RC Flying Today
MORE ON SELF-LAUNCHING SAILPLANES: Since publication of the May '93 issue of Model Aviation, I have received several enthusiastic comments about including self-launching sailplanes (SLS) in the National Soaring Society (NSS). Mike McQuisten, of Potter Valley, California, wrote: "Your (May) column made my day. Tell it to the LSF. [They're allowed to read this column, too, Mike. GMM] ". . . Yesterday, I got a 1.5-hour flight with power left over to get me back over the fence, if necessary. To each his own. I've got mine! Keep up the good work."
RC Flying Today: Digits & Data
Electric-powered models don't perform well when they're too heavy. Working on one of them should cause a modeler to gain a strong interest in weight control. Some modelers have purchased the Pelouze PE5 Digital Postal Scale to weigh model parts. The price is about $60, and it weighs objects up to five pounds. It indicates weight in either grams or ounces at the touch of a button, and it shuts itself off after a few minutes to save the battery. But is it accurate enough to weigh a servo (10 to 15 grams)?
RC Flying Today: A New Midwest Flying Field
LYLE STOLFUS, RR#1, Fredericksburg, IA [tel.: (319) 237-5807] called in response to my article, "Where can I fly?" in the October '91 issue of MA. Lyle wants us to know that he has converted four acres of his farm into a model airport (MAPT). He has named it the North Four Flying Field. There is a 650 × 65-ft. sod runway, aligned north/south to suit the prevailing winds; parking for 100 cars; plus big spool-type tables with tie-downs for models and electric lights for packing up after dark. There are no problems, except for bugs in season.
Radio Technique
Equipment manufactured to a Type Acceptance certificate issued to the manufacturer by the FCC can be legally used for RC flying so long as it is on one of the 50 "Aircraft Only" 72 MHz channels or six "all models" 27 MHz channels approved for RC use by the FCC. If you have an Amateur Radio Operator's license, you can fly in the ten 50 MHz or eight 53 MHz channels. That's 74 channels available! You have a right to fly Type Accepted equipment until it either wears out or you dispose of it. So, you can fly what you have in 1991 and beyond.
Radio Technique
A LEADER RETIRES. Bob Aberle-past chairman of the AMA Frequency Committee, prolific model designer/builder/tester, and Technical Editor of Flying Models magazine for the past 15 years-has retired from writing for model magazines. He has not retired from working for a living as a manager in a large aerospace firm. Bob is one of my best friends, and I can testify that he put more time and effort each and every week into being FC chairman, writing, and photography than most people put into the jobs that pay their way through life. That's what filled a file cabinet at AMA HQ, and made his writing good enough to earn the McEntee medal from the WRAMs.
