International - Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers...Production Editor Roger Lombard [[email protected]] Yeardsley Hall Farm, Furness Vale, High Peak, Derbyshire SK23 7PS,

The Quarterly Journal of the Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers Winter 2011/12

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International

“About Turn” by Pete Moseley - see lead feature inside“About Turn - a tale of persistence and ultimate success”


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Production EditorRoger Lombard [[email protected]]

Yeardsley Hall Farm, Furness Vale,High Peak, Derbyshire SK23 7PS, tel 01663 742680

The Editorial Team:Steve Bentley - events, reporter and photographer

[email protected] Gregory - indoor flying organiser and reporter

[email protected] Troise - distribution

[email protected]:-0114 2307584

Our webmaster for the SSA club’s websitehttp://www.ssaclub.co.uk/

Robert Thresh [email protected]

CONTENTSAbout Turn - Pete Moseley page 4

Notes from America - Neil Carver page 8Chris Foss Phase 5 - Steve Bentley page 12

News from the indoor hall page 15Starting in indoor freeflight - Neil Stewart page 16

The Reaper comes home - Phil Clayton page 17Er -indoors - Richard Whiting page 18

News from the AGM page 20News from the electric fields page 21

Parish notices page 22Fred Fearn- Richard Tomlinson page 23

Parting shots page 23Our man down under - page 24


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EditorialPicture a dark winter’s morning. A promise of sleet in the air. Little stirs in thestreets of Sheffield but old chip wrappers and the occasional moggie returning fromwho knows what, carried out who knows where. Street lights glow dimly in thedawn. The noise and blare of the previous evening, your typical Sheffield Saturdaynight is but a distant memory.

But what is this? Picked up by the geostationary CIA spy satellite over Sheffield(you did realise, didn’t you?) there are signs of movement in the darkened suburbs.Huddled figures scuttle under the cover of the diminishing darkness and furtivelyslither into vehicles. The multiple objective lens of the satellite locks onto thedifferent locations and as the vehicles wheeze into life the computer starts trackingto see if there is a common destination.

There is! But what? The vehicles are collectively moving towards the south ofSheffield but to what end? Surely Chesterfield, although home to that notedaviator, glider guider and all round sage, John Vaughan, cannot be part of adastardly plot? Especially not masterminded by JV.

Finally, finally, the satellite zooms in on the final joint destination and picks upthese suspicious fellows who now, it is clear, not only have a common destinationbut are identified as a brotherhood by their choice of ordnance which will typicallytake the form of a brightly coloured box with the legend “HobbyZone Champ”emblazoned upon it.

The mystery is solved; it is no more and no less, the SSA Sunday morning indoorflyer congregation attending their place of worship – the Dronfield Leisure CentreSports Hall – under the spiritual guidance of father Terry Gregory. Disappointed,the satellite switches its attention back to the left hand front bedroom window ofnumber 152, Pingle Avenue, Millhouses where, on a Sunday morning there isnormally an activity display suitable for subsequent posting on YouTube. (Editor'snote: In the unlikely event that the occupants of 152, Pingle Avenue, are known toany readers of this journal it’s a misprint. We meant number 150. Or vice versa.)

Meanwhile, back in Dronfield, the air is filled with the hum of tiny brushless motorscalling the devout to prayer. Interspersed with the occasional mild oath orsplintering crash, minute structures of depron purr their way in an orderly (well,more or less) flight path within the confines of the hall. The rules are simple – stayas close as you can to the centre of the sky. Flying is much harder at the edge ofthe sky, defined by walls, basketball nets, hanging netting, roof girders, and thefloor. Nonetheless there those members of the congregation who are lured, as isthe moth to the candle, irresistibly towards these obstructions. Arrival at such anobstruction is accompanied by ritual hoots, concealed as guffaws and sundry insultsfrom the rest of the congregation. Such is the joy of the indoor hall.


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About Turn - a tale of persistence and ultimate successby Pete Moseley

Having only joined the club recently, I've only so far managed to sample the delightsof flying at Callow Bank a couple of times – Callow being about a 2 hour round tripfor me, it rather makes flying there something of a special occasion. As indeed isany slope soaring rather special, as 'living on the flat' in the Mansfield area meansmost of my flying is electric powered, so I have nothing as yet to offer Gladys on theslope front. But because the club also does 'flat field flying' too, so maybe theremight be some interested in the 'fun and games' I had with an own design, canardelectric glider I called ABOUT TURN..... or About Tern, when it's up thermalling withthe birds.

My intention was to make an electric powered canard which had, to some degree,the look of a real canard glider (if such a thing exists), as opposed to the proof ofconcept, functional, box shaped one which I’d built some 30 or so years earlier.

Work began with sketches – lots and lots of sketches, actually - and the constructionof several balsa and foam chuck gliders - experimenting with relationships of areas ofwings, foreplane and fin and of dihedral and centre of gravity - aiming for somethingwhich was stable and wanted to recover no matter what obscure angle, or with how-ever much sideways thrust I launched it.

Here you can see About Turn with some ofher diminutive parents!

Having built an own design, bungeelaunched canard glider over 30 years ago,and the fact that it had almost flownstraight off the building board, withoutproblems – I admit, I was hardly expectingthe climb to success for About Turn, to bequite so steep, or quite so long - or to beso littered with crashes!

