Is this just cool or what?
See the full story and controversy at: The Register Paper Airplane World Record .
Serious Competition
Large Model Aircraft Restricted During London Olympics
By Daniel Baxter
March 11, 2012 – The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Friday advised owners of large model aircraft that they will be subject to the airspace security restrictions being put in place by the Government during the London 2012 Olympic Games.
The Government has already announced…….. Continue on to: Read the full story on AvStop.com.
Flying In A Tight Space
I thought my Slow Stick would be ok, until I got it in the air, and then it looked like a Condor. I’m not the worlds best pilot, yet! But I’ve got maybe a half acre to fly in, if you don’t count the side yard, that is another 1/4 acre. ….I’m looking for something that I can fly in my yard, can you tell me the slow flying characteristics of the Millennium RC Micro SSX Balsa Build Kit?
Catch you later, D.V. Middleburg, Fl
D.V.,
A Slow Stick can fly in a small space also.
It’s easier to fly a Slow Stick in a small area if you incraese the dihedral. I like my wing mounting kit with 1″ rise and 16 degree dihedral best overall. In a tight spot, I might even go with the 20 or 24 degree dihedral. It will let you turn on a dime. Find parts for this here.
Stock they don’t respond to quickly to rudder inputs. If you have the stock 12 degree setup and the plastic wing protector on which cuts your dihedral down to about 8 degrees, you have a real slow turning problem for sure. This means you have to think further ahead which is hard in the beginning.
If you are struggling with the Slow Stick in that area, the Millineum kits which are slightly faster are going to be a little more difficult. The airfoil on them is better for inverted flight and aerobatics but this is at the cost of lower lift. You have to be moving a slightly faster to stay in the air which will make the area feel a little tighter to you. It’s not about space or area, it’s about time. Time between turns and across the field. So before you build that nice balsa model (they are very nice kits) get that Slow Stick in flying trim and master it in the area you have. Then you’ll be ready to enjoy that nice Millineum kit. (Highly reccomened!)
What you really have is 1/2 acre to “land in”. For a small space flight plan, I’m thinking about poping up above the tree line where I have more space to fool around then landing along the longest path available to me on the field when obsticals are considered. Perhaps you have a few too many tree’s. Nothing a good chainsaw won’t correct. 😉
Also, consider the Pico Tiger Moth, it’s about 2/3 the size of the Slow Stick, undercambered. I should have these listed here: GWS-E-ARF. You can fly these in decent gymnasium. They will want little or no wind to fly.
Dave
Do A123 LIFE Packs Free Us From Cycling?
Dave
One more quick question. I ordered some 1100 2s A123 packs from you today.
Do these need to be cycled? I have a FMA 4S CellPro charger that is A123 compatible. It will charge and balance, but not cycle.
Thanks again.
IRL
Irl,
If you want to check them before flying, Yes.
If you want to find out when they go bad on the workbench rather than at the field, yes.
There is no skipping regular battery testing and maintenance regardless of battery chemistry. All battery types will fail eventually and discharge testing is the only chance to discover packs needing replacement before having an accident.
My answer might seem a bit strange, however, every time there is a new battery chemistry many modelers think the new “miracle chemistry” means the end of regular battery maintenance and testing. I got the question many times at the beginning of the NiMH revolution, the Lipo revolution and at the introduction of A123 Systems LIFE cells. There could be nothing further from the truth. There is never a time when battery maintenance and testing is not prudent.
No jab against the CellPro chargers is intended here. They are very good quality and I recommend them. I don’t know the specifications of all the models they sell but am aware some of them will discharge test packs. It is possible to discharge these in NiCad or NiMH mode on modern digital chargers as long as the mode has NO CHARGE at the end of discharge. In other words, as long as it’s not a “cycler”. A cycle is a full discharge then charge or full charge then discharge. To do this, we want to us a charger that simply does 1/2 the cycle, in other words we want it to discharge and that is all. Just set the (NiMH or NiCad) cell count to 4 for a 2 cell A123. Some let you set the cut off voltage directly and in that case, set it to 2v per cell or 4V for a 2cell A123 pack. The correct discharge rate for any kind of lithium is Capacity/2. They are rated over 2 hours. Since many chargers/dischargers only allow discharge rates at even .1 amp (100mah) increments, set discharge to 500 or 600mah (.5 or .6 amps) to do a reasonably accurate job on an 1100mah rated cell.
