ElectricFlight H
i fliers: over the years I have vis- ited many model flying events at which I get to enjoy the well-orga- nized competitions and great field conditions. The fliers are often thanked for their attendance at these events but the real thanks should go to the hard work the host- ing club’s members put forth to make the event happen.
This past May while on a visit to our FM Associate Editor, Jim Wiggin, I was asking about electric pylon racing at the Nats and was introduced to Pete Bergstrom, presi- dent of the ELI RC club and Horizon Hob- by’s head of engine development who has been a vital volunteer for pylon racing over the years.
Pete invited me to get a firsthand look at e-pylon as the assistant to the starter at the Nats in July. The experience was great; I learned a lot and best of all I was giving back to the hobby, which is why Pete told me he enjoys the event so much. Whether it’s your local club’s swap meet or the month-long Nats, try helping out as a vol- unteer. You will certainly be helping fur- ther aero modeling and may learn some- thing new too!
Mid-America Electric Flies The 29th edition of the Mid-America E- Flies took place on July 13 and 14 at the Midwest RC Society’s well-manicured grass field and CD’d by Ken Myers and Keith Shaw. For me, Mid-Am is sort of a family re- union where I get to see many of the fliers only once a year. The Saturday night’s din- ner on the field gives fliers a chance to catch up with each other’s projects and future plans. The diversity of the models present spanned the history of aviation. Arriving Friday evening, I was privileged to see Bill Brown’s museum scale Wright Model B test flown by Keith Shaw. Bill’s de- tailing was impeccable and Keith’s piloting skills awesome. Bill rolled out a portable runway and after a few tries with a full pow- er pylon start Keith kept the Wright Bflying for a complete flight. That was not it for the Wright’s designs. On Sunday morning Keith Shaw and Dave Thacker of Radical RC
PHOTOGRAPHY: DON BELFORT
Try volunteering at your club or AMA events. It can be a rewarding and educating experience along with a lot of fun.
www.radicalrc.com were pylon racing with Radical RC’s kit of the Wright Flier and I thank Dennis Sumner for his picture of the sight.
Mark Rittinger’s P-51, Precious Metal,
was outfitted with a HiMax 3615 counter- rotating prop spinning a reversed pitch 12– 8 cut down to an 11–8 in front and an 11–8 regular pitch in the rear with both motors pulling 32 amps. Together that produced around 600 watts on a 3S 5000 mAh Li-Po. Precious Metal had a sound all its own and the chrome covering, complete with rivet de- tail, was superb. The model spans 45 inches with a wing loading of 32 ounces/square foot. Construction is balsa and foam. CD Keith Shaw’s King Crimson flying wing was built back in 1989, powered then by brushed Leisure ferrite motors geared 3:1 with a weight of 11.5 pounds. Its next up- grade was to a geared Astro cobalt .035. Now, in 2013, Keith has brushless Cobra 2217 outrunners from Innov8tive Designs
www.innov8tivedesigns.com. This reduced the model weight to slightly over 9 pounds, but doubled the power loading. The King Crimson now flies more like a fighter than a bomber says Keith. Wing span is 126 inches, wing area is 2,000 square inches. My Ziroli Ercoupe, built from a National
Balsa
www.nationalbalsa.com laser-cut full kit, put in some good flights and I thank John Kauk for taking some great flight PHOTO: DENNIS SUMNER
shots. Next year will be 30 years of Mid-Am. I hope to see you there.
Readers write Chris Susicke, former FMAssociate Edi- tor, shares his latest project with us. Here’s Chris: “These images are of my electric pow- ered Black Horse Models Westland Wyvern. I have a modified Himax CR6320-240 con- tra-rotating motor system with twin Hobby- Wing 80-amp HV ESCs. Each motor runs on 8S 10,000 packs for a total output of 3,400 watts at 130 amps combined. Rear spinner is a cut down fiberglass unit; the front is a Zinger. Props are 4-bladed Zinger 18–10s. The plane spans 88 inches and weighs in around 20 pounds.
“Flies exceptionally well due to the copi- ous wing area and is definitely not some- thing you see at the field everyday. Sounds wild in the air.”
Project wrap-up
The National Balsa kit of the Ziroli Ercoupe has been a pleasure to construct. The rounded and complex balsa and ply- wood laser-cut parts, which fit perfectly, kept the building process moving and re- warded me with a great flying machine. Na- tional Balsa has a lifetime’s worth of great builds for you to enjoy and is only a phone call away if you need assistance. The Robart Manufacturing
www.robart.
by don belfort You can reach Don Belfortat 8250 Twin Cove Court, West Chester, Ohio, 45069
Bill Brown’s museum scale Wright Model B(above) was loaded with detail and took to the air under the expert guidance of Keith Shaw. Dennis Sumner snapped a picture you don’t see every day of two Radical RC 1905 Wright Fliers (at right) having a pylon race with Keith Shaw and Dave Thacker at the sticks.
46 OCTOBER 2013
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