My problems started on the first flight,back in April of 2007 - it revealed within a couple of seconds of launch that launchingwas not a good idea - I had no control - or so I thought. I later found I had only lostaileron control and if I'd been wearing my Joe 90 glasses, I'd have known that andcould have steered it perfectly well with the rudder.The reason that the pilot had to bail-out at just 10 feet, lay not with the fact it was acanard, but it hinged on the fact that this was the first time I had decided to use ‘in-dustrial standard' 9 pin D connectors at the join point between wing and fuselage,connecting through the aileron and flap servos.You see, the wings used ‘rod in tube’ fixings to the fuselage and were held in positionby a tight elastic band - from the hook at the root of one wing, through a tube acrossthe fuselage to a hook on the other wing root - hence the two wing halves were


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pulled tightly together, gripping the fuselage – and so the D connectors were heldfirmly connected… except that is, at the mo-ment of launch - when they weren’t !The inertia of the long wings as the plane wasthrown meant they overcame the elastic bandtension and slid away from the fuselage justenough for the connectors to disconnect(about 1 to 2 millimeters) and the elastic bandwas not strong enough to overcome the fric-tion to force them to reconnect again….. re-sult – within a few seconds the stuck electronsbuilt up a strong magnetic attraction for theonly brickwork within 300yards - luckily thedamage was very light – the brickwork wasn'teven marked.

This problem of the wings pulling out, was overcome by fitting a couple of brasstubes into which a ‘staple’ fashioned from piano wire, was pushed - so meaning thewings could not slide away from the fuselage - not even half a millimetre!

…a tad crude, but easy and effective.

Subsequent attempts at flight proved -

1. The motor needed more downthrust. (resulted in crash damage as it tried to standon it’s tail!)

2. The ailerons were ineffective as the down going one produced bags of drag and soadverse yaw (resulted in bad crash damage to fuselage) …. corrected by going to100% aileron differential I.e. only up-going aileron movements.

3. Applying up tended to turn it left - found the piano wire coupling the two halvesof the elevator on the foreplane had dug itself a bigger and bigger slot in the balsa -so when up was applied, the servo moved the right half of the elevator down (downelevator on the canard pushes the nose up) but if you simulated flight loading, thecross wire link to the left half of the elevator was hardly moving it at all - so the ele-vator was acting as a mini aileron system - cured by dismantling the elevator andepoxying the link wire really well to the elevator halves.

4. The chuck gliders had given me a position for the c of g and this appeared to be okon the first few flights - but then on a flight disturbance I had the case where themain wing stalled before the foreplane (a real bad thing on a canard) and she wentinto a very, very flat sycamore seed type rotation - just like she was an autogiro -descending very slowly - quite a sight – like an 8 foot sycamore seed ! (first time thisoccurred I almost managed to pull out of it - but needed about 20 foot more height -Fuselage snapped in two ..… a second time it happened, I just left it to spin slowlyall the way to the ground - gentle touch down and no damage !)So, I moved the balance point forwards a little with more nose lead, and then shewas gliding nose heavy and needed full up all the time - I re-rigged the foreplane to ahigher incidence angle, but that pushed the foreplane into a stalled angle, so the


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nose still didn’t lift as was needed - only thing was to get more lift from the fore-plane by increasing it’s area a little - so, made it slightly bigger - put incidence backto what it had been - and that cured that !

5. The motor cut after about 3 mins flight due to the ESC overheating - so I added acouple of cooling holes and air scoops – another problem cured.

6. The very thin, 30 something year-old, undercambered wings - which I had modi-fied to use on this plane had always, on a previous plane, been prone to flutter when-ever the normal loading on them was reduced by applying any amount of down - andon this plane it was no different - they just lacked twist rigidity.So I opened them up and added some diagonal sub-ribs – and that appears to havecured that.

And so now - now she appears to fly pretty much ok.

Fitted with 8 cell Nimh 2200mAh flight battery that weighs in a 15oz, the total AUWis exactly 5 pounds. - due in part to the wings. You see, 30 odd years ago a place wasselling furniture type veneer very very cheap and, at the time, I obviously was waymore than tempted to cover the wings in it - it has a density similar to concrete !

Motor - unusual for a canard - is up front - it’s a brushless AXI 2814-12

Currently on 35Mhz Rx – the antenna wire goes through one of the D connector pinsand routes inside one of the wings... .with hindsight, not one of the most sensible ofthings to do.

In the picture below you can see how the battery is slid into the fin - also see theposition eventually arrived at for the c of g : 130mm forwards of the main wing lead-ing edge.

And here we have the result of that lack ofcontrol which resulted from insufficient ailer-on differential.


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As you will understand, this caused a slight pause in the development program!

Split flaps to act as air-brakes … on a canard a down going flap would be read asdown elevator and an up-going flap as up elevator, so the braking achieved on a con-ventional plane, by having a flap go down to about 80degrees, is not possible on acanard - hence getting around this by having, on each wing, half the flap go up andhalf down !

Don’t know what it is - I just find something appealing about the canard layout.In the air, looks like a swan ….. with red wings !!?

