundly incensed that any male public servant would force a teenage girl to strip naked and then stand over her hosing her down. And to top it all off it’s reported he was in the room alone with the young girl. I make no apologies for defending this girl during this terrible moment of abuse, no apologies for our constitution or how it protects even the accused and I’ll feel no loss whatsoever should the local politicians decide to squeeze this corrupt public servant out and pinch him off.
Shame on you Miami Township for not allowing this girl to go privately in the bathroom to clean herself up. I suppose you think she was not capable of bathing herself without the assistance of a 40 something man. Or perhaps, the entire purpose and intent was to humiliate and punish a citizen who had come under your purview. Since a high ranking officer was involved, there is a strong implication that this quality of public service is accepted practice in Miami Township. Additionally are no reports of any other officers attempting to stop this abuse AND the hose was available inside a room where subjects are interviewed/searched or “decontaminated”. The hose being available inside this room suggests livestock-like treatment of citizens in this way is routine. The situation is sickening. Shame on you.
My name is Dave Thacker and I’m doing something about it.
Contact info follows. I encourage you to let these people know what you think. Miami Township of Ohio Township Offices
2700 Lyons Road
Miamisburg, OH 45342
Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Phone: (937) 433-9969
Fax: (937) 433-8709
Prosecutor’s Office who declined charging this officer with anything: Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office
P.O. Box 972
Dayton, OH
45422-0972
Telephone: 937-225-5757
General Information: info@mcpo.com
5 other women in Stark County Ohio violated by Police Strip Search See Controversies
Men in Stark County Strip Searching Woman. She after being beaten in a parking lot and calling for help she was eventually arrested. In interview she was asked “Have you ever considered suicide?” She asks “Do you mean now or ever?” Upon this question they decided she was suicidal and should be strip searched and jailed. Woman later won a settlement against the Stark county sheriff department.
News talk show about her sexual assult in Stark County.
This kind of treament of any citizen needs to end with the officers tried and jailed just as you and I would be had we tortured her.
Bev & Dave, Happy new owners of the project from he…… Er, Uh, a beautiful 63 Airstream.Here it is, 1963 Airstream Ambassador 28′ picked up in June 2012 and we’ve begun work on it. This photo is from the day we picked it up in Michigan. We are replacing all systems. It now has a new Coleman Power Saver AC capable of running on a Honda 2000 generator like we use on the Radical RC “Daves Inn”. We installed a new remote control Fantastic Fan in the bathroom skylight. The remote version of this fan is costly. However, no difficult to route wiring for the controls is required with a remote version. Also, the remote control version is capable of running at much slower speeds. I’ve found the Fantastic Fan in Dave’s Inn is quite a whirlwind producer even on it’s lowest setting. I’m working on installing a new power panel on the drivers side. Also, we’ll be moving the 30 amp cable to the left side. It has more breakers. I was able to put the AC on it’s on breaker this way.
Future projects include a new water tank, water pump and water heater. I think the existing black tank is serviceable, however, we need to do a conversion on the outlet to modern fittings. Not sure how I’m going to do the gray tank yet. Might have a tank made for under the bathroom sink to drain gray into. Only issue there is figuring some tricky way to get the shower water into it since the bottom of the gray tank would be level with the bottom of the tub/shower. Might have to raise up the tub a few inches (don’t want to) or use a pump to move the shower water up into the tank. I’m sure I’ll arrive at something interesting to solve the physics of uphill water flow.
Textile: Atomic STARBURST
We’ve not buffed it yet so it looks about the same on the outside. However, on spare weekends here and there I’ve been picking on it. Bev has purchased the material for upholstery and also some cool special foam mattresses. We’re going with Mid-Century Modern or “Atomic Age” for decor. It will probably be camp-able some time next summer but as you might imagine, a multiple year project to fully complete.
After all the systems are replaced, I might start to go through it cabinet by cabinet and build replacements. It’s pretty simply constructed really. The existing units are mostly sound however the the veneer is loose and falling off in many places.
Thinking of making a fold up panel arrangement for the passenger side bed so I can have a computer desk and chair. Might raise the bed surface up so I can retain clothing storage that is currently there. Not decided yet.
This is a primer for the project. I might stick some photo’s in of the progress and welcome any reader comment.
I’ve often thought of a bucketlist project of making a slow indoor flyer out of the worlds most improbable subjet, the F-104 Starfighter. There is this problem of driving past one every day on the way into Radical RC.
Capt. Joseph B. Jordan, flying a Lockheed F-104C Starfighter set a new altitude record when he reached 103,395.5 ft over the Edwards AFB. Flight Test Center California. During this flight, Capt. Jordan reached 98,424 ft 930,000 m) in only 15 minutes 4.92 seconds. This was the first aircraft taking off on its own power to reach the 30,000 m and 100,000 ft altitudes.
Great Planes Lockheed F-104 Starfighter
Sounds Of The F-104 Starfighter
The Vikings” F 104G Starfighter German Navy’s Demo Team
Excellent video showing in real experiments you can understand and see. Shows what the boundary layer is, what a stall looks like (if you could see the air) and vorticity. EXCELLENT!
Part 1:
Part 2:
Notice also as the airfoil is inclining to higher and higher angles of attack, that the air is not split on what appears to be the most forward portion of the airflow, but rather below that portion of the airfoil. There is a ton of information here to help you understand why things work the way they do. Enjoy!
German automation company Festo has created an extraordinary helium-filled flying object that propels itself through the air by repeatedly turning itself inside-out.
SmartInversion combines an extremely lightweight body….. Read all about it at Wired.co.uk
At first I thought this was a fake viral video, however, it’s all true. Imagine a device that can go anywhere you walk, on the sidewalk, on the street, in an elevator or to the mall. Yet on only one wheel. It’s the on set of accelerometers and similar devices that are used in toy’s, phones and yes, in our hobby with FPV autopilots, multi rotor stabilizer boards and the like that make these kinds of device dreams a possibility. Could you build and program a project like this? You may not think you can, however, the stuff of this dream is all out there, all parts of the RC hobby you already are exposed to.
Explained in a diagram but not in words or text, if your quick, you see he’s telling you when it senses it’s leaning backward, it apply’s the brake or in the case of it standing still it reverses the motors. When it senses your leaning forward too much, it adds forward power to the motors to bring the wheel back under you. This is essentially how a Segway works. The mono-wheel seems so much more courageous however.
