DCRC Club Meeting

Montgomery County

Council building

100 Maryland Ave

Rockville, MD

PROGRAM:

Raffle

Volume 63 Issue 03

DCRC

NEWSLETTER

DCRC Club Meeting

March 17, 2017

7:30 PM

County Council Building

Rockville, MD

District of Columbia Radio Control Club Montgomery County Maryland AMA Chartered Club 329 Established 1951

Spring time in

February, and a

new Wing Walker

is born.

Volume 63 Issue 03 Page 2

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB

PRESIDENT: Jim McDaniel V.P. Walt Gallaugher

County Liaison: Jim McDaniel

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Andy Finizio

Jim Fisher

Walt Gallaugher

David Garrison

Andy Kane

Ed Leibolt

Jim McDaniel

Jose Sanchez

John Petley

TREASURER: Doug Harper

MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY: Jose Sanchez

20017 Haller Ave

Poolesville, MD 20837

RECORDING SECRETARY: Doug Harper

SHOW TEAM MANAGER: Jim McDaniel & Allan Hoffman

NEWSLETTER EDITOR: Andy Kane

andykane01@gmail.com

MEETING PROGRAM COORDINATOR:

Walt Gallaugher

OFFICIAL CLUB PHOTOGRAPHER:

Position is open

The DC/RC Newsletter is published monthly by the

District of Columbia Radio Control Inc. Deadline for

submitting materials for publication is the last Friday

of each month. Any part of the newsletter may be

reproduced for non-profit purposes unless otherwise

noted. Please credit the Newsletter and Author if

named. Articles may not reflect the opinion of the

club, but that of the author.

www.dc-rc.org Did you know that any airplane brought in to the model shop

will receive 3 free raffle tickets. Bring in your models each

month for your free tickets, and to share ideas.

Photo by

Claire

SPRING IN FEBRUARY PG 2

CLUB MEETING MINUTES PG 3

THE FIRST DAYS OF R/C CONT. PG 4+5

BOARD MEETING MINUTES PG 6

VIDEO LINKS BACK

Spring time in February By Andy Kane

On Saturday February 18 The

outdoor temp was 71 degrees, sunny

and no wind. This must be the alter-

nate world. Who ever thought that we

would have such a beautiful day in

the middle of the winter. Well just

shut up and enjoy. I had My 1/3 scale

Stearman at the field and I was hold-

ing auditions for my new wing walk-

ing act. Unfortunately I only got one

applicant. Well I guess he gets the

job since he is a 1/3 scale man he fits

perfectly on the plane. All I have to

do now is fit him in the cockpit.

There was a lot of other activity at the

field as well. Guy Riso was helping

some newcomers set up their New

Horizon Apprentice plane. Doug was

in there helping too. The Father and 2

sons were very enthusiastically

watching and helping with the set up.

Then Guy Handed off the plane to

some guy named Andy for the test

flight, and funny think happened on

the test flight, Ryan 12 years old was

able to fly the plane in the beginner

mode with good control, so much so

that his instructor, Andy, was able to

talk him through his first flight, traf-

fic pattern and ultimately his first un-

assisted landing on his first flight.

Needless to say he was able to ac-

complish 2 additional take-offs and

landing with only verbal assistance

from Andy. Way to go Ryan. ( sorry

no photos).

Dave was at the field with Bob and

there were cutting up the sky with

their home made flying wings. Be Be

and Keith were there visiting with

their electric jets, Andy flew his tur-

bine jet, John flew his electric 40

sized Ugly Stick, Jim and son and

Mike were on the helicopter side of

the field side slicing up the air and

practicing with their Quads. Ted was

out with a new Gas powered Biplane

and after some tinkering with the

throttle linkage and carburetor, he got

the engine running good. I did not

see him fly though.

David was out with his turbine jet,

knocking off some rust and then mak-

ing some really nice low passes.

David was there with some interesting

Foamies, VTOL, and then he had a

EMS Corsair with a 3 Cylinder Radial

Engine Might have been a Saito.