She has just been upgraded to using Lipo Batteries and with the batteries being sitedin the rear fin area, the lighter batteries have enabled me to remove a couple ofounces of nose weight – when the wind calms down a little, we'll see how she goes.But I know full well, she'll be only too pleased to have lost some weight.


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Notes from Americaby Neil Carver

First things first. As some of you know I am new to r/c and free flight flying so Iwould like to exploit this opportunity to thank all the club members (and non clubflyers) who have helped this novice into the air and back to the ground, mainly inone piece. I still have a crib sheet that says; ‘Transmitter first’ but I’m getting there.

And so to the States. Between jazz gigs in New York and eating seafood to die for inGloucester (of ‘Perfect Storm’ fame), my Boston based friend Evan and I recentlyspent 2 days in some kind of east coast aviation heaven. Apart from the opportunityfor us to indulge in shared passions for micro brewing and flight, the visit also of-fered our spouses some well earned respite from things aviation.

Old Rhinebeck and the Collings Foundation are both, at a push, in driving distance ofBoston. Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome, often known as ORA was the first port of call, ona breezy but very warm Saturday. It’s not a really fair comparison but if you think ofan American ‘Shuttleworth Trust’ you aren’t that far off from the idea of ORA. Hometo a large collection of pre 1945 airframes it offers regular, often weekly air showsand bargain flights in a 1929 New Standard open cockpit biplane. This wonderful ma-chine takes 4 passengers up over the scenic Hudson River valley, original home of theMohicans and judging by the landscaped grounds visible from a few thousand feet up,current home to a fair few rich folk.

Rhinebeck’s owners have attempted to capture the feel of an early aerodrome andthe field has at least some of the barnstorming spirit of aviation’s pioneering years,with reconstructions of early ‘hangars’ and period vehicles moving round the site.Their collection of airframes not only contains a 1909 Voisin but claims its Bleriot tobe: ‘the oldest flying aircraft in the United States and the second oldest flying air-craft in the world…’


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ORA owes its existence to a Cole Palen who began rescuing, restoring and buildingearly planes as early as 1951. Rhinebeck became his life’s work. Why Palen everthought this particular, admittedly beautiful, clearing was a good bet for an airfieldis beyond me. I had in mind the basic prerequisite for an aerodrome was a flat bitwhich would enable planes to take off and land. At ORA planes taxi over the top of ahill and actually vanish from sight before reappearing and bouncing off the crest ofthe hill to become airborne. You really do hear them before you see them. The treessurrounding the grass strip are also tall, leading to some interesting approaches on

landing. When I say “interesting” I meaninteresting to view from the spectator seat-ing. Pay that modest fee and those treescan be witnessed (through authentic gog-gles) from the cockpit of the 1929 Standard.This makes for an experience some wouldcall “exhilarating”. The word I would use is

“terrifying” but in a good way.

Why Palen chose Rhinebeck as the locationfor an airfield may actually have had noth-ing to do with aviation.Apparantly the landwas pretty cheap as it included the site ofan unsolved murder.

As well as regular full air shows Rhinebeckalso hosts significant RC events, again with an emphasis on early flight. The followinglink gives you footage of the 2010 Rhinebeck RC Jubilee. This featured 110 pilots,flying more than 330 First War and pre-1940s models, some half scale. Impressivestuff. ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEfifygiipo&feature=related-)

Alas there was no model flying on the day of our visit but there was enjoyment to behad in viewing a collection of Palen’s ventures into aero modelling, as well as theextensive range of RC/ free flight and static models in the display hangers. A stiff


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wind took its toll on the flying but even a replica 1910 Hanriot and a partly original1914 Caudron managed short, perfectly executed hops.

While the passion for early flying undoubtedly burns bright at Rhinebeck, there ishowever a sense the organisation could benefit from an injection of cash. Sometimes,just sometimes, what passes as ‘period atmosphere’ looks a little like neglect. This isno criticism of Rhinebeck as an outfit but more to do with our collective inability totruly do justice to a vast aviation heritage, even in the richest of countries. VisitRhinebeck though and (crosswinds not withstanding) I guarantee you will not be dis-appointed. The flight in the Standard has to be on everyone’s “must do” list. Timeyour visit to coincide with Fathers’ Day weekend, as we did, and you have also pro-vided an answer to your loved one’s difficult question: What should we buy dad?

Leaving Rhinebeck and heading back to Boston a short diversion took us through thetown of Sheffield, population; 3,257. Despite its size this particular Sheffield has atleast 2 things the one we know well doesn’t have: great burgers (really great burg-ers) and a reconstructed wooden ‘Covered Bridge’. No football though.

Sunday took us to the Collings Foundation in Stow, Massachusetts. Their museum andlanding strip sit in another beautiful clearing and like Rhinebeck the site is also sur-rounded by sizeable trees. The purpose built museum is in stark contrast toRhinebeck though. Part modelled on a classic ‘Shaking Quaker’ Round Barn it housesan utterly immaculate collection of planes and automobiles. Whoever dusts at Coll-ings deserves a medal. Never has chrome gleamed so much

Like Rhinebeck, Collings is also happy to gets its wings dirty. In essence it’s a non-profit making educational organisation specialising in ‘living history’ events. Theserange from winter ice cutting festivals (ice manufacturing was a massive industry inthis part of the world) to the ‘Wings of Freedom Tour’. This spectacular involvestheir B24 Liberator, B17 Flying Fortress and P51 apparently endlessly touring theStates and dropping in at an airfield ‘near you’. Their collection of airworthy planesalso includes another 1909 Bleriot and at the other end of the preservation scale, theonly civilian operated F-4D Phantom in existence. Cash seems in good supply at Coll-ings and it needs to be; their insurance costs for the F4 alone must be boggling.

