Free Flight: Duration
Harry Murphy 3824 Oakwood Blvd. Anderson, IN 46011
NFFS News
At this writing (April), the aforementioned reorganization of the NFFS is proceeding per plan. Bob Stalick has volunteered to head the nominating committee for the five elected offices of president and four regional vice-presidential positions.
The Nostalgia Gas Advisory Board now has the intended four members: Bob Larsh representing the northeast quadrant, Ron Sharpton the southeast, Ralph Prey the southwest, and Bob Stalick the northwest. Terry Thorkildsen is our new NFFS Technical Director; Dick Lyons requested permission to resign for personal reasons after about a month in that post.
Current NFFS President Tony Italiano is undertaking the task of rewriting the NFFS bylaws to conclude necessary business matters so the NFFS can begin 1992 with the new organizational changes in place.
Tony has advised that, due to the short time between the late-fall 1990 Nats and the early-summer 1991 Nationals, the annual NFFS Sympo booklet will not be available for sale at the June Nationals. With all the material to gather and prepare for print, the traditional NFFS annual publication will be readied for sale later in the summer.
Bob Klipp, who handles the NFFS Plan Service, advises that since we ran a three-view of Mark Sexton's HLG, the Athena, in our April column, he has had a brisk response for full-size plans of the design.
A note on the Athena three-view: the chord dimension for the wing tip was inadvertently left off — the missing number is 2-3/16 in. Mark also advised me that I erred on the dimension from the front of the fuselage back to the LE of the wing. The 2.6 figure should have been 4.0, and the stab tip dimension should have been 2.3, not 1.25 as indicated. I hope these miscues do not produce a number of short-nosed Athenas with skinny stabs flitting about in thermals this summer. Someday I shall make a drawing which is totally correct... someday!
Top 40 and Entry Trends
I really despise surveys; many are inaccurate and cause more problems than they solve. Statistics, on the other hand, are at least fun to play games with — you can take a list of numbers and arrange them to emphasize almost any argument. I charted the entries at the last Free Flight Nats to see what events, categories, or types of models draw the greatest interest.
Any Midwest Nats traditionally draws higher entry numbers compared to contests held elsewhere, so it should provide a fair cross-section of event activity. We’ll ignore highly specialized or fleeting-interest classes (ornithopters, tri-planes, rubberband-mounted helicopters, etc.) and focus on the main events. Take a look at the Top 40 events.
A quick glance at the charts shows that AMA Gas is still king, with 1/2A Gas leading the pack. The simpler model types draw the most interest — P-30, .020 Replica, and Hand Launch Glider make the top 10, along with the traditional AMA Gas classes A, B, and C and the age-old Mulvihill Rubber event.
Notably, two first-time Nats events made a good showing: Old-Timer Catapult Glider and Hand-Held Catapult Glider (the latter flown under rules established by the Central Indiana Aeromodellers). Contestants clearly prefer the hand-held launcher arrangement to the ground-supported pedestal version shown in the AMA rule book.
Another first-time Nationals event was FAI Small Power (F1J). It drew nearly three times the number of entries as its big-brother counterpart F1C. Possible reasons: current F1J rules allow flying a state-of-the-art 1/2A Gas model in the event, and F1C entries were expected to be low because the FAI Team Finals were staged on the West Coast just a couple of weeks prior to the Lawrenceville Nationals.
FAI events as a group trailed the list in category averages at 31.8 entries per event compared to 42.6 entries per event for all events. The category leader was AMA Gas at 57.4 entries per event.
The Nationals offered a full complement of categories — AMA, FAI, numerous SAM Old-Timer events, and all six NFFS Nostalgia Gas events within the five-day session. With so many events and hi-point award challenges, contestants had to choose which events to enter. There simply wasn't enough time to fly everything, and as we get older, we get slower...
A subtle development noted by many is the resurgence of participation in rubber-powered events in recent years, most obvious in P-30 and Mulvihill Rubber.
The relatively new NFFS Nostalgia Gas movement is still growing and could steady further as high-tech materials and gadgetry continue to infiltrate AMA Gas classes. Nostalgia Gas could become a haven for those who prefer to build and fly simpler machines. The special Nostalgia Gas Ignition event should catch up to Old-Timer Gas Ignition levels as interest climbs and as it approaches official status under the Nos Gas umbrella.
The simpler events also lead the Old-Timer category, with .020 Replica as the clear category leader. All basic OT stick and fuselage rubber events show fine representation. New kit releases of vintage designs should maintain or increase participation.
I combined Electric A and B numbers to get them into the top 40. Electric interest in Free Flight has been growing slowly; we have moved up from the one- and two-entrant levels of years past. Electric power introduces a different set of parameters and experimentation. Serious competitors in this field are concentrating on battery-powered concepts and have largely forsaken other events. Expect future breakthroughs in motors and batteries to speed wider acceptance.
Field and Rules Issues
Some inconsistencies exist in current rules when viewed with respect to the limited sizes of flying fields used in Category III competition. These inconsistencies affect entry levels both positively and negatively.
- Mulvihill Rubber: The initial three official flights have two-minute maxes; then one minute is added to each ensuing flyoff flight. It is not uncommon to record six or seven flyoff flights to declare a winner, resulting in eight- to ten-minute maxes on a Category III field whose downwind restrictions remain the same. This allows flight limits that may exceed the enclosures of some Category I or II sites — not sensible.
- P-30: A similar condition exists here but to a lesser degree. P-30 rules had a half-minute added to each flyoff flight, but the drag of the plastic free-wheeling prop makes maxing more difficult as time limits extend.
AMA Gas rules were revised some years ago to recognize Category III site restrictions; the rubber-powered community still has work to do in this regard.
Payload Event
One mystery of Nationals competition is the Payload Gas event, rescued from obscurity by the NFFS over 20 years ago. The event retains a faithful but limited level of participation and normally ranks low in entry numbers.
A while back, a Free Flighter stated that in his opinion the Payload event was "too under-powered to be any fun." That sparked thought. A chart shows that another .020-powered event, .020 Replica, drew the fourth-highest number of entries, and 1/4A Nostalgia Gas drew seven more entries than Payload. If .020 Replica and 1/4A Nos Gas are also under-powered, why is Payload less popular?
In local Category III competition, the .020 Replica event is usually given 10–12 seconds of engine run, hand-launched, with no weight restrictions, resulting in models as light as 3 to 3.5 oz. The 1/4A Nos Gas event allows similar liberties with runs cut to nine seconds. The Payload model, however, must be loaded to a minimum of five ounces, ROG (rise off ground), and take only 10 seconds to gain a comparable altitude — it's difficult. Maybe Category III Payload needs the engine run extended to at least 12 seconds to make it more fun.
Six-foot Dodger
During the distribution of door prizes at the SAM 57 bean feed last fall (one of two banquets held in conjunction with the combo 1991 AMA/NFFS Nationals), I noticed a new Balsa Enterprises Engineering kit presented to a lucky winner: a 6-ft Brooklyn Dodger. At first I thought it was a blow-up for OT RC Assist purposes since their rules permit scaling (OT Free Flight rules do not).
The next day Sal Taibi informed me he had built one of that size during the OT era and powered it with a twin-spark-plug Super Cyclone. Sal later sold it because the engine was so noisy it hurt his ears. Frank Parmenter confirmed he saw the model at a contest at Langley Field shortly thereafter.
Bob Larsh, as a member of the SAM design approval team, said he would start the approval process to get the 6-ft Dodger legally approved for SAM Free Flight utility. I acquired one of the kits and planned to build it for the SAM Champs at Lawrenceville, Illinois in 1992.
Sal Taibi recently completed a new 6-ft Dodger powered by a Dunham Orwick .64 driving a 14 x 6 prop at 7,500 rpm. Sal says the model flies beautifully. Bob Larsh had not yet confirmed approval but saw no reason it wouldn't be approved shortly. Sal confirmed the model is red, white, and blue, and quipped that one witness said the sprayed-on paint made it look like he had run out of paint twice.
If you're a Dodger lover and want a plan set, send $8.50 to Sal Taibi, 4339 Conquista Ave., Lakewood, CA 90713. Sal advises the required wing trailing edges are a non-standard 1-1/4 x 5/8, so he will supply the appropriate TE strips plus rolled plans in a tube for an additional $1.50. Tell him Duration sent you.
More Timer Stuff
Keeping up with timer sources seems to be a monthly necessity. Good news this month:
- Ed Dolby of Ed Model Supply has purchased a new batch of K&B fuel shut-offs. Price: $17.50 each plus $2.50 shipping. Address: P.O. Box 3957, Torrance, CA 90510. These heavy-duty, metal-geared fuel shut-off/timers are a useful off-the-shelf option.
- Jorge Triana reports he has located a Japanese source for the last model of K-Mart camera timer for those who prefer to build their own timers using this mechanism. Price: $12 each plus postage. Address: 3713 73rd Street East, Inver Grove Hts., MN 55075.
- Nat Comfort offers conversion of a K-Mart camera mechanism into a finished timer. Send him your K-Mart mechanism and specify the function(s) you want (flood off, pinch off, number of functions, etc.). Price: $16 each. Work is guaranteed. Address: 12324 Percival St., Chester, VA 23831.
Support these small suppliers while the parts are available.
Catalog Department
Here are three Free Flight supply catalogs received recently. All are one-man businesses filling the void left by local hobby shops.
- Ken Sykora — Old Timer Model Supply (1991 catalog). A 15-page publication with many plans (Dallaire, Comet, Megow, Peerless, Scientific, Starli Stahl, Dick Strahl classics), jumbo Lindbergh scale jobs, vintage rubber endurance designs, and basics like balsa, rubber, and accessories. Send $2 to Old Timer Model Supply, P.O. Box 7334, Van Nuys, CA 91409.
- Jerry Skjrance — Micro-X Products Catalog No. 16. A $2 catalog from P.O. Box 1063, Lorain, OH 44055. Specializes in small indoor and outdoor stick-and-tissue models with a wide variety of rubber sizes, super indoor wood, and associated hardware. Many small, minutely-dimensioned wood sizes are available.
- Ed Dolby — FAI Model Supply Catalog No. 18. Offers 20 pages of kits and accessories for outdoor rubber and glider disciplines, plus K&B engine timers, gas kits, and accessories. Address: same as Ed Model Supply above. No catalog cost listed; send a dollar or two to support the effort.
Closing
Well, I gotta go. See you downwind!
Always look for positive