RicVaughn
Nov 19, 2002, 01:00 AM
<html><head><title>maximum Lift by Ric Vaughn</title>
</head><body>
<p><h2>Maximum Lift</h2>
by Ric Vaughn</p>
<blockquote><center><a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl1.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl1_s.jpg"></a></center></blockquote>
<blockquote>It’s been a while since my last column, but I’ve been to the NATS (AMA Nationals)
and that’s taken up a lot of my time. This month I’ll recap my preparation, participation,
NEAC (National Electric Aircraft Council), as well as taking another look at landing practice.
</blockquote>
<p><big>Getting ready for the NATS</big></p>
<blockquote>Getting ready for the electric sailplane LMR (Limited Motor Run) competitions at
the NATS was an exercise in pain. In order to compete well, you must practice as hard as or
harder than what you fly in the competition.</blockquote>
<blockquote><center><a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl2.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl2_s.jpg"></a></center></blockquote>
<blockquote>I’ll start with the above photo of my planes. Except for the Old-Timers, they
are all of my own design. I make my own fuselages out of Kevlar, and wings from foam and
fiberglass. </blockquote>
<blockquote>I had more electronic failures in two weeks than I’d seen in the past three
years – with one receiver and three speed control failures. All of the speed controllers
were from different manufactures. One was damaged as a result of a crash, but the other
two failed without provocation. The same was true of my receiver. I suspect my failures
are probably a result of repeated hammering into the ground in practice. It’s no fun
buying new electronics, but at least I wasn’t rebuilding planes yet!</blockquote>
<blockquote>That came later - I think i crashed everything I had! My sport sailplane model
had a servo lead disconnect, which left a spoiler extended. This meant I could only turn
right, and it took full rudder at flying speed just to fly straight ahead. As I tried to
land, the plane rolled right and ripped the fuselage open. This was just the start of my
adventures. My class-A sailplane suffered several minor crashes during landing practice.
I was using a patched up wing that had been damaged (a result of trying to hit the spot
in 25+ mph winds) during a contest in May. Not to miss out on the fun, my Old-Timer,
Flying Goose, had a major crash just before I was due to leave for the NATS.</blockquote>
<blockquote>With all of this mayhem, you can see that I was working like a mad-man to
repair models in the evenings. At the same time, I was trying to finish a new wing I
was building for my class A sailplane. There just never seems to be enough time to get
ready no matter how early I start. My wife always quips: “you’re always in a rush to get
finished!” In my defense, I never planned on electronic failures and crashing. On top of
all this, I needed to get my truck and trailer ready - more time consumed. I finished up
changing oil and airing tires at 2 am in the morning! Come departure time, I had to leave;
ready or not. Had a long list of things to do once I got to Muncie. I ended up working
till 1 am three nights in a row just to finish up my Old-Timer.</blockquote>
<blockquote>I will re-emphasize: if you want to win, you need to practice and practice
hard.</blockquote>
<p><big>NATS</big></p>
<blockquote>The weather at Muncie was hot, hot, hot – 98 degrees on Sunday and 96 on Monday.
Lift was good, but you needed to take care of yourself in the heat. I think I drank three
gallons of liquid every day. On Monday afternoon, a huge storm rolled through the flying
field – and there were still four planes flying. The wind came up to 25+ mph. One plane
hovered about 12 feet in the air, 100 yards from the landing zone, surfing on the wind,
unable to penetrate forwards at all. Myself, and about 15 other pilots who were under the
tent, cheered everyone on. I thought the planes would make the landing spot, but the wind
died off some and the plane landed short. Another pilot from Georgia, Jim Beck, was “humped
over” trying to protect his transmitter from the rain which was falling in buckets! He got
his landing and a good time score. The only bad incident as a result of this “big rain”
was that one pilot lost sight of his plane, and it crashed. It was found about and hour
later with repairable damage. After the front slammed through on Tuesday morning, the
temperature dropped to 58 degrees in the morning. I felt like I was going to freeze! I had
to wear a coat for the next two mornings. Of course, with the passing of a frontal system,
comes wind. The Half-A Texaco event was to be flown on Tuesday morning. These are very
delicate Old-Timers designed to fly as long as possible on 7-cell 600AE batteries and a
speed 400 motor. By the time the fly-off was to start, I would say the wind was about
15-20 mph. I had to assemble my plane in the trailer, and it took two of us to bring
it to the line. By Wednesday the wind had died down some, but lift was very spotty.
