The Fly Paper

April 29-THURS- NIGHT Fun Fly - (Non-Sanctioned) FIRST CLUB MEETING AT THE FIELD, Night fly after meeting. NOT to miss this one, we had a HOOT last fall remember. BRING something lit up, It's easier than you think

May 15/16-SAT/SUN- Electric Contest Class A&B LMR Electric Sailplane (AMA Sanctioned) - This is 1 of 3 events that is part of the Southern Championship prior to the Nationals. Many  participating  visitors are expected from the region. 10am-6pm each day Field closed to other flying. PRACTICE Friday the 14th. Please yield to competitors. THIS is not a FUN Fly. Events 610,612,618,620.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I am getting tired of these "gale force winds" that seem to have parked in our part of the country. I know this is usually the windy time of the year, but enough is enough! If you missed the all electric event at the field Saturday before last (which most of you did), I fully understand. The six or seven of us who did show should have stayed home ourselves. The wind was blowing at least 20 mph and gusting higher, but did we exercise "common sense? I think everyone there broke at least one of their airplanes except Bill and I. I would have were it not for luck and Bill putting them back into his van and not letting me fly after the second flight. Maybe we will have better luck at the cookout.

I want to thank Randy Hawkins for allowing Clare Schumberger to fly his glider a few weeks back at our glider contest. I want to thank Clare for putting it in the top of a tall oak tree! No, I am not trying to rib her for her bad luck; she is doing a great job in her endeavor of learning to fly RC aircraft. Due to her misfortune, Randy, Ernie, and myself had the time of our lives shooting the glider out of the top of the tree with a "potato gun"! I did not know that a potato could go so far so fast! We are thinking of incorporating it into our paintball event in the near future.

I have been cutting the grass for this and every other field that this club has ever had for probably the past 15 years at least. I want to sincerely thank each one of you who move tables, your airplane stuff and cars when I am cutting and you are trying to fly. I have never had anyone be anything but helpful and I appreciate it very much. Earl Robinson was seen at the field Wednesday, April 21^st, picking up trash and cigarette butts in the entire pit area. Place the bag in his truck and carried it home! Way to go Earl!!!!! PT-26 is complete, now back to the SPITFIRE. [gee that's like two to one isn't it Mike?]

 Ahhh Mike…been meanin to tell ya My watch stopped.

Youth Director, Dave Zeigler and the school kids he works with in the Science Olympiad including club members Justin Lapp and Mike Brennison will be going to the state competition on April 3^rd. Club member, Bill Gowen and the kids he works with will be competing against Dave’s kids. Good Luck to both teams.

Treasurer, Roy Collins talked about the Chick-fil-a Golf Tournament Sponsorship. He received 12 ground passes, 6 Clubhouse passes and 4 parking passes for the LPGA Tournament. Mike McGowan was given the passes to give to members interested in going to the golf event.

Club members Earl Robinson and Jerry McCall volunteered to go over the books with Roy after the meeting.

Mike McGowan talked about the NATS held yearly in Muncie, Illinois in July. The AMA has a club contest where a 4-person team competes against other clubs’ teams. Mike, Earl and Chuck Robinson will be in need of a 4^th.

Randy Hawkins mentioned that Jim Duckworth (One of the people involved with setting up the Perry swap meet each year) would like to sponsor an Electric Day. The event would be held at their field near Warner Robbins. That is the GAMA field, and it would be worth the trip just to see the field.

Also, it was discussed and agreed that the Club would have the field cut by Charles Perkins. [The Field LOOKS GREAT, ahh Spring in Georgia. Good JOB Charles]

This month we welcomed two new members to the club: George Jennings and Terry May.

Clare Schlumberger was nominated and awarded the S.A.D. (Society of Aircraft Demolishes) patch for a High Start launch on Glider Day that ended up in the tops of a tree. (The winds had a helping hand though.)[She didn't break anything, the potato gun did.]

Earl Robinson brought in his new Mini Challenger. It’s the third one he’s built with some pieces of the first two rebuilt in to it. It has the wing tip panels from the first plane, and the tail section from the second one. The fuselage was fiberglassed and painted. A very nice job of finishing on the entire plane. Earl went on to tell a story about getting the servos reversed and how it’s a good practice to do a preflight check on all fight controls prior to each flight. A good and safe habit to get into.

I needed to make a plastic nose cowl. In and issue of Model Airplane News last summer I read an article about making plastic parts from plastic bottles written by a very nice man and designer of many models such as the Lanier Shrike, Joe Beshard. So I needed a new cowl for my recently completed Playboy.[another story for a later time] The kit's normal provisions are just buildup Balsa, one hard face plant on a landing and I'd be back in the glue. The balsa works fine but it's a lot of carving, so I attempted to make mold and try to make my own cowling.

Two pieces of scrap 2X4 and a little band saw work, follow-up was some final sanding and I had a blank mold resembling the final look for the nose of airplane. Yes I still had to sand the mold but the idea was to have a finished one-piece molded cowl that could be replaced. The mold took less than a half-hour to make ready for trial fit and shrink.

Next was to find a bottle large enough to fit over the mold. A three-liter soda bottle would work. After drinking most of the Ginger ale and removing the bottom of the bottle, I slid it over the wood mold. Centering the pouring spout on the prop end. Open end heading aft, with plenty of excess.

Taking my heating gun I was amazed at how rapidly and how much the plastic would shrink. In about a minute it was a snug fit against the plug mold. Then I trimmed away the excess on the aft side [fuselage side] and remove the plastic from the mold.

Next I removed the screw spout cutting it away, and open the hole large enough to allow it to be installed over the prop shaft. I made final trims on the aft side to allow me to attach it to the fuselage leaving about 3/16 of and inch for small screws. Within one-hour from starting a few burps of ginger ale later I had a very nice fitting one-piece plastic cowl.

Lightweight and durable, and with the mold I can make another in a matter of minutes. [few burps later] This process could probably be applied to wheel pants, scoops, hatches, model bombs, and pontoons. Or anything else you might dream up in a need to make molded parts. Give it a try, it's very cheap and easy. It'll take any paint, inside or out. VERY Tuff stuff too. Thanks Joe Beshard.