The Collings aircraft fleet is based at several sites so the collection at Stow is modestin size but not to be scoffed at, including as it does the Bleriot and a FieslerStorch.The consolation for the visitor for a small number of airframes is the displayof some 66 historically significant automobiles and racing cars. It’s an impressive col-lection. Put it this way: as a rule I don’t even like cars. I was bowled over at CollingsOne of the more popular of the exhibited automobiles is a 1940 Cadillac v-16, onceowned by that colourful character, Al Capone. Two machine guns were found in theboot.

As a museum Collings only holds a few open days through the year and the Fathers’Day event featured RC displays by members of Evan’s flying club; ‘The Charles RiverRadio Controllers’. Founded in 1964 and one of the oldest RC clubs in New Englandthey range far and wide, even using slope soaring on the Cape Cod beaches, althoughthe presence of breeding Piping Plovers limits flying for several months of the year.


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There were no plovers (or gliders) present on this open day though and the RC flyingmainly featured theclubs bigger and baddermodels

Their impressive displayalternated with arrivalsand departures of theCollings T 6 Texan andBoeing Stearman biplane,both engaged in yetmore Fathers’ Day giftflights.

I believe the Texan has a reputation for loudness but I am convinced the RC model(pictured here in the smoke) won on decibels ( if not looks).

The flights were a tad pricey in comparison to Rhinebeck, but to be fair offered fullaerobatics and the chance to take the stick.

The day had began sunny and the wind had died down which I guess suited the RCfliers. In that part of the world though, that sort of morning often leads to a lesspleasant afternoon. Sure enough, as the day wore on the blue sky slowly became anevil purple murk and the humidity mounted to levels I had never experienced. Wellbefore the thunder brought relief we were holed up at a friend of Evans, with plentyof cold beer, air-conditioning and the most impressive sound system I have ever seen.The sound of a radial or the roar of a prop-hanging RC plane might make for beautifulmusic, but for me Ellington still has the best tunes.


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Chris Foss-Phase FiveBy Steve Bentley

My desire to have a Phase Five grew from reading numerous bits and pieces on theinternet, and how it was a great model to fly. The availability between it, the PhaseSix and Middle Phase, is that the latter two are in kit form, the Five is not. Plans forit and all the other gliders (other than the P6 and MP) that Chris Foss designed arestill available, and so I sent off for said plan.

The Five is different in so many ways to the other two models that any family resem-blance is in the name ‘Phase’. Briefly, the wing section is an Eppler 374, at the root,and changes over the span to a fully symmetrical section at the tip. The stabiliser isall-flying, with the rudder operated via a closed loop system. It spans six feet, and isa bigger model overall than a Six. Aesthetics are subjective, but I think it’s alsomuch more pleasing to the eye.

Fuselage sides are cut from balsa, (unlike the ply sides that the P6 and MP use) whichif using 36” sheet has to be scarfed into another piece to get the length required.Inside the sides, spruce longerons are glued on the edges to afford support and a plat-form to fix top and bottom sheeting. Once the basic construction is put together, thetwo sides are brought together with the formers inserted. It’s well worth investing inspring clamps and at least two set squares to ensure everything lines up as the adhe-sive is setting. For the first time, I departed from using Evo Stick PVA and bought abottle of aliphatic resin. It dries to a fluorescent yellow, very strong, and is easier tosand when it’s set.

The fin section is a hollow affair, built up to allow the insertion of a built up box thatcarries the crank for the all-moving tail. I cheated and used the one from a long goneMultiplex Cularis, a little fettling here and there, and it fitted in the space available,with a pushrod made from carbon fibre rod supported in nylon tubes inside the fuse-lage. The rudder is operated as mentioned; on the ballast box front edge under thewing seat is the tiller, which is in turn connected via a steel rod to the servo in thenose.

The fin is fixed to the tail of the builtup fuselage and to give extra support Iran 1/16 balsa sheet down the fuselagebridging the join. Once all sanded in, itlooks part of the structure, adding verylittle weight. I have changed thingshere and there to the original plan,usually using different materials, but inplaces for access. The stabiliser forinstance; I sandwiched 1/16 ply be-tween balsa, cutting slots to let in twocarbon fibre tubes for the pivot andactuating rods that bridge between thetwo halves, through the fin. Once com-plete, the fuselage and tail section


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were covered in lightweight glass cloth, applied with Ronseal Diamond hard floorvarnish. It’s similar to Poly C, and dries to a nice finish, easy to sand, and little odour.

Wings were going to be made by a proprietary foam wing maker, skinned in obechi,but cost was a factor in convincing me I could build them far cheaper as Mr Foss in-tended. It isn’t that straightforward (the initial reason why I was going to have themmade). They are made off the plan, upside down initially using a jig made fromblocks of balsa. I say ‘they’. The plan has only the starboard wing drawn (which isthe port when you build it inverted!), so the plan has to be held up to a light source(window) and the outline, rib and spar positions drawn through on the reverse.