There were some pockets of great lift, and as well as sink. </blockquote>
<blockquote>Results of the electric NATS are at the NEAC web site - www.electricaircraft.org
– I’m happy to say that I won the overall LMR championship. You can see a photo of
yours-truly at the above site. </blockquote>
<blockquote>I’ll be the first to admit that the ride home is a lot more pleasant if you’ve
done well. This may not mean winning, improving over previous years is also a
victory.</blockquote>
<blockquote>That’s enough about models, weather and results. I want to talk a little about
the friendships and sharing that go on at the NATS, as well as just about every other
contest. Although everyone hopes to win, or perhaps improve on their previous results,
this group doesn’t do it on the back of others. I’ve made friends from all over the
country, and with email it’s so easy to stay in touch with everyone. There is much
sharing of information between contestants. Also, when someone has a problem, everyone
seems to lend a hand getting them back into the air. I’ve had a motor/gearbox loaned to
me at the NATS, not to mention the all the glue, balsa, tools, etc. loaned back and forth
between pilots. One year at the NATS, someone loaned a complete model to another
competitor, who went on to win the class with it! What I’m trying to say is that
our competitions are close and fair, but done in a very friendly atmosphere. I hope
you will join us.</blockquote>
<p><big>Post NATS</big></p>
<blockquote>Once back home, my trailer looked like a war zone - I think I must have used
every tool that I had. It took about a day to put everything away and get the trailer
cleaned up and stored - its next outing would be the NEAT fair. </blockquote>
<blockquote>Already I’m planning for next years NATS. I have several ideas that I want to
incorporate into my designs. I have models that need to be replaced, so I’ll be busy
molding fuselages and building wing this fall.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Another project that I want to finish in time for the NEAT fair is a Ryan
Bearcat. </blockquote>
<p><big>NEAC (National Electric Aircraft Council)</big></p>
<blockquote>Many of you probably don’t know what the National Electric Aircraft Council
is. The mission of NEAC is “The advancement and promotion of electric flight”, stated
at their web site - http://www.electricaircraft.org/. I was elected president, and my
goal is to try to get more modelers interested in participating in electric events. I
want to try to jump start some of you into action. Competition is not a dirty word; I
just don’t know how competition has received such a bad name. I’ve seen ads for modeling
events that proudly state “No competition”. I ask, why? I will guarantee that if you
enter in any competition, you will become a better pilot.</blockquote>
<blockquote>There are AMA classes and NEAC classes, and I’ll talk about the NEAC classes
soon. You compete with yourself, as you will receive the benefit of the improved pilot
or building skill. Don’t think of being embarrassed by lack of knowledge, everyone starts
somewhere. Again, improvement with every event is the goal you should set.</blockquote>
<blockquote>NEAC has several event classes, and there is probably something for everyone.
