Letters to the Editor
5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Corrections
On page 40 of the April issue there was an incomplete listing for Toytronix LLC. The correct information is Toytronix LLC (RTF airplanes with radios, indoor blimp, parts, supplies), (866) 472-8697 (toll-free 24 hours); Web site: www.ReadyToFlyFun.com.
Also in the April issue, on page 33, contact information for a supplier of electric flight-simulation software was incorrect. ElectriCalc can be obtained through SLK Electronics (Sid Kauffman), 2906 Charolais Dr., Greensboro NC 27406; Tel.: (336) 676-1681; Fax: (336) 676-9707; Web site: www.SLKelectronics.com.
Our apologies.
MA staff
Product Reviews
The column “Modeling Spoken Here” by Bob Hunt in the March issue of Model Aviation was right on. I believe that AMA should be encouraged to publish nonbiased reviews of products. If AMA cannot provide a nonbiased review, I don’t know who can.
I joined AMA last summer and have been flying RC aircraft since July. I find myself hunting for articles that review various model aircraft, especially the flying characteristics. For a relatively new flier, it is nice to know which aircraft might meet my needs the best.
One of my other hobbies is amateur radio. The governing organization that is similar to AMA in that hobby is the American Radio Relay League (www.arrl.org). They have had a regular feature in their magazine, QST, for years that reviews new amateur radio equipment. They have done a great job of doing nonbiased reviews of products that have greatly benefited ARRL members.
I am sure that AMA can now just as good a review program and one that will be a great addition to Model Aviation magazine. I find myself buying other magazines now to get the product reviews. It will be great to get reviews from Model Aviation in the future. Thanks for a great magazine that is about to get even better!
Terry Brown Corvallis, Oregon
Electronics Help
I read the “Electronics” column by Eloy Marez in the March 2002 AMA magazine. I also am having trouble with too much ailerons, especially during landing. The article was just what I needed.
I have an Airtronics VG 400 system and I installed it like the article suggested, but the aileron control failed to function.
I found some 20k ohm trim pots in my box of used electronics parts and placed one on either side of the aileron pot. This was instead of one pot in the middle, and the system worked.
I found that by adjusting one trim pot I can limit the amount of movement I get in the ailerons, and by adjusting the other one I can center the ailerons. This allows the system to be balanced so aileron movement is equal. By adding a bypass switch, I’m able to return to normal operations.
Roger Ove Apache Junction, Arizona
Electric Issue
What a pleasant surprise to see electric-powered models showcased in the April issue of MA. I’ve been fooling around with Electrics for almost 20 years and think Bob Aberle’s article does a good job of summarizing the history and current state of EP (electric power). I also appreciate the listing of suppliers at the end of the article.
My only “gripe” is that Mitch Poling was not mentioned. He was writing articles and columns on electric power way before anyone else, and his fine book Electric-Powered Model Aircraft was the first of its kind to be published in the U.S. On top of that, Mitch is a swell guy.
Frank Korman Dallas, Texas
The Right Airplane!
“Dick just built the wrong airplane!” is a quote from the April 2002 edition of Model Aviation “Letters to the Editor” column.
The article by Dick Sarpolus relative to his rendition of the Harold deBolt-designed All American is as near as one can get when transferring design parameters from a fully controlled model to one which might best be described as remote controlled.
One has to realize that some leeway must be given when a model design is transferred from flying in one type of restricted environment to one where all types of forces are acting on the aircraft, and thus exact moments such as wing to tail spacing should wisely be adjusted in an attempt to give the copied model a half chance in the somewhat freer flying mode it is now being adapted to.
That the fuselage when extended may look like a Magician design, maybe so, but then if we start going down the profile of the various Control Line designs, we may indeed see some similarity in profile layout and in the change the wing tips at all would render the All American a totally different model.
As the only legal purveyor of the DeBolt Model Engineering Company (DMECO) Control Line, Free Flight, and Radio Control plans, I have been approached numerous times about the feasibility of adopting one of Mr. deBolt’s old Control Line designs to Radio Control. Indeed, here was a good example by Mr. Sarpolus to do just that.
In my correspondence with Dick he mentioned what he had in mind and I described to him various other models who were also in the process or may have already created some of these ambitious projects. Many of these modelers are doing this for fun and should be lauded for their efforts.
I have had correspondence with a chap who took a Trixter CL (Control Line) design, doubled it, and is flying same via Radio Control. I also know that somewhere out there in the vast modeling region, there are two, possibly three Stewweguns in the process of building or perhaps built and may have already flown. Now this design would have to take some fuselage modification for the longitudinal stability factor when going to the RC spectrum. Who knows? That fuselage when profiled may have “Magician” written all over it.
I believe the twin-engine profile A-2 Twin is the other tooling around the sky with what looks I know not, and, hey, who was that chap that was going to do a Super Bipe—a very large one at that? I hope his project is moving along as well. Hey, is there an RC Nobler out there too? Perhaps a closing statement here: let us not detract from a model builder’s attempt to try something new out of something old. I would imagine we may see more of these created CL to RC designs in the future, as Mr. Sarpolus has managed to have his design update published and in so doing may encourage others who have been successful to see about the possibility of showing the modeling community what they too have recreated from the past.
To Dick Sarpolus, a design well done.
Fran Pastziewicz Tonawanda, New York
Perpetuate the Hobby
To start off, I would like to thank Jack Frost for showcasing the efforts of Gregg Stockdale and the Santa Fe Dam R/C Modelers in the April “Focus on Education” column. Nice article, super program.
I guess the big question I have is, why do we (meaning the AMA) bury this kind of information way back on page 151, right after the “Modeler’s Mall” and just before the district reports? I’m sure most of the Model Aviation readers “dread” right on past. And I’ll bet that the few readers who did take the time to at least read the first two paragraphs rationalized to themselves that community involvement is “someone else’s job.”
Why doesn’t the AMA research and publish feature articles outlining the successful community involvement projects that sanctioned clubs around the country have been able to implement? (And I will not accept the usual answer from the AMA that it’s the district’s responsibility for this or that the AMA tries to give the general membership what they want; this subject is just too important.)
This type of published article gives us valuable ammunition to arm ourselves when we approach a city, county, or state official for assistance in keeping a flying site or in searching for a new one. When an individual can include community involvement articles that were published in our national...
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