I’ve noticed over the years the 2300mah cell (26650 can size) generally cycles to 2100-2200 range. They seem slightly over rated. Don’t be alarmed if your 1100mah (18650 can size) pack tests to 1000 or 1050mah. It’s probably just about right.
Happy Flying
Dave,
Man Flys With Self Built Flapping Wings
Ok, all in all I am thinking this is big hoax rivaled only by the Global Warming hoax. However, on alot of levels it is every interesting. If it’s faked, it’s very well done. You can visit his website an do some reading for yourself. Of course he’s not flying right now because he’s taken it appart for some repairs and the weather and yadda yadda yadda. There is also an interesting mention of duck tape. Decide for yourself.
I don’t know if I should call him a Pilot or a Perp, but here is his website: Human Birdwings
Motion Induced Blindness
I received a forwarded email from my good friend Archie Philips in Harvest Alabama. It says in part:
“You may find this interesting, it explains how drivers pull in front of motorcycles and say ” I didn’t see him”. Lack of motion Induced Blindness (pilots and drivers too)
Good info and demo. Lack of motion Induced Blindness was presented as a flying issue, but one can also miss things (pedestrians, motorcycles, other cars) while driving, so, keep your heads and eyes moving. The below link is a great illustration of what was taught about scanning outside the cockpit when military pilots went through training they were told to scan the horizon for a short distance, stop momentarily, and repeat the process.
This was the most effective technique to locate other aircraft. It was emphasized repeatedly to not fix one’s gaze for more than a couple of seconds on any single object. The instructors, some of whom were combat veterans with years of experience, instructed pilots to continually “keep your eyes moving and head on a swivel” because this was the best way to survive, not only in combat, but from peacetime hazards (like a midair collision) as well.”
Actual author unknown
Here is the link to the visual demonstration of this effect:
Montion Induced Blindness”
As an RC pilot, I am wondering how many pilots who fly into trees, flagpoles, barns and other objects are suffering from the same effect. I’m not suggesting you should “swivel” your eyes away from your aircraft, just be aware of what can happen. Your gaze if fixed on your aircraft may cause the stationary things in your view (things near you) to disapear or become less aware to you with the background zipping around behind your aircraft. Just a thought. Dave, Radical RC
About The Area Around Radical RC
Fred from Cary, NC asks:
Hi, just for fun, I googled your address (Google Maps View), and see some very interesting things near you.
You are across from Wright Field (Wiki). That could be fun. Do they let you fly RC stuff over there?
And behind you….looks like a park with lots of long slender ponds. Is it a park, or why did they make all that water? At first the satellite view made it look like a golf course, until I zoomed in, and realized it was water.
Thanks for your help…. Fred
Fred,
I fly & test small field models in the field out in front of the shop. Every kit we manufacture has been flown there many times. You can’t fly on the museum grounds (across Springfield St inside the museum fence). Behind the Air Force Museum (official website) is a large runway and towards the north end of it there is a club, you must be active or retired military to fly there and join the club. Each year on labor day weekend they hold a large fly in called “DOGS”. Where anybody can fly there. Occiasionally there are other events there like last summer the World Jet Masters were held there. I’ve seen kite contests out in front of the museum also. In fact they used to hold the Dawn Patrol out front. This was great as we’d see nearly full scale replica’s flying over the shop and landing in the field out in front of the museum. However, that event has moved out back on the runway. But, if you stick up an electric model, the ask you to shut it down. Which is sad in a way. What a nice thing it would be for visitors to see people poking around in the sky as your walking into the Airforce Museum.
We get modelers in all the time that are in town visiting the Air Force Museum. Almost every modeler in the USA or Canada if given a chance will visit it at some time in their lives. It’s a great location from an aviation point of view for sure.
The lakes you see directly behind (west of) the shop and north are part of the well fields. There is an Eagles nest (or maybe 2 now) and people with long range lenses in Eastwood Lake park are photographing them all the time. Eastwood is open to the public and the lake south west of Wright Brothers Parkway (Harsman Rd, Woodman Drive).
Here is a virtual tour of the US Airforce Museum.
