The Ampeer ON-LINE!
April 2009
The Club Newsletter of the Electric Flyers Only, Inc
AMA Charter 2354
Walled Lake, MI, USA
Editor: Ken Myers

Fly the Future - Fly Electric!

     I love this meet. There is a lot of laid back flying with some of the Midwest's best pilots, Electric Flight Designers, Builders and Authors. I wouldn't miss it! It is a lot of fun for everyone with an interest in electric flight. KM

Flyer

Map & Hotel List

     Greetings to all down your way Ken.
     The ALPS from Gaylord have again secured the use of the Alba school gym this year and more flyers have showed up this season with lots of Vapors, Embers, CX's CP's and now the new MCX from Horizon.
     I personally have used my airtime practicing with my ESky Lama 4. This past Sunday the weather kept the group to a small number but those who showed up had fun. I finally got a chance to fly my latest which is a Stevens Aeromodel "1919 White Sport Monoplane. It is set up with the stock power system using a Blue Bird receiver and servos. The power system is a GWS LPS B2C and 200mAh Li-Po. I always use the GWS speed control made for Li-Pos, which makes things a little easier.
     Let me just say that from the start the Monoplane had a few problems taking off due to the landing gear design. I finally got it to ROG and to my surprise it flew very well. However the semi-scale wire landing gear began to give me some problems so back into my plane case it went.

John's Monoplane

     Next the Lama 4 came out. After several minutes in the air and many attempts to correct the tail drift without success, it occurred to me that the control unit might be faulty. I also then noticed one of the top rotor blades was cracked nearly all the way through!? I guess this is the time for a small reminder to always check the plane or heli over before flying, especially a heli.
     My flying buddy, Jim Maine, brought out his MCX and gave me the transmitter for a few minutes. My observation of this heli is that this is one stable and easy to fly heli, hands down. Hats off to the folks at Horizon Hobbies for being able to produce such a stable flying Mini helicopter for such a great price. This is one company that is going to be around for a long time, if they continue to make such great little planes and helis for us.
     Did I mention Vapors and Embers? A few have been busy creating their own unique planes by converting them to tiny bi planes. How about a Vapor Bipe or an Ember Bipe? Both planes looked awesome in the air as they did on the ground.
     Even though the day was cold and we just received 10 inches of new snow, it's nice to be able to spend some time with other indoor flyers and forget about the weather outside.
     Next month I will report on my conversion of a DJ Aerotech 1.5 M HLG to electric boost.
     Till then keep 'em flying and stay warm.

Cheers,
John Zook (Charlevoix Area BUFFS)

     The February 5 meeting was held at Ken Myers' house and was well attended with lots of projects shared.

     Roger Wilfong brought in his F.E.2b. He had picked it up at a swap shop only partially completed and has turned it into a very impressive model.

     Jim Maughan brought in his new Mountain Models aerobatic plane.

     Hank Wildman shared three projects; his pink foam flying wing, larger size aerobatic plane and the retract system for his Corsair.

     Jon Quisenberry gave us the lowdown on his new Thunder Power TP-1010C charger and balancer.

     Ken Myers shared his completed wings for his new Fusion 380 sport plane design and demonstrated how the semi-symmetrical wing was built on a flat surface with built in washout.

Ken,

     Have you seen this: Horizon Hobby/ParkZone (March 2009)

SUKHOI Micro Aerobatic - 1.1 ounce (34 grams) Full four channel
DSM2 compatible - RTF aircraft complete less Tx $100
www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PKZ3580

ParkZone AR6400 Brick, 2.4 GHz SS, with ports to accept two external servos which provides full four channel control - built-in brushed motor ESC
ESC can be plugged into a brushless motor ESC into one of the external ports to operate a 0.6 or 2-gram brushless outrunner motor
Will sell separate at $60.00
www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=SPMAR6400

     I was unable to attend the March EFO meeting held at Jim Young's house in Brighton, MI. Jim sent along the following report and photos. Thank you so very much Jim! KM

Hi Ken,

     Here are the photos from the meeting...

     Roger Wilfong brought a new E Moth from Retro R/C. This laser cut kit features a two-position mount for the wing. It changes the wing incidence a few degrees for "park flyer" or "speed" performance.

     Rick Sawicki brought a new EDF flying wing that is capable of ~110mph on the stock setup. Wing loading is kind of high, and it slides for 1000 feet on frozen Cass Lake when landing.

     Arthur Deane brought a new Sopwith Bipe from Aerodrome Models. He used a clever latch design for the lower hatch. He also modified the front end with a pullout tray for the battery and motor. The latching mechanism was adapted from my little Waco.

     Richard Utkan brought a new foamie bird. It was very light, and his artistic side showed through in the color scheme.

     Tim Young showed off his progress on his Cloud Ranger. The fuse and half of the wing is complete, and the other half is on the board. After that, he was off to bed.

     There was some discussion regarding the next meeting. We are all hoping that it will be outdoors. If the Midwest field is not available in April, Roger said we should be able to use the Ribcracker field.
     We then adjourned to my workshop for some hanger flying.
     You are in our prayers. Let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Jim

     Rick Sawicki sent me some photos of his new EDFs, one of which he shared at the March meeting and was mentioned above.

Hi Ken,

     It has been some time since I last wrote to you but I thought that I would send you some photos of my latest project.
     At the last Mid America Electric Flies, Mark Freeland had some prototype models of his "e'Moth". The concept of making a model from a kit, where every part was marked, basically only a flat surface and some thin CA glue was required to make it.
     Thus when Mark produced his first production batch of Kits, I bought two. One I gave to my RC club in Lawrence for their "building nights" held once a week for new people to the hobby and the other I built.
     The build was unusual from the point of view that there are no plans. The instruction booklet is complete enough, to guide one through the building process with no mistakes. Every piece is laser cut and the fit was very good to produce a perfect model.
     Some of the features are that it comes completely apart and can be stored/transported in a small case. The wings can be adjusted for flight in windy weather or calm conditions.
     Mark has found a source of a motor plus speed control for $18!! I used the E-Flite 370 outrunner with an E-Flite 10-Amp ESC and TP 910mAh 3S1P battery.
     I am waiting for the weather to warm up here in Kansas City for the maiden flight.
     Here is Mark's contact information.
Mark Freeland
Retro RC
PO box 193
Keego Harbor, MI 48320
www.RetroRC.us.com
Tel. (248) 212-9666
email: Mark@Retro-RC.net

Thanking you for all that you do for us
With best regards John

     Last month I noted that Micro-Mark is selling Dremel table saw blades. Cedric sent along the following note. KM

Hi Ken,

     My son gave me the 40-tooth carbide tipped blade and a spare belt (my old one kept popping off) for Christmas and the blade is fantastic! I haven't used it much but the cuts in pine are as smooth as if they had been sanded. I am looking forward to using it on future projects! It makes you wonder how you ever got on with the old 'pressed steel' blade! I just thought I'd tell you what I found.

Regards,
Cedric

P.S. Enjoyed Ampeer as always, thanks.