The ribs are 18 pieces of 1/16 balsa, bolted and sandwiched between two rib profilesmade from aluminium/ply/brass. Or in my case, foamex plastic sheet. The sandwichfilling is planed/filed/sanded to shape and then unscrewed to release the ribs forplacing between the leading and trailing edge spars. Then begins the placing of mainspars, sheeting and sheer webs along the full span which help build into a very stiffstructure once complete.

Then the fun begins. The flaps and ailerons are a continuation of the semi/fully sym-metrical wing; therefore, they too have to be carved as such from balsa sheet. Theplan was drawn pre computer radios and mini servos, and shows a novel way of actu-ating the inner and outer ailerons from a centrally mounted servo, buried in the root.I, of course, have put two mini metal-geared servos in each wing, the servo wellshaving had their cables inserted under the leading edge sheeting.

The tip blocks are made up from ply and balsa sandwich, and after gluing to the ends,carved and sanded to shape. Both sides of the wings are again covered in glass cloth,and when all dried, sanded smooth. The centre section at this point is the focus ofattention as the joining spar and D connectors carrying the servo cables all vie forthe same square inch of space. It is also reinforced with hard wood and ply, which isdrilled and lined with tubes; these will locate the two nylon wing holding bolts.

The centre open section is covered on the topside with balsa sheet, and the bottomside with 1/16 ply, to help support the D connectors, although they’re also screwedinto spruce mountings beneath. The exposed wood is again glass clothed before thefuselage ply plates that carry the T nuts that locate the nylon bolts are dry fitted,before epoxying and screwing the two together until it’s set.

Finishing is with pro-film, although Chris Foss used nylon in his original example. Imounted the wing servos on the hatches and these are screwed onto spruce bearersin the wells. The geometry has the inner aileron/flap horns on the top surface, andthe outer on the bottom, meaning the inner control rods exit through the top surfacewell covers. Getting the correct rod lengths and maximising the mechanical advan-tages proved to be a lengthy affair, but I got there in the end - although crow brakeslater proved to be superfluous.

Weatherwise I didn’t have to wait that long, and a promised good forecast on thefollowing Sunday was aimed for. Arriving at the slope it was a bit murky, but by the


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time everything was set up, and I was dressed for the occasion things started lookingup. Ian Stromberg was with me and offered to launch it for a maiden flight.

It went up, wings level, but with noticeably too much up elevator. This was trimmedout, but a note made to alter it mechanically. It also had too much aileron throw,nothing serious, and just depended on the stick movement, but I knew to alter it too..

Other than that, I was pleasantly surprised how well it flew. Landing was a non event,other than the instant decision not to use crow again! It pulled it up far too quickly,no need for it. The original didn’t have them, neither should this one!Second flight. Much better. It flew a more neutral flight path, going where it waspointed, crisp. Not enough ballast in it though…

Third flight: ballasted up with about 4oz it went like a scalded cat! Inverted andclimbing inverted a piece of cake. The only thing I noticed was that in rolls the differ-ential in the ailerons needed taking out as it was having a tendency to skew out, sothat was noted before the next flight.

Next flight: As before, much better, really great climber, axial rolls, zipping over theslope just as intended, until it came up close towards me, and as I turned away backacross the slope, it went down. Straight down, I don’t mean dive, just vertical fromhorizontal flight. It had hit turbulence close to the slope..

I knew it was very broken…Fuselage broken all the way around under the wing sad-dle. Wing escaped damage, wing T nut plates broken way from the fuselage, splin-tered balsa….Not good.

However; consensus at the slope was it would be fixable (I wasn’t convinced), and soit has proved to be, and the repair isn’t really noticeable. Two days later and it wasback carving up the sky.


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News from the indoor hall

As mentioned in the editorial our winter indoor flying sessions continue to be verypopular. The standard of flying varies from eye-wateringly good - especially by theyounger pilots present - to what often appear to be belated demonstrations from

pilots applying to fly one-way tickets for theJapanese Airforce at Pearl Harbour. What haschanged very noticeably since earlier years isthe presence of very capable ultra-microaircraft from Horizon Hobbies and HobbyZone. Anyone planning to fly a Hobbyzone Champ orParkZone J3 in one of the slow fly sessions hadbetter keep a VERY close eye on their aircraft asit circulates amongst upwards of a dozen otherapparently identical aircraft.

This trend is likely to continue, driven by new and exciting releases from HorizonHobby in particular. Next season could well see some brave soul doing an aerotow ofthe upcoming 34” E-flite UMX ASK21 behind the 24” E-flite UMX Carbon Cub. Or forthat matter we could see the first jet with an E-Flite 16” wingspan MiG15! Havingsaid that your editor recently enjoyed building a 22” wingspan White Monoplane fromthe USA Stevens Aero stable but distributed in this country by Micron RChttp://www.micronradiocontrol.co.uk/. They also have some of the stunning modelsfrom Zeke Brubaker at Park Scale, also in the US. These kits are astonishinglyreasonable - think in the range £20-£35 for many if not most and are all suppliedwith beautifully lasercut balsa parts which fit together very accurately. Thanks go toTerry Gregory and in his absence “down under” Tim Scowcroft, for organising thesessions. The venue remains the Sports Hall at Dronfield Civic Centre, Dronfield S181PD and the charge for adults remains at £2, juniors free.

