Letters to the Editor
Have the dog days of summer arrived early?
We kick off with a ripper in response to the challenge that we offered in the latest edition of our Lift over Drag newsletter (see Resources, below):
A Slope Lift Assessor
All slope soarers will have stood on the edge of a hill pondering over those vital questions such as is there enough lift, do I need ballast, is the wind on the slope? In the absence of the first volunteer to launch a disposable foamie, birds such as gulls and crows can give some indication. But remember that they are much more efficient than your models and, as a final insult, can just start flapping to get out of trouble, often leaving the poor pilot with the long walk of shame to collect their model. I reckon birds often do it on purpose. So let me introduce to the ultimate slope lift assessment device — a spaniel.
Most spaniels have ridiculously long ears, known, I am reliable informed, as leathers, which appear to have some aerodynamic properties. The device is easy to use: simply encourage them to stand on the edge of the slope and watch the said ears. For safety reasons you must remember that spaniels were last in the queue when brains were handed out, so attaching the assessor to a safety harness is a must to prevent them leaping off if they spot a rabbit at the bottom of the slope.
Reading the ears is easy:
- Ears hanging down — lightweight soarers or electric assist only.
- Ears horizontal — lovely lift, most models will fly.
- Ears vertical — heavyweights or ballast required.
- One ear up, one down — wind off the slope, beware.
The drawback to this device is their expensive upkeep — vet bills are ruinous — and the continuous maintenance required in the form of long walks. Unfortunately, you can’t just switch them off and chuck in the bottom of your flight box.
Best Regards,
Alan Butterworth
Alan — that is absolutely priceless! A story tailor-made for lovers of both slope soaring and dogs, like me. Thanks so much for sending it along.— Ed.
Transmitter Programming Help Available
Please let Mr. Mandeville from Brockton (from last month’s Letters to the Editor) know that I’d be happy to help him set up his programming. Or, at least, I can give him an idea of what throws and mixes might be appropriate. I don’t have specific experience with that model or radio, but I’ve set up a number of thermal duration models with ailerons and flaps.
Also, if he’s interested in thermals I can give him stick time on something with a more appropriate wing loading. Google Maps says he’s 40 minutes or so from my house, and only a few minutes further from CRRC’s field. Also, please tell him to limber up and exercise his left thumb.
If he hasn’t run across it yet, he may enjoy the Charles River Radio Controllers website (see Resources) and its content about gliders.
Please be careful,
Lincoln Ross
Lincoln —we’ll make sure that Bob is aware of your offer and he’ll be in touch shortly, I’m sure. Thanks for being in touch.— Ed.
Thoughts on Peter Scott’s ‘Electricity for Model Flyers’
I’ve just read this series, or, at least, as much of it as has been published yet.
Maybe it’s coming later, but I haven’t seen any discussion of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Some of them have very good power density, even if their energy density isn’t quite on a par with lithium ion.However, I usually size motor batteries so they’ll handle the required current, which leaves plenty of capacity to handle the radio for a long time after I shut off the motor. The ones I use can be recharged much faster than lithium ion as well.They’re supposed to be safer and more robust. Probably safe enough to charge in the model. I’ve had good luck so far. I have a heavy 3m model that climbs fast enough for ALES on only two A123 cells. (I don’t know what the best brands are now.) I also have two smaller cells in a Supra. Generally, radio gear, even the old stuff, can handle 2S without a power supply or diodes to drop the voltage, because it’s hardly any higher than with 5 nicads.
Also, regarding nicads and NiMH, I think they’re less complicated to use than lipos. For one thing, they’re far less likely to cause fires. For those who think ahead, it’s easy enough to plug the tx and the model into a wall wart the night before. For the rest of us, there are innumerable peak chargers that can do the job in an hour or less. I’ve had excellent luck with nimh and, especially, nicads since I started using pulsed chargers, first the Ace and then the Sirius. Except that one time with the Ace. If you’re still using one, check the wiring. Mine developed an intermittent connection.
For some transmitters, it may be necessary to bypass the blocking diode with a tiny wire, but that’s easy. You only need one that can handle a couple of amps. For more current, it will act like a fuse, sparing your radio. I admit I don’t know what pulsed chargers are available at the moment.
Best regards,
Lincoln Ross
Lincoln — similarly, we’ll alert Peter to your letter and he’ll follow up. Thanks so much for this valuable information. — Ed.
Curation is ©2022 The New RC Soaring Digest Staff
Resources
- Stamps That Tell a Story — Simine Short, who provides many of the stamps featured in our montage, above, kicks off her own series this month: “There are many ways to collect stamps and many kinds to collect. Everybody chooses according to his/her own taste (and pocket-book). I collect postage stamps showing gliders, model gliders…”
- Lift over Drag — Our more-or-less monthly newsletter which provides advanced email notice about the upcoming issue. Lift over Drag is free, but you do have to sign-up if you want it to arrive in your email inbox each month.
- Charles River Radio Controllers — From their website: “The Charles River Radio Controllers (CRRC) club was founded in late November 1964 in a basement in Newton. For several months, the original thirteen met in various cellars throughout the area…”
- Letters to the Editor — Includes the letter from Bob Mandeville to which Lincoln Ross refers.
- Electricity for Model Flyers — The instalment of Peter Scott’s popular series which enumerated and commented on various types of battery technologies.
Send your letter via email to NewRCSoaringDigest@gmail.com with the subject ‘Letter to the Editor’. We are not obliged to publish any letter we receive and we reserve the right to edit your letter as we see fit to make it suitable for publication. We do not publish letters where the real identity of the author cannot be clearly established.
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