½ A Sailplane is simply a speed 400 motor with 7 NiCd cells. The task is 90 second motor
run and an 8-minute flight with a precision landing. Speed 400 pylon is a speed 400 motor
and 7 NiCd cells, with the task being 10 laps of the course as fast as you can go. The
class that I want to focus on is sport sailplane. Just about any sailplane with a span
of 100 inches or less, with rudder, elevator and spoilers, will qualify. We have removed
the cell count restrictions - you can go wild and use motor/cell combination. The task
states that you can run your motor as much as needed for the first two minutes, then
glide for a total ten-minute flight with a very generous landing spot. There is no
advantage in brushless motors, fancy composite airframes or high cell counts. Just about
any plane will get to vanishing altitude in two minutes. In fact, visibility, not power,
is the limiting factor during the motor run. Below you can see my sport sailplane, made
from old parts that I had laying around. The horizontal stab was taken from a trashcan,
half of the vertical stab is from an old Electra, fuselage was a damaged Class-B
sailplane, and the wing was built up from wood. I have had one second and two first
places at the NATS with this model. An Electra with a geared can motor is equally
competitive. There are no money issues, you will not be out-spent in this class. The
key is practice and plenty of it.</blockquote>
<blockquote><center><a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl3.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl3_s.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl4.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl4_s.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl5.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl5_s.jpg"></a></center></blockquote>
<blockquote>I hope to get a monthly meeting with friendly competition going at my home
club, and I would very much like to get a postal match going between clubs. Let’s
compare scores on a monthly basis. Again, you can only benefit by participating in
these events.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Not quite sailplane related, but another class that I’m about to start is a
pylon race based on the specifications of Gary Wright’s hugely successful Kwik-E. It’s
going to be a one motor, prop, and one battery class – use his design or build one to
the same basic specifications. The goal is to improve your building and flying skills,
and have fun doing it! I had hoped to have the rules ready by the NEAT fair, but I need
more time to set up the course rules.</blockquote>
<p><big>Landing practice revisited</big></p>
<blockquote>Look at my previous columns to see the diagram of the landing pattern. The
key is a constant altitude and speed entering the pattern. I have a mental picture of my
plane going downwind past me with 30 seconds remaining. The length of your downwind leg
will vary depending on the wind speed, as long as the altitude is constant. Also, your
downwind leg will vary on the entry altitude if the speed is constant. The only way you
fly this consistently is practice, practice, practice. I use a talking stopwatch made by
radio shack, and set it for 1 ½ minutes. By starting there, you will have to work to get
yourself into position at the 30 second mark. After you get consistent, then start high
or low at the 1 ½ minute mark, to dive or stretch out the final glide. Learn your model.
You need to see how your plane reacts to sink and lift, how far you can stretch the glide,
how much it can be pushed in a dive, etc. Work with a landing spot - I use one with a tape,
but for a long time, I used a simple plastic pie plate. Keep score or every landing,
recording the time and distance for each landing. Score 20 points for a landing within 10
feet and 10 points for a landing within 20 feet. By keeping score, you will see how you
are progressing. See if you need to work on timing or hitting the spot. Don’t settle for
anything but a 20 point landing at 0 seconds.</blockquote>
<blockquote>In closing, has anyone finished up an Electra? Send me your stories so I can
share them with our other readers. Keep practicing, and come on out to compete in
2003!</blockquote>
</body></html>
</head><body>
<p><h2>Maximum Lift</h2>
by Ric Vaughn</p>
<blockquote><center><a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl1.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl1_s.jpg"></a></center></blockquote>
<blockquote>It’s been a while since my last column, but I’ve been to the NATS (AMA Nationals)
and that’s taken up a lot of my time. This month I’ll recap my preparation, participation,
NEAC (National Electric Aircraft Council), as well as taking another look at landing practice.
</blockquote>
<p><big>Getting ready for the NATS</big></p>
<blockquote>Getting ready for the electric sailplane LMR (Limited Motor Run) competitions at
the NATS was an exercise in pain. In order to compete well, you must practice as hard as or
harder than what you fly in the competition.</blockquote>
<blockquote><center><a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl2.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl2_s.jpg"></a></center></blockquote>
<blockquote>I’ll start with the above photo of my planes. Except for the Old-Timers, they
are all of my own design. I make my own fuselages out of Kevlar, and wings from foam and
fiberglass. </blockquote>
<blockquote>I had more electronic failures in two weeks than I’d seen in the past three
years – with one receiver and three speed control failures. All of the speed controllers
were from different manufactures. One was damaged as a result of a crash, but the other
two failed without provocation. The same was true of my receiver. I suspect my failures
are probably a result of repeated hammering into the ground in practice. It’s no fun
buying new electronics, but at least I wasn’t rebuilding planes yet!</blockquote>
<blockquote>That came later - I think i crashed everything I had! My sport sailplane model
had a servo lead disconnect, which left a spoiler extended. This meant I could only turn
right, and it took full rudder at flying speed just to fly straight ahead. As I tried to
land, the plane rolled right and ripped the fuselage open. This was just the start of my
adventures. My class-A sailplane suffered several minor crashes during landing practice.