Dates for the last few weeks of the SSA Winter indoor program 2012

March 4 11 18 25

April 1 8 Finished


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Starting in indoor free flight“The hassle free way to fly”

By Neil Stewart

Gymminie Cricket Dart

Either of the models indicated are a good introduction to indoor free flight. Kits forboth are available cheaply from the BMFA. The gymminie cricket plan is on the BMFAwebsite and can be downloaded free of charge.

Dart

This can be built as per the instructions. However don’t use balsa cement to attachthe tissue to the wooden framework, if you do the flying surfaces will warp. A PVAwater based glue is better, and you can use cyano for fixing the dihedral.

Gymminie Cricket

Again don’t use balsa cement to attach the covering, and don’t put it on too tight.Some people water shrink the tissue before attaching it to the model. If you want todo that simply lay your tissue out on an old towel or such and lightly dampen it. Whendried cover the model with it. It goes without saying that you should never useshrinking dope on either of these models.


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Flying

Both of these models will fly outdoors on a calm dry day, however they are reallydesigned to be flown indoors. Both models should be flown in left hand circles as smallmodels do not like a right turn. This is usually done by fixing a trim tab to the fin andbending it to the left. I usually use celluloid from a Christmas card box stuck on withcyano. The Cricket might not need one depending on how you have set your fin, butthe Dart certainly will to circle in our hall. The Dart will also need a trim tab on theport wing, and this should be bent down. This is to hold the wing up in the turn. Whatyou are aiming for is a climbing left turn. The Cricket might need one too, you’ll soonfind out when you fly it. The rubber in the kits is pretty useless, too thick and tooshort, but you can get some proper stuff at Bradway when you come to the indoorsession.

Well that’s about it for this time. Don’t forget the indoor free flight group meets onthe first Saturday of each month at the Scout Hall / gymnasium attached to BradwayPrimary School (formerly Sir Harold Jackson Primary School) Bradway Drive, SheffieldS17 4PD from 2 to 5pm. If you want any advice about indoor free flight you can contactme, Neil Stewart, on 0114 2848324.

The Reaper comes homeby Phil Clayton

In mid-July I was flying my Reaper, a combat wing sloper, on Callow Bank.The lastflight of the day saw me on my own. Flying all afternoon on a new but cheap NiCad800mah battery my increasing confidence saw me pushing the boundaries of heightdistance loops and rolls when without warning all control was lost and she went andshe went in heavy. After 3 hours or so searching in 5 foot high ferns I went homeshattered. Since then I have been searching on 5 different occasions down the slopeand with binoculars and zoom camera from the bottom road. On one visit I even had

three volunteers (Thank you). The more“she has gone, forget her” comments I gotfrom friends and family the moredetermined I became. On Friday 2nd

December, after flying her replacement,my new Spectre, in the afternoon I wentback down by car to the bottom road withbinoculars and scoured the vast slope.Nothing to be seen in my usual area but Inoticed an object over to the left. Couldthis be my reaper? Have the gremlinsmoved her? Back up the hill in my car and

once again the long walk down. To my surprise there she was nose in and on her topwith black belly up in the now dead ferns. So after nearly 5 months in the elementsmy Reaper has come home. A few days near a radiator she is almost perfect andready to lose,I mean fly, again. The only bit not working is my audible lost modeldevice. I must remember to put my name and address on all my models.


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er… Indoors?by Richard Whiting

With last summer having been so bad, one nervously contemplated the winter monthsthat loomed ahead, but perhaps we might take consolation in the opportunity forsome indoor flying.

My first experience of indoor flying was as a spectator at one of the earliest SSAsessions at Sheffield University Sports Hall, shortly before I moved up to Scotland.But my abiding memory of that event can be summarised under a few briefheadlines:-

1. Everything that took off crashed2. One of the club’s most illustrious flyers flew his Tiger Moth into a basketball

net3. One model got stuck high up on a window ledge and needed a three-stage

extension ladder and a window pole to get it down.4. Helicopter crashes resulted in a minor explosion with bits flying in all

directions5. I never stopped laughing the entire time.

I came away having made two decisions:-1. I must get an indoor model (and DID within the week)!2. I would seriously consider wearing a hard hat next time I went indoor

flying!

Sadly, I never went again in Sheffield as health problems put me out of action forsome time, forced me into early retirement, and eventually necessitated my movingnorth. Thankfully my health issues are now much less of a problem.

But up here, the local club flew i/c almost exclusively, and there was no opportunityfor indoor flying. So I flew alone, and in due course tried flying my little indoormodel outside on a windless day, but sadly its wings folded on the first flight, andthen again after repair, so regretfully it was binned. Eventually I made contact withsome other electric flyers up here, and with some members of the local club alsobecoming “enlightened” to electric flight, a welcome social aspect was added to thejoy of model flying. And at last in the past few months the opportunity has arisenonce again to participate in indoor flying at our newly-built Town Leisure Centre.