We also had a small incident with the

Porto Potty, and it had to be towed.

Jim made the final adjustments to

stick the landing.

DCRC February

Club Meeting BY DOUG HARPER

Volume 63 Issue 03 Page 3

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB

The meeting, held at the

County Office Building, was called to

order by Board Member Ed Leibolt at

7:33 PM. Ed asked for the introduc-

tion of any new members or guests.

None were present.

County Liaison: No report.

Events: Andy Finizio is going to dis-

cuss quad racing at the next board

meeting. A group will attend to pre-

sent this to the Board. Ed Leibolt is

considering a "flea market" at the

field sometime this Spring. He might

do this on Opening Day which is ten-

tatively scheduled for April 22.

Field Maintenance: No report.

Training: Ed Leibolt announced that

we have six flyable

trainers to start the

season. Ed is plan-

ning an "instructor

day" for members

who might want to

consider being an

instructor. A date

will be announced.

Membership: Jose

Sanchez is collecting

2017 dues. He will

certainly accept

checks but would

prefer PayPal use by

members. Jose will

be doing deposits of

dues this week. The

membership is well

over 100.

Safety Coordinator: Walt Gallaugher

had no report.

Raffle: Doug has a Sport Cub S RTF

for tonight's raffle

Treasure’s Report: Doug wrote five

checks in excess of $100 this month.

He had a copy of the YTD Budget

Report for anyone who cares to see it.

Web Site: Jose Sanchez and Guy

Riso is setting up a chat group for the

Club. He encourages members to

post pictures and messages to it to

encourage communication among

members.

Newsletter: Andy Kane published a

newsletter again this month. Many

members showed their appreciation.

New/Old Business: Guy Riso

brought a pile of models and kits that

were donated by Michael Grimes.

These items are free for the taking.

Only thing Michael asks is to see pic-

tures of these models flying.

Model Shop: David Harris presented

a Glen Torrence Fokker DVIII that he

is building to replace one he sold sev-

eral years ago. He is scratch building

this model. It will have an 82" wing-

span. He plans to use a G26 for

power.

Jose Sanchez presented a Fly model

ARF Pitts 12 kit that he customized

with his own graphics, rigging wires,

louvers, pilot, etc. to dress it up. It

uses a 20cc engine with a 57" wing-

span. He is anxious to fly it.

Program: Tonight's program will be

presented by Ed Leibolt on fiber

glassing. Ed brought his P51 back

that he has been working on for some

time. It is a TopFlite arf that he has

removed the monokote from. He had

to do considerable filling and sanding

to smooth out the balsa. He is cover-

ing the fuse with 3/4oz fiberglass to

replace the monokote. He had to do

more filling and sanding after this

step. He is using Zpoxy finishing

resin to do this. Ed then showed the

audience how he mixes and applies

the Zpoxy to a small piece of balsa

that he wants to fiberglass. He also

demonstrated how he uses blue paint-

ers tape to create an edge between

fiberglass pieces. After thinning the

Zpoxy with alcohol, he then applies it

to the fiberglass with a squeegee to

spread it out across the fiberglass.

The key is to not apply too much

Zpoxy which just adds weight. This

creates a very light, thin finish that is

easy to then paint. Ed plans to apply

details and panel lines as he paints.

The meeting adjourned at 8:45PM.

Notice:

Please note that all of the 2017 club meetings will now be held on the 3rd Friday of the Month at Montgomery County Council building Base-ment Auditorium

100 Maryland Ave

Rockville, MD 20850

starting at 7:30 pm

Come to the meeting to pick up on some fantastic raffle prizes and some great modeling informa-tion. And bring your model in for the model shop.

Check the club calendar!

Calendar of Events 2017

Volume 63 Issue 03 Page 4

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB

March 2017

3/1 DCRC Indoor flying.