I was using a patched up wing that had been damaged (a result of trying to hit the spot
in 25+ mph winds) during a contest in May. Not to miss out on the fun, my Old-Timer,
Flying Goose, had a major crash just before I was due to leave for the NATS.</blockquote>
<blockquote>With all of this mayhem, you can see that I was working like a mad-man to
repair models in the evenings. At the same time, I was trying to finish a new wing I
was building for my class A sailplane. There just never seems to be enough time to get
ready no matter how early I start. My wife always quips: “you’re always in a rush to get
finished!” In my defense, I never planned on electronic failures and crashing. On top of
all this, I needed to get my truck and trailer ready - more time consumed. I finished up
changing oil and airing tires at 2 am in the morning! Come departure time, I had to leave;
ready or not. Had a long list of things to do once I got to Muncie. I ended up working
till 1 am three nights in a row just to finish up my Old-Timer.</blockquote>
<blockquote>I will re-emphasize: if you want to win, you need to practice and practice
hard.</blockquote>
<p><big>NATS</big></p>
<blockquote>The weather at Muncie was hot, hot, hot – 98 degrees on Sunday and 96 on Monday.
Lift was good, but you needed to take care of yourself in the heat. I think I drank three
gallons of liquid every day. On Monday afternoon, a huge storm rolled through the flying
field – and there were still four planes flying. The wind came up to 25+ mph. One plane
hovered about 12 feet in the air, 100 yards from the landing zone, surfing on the wind,
unable to penetrate forwards at all. Myself, and about 15 other pilots who were under the
tent, cheered everyone on. I thought the planes would make the landing spot, but the wind
died off some and the plane landed short. Another pilot from Georgia, Jim Beck, was “humped
over” trying to protect his transmitter from the rain which was falling in buckets! He got
his landing and a good time score. The only bad incident as a result of this “big rain”
was that one pilot lost sight of his plane, and it crashed. It was found about and hour
later with repairable damage. After the front slammed through on Tuesday morning, the
temperature dropped to 58 degrees in the morning. I felt like I was going to freeze! I had
to wear a coat for the next two mornings. Of course, with the passing of a frontal system,
comes wind. The Half-A Texaco event was to be flown on Tuesday morning. These are very
delicate Old-Timers designed to fly as long as possible on 7-cell 600AE batteries and a
speed 400 motor. By the time the fly-off was to start, I would say the wind was about
15-20 mph. I had to assemble my plane in the trailer, and it took two of us to bring
it to the line. By Wednesday the wind had died down some, but lift was very spotty.
There were some pockets of great lift, and as well as sink. </blockquote>
<blockquote>Results of the electric NATS are at the NEAC web site - www.electricaircraft.org
– I’m happy to say that I won the overall LMR championship. You can see a photo of
yours-truly at the above site. </blockquote>
<blockquote>I’ll be the first to admit that the ride home is a lot more pleasant if you’ve
done well. This may not mean winning, improving over previous years is also a
victory.</blockquote>
<blockquote>That’s enough about models, weather and results. I want to talk a little about
the friendships and sharing that go on at the NATS, as well as just about every other
contest. Although everyone hopes to win, or perhaps improve on their previous results,
this group doesn’t do it on the back of others. I’ve made friends from all over the
country, and with email it’s so easy to stay in touch with everyone. There is much
sharing of information between contestants. Also, when someone has a problem, everyone
seems to lend a hand getting them back into the air. I’ve had a motor/gearbox loaned to
me at the NATS, not to mention the all the glue, balsa, tools, etc. loaned back and forth
between pilots. One year at the NATS, someone loaned a complete model to another
competitor, who went on to win the class with it! What I’m trying to say is that
our competitions are close and fair, but done in a very friendly atmosphere. I hope
you will join us.</blockquote>
<p><big>Post NATS</big></p>
<blockquote>Once back home, my trailer looked like a war zone - I think I must have used
every tool that I had. It took about a day to put everything away and get the trailer
cleaned up and stored - its next outing would be the NEAT fair. </blockquote>
<blockquote>Already I’m planning for next years NATS. I have several ideas that I want to
incorporate into my designs. I have models that need to be replaced, so I’ll be busy
molding fuselages and building wing this fall.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Another project that I want to finish in time for the NEAT fair is a Ryan
Bearcat. </blockquote>
<p><big>NEAC (National Electric Aircraft Council)</big></p>
<blockquote>Many of you probably don’t know what the National Electric Aircraft Council
is. The mission of NEAC is “The advancement and promotion of electric flight”, stated
at their web site - http://www.electricaircraft.org/. I was elected president, and my
goal is to try to get more modelers interested in participating in electric events. I
want to try to jump start some of you into action. Competition is not a dirty word; I
just don’t know how competition has received such a bad name. I’ve seen ads for modeling
events that proudly state “No competition”. I ask, why? I will guarantee that if you
enter in any competition, you will become a better pilot.</blockquote>
<blockquote>There are AMA classes and NEAC classes, and I’ll talk about the NEAC classes
soon. You compete with yourself, as you will receive the benefit of the improved pilot
or building skill. Don’t think of being embarrassed by lack of knowledge, everyone starts
somewhere. Again, improvement with every event is the goal you should set.</blockquote>
<blockquote>NEAC has several event classes, and there is probably something for everyone.
½ A Sailplane is simply a speed 400 motor with 7 NiCd cells. The task is 90 second motor
run and an 8-minute flight with a precision landing. Speed 400 pylon is a speed 400 motor
and 7 NiCd cells, with the task being 10 laps of the course as fast as you can go. The
class that I want to focus on is sport sailplane. Just about any sailplane with a span
of 100 inches or less, with rudder, elevator and spoilers, will qualify. We have removed
the cell count restrictions - you can go wild and use motor/cell combination. The task
states that you can run your motor as much as needed for the first two minutes, then
glide for a total ten-minute flight with a very generous landing spot. There is no
advantage in brushless motors, fancy composite airframes or high cell counts. Just about
any plane will get to vanishing altitude in two minutes. In fact, visibility, not power,
is the limiting factor during the motor run. Below you can see my sport sailplane, made
from old parts that I had laying around. The horizontal stab was taken from a trashcan,
half of the vertical stab is from an old Electra, fuselage was a damaged Class-B
sailplane, and the wing was built up from wood. I have had one second and two first
places at the NATS with this model. An Electra with a geared can motor is equally
competitive. There are no money issues, you will not be out-spent in this class. The
key is practice and plenty of it.</blockquote>
<blockquote><center><a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl3.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl3_s.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl4.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl4_s.jpg"></a>
<a href="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl5.jpg"><img src="http://static.rcgroups.com/articles/liftzone/2002/nov/lift/sailpl5_s.jpg"></a></center></blockquote>
<blockquote>I hope to get a monthly meeting with friendly competition going at my home
club, and I would very much like to get a postal match going between clubs. Let’s
compare scores on a monthly basis. Again, you can only benefit by participating in
these events.</blockquote>
<blockquote>Not quite sailplane related, but another class that I’m about to start is a
pylon race based on the specifications of Gary Wright’s hugely successful Kwik-E. It’s
going to be a one motor, prop, and one battery class – use his design or build one to
the same basic specifications. The goal is to improve your building and flying skills,
and have fun doing it! I had hoped to have the rules ready by the NEAT fair, but I need
more time to set up the course rules.</blockquote>
<p><big>Landing practice revisited</big></p>
<blockquote>Look at my previous columns to see the diagram of the landing pattern. The
key is a constant altitude and speed entering the pattern. I have a mental picture of my
plane going downwind past me with 30 seconds remaining. The length of your downwind leg
will vary depending on the wind speed, as long as the altitude is constant. Also, your
downwind leg will vary on the entry altitude if the speed is constant. The only way you
fly this consistently is practice, practice, practice. I use a talking stopwatch made by
radio shack, and set it for 1 ½ minutes. By starting there, you will have to work to get
yourself into position at the 30 second mark. After you get consistent, then start high
or low at the 1 ½ minute mark, to dive or stretch out the final glide. Learn your model.
You need to see how your plane reacts to sink and lift, how far you can stretch the glide,
how much it can be pushed in a dive, etc. Work with a landing spot - I use one with a tape,
but for a long time, I used a simple plastic pie plate. Keep score or every landing,
recording the time and distance for each landing. Score 20 points for a landing within 10
feet and 10 points for a landing within 20 feet. By keeping score, you will see how you
are progressing. See if you need to work on timing or hitting the spot. Don’t settle for
anything but a 20 point landing at 0 seconds.</blockquote>
<blockquote>In closing, has anyone finished up an Electra? Send me your stories so I can
share them with our other readers. Keep practicing, and come on out to compete in
2003!</blockquote>
</body></html>