We are restricted to 2.4Ghz and fixed wing, but of course I now needed anotherindoor model, so I bought a cute little eRC Spitfire which weighs only about 1½ oz,came complete with TX and two batteries – everything needed to fly it in fact, andall for only about £50. And having never actually flown a model indoors before Iquickly found it is not quite as easy as you might think, because the strangest thingsstart to happen as you fly. The ceiling moves downwards, the floor moves upwardsto meet it, and the four walls all start to move inwards. The camouflage paint jobon my little Spitfire also merges nicely with the grey walls of the sports hall, causing


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it to keep disappearing momentarily. Then it flies up towards the fluorescent lightsand disappears into the glare – just like a real one going up-sun to bounce the huns.

The whole effect is to make it quite challenging, but huge fun.

Of course some of my fellow-flyers have quickly become very accomplished at flyingindoors and a wide range of models is now brought to each session - though with vary-ing degrees of success, - and some have had a very short life! To me the most im-pressive have been the little Parkzone models – Sukhois and Trojans mainly - but theyfly fast and you need quick reactions. But seeing them loop, roll and race in bunchesaround the hall is amazing. They also seem to be virtually unbreakable. Some flybigger depron models, and wring out the most impressive sequences of aerobaticsfrom them, with a minimum of airspeed.

As a way of keeping your hand in through the winter months it also provides a nicesocial event and a good laugh. Far more enjoyable than a simulator in fact. Ifyou’ve never tried it, why not give it a go – you probably won’t need the hard hat,but do take some glue!

Richard’s Spitfire

And a ParkZone T-28 Trojan


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News from the AGMShould we conclude from the slightly thin attendance at the AGM on the 1st December2011 at Bents Green Church Hall that the members are generally happy? Neil Stewartvolunteered to chair the meeting, welcomed those members present and thanked theprevious Chairman John Penton for the hard work he had put into the Club.

The Treasurer reported a healthy cash position and an increase in net assets of about5%. All outstanding issues have been provided for. Although the club’s component ofthe subscription stays the same, the BMFA element has increased by £2 for the seventyor so members who renew their BMFA membership through the club.

The club will be replacing the existing “tired” glider trainer with a new Middle Phaseand upgrading the club’s Futaba transmitter to 2.4 Ghz.

The licence to fly at Redmires is renegotiated and now stands in place for several years.

Membership at the year end was 118 which includes nine new members.

Indoor Free-Flight continues to enjoy a hard core of attendees at the sessions on thefirst Saturday of each month at the scout hall adjacent to Bradway Primary school. SeeNeil Stewart’s article elsewhere in this issue for further information.

The Slopers had a successful fly-in albeit delayed by weather. Thanks were given tothe people who helped out and especially Peter Bramhall for his mowing of the landingstrip. Barry Barker asked if an aerotow event could be arranged and this is to beinvestigated.

Outdoor electric flying - see the report on the next page.

Elections of officers (only new positions reported - other members of the committeeremain in post)

Chair Terry Gregory

Hon Sec Mike Stott (but since the AGM Mike has resigned in favour of John Lambert).Mike has done an excellent job over the years and will be a hard act to follow – I amsure the entire membership will agree he has earned our thanks but other commit-ments have drawn him away from the flying field (but not the indoor hall). JohnLambert is now Hon Sec and is welcomed by the rest of the committee and, no doubt,the membership too. He can look forward to our enthusiastic support.

Events secretary Gordon Smeeton has agreed to provide a couple of events per year

Welfare Officer New post to be held by Tim Scowcroft

A new bench has been installed as a memorial to Mick Battison at Callow and TGreported that the auction of Mick’s equipment had raised £864 to the benefit of StLuke’s Hospice.


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News from the electric fields

This report is a compilation from Terry Gregory’s report to the AGM and some topicaladditions by the editor. Thank you Terry.

The past year has tended to deliver poor flying weather, a fact that we have littlecontrol over. Safety remains an issue. As models and motors get larger and morepowerful it is incumbent on all to operate their models in a safe and responsible way.To this end we have introduced the requirement for members flying electric modelsto have an “A” certificate and this has been taken up enthusiastically, with ourexaminer Adrian doing the honours. To date around a dozen members have beenaccredited and several more are on the waiting list for the next opportunity. Seeunder “Parish Notices” for advice about the implementation of the new rule.

The technology of electric flying is still forging forward with ever more innovations.Larger and more powerful models are appearing all the time with some havingretracting U/C. Also, with more powerful motors remember that electric motors withtheir razor sharp props just keep going and simply draw more and more amps. Andblood. So please remember that safety must be our watchword.

Advances in technology in radio means that most people are now using the 2.4 gHzsystems and the requirements for frequency control are getting less and less.We still have the post for use as a pegboard secreted away in the ditch for use by thefew die-hard 35mHz members. Although there will be a temptation to relax thefrequency discipline that we have built up over the years this must not happen. Ifyou are flying 35mHz it is your responsibility to ensure that all are aware of this.

For the members that do not know, flying at Castle Dyke takes place at the weekendand some nights. We have already exceeded our key allowance for the site so liaisewith other key holders. Make sure that the rising bollard is up when you have enteredor leave the site.