Dave, Radical RC
Radical RC Mentioned on RC Model Reviews
Battery Storage In Reverse
For many of us there is a winter storage season. How do we bring our fuel powered models out of storage confident our RX battery packs are up to snuff? Were they nearing the end of life at the end of last seasons flying? Did they survive being in the trailer or garage ceiling for a number of months? Here are important steps to greatly reduce your risk of shouting “I Ain’t Got It!” when you hit the field this spring. These recommendations are intended for NiMH and NiCad packs although the similar principals apply to any mission critical TX or RX pack regardless of chemistry.
1. You should have cycled your packs and noted the value on them when you put the model in storage. Did you do this? A simple round of cycling in the fall will help weed the weakest packs from the herd.
2. Check the purchase date on your pack prior to model reactivation. Did you date your packs? Noting the purchase date in permanent marker should be a routine with new packs. Has this pack made it 3 seasons already? If it has made it 3 seasons, it’s time to replace it with a fresh one even if it’s still cycling well. It never seems like a good deal to “squeeze one more season” out of a pack if a model is lost doing so. There are no battery experts in the industry, nor any magazine writers that are willing to dare recommending using packs beyond 3 years. Most recommend only 2 years. The incident of surprise failures increases with each season. It’s much cheaper “not” to find out how long it will take to have a failure. Think about it.
3. Similar to a new pack, a pack having been in storage for some time is in need of a slow “forming charge.” A forming charge is a simple full-to-overflowing charge on a non-peak detecting charger like your factory wall wart. While in storage the cells slowly discharge. Not every cell will discharge at the same speed. After a few months, you could have one cell at 80%, one at 60% and two at 50%. When form charging, It’s important the charge rate does not exceed 10% of the packs mili-amp-hour (mah) value when doing this procedure. This type of charge allows all the cells to fill fully and the first cells to fill won’t be overheated by the ongoing charge. The danger of peak charging a pack that has been in storage is the best cell (the 80% full one) can be ruined as it’s overcharged while the other 3 are still filling up. Also, your pack may false peak meaning that although the charger reports it is full, it really might not be. Re-equalize the cells with a good long slow wall charger charge prior to any peak charging to avoid most problems.
4. Test for Capacity. Discharge the pack on your favorite charger (with discharge function). For the purposes of this kind of test, the correct rate to test against factory rating is 20% or 1/5 of the rated capacity. It’s ok if you can’t get that setting exactly, just get it close. Example: A 1000mah pack would be tested at 200mah discharge. Most chargers will display this as .2A. Your pack should test at least 80% of it’s rated capacity. If it does not, then a few more charge / discharge cycles are in order. If you can’t get the pack to test above 80%, it’s time to replace it. Although it might seem like a money saver to succumb to temptation and overlook marginal packs, one crashed model will pay for a great many replacement battery packs. And that’s to say nothing of the risk to others when a model goes out of control. Good pack or no go!
5. When you recharge the pack after your final discharge test, check the charger input mah. Did it put in about the right amount? A pack that’s been in storage, particularly if you’ve skipped the step of re-forming it is very prone to a false peak. A great pack that tests perfect but only takes 50% of the expected recharge amount could cause some unwelcome excitement.
6. Test your Switch. First, use a loaded tester to check your fully charged pack directly. Note the value then test it through the switch harness. If it tests good directly but marginal through the switch, it might be a sign the switch is getting dirty internally, worn or perhaps some connectors are going south. Like battery packs, finding out how long a switch will last is costly knowledge to acquire. It’s a good idea to replace the switch with every other new battery just to avoid trouble. Load testing your pack with and without the switch harness looking for any substantial difference is a good way to detect a problem before starting the season. Did you notice what I omitted? After checking the battery through your switches charge lead or charge jack, unplug it from the RX, turn the switch to the “ON” position and check it again. Is it load testing similar to the charge jack/charge pigtail? The most important place for your pack to deliver it’s energy is to the RX. Make sure it’s solid to this point, not just the charge harness.
Integrate these practices into your seasonal routines and many common pitfalls are avoided. Don’t forget to scrutinize your TX battery in similar fashion. Ongoing TX function is every bit as important as RX functionality.
Dave Thacker, Owner: RadicalRC.com
Blogsite: Radical RC Workbench
007 Quad Style
Full TED Talk Below: