C/LCombat I
t is Saint Patrick’s Day, so things must be turning green. We’ve got some green buds on the trees and I’m looking for- ward to some green beer down at the
tavern. That will help ignore the piles of snow still scattered around as much as 3 and 4 feet high. But we got to go out and fly the other day. It was just north of 50 degrees (for one day only) with 20+ mph gusty winds. Oleg crashed a plane when he turned overhead and a gust stopped the Fora pow- ered 1
⁄2
the Fora engines, both F2D and the newest 1⁄2A. The .049 started amazingly well virtu- ally every time.
Getting back in the air
Looking at the weather, the only place with really warm temps seems to be in southern Florida where it is 80-some de- grees. The Northeast is still getting snow and it hasn’t been much better in the Mid- west, so it’s time to think Spring, and that first real flight of the year. Lots of fun can be had just taking off and doing loops and eights and generally just horsing around, but every pilot taking off in a plane has a plan in mind. Starting with the checklist and map they generally know where they’ll be flying, how high, how fast, where the winds are, and how much gas is on board. I don’t have to worry about crashing or running out of gas, but I generally have a plan of sorts for every flight. I usually carry a stop watch so I can check lap speeds and maneuver speeds just to make sure things are working properly. To stay focused, I also keep a list of training maneuvers to run through in the back of my mind.
A in mid-air. Well, maybe not stopped, but it dropped out of the sky and broke a prop. Yes, that was the only damage done. He is having great fun with new versions of
PHOTOGRAPHY: PHIL CARTIER
Henry Nelson won Fast at the Nats a few years ago. This midair against George Cleveland was one in a long string. Now he’s making a bit of a comeback, agreeing to make a few more Nelson 36s this year. Should be enough to keep the Fast enthusiasts in excellent motors for a few more years.
Flying inverted for awhile is always good practice. Then try some simple maneuvers such as quick climbs and dives while trying to hit certain altitudes, say 5 feet and 45 degrees every quarter lap. Maybe try some maneu- vers up wind, especially if there are gusts or the winds are over 10 mph and the tree branches are starting to move. Downwind is easy because the plane pulls like a son of a gun. Up wind takes a really light touch. It takes a lot of flying to really get comfortable when the plane isn’t pulling hard and you can hardly feel where it is going.
Starting each flight with an idea of what you’re going to do lets you make sure to prac- tice the hard stuff, not doing the same easy tricks. Having a plane get too far upwind can be a real surprise. Practicing the same maneuver many times when you know it’s
coming teaches you how to react when it catches you by surprise. That results in few- er accidents with the plane because the practice will turn a “G’ol Darn It!” crash into an “Uh Oh!” incident.
Anyone with fewer matches than Richard Stubblefield still needs to practice something every time they put a plane in the air. That sly old fox probably forgets more about flying in one match than half of the rest of us learn in a month. So start making lists and doing some intentional practice when the weather decides to turn warm.
Starting slow Beginners, by which I mean anyone with
less than 50 or so matches under their belt, need to think basics every time they take off with any plane that can fly loops. Basics in-
by phil cartier You can reach Phil Cartierat 34 Sweet Arrow Dr, Hummelstown, Pennsylvania 17036, or via e-mail at
philcartier@earthlink.net
Phil’s flying buddy, Oleg, brought out these nice Yuvenko 1⁄2A models (above left) with the newest Fora .049s. The models fly just like an F2D, just a bit slower and on much shorter lines. The engines broke in very easily, less than ten runs. They also start better than the F2D motors, especially on the first run of the day, but those itty bitty glass props are a bit expensive. Team Schmidt (above right)
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preps a plane at Brodak’s last year. Ylena, Scott and Alex are busy getting the plane ready for Ylena’s first flight of the day. She flew much better this year, getting some cuts and maneuvering and flying low enough to give her opponents fits. Paul Kubek gets ready for some photos and the opposition pit crew is nonchalant.
APRIL 2014
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