Back to the technology bit… Your editor has become a fan of the latest HorizonHobby products that embody the AS3X stabilisation system. Astonishing thatsomething which amounts to a full gyro stabiliser can be embodied in something thatweighs a few ounces. Essentially the AS3X makes two important contributions,enabling small models to be flown in wind conditions that would normally defeatthem, and also “taming” into “pussy cats” models of full scale aircraft that arenotoriously difficult to fly. So far your editor and the well-known Lord Stott ofRotherham have both acquired Blade mSR-X micro helis with the system (and let itbe said straight away that Mike is doing better than me in flying them!). The editorhas also got a a 3D Beast and the GeeBee R2, both of which, to his astonishment hecan fly, albeit outdoors rather than indoors (yet!). It gets better! Expect over thenext three or months to see a 15” wingspan Mig15 with 30mmEDF, A 24” Carbon Cubwith not only ailerons but also flaps, landing lights, a tow hook and optional floats!And a 34” ASK 21 glider with tow release! Oh and a 16” span Spitfire Mk IX!


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Parish NoticesBMFA “A” certification

The Club’s accreditation programme has been hindered by poor weather but willrestart as soon as possible. Please ensure that if you wish to gain your “A”certificate you have registered your interest with Terry Gregory. Because of thedelays the rule that should have came into force on January 1st - “All membersflying solo on the Redmires Sports Field or Castle Dyke Field shall have anappropriate BMFA “A” certificate for the activity, or shall be supervised by amember holding an appropriate “A” certificate.” is not being strictly enforced.Note though that this will change as soon as the committee is satisfied thateveryone who has registered interest has been given an adequate opportunity totake the assessment. All members will be given due notice before the rulebecomes strictly enforced. In the meantime safety remains absolutely paramount,with careful consideration for both public and members alike.

Organised eventsNew Model Showcase Thursday 15th March 2012

7.45pm in the Lounge, Bents Green Church

Here's your opportunity to show your winter building efforts and to admire theefforts of others

Bring along your models to show to fellow members. Rumour has it there will bean abundance of fantastic prizes. Well, something, any way.

If you have any ideas for events that the committee should organise please emailor ring the Editor. Likewise, if you are happy with the generally informal way inwhich the Club makes flying resources available for the use of the membership tellus that too. It’s your Club.

Apologies and thanks

In Gladys 103 we had to apologise for losing the name of one of the photographiccontributors from the scale open week-end. Problem solved. Very sincere andbelated thanks to Jim Lycett

Website

The website address http://www.ssaclub.co.uk/ is an opportunity for you to sharepictures or video with fellow members or simply visitors to our site. PleaseContact the webmaster (see page 2) if you need help.


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PARTING SHOTS

Fred Fearn,A tribute from Richard Tomlinson

Fred, a veteran member of the SSA, died on 12 February aged 84. Born in Pilsley onthe Chatsworth Estate he grew up there and was educated at the local school.Starting work at the age of 14 at a garage in Bakewell, after a couple of years, hemoved to a garage in Baslow and stayed there for many years.

He married Peggy in 1952. Two years later, they moved to Baslow, where theirdaughter, Diana, was born. In 1966, Fred joined Mercol, and remained with them untilhe retired in 1992.

His interests were centred on his family, golf, painting and aero-modelling. Fred wasa co-founder of Chatsworth Golf Club and, in addition to winning many trophies, heholds the course record.

A keen interest in all things mechanical and a desire to repair anything broken meantthat he was always busy (sounds like a requirement for SSA membership?)

Aero-modelling played a large part in his life and he built and flew ‘free-flight’ powermodels in the fields around Baslow. He joined the SSA in 1971 and flew slope soarersat Highlow and Callow Bank using radio equipment that he had built. Fred was ameticulous builder and, always, his models were immaculate. Failing eye-sight forcedhim to curtail many of his activities but he remained an SSA member until 2011.

Sadly, I only knew Fred for about the last 10 years of his life. During this time, wetravelled together to club nights and meetings, usually in bad weather, putting theworld to rights! One of the last times that I saw him he was helping his brother-in-lawrestore a vintage tractor. When it was finished, it was exhibited at several shows.

On behalf of all club members, I should like to offer Peggy and her family our deepestsympathy on their loss.

The editor’s GeeBee R3 and GeeBeeR2 (HobbyKing and E-Flite)

Our man “down under”

Sorry Jonathan - I owe it to Jonathan to apologise for the passing of time since hesent these pictures in but what used to be our tailpiece page is fast becoming theopportunity to remind members what Jonathan Shorer is up to down there in NewZealand. If you’d be kind enough to relocate to Australia, Jonathan, I could call thispart of Gladys “Out back”, but I don’t think it works for New Zealand. Anyway, foropeners we have a shot of Jonathan with his “built-from-RCME-plan” Pix E equippedwith flying lights

As the man himself says - he reallyneeds a better camera for low lightshots. However see below for beauti-fully clear pictures of his 66” span,SC 30 powered ¼ scale Flying Fleawhich he built from a plan he foundin the clubhouse. Is that what we’dcall a pub Jonathan?

At the time he wrote, he said he was waiting for the flight tests to see if it wouldcrash horribly like the full size. Update required please! We hope you were wrong!

Documents

International - Sheffield Society of Aeromodellers...Production Editor Roger Lombard [[email protected]] Yeardsley Hall Farm, Furness Vale, High Peak, Derbyshire SK23 7PS,