Soccerplex Germantown, MD

11:45 to 3:45 pm each Wednesday

3/11-12 Cape Coral Big Bird Fly In, FL

3/15-18 Florida Jets. Lakeland, FL

3/17 DCRC Club Meeting Ed Leibolt

3/22 DCRC Board Meeting Ed Leibolt

April 2017

4/21 DCRC Club Meeting Jim Fisher

4/22 DCRC Opening Day

4/26 DCRC Board Meeting Jim Fisher

May 2017

5/19 DCRC Club Meeting David Garrison

5/13-20 Joe Nall Week Woodruff, SC

5/24 DCRC Board Meeting David Garrison

5/24- 5/28 Wilson, NC (C) FIRST IN FLIGHT JET RALLY

June 2017

6/2- 6/4 Thornburg, VA (C) MILITARY WAR BIRDS & CLASSICS OVER FREDERICKSBURG

6/16 DCRC Club Meeting John Petley

6/21 DCRC Board Meeting John Petley

July 2017

7/21 DCRC Club Meeting Andy Kane

7/26 DCRC Board Meeting Andy Kane

August 2017

8/4-6 Wings over Piper. Lock Haven, PA

8/18 DCRC Club Meeting Walt Gallaugher

8/23 DCRC Board Meeting Walt Gallaugher

September 2017

9/8-10 DCRC Bealeton Fly IN Bealeton VA

9/15- 9/17 Youngville, NC (C) RDRC'S FLY FOR TOTS

9/15 DCRC Club Meeting Andy Kane

9/20 DCRC Board Meeting Andy Kane at his home.

October 2017

10/20 DCRC Club Meeting Jim McDaniel

10/25 DCRC Board Meeting Jim McDaniel

November 2017

December 2017

Notice:

Please note that all of the 2017 club meetings will now be held on the 3rd Friday of the Month at:

Montgomery County Council building Base-ment Auditorium

100 Maryland Ave

Rockville, MD 20850

starting at 7:30 pm

Come to the meeting to pick up on some fan-tastic raffle prizes and some great modeling information. And bring your model in for the model shop.

Continued from February:

COMPETITIVE FLIGHT

The 1937 Nationals R/C event attracted

six entrants: Walter Good, Elmer Was-

man, Chester Lanzo, Leo Weiss, Patrick

Sweeney and B. Shiffman. Lanzo won

with the lightest (6 pounds) and the sim-

plest model plane, although his flight was

a bit erratic and lasted only several min-

utes. Sweeney and Wasman both had

extremely short (5-second) flights when

their aircraft took off, climbed steeply,

stalled and crashed. Sweeney, however,

had the distinction of being the first per-

son to attempt an R/C flight in a national

contest. The other three entrants weren’t

able to make any flights at all.

BIRTH OF THE REED

One of them—Weiss—was an 18-year-

old aeronautical engineering student who

had constructed a very large, 14-foot-

wingspan RC model. He and an electrical

engineering student—Jon Lopus—had

devised a very sophisticated, innovative

RC system consisting of six tuned reeds

that reacted to audio tones. The reed-

control system became widely accepted in

the 1950s. During the 1937 Nationals,

however, Weiss wasn’t able to start his

plane’s Ferguson twin-cylinder engine.

He went on to successfully operate an

avionics manufacturing company.

R/C EVOLVES

The 1938 Nationals were once again

hosted by the “Motor City.” Although

the R/C entry list had grown to 26 en-

trants, only five fliers showed up on the

field. One of the newcomers was DeSoto,

who entered a 14-footwingspan, 25-

pound, stand-off-scale model of a Piper

Cub that was powered by a Forster twin-

cylinder engine. Each of the four separate

receivers on board used a gas-filled Ray-

theon RK-62 tube in a super regenerative

circuit to activate its own sigma relay. His

plane placed second, but it isn’t clear

whether or not it actually flew. Oddly

enough, these first contests required only

that contestants demonstrate their R/C

systems in a static position on the ground

to win a runner-up award.

Walter Good was the only contestant who

attempted a controlled flight in the face of

the 20mph winds. Even though it ended

in a crack-up, Walt was awarded first

place. A truly convincing demonstration

of R/C flight by a powered miniature air-

craft would have to wait until the follow-

ing year. Eleven R/C fliers showed up at

the 1939 Nationals at the Detroit Wayne

County airport. For the first time, a 100-

point system was adopted by the judges.

Points were given for craftsmanship, ac-

tual R/C operation in a static preflight

(Continued on page 5)

Volume 63 Issue 03 Page 5

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB

mode on the ground and a variety of

flight maneuvers.

That was a rewarding year for Walter and

William Good—23-year-old twins from

Kalamazoo, MI. Bill was a licensed ham-

radio operator with the call letters

W81FD. Their aircraft—named K-G—

was a slightly modified, high-wing mono-

plane.

(See the K-G story in the January ’91

issue of Model Airplane News.) This first

stable gas model was designed by a for-

mer editor of Model Airplane News—

Charles Hampson Grant.

Their radio and control mechanisms were

the essence of simplicity. At a time when

all of their competitor’s planes carried

receivers with 3- and 4-tube circuits, the

Good brothers’ radio receiver was a one

tube affair with a minimum of electrical

components. Their homemade relay was

so sensitive that it could be activated by a

current change of 1/2 milliamp! They also

designed and made their 1 -ounce, rubber-

band powered escapement mechanism.

Before going to the Nationals in 1939, the

two brothers had accumulated over 60

controlled flights in southern Michigan.

Their diligent efforts paid off with a first-

place score of 89 points; the second-place

winner scored only 11 points. The Good

brothers repeated their first place win in

the 1940 Nationals and once more after

the end of WW II, in 1947.

Their historic R/C model airplane, which

they affectionately named the “Guff,”

was presented to the National Air and

Space Museum in Washington, D.C., in

May, 1960, where it can be seen today.

(Continued from page 4) Both brothers continued their education

and subsequently earned doctorates in

physics. After pursuing careers in elec-

tronics research and teaching, they re-

tired, but they’re still very active in elec-

tronics. Walt lives in Florida, and Bill

resides in upstate New York. They com-

municate constantly with each other using

their ham radios.

JOSEPH RASPANTE

No story on the early days of R/C would

be complete without recognizing the work

of Joseph Raspante. Unlike most of the

early pioneers of R/C, who were basically

model airplane builders teamed up with

ham-radio specialists, Joe Raspante was a

superb designer and builder of early gas

models as well as a competent electronic

technician. His R/C system was unique in

that he used a telephone dial to select

various control functions. He placed sec-

ond in the 1939 R/C Nationals and third

in the 1940 event. Raspante was gener-

ous, and he shared his knowledge with

young builders in years that followed.

Walter Good remembers that when

thieves stole his brother’s R/C transmitter

from their hotel the day before the 1940

Nationals, Raspante offered the use of his

own transmitter. This gesture was espe-

cially meaningful, because the Good

brothers had defeated him in the 1939

Nationals. Raspante finally won the first

place he yearned for at the 1946 NY

Daily Mirror contest at Grumman airfield.

It was my privilege to see him fly there.

With the advent of the transistor and the

integrated microcircuits, today’s R/C

builder hardly has any of the frustrations

of the early pioneers.

In retrospect, however, we see that most

of the pioneer’s dedicated efforts were

largely foiled by overly complex electri-

cal designs. But without their persever-

ance, I doubt that R/C flight would have

progressed as quickly to where it is today.

DCRC February

Board Meeting BY DOUG HARPER

Volume 63 Issue 03 Page 6

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA RADIO CONTROL CLUB

The meeting, held at the

home of Andy

Finizio, was called to

order by President

Jim McDaniel at

7:10 PM. In atten-

dance were Jose San-

chez, Andy Kane,

Andy Finizio, Jim

McDaniel, Walt Gal-

laugher, Ed Leibolt,

Dave Garrison and

Doug Harper. Many thanks to Andy

for hosting the meeting and providing

light fare. Jim recognized special

guests Fernando Hernandez and Dom

Perez who are attending tonight's

meeting.

