District IV
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia
Communications. I have been preaching about this in all forms for years. Communications range from urgent, such as Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) issued by the FAA, to when and where the next club meeting is. When I first started as the District IV vice president, I received a lot of club newsletters that were filled with club updates and topics about all of the different activities we enjoy. Understandably, the newsletter has practically died because of social media and the time commitment it takes for someone to produce it. Newsletters are like little documents of history and are a great club benefit.
In May, I received a newsletter edited by District IV Associate Vice President Nic Burhans from one of our district chapters that consists of three clubs in Virginia: the Fauquier Aero Recreation Modelers (FARM) in Bealeton, the Culpepper Model Barnstormers in Brandy Station, and the Lake of the Woods Community RC club in Lake of the Woods. Inside of those pages were announcements, meeting minutes, club reports, event calendars, tips, and project articles such as the excerpt below.
Rather than cutting the original firewall out, I epoxied a 1/4-inch plywood doubler with countersunk "T-nuts" over the existing firewall. The next surprise was that, of course, no provision was made for any equipment other than the engine, fuel tank, and radio gear, so battery and ESC placement became an issue. Some carving on the wing opened up an area behind the leading edge (LE) for a battery to fit. This required some additional structure to make up for hacking into the rather large LE.
Some carving on the wing opened an area behind the LE to make room for the battery.
The basic design of the Dazzler is thin and "stick"-like, with the radio gear installed in the underside of the center of the wing. Other than the outside of the fuselage, this was the only area where the ESC could fit, but that left no room for the radio. To ensure cooling and to provide extra space, I made a new "belly" pan that added both depth and a cooling inlet for the ESC. This was inspired by the radiators you see on World War II fighters such as the Spitfire, Hurricane, and Mustang.
Culpepper Model Barnstormers President Gordon Collyer submitted the following article titled "ARFness."
I seem to have arrived at ARF-land with several ARF projects lining up. Not to complain because everybody knows that ARF quality has gone up in recent years, but I do miss the deliberate evolution of wood, sawdust, framing, and covering—the magic of super glue!
The original belly pan and the enlarged replacement.
The final result is pictured. Not too bad, I guess—and, hey! I got to cut some wood and use some epoxy and CA, so I'm happy!
The Great Planes Dazzler—now electrified!
Go fly and have fun safely.
