ROCKS RC PLANES | Flying Report January 2001

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Jan - Mar 2001 Flying Report
Planes, People, and Events from Hampton, Newport News, and York County Virginia

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January Flying Report

Hardy Souls

Sailplanes among the clouds - Rocks photo Saturday, January 6, 2001 -I haven't flown sailplanes in nearly seven years, so I decided to join the Tidewater Model Soaring Society for their Hardy Souls fun fly. It turned out that the weather wasn't bad. After calling Percy Pierce to get directions to the Isle of Wight Court House, where TMSS holds many of their flying events, I packed my Spirit two-meter sailplane in the van and headed out to the field. There were more than a dozen pilots at the field, and the winch was already in use when I got there. I talked with a few people about frequency management and the structure of the contest before I put in my first flight. After the contest started, my mission was to get four flights with times as close to five minutes as I could manage. Two of my flights were reasonably close to the five-minute time, but the other two were quite a bit short. In between my contest flights, I made a couple thermal flights with times of twelve to fourteen minutes. About half way through the event, we stopped to eat. The catered buffet, put on by a club member at no cost to the entrants, included a delicious ham soup, shrimp gumbo, barbecue chicken, and a variety of side dishes. I had a very relaxing and enjoyable time with the guys from TMSS. I'm really glad I went, and I think I'll be back later this year.

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February Flying Report

Bridi Trainer

Sunday, February 11, 2001 - The bank's digital thermometer read 0 degrees Centigrade as I drove to the field. The flags along my drive blew gently in the breeze. I have no idea what the wind-chill factor was, but it was cold. I went to the field to meet with Jay Jennings, and to fly in the cold as practice for the upcoming Frostbite Fun Fly. Bouncing my two year old Avistar off the ground in a succession of touch and go landings was quickly losing its charm, in part because no one else was there, but also because of that slightly numb feeling in my fingers. I had decided I was on my last flight when Don Kohlman arrived. Don is a former pattern flier recently returned from a very long fishing trip. Although his Bridi Trainer claimed to be perfect, he was having a difficult time getting it to behave. Together we worked through the control throws and trims to settle her down. I had never flown a Bridi Trainer before, but this little 25-sized stick-like plane was very interesting. She flew quickly on the small engine, with flight performance akin to that of an Ugly Stik. By the time Don and I packed up our planes, I had been at the field for four hours! I had a great time helping Don with his plane, and the cold only seemed to heighten the kid-like adventure of it. While we were there, two guys came by the field to pick up applications and meet people. Perhaps in a couple of weeks I'll get a chance to help them get a plane into the air.

March Flying Report

Quick, Before it Rains!

Larry retrieves his 4 Start 40 - Rocks photo Saturday, March 3, 2001: When I heard that the weekend weather forecast included rain all day Sunday, I knew I had to go out Saturday morning to get a few flights in, and it seems I wasn't the only person with this logic! Larry Wall and I headed out around 9 AM, along the way we talked about models and flight packs and flying. We were the first flyers at the field and we started setting up our planes. While Larry assembled and checked his 4 Star 40, I realigned the ailerons on my Somethin' Extra. Before we even got in a flight, Bruce Utne, Mike Atkinson, and Lester Knight arrived!

Within minutes, the field was filled with models. Bruce brought out three models: his Chipmunk, his Mustang, and his Easy Sport 40. Mike unpacked his Kadet Lt and a brand new Tower Uproar 40! Lester's fleet included his new PT Electric and his Dura Plane Trainer. Not wanting to miss the fun, Jay Jennings pulled up with his trusty Stik.

The Frost Bite Fun Fly- by Jay Jennings [edited by Rocks]

Contestants prepare for the first event Sunday, March 11, 2001: Wow! What a great month February was for flying! I hope all of you enjoyed it as much as I did. We had the Frost Bite Fun-Fly scheduled for Febuary 18th and we were finally able to hold the contest on March 11th. We only had a total of ten spectators all afternoon, but we did end up with nine contestants. Here are the results from the fun fly.

Number of loops completed within one minute:
1st place	Ray Nelson	18 loops	IOW
2nd place	Bill "Rocks" Miller	17 loops	NNPRC
3rd place	H.B. Urrutia	15 loops	NNPRC
3rd place	Bill Van Cleave	15 loops	CVA
3rd place	Rusty Kennedy	15 loops	NNPRC

Jay Jennings, Bill Van Vleave's, and guest discuss the bomb drop event - Rocks photo Bomb Drop

Our bomb drop event had the pilots lobbing 1 inch nuts, with a piece of streamer tied to them, at a predetermind spot. We held the nut on the plane with a ten penny nail epoxied to two popsicle sticks.

Bomb Drop:
1st place	Joe Lupton	54 feet	NNPRC
2nd place	Bill "Rocks" Miller	94.5 feet	NNPRC
3rd place	H.B.Urrutia	99 feet	NNPRC

Timed Flight

The last event was announced on the flyer to be "touch & goes," but the wind was so strong and variable that it was decided, in the interest of safety, that we would do a timed flight event instead. We decided on a one-minute flight. From the time that you were given the go to take off, you had exactly one minute to be back on the ground. Each second over or under cost you a point. To make it a little more interesting, you were required to perform three loops plus three rolls during the minute. No stop watches or timers allowed. The results:

One minute timed flight:
1st place	Rusty Kennedy	64 seconds	NNPRC
2nd place	Ray Nelson	64 seconds	IOW
3rd place	Mike Foster	73 seconds	CVA

T h a n k Y o u !

I would like to thank Rusty Kennedy of Stream Hobby Shop for donating some prizes for this contest. Though it was not a great day for the contest, I think everyone who attended had a good time and just as the fun fly ended, the wind died down to almost nothing. Maybe we ought to start our next fun fly at 3:30 p.m!

Rusty concentrating on his approach - Rocks photo