MOVING ON UP: JOE MAKES CAPTAIN
By Joe Malinchak | joemal@echoes.net
AS I WRITE THIS, I am preparing for another milestone in my life. I was recently awarded a captain position with American Airlines on the Airbus A320. I was a captain before spending more than 22 years in the left seat flying turboprops; however, I have only been employed by American Airlines for a little more than 5 years.
It would normally take 10 to 15 years to move to the left seat at a mainline carrier. With all of the mandatory retirements at age 65 and the lack of qualified pilots, it is only taking 3 to 5 years to upgrade to a captain position, depending on the aircraft you are on. Training consists of 3 to 4 weeks of ground and simulator training, and then time in the airplane with a check pilot on some revenue trips.
American Airlines plans to hire as many as 2,000 pilots this year, so if anyone is interested in a career in aviation, now is a good time to start!
Finding the Right Motor for Micro RC Airplanes
I received several emails from readers asking what the right motor is for use in micro RC model aircraft. The answer can be a tricky one.
The first question to ask is: What kind of performance are you looking for? Is it going to be an aerobatic, scale, or slow-flying aircraft? Next, do you want to use a brushed or brushless motor? Brushless motors work great but might not be appropriate in some micro RC situations. Small, lightweight brushless motor controllers can be hard to find. Sometimes a brushed motor will provide as much performance using a lightweight receiver that has a built-in brushed motor controller.
factors. The first is the model’s ready-to-fly weight. For a 5-gram, ready-to-fly, slow-flying model, 3 grams of thrust should be enough. If you want aerobatic performance, aim for 4 to 5 grams of thrust.
Drag is another big factor in considering which motor you will need. With a biplane that has lots of drag, a more powerful motor would be necessary.
Finding the right motor can be a challenging and fun part of a model’s design. I often choose a motor first and design a model around it!
Lorne Hughes’ 1/48-Scale Spitfire
Lorne Hughes designed a beautiful 1/48-scale Spitfire that has a 9-inch wingspan and weighs only 7.7 grams ready to fly. Lorne molded his own foam parts with panel lines, and other details were molded into the foam.
He also made his own custom resin-printed ball-bearing gear drive that bolts to a resin bulkhead with little resin nuts. It uses a 4 x 8mm 2.7-ohm motor. His propeller blades are made of Garolite and attach to a resin propeller hub. The entire engine system and propeller can come apart for adjustment and part replacements. The model uses actuators for control and flies well on a 30 mAh LiPo battery cell.
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum WWII Weekend
The Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s 32nd Annual World War II Weekend will take place in Reading, Pennsylvania, on June 2-4, 2023. If you love seeing aircraft, vehicles, reenactments, and more from WWII, this is an event for you!
I am on the schedule to fly my L-4 Grasshopper again this year. If you attend, please stop by and say hello.
Sources:
RCGroups
www.rcgroups.com
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum
(610) 372-7333
www.maam.org
Mid-Atlantic Air Museum’s 32nd Annual WWII Weekend
www.maam.org/maamwwii.html
