Molalla Radio Control Association

My column this month is a brief news report. I am traveling in Arizona and California. In Arizona I flew with the Speed Flyers R/C Association near Phoenix. They rent part of an old auxiliary field that has been given to the county. They paved their own runway. They have a great Quicky 500 race course there with three pylons. (Click here to see the photos below.)

This is the home of the International Speed Flyers pylon races, where flyers come from all over the world to compete. They use Quicky 500 size birds with Nelson high performance engines. These birds reach 160 mph+ on the straight away. While I was there I visited with Darrel Kady from Vancouver, Wa. He is a well known guru of pylon racing and graphite rods for control rod and surfaces. He was working on a new model that was composite. He had worked for days polishing the surface to reduce friction. There are no gaps for control surfaces. The control surfaces are not separate tabs connected to the wing or tail. They are an integral part of the wing or tail and made of a lighter weight material that flexes under the pressure of a moving servo to deflect against the airstream and change the flight attitude.

In California I joined the Coachella Valley R/C club located near Indio so I could fly during the winter. It has a great flying field. (Click here to see the photos below.) They rent land from BLM for $1 per year and have constructed a paved runway with sun canopies over the tables. The tables have restraints built on each so as you start your model it is in harness against the restraint. You then carry your model or steer it by holding on to the rudder until you get to the barricades protecting each flying station. After flight you stop the engine and carry or wheel the model back to the tables. It is a super safe system and no one objects to using this system. I think all of our fields in the N.W. would benefit from using this system. The field cost about $160,000. The dues are $150 per year or $75 for 6 months for snow birds like me. To get started they obtained a few loans and now they have almost paid off all loans. They have about 150 members. They fly 7 days per week and on most days there are 8 or more at the field. On weekends there are 12 to 16.

High Flight Update: (See previous articles.)

I checked with Scaled Composites to see if there was any more news on their attempt to launch a manned space flight. As is their custom they would not say when the next scheduled flight is. I am guessing about March or April. Their flight in December was a great success with the White knight dropping the SS-1 (manned rocket ship) at about 35,000 and SS-1 reaching Mach 1.6 at 58,000'. That is about it for now. I know everyone in the N.W. is getting cabin fever and hoping the weather will begin to warm so you can get back to the fun stuff again. Until next time, keep building.

Thunderbird Accident:

For you modelers who enjoy keeping up with news from the world of flight this an interesting summary of the Thunderbird accident which occurred at Mountain Home. If you look closely at the photo (Click here to see the photos below.) and see where the canopy and rocket powered ejection seat are in relation to the plane you can realize the bird is micro seconds from impact. Amazing the pilot was not injured. I remember when I was a fighter pilot in Europe when a pilot from another squadron had to ditch an F-84 in the Mediterranean and couldn't get the canopy open as it sank. He ejected under water and survived.

Jan 21, 2004 Thunderbirds Accident Report Released LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. -- Pilot error caused a U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds F-16 aircraft to
crash shortly after takeoff at an air show Sept. 14 at Mountain Home Air
Force Base, Idaho. The pilot ejected just before the aircraft impacted the
ground. According to the accident investigation board report released today,
the pilot misinterpreted the altitude required to complete the "Split S"
maneuver. He made his calculation based on an incorrect mean-sea-level
altitude of the airfield. The pilot incorrectly climbed to 1670 feet above
ground level instead of 2500 feet before initiating the pull down to the
Split S maneuver. When he realized something was wrong, the pilot put
maximum back stick pressure and rolled slightly left to ensure the aircraft
would impact away from the crowd should he have to eject. He ejected when
the aircraft was 140 feet above ground -- just eight--tenths of a second
prior to impact. He sustained only minor injuries from the ejection. There
was no other damage to military or civilian property. The aircraft, valued
at about $20.4 million, was destroyed. Also, the board determined other
factors substantially contributed to creating the opportunity for the error
including the requirement for demonstration pilots to convert mean sea
level and above ground level altitudes and performing a maneuver with a
limited margin of error.

(Hover & Click on the thumbnail images to enlarge.)