Committee Reports:

County Liaison: Jim McDaniel. No

report.

Sound & Safety: Walt Gallaugher.

No report.

Field Maintenance: David Garrison.

No report.

Flight Instruction/Community Rela-

tions: Ed Leibolt reported that we

need to do a training

schedule in the near

future. He will talk

to Jim Fisher to get

this done. They will

coordinate with

Andy Finizio on

event schedules.

Events: March 1 is the final indoor

flying date. Jim McD will talk to the

Soccerplex about adding a few more

dates in March. Opening Day this

year is Saturday April 22. Details

will follow.

Treasurer: Doug wrote six checks

over $100 since the last Board meet-

ing. He presented a YTD budget re-

port for the Board's use.

Newsletter: Andy Kane is putting the

final touches on the March newsletter.

Membership: Jose Sanchez reported

that dues are flowing in nicely.

Web Master: Jose Sanchez. Guy

Riso has set up a chat

room for the Club.

Jose will send out an

email announcing this

telling members how

to join. J o s e

will also look into

methods to control

the content of this

facility.

Old Business/New Business: Andy

Kane has rechartered DCRC with

AMA.

Fernando and Dom thanked the Board

for allowing them to

attend tonight's meet-

ing to discuss First

Person View (FPV)

racing. They proposed

that our field is well

suited to hosting FPV

(the area on the heli side) and poten-

tially could enhance DCRC's mem-

bership. There are a number of AMA

flying fields in the Washington metro

area that host FPV. The

dates used by these fa-

cilities have so far not

used the first Saturday of

the month. Fernando

and Dom proposed that

this might be a conven-

ient time to host FPV at

McMap. He also proposed an interim

idea of perhaps doing a Wednesday

(or other midweek) date to introduce

the concept before doing the Saturday

event. There was a discussion of

what kind of facilities are needed for

FPV and it was concluded that our

facility is just fine. It would require

that we set up the "gates" needed to

support this activity which is esti-

mated to cost no more than $1,000 to

$2,000 to get started. If the heli area

is the proposed site for FPV, we

would have to make sure the heli pi-

lots in the Club are comfortable with

sharing their area. After considerable

discussion, the Board felt we should

move to the next phase and start do-

ing some FPV training at the field.

There was another discussion about

whether the "regular" FPV pilots

should be DCRC members. It was

agreed that events attended by pilots

from other clubs would not require

DCRC membership (as long as a

DCRC member was present) but other

activities like frequent practice or

training at the field would require

membership. We will be watchful as

this idea gets off the ground to ensure

that the Club does the right thing.

Andy Finizio will act as the Board

coordinator for this activity.

The Board tentatively decided to

shoot for the first Saturday in April

(April 1) as a target for the first FPV

event.

There was a lengthy discussion about

the lack of attendance at the Club

meetings. Various options were dis-

cussed. One conclusion was to go

back to all Third Friday meetings be

held at the County Office Building

(versus the field in the summer) and

efforts be made to include better raf-

fles, more interesting programs, etc.

Andy Kane will publish this in the

newsletter.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:21

PM.

Suggested web links

Dornier Do 335 Pfeil (Arrow) - fastest piston engine fighter of WW2

Original Dornier Do 335 in flight

Giant Rc Dornier Do 335

Top 5 Weird WW2 Planes That Actually Flew

2 17ft B-17s in formation

100 Beautiful drones

300 Drones powered by Intel at the superbowl

Now 500 Drones new world record

Mustang Aerobatic Training

Svetlana Kapanina aerobatics cockpit view

СВЕТЛАНА КАПАНИНА, СЕРЁГА и Red Bull на 100 лет ВВС России

Send me some interesting video links.

March 2017

Andy Kane/Newsletter Editor

305 Natick Court

Silver Spring, MD 20905

E-mail: andykane01@gmail.com

One of the oldest and largest RC

clubs in the US.

And now an AMA Gold Leader Club

District of Columbia

Radio Control Club

www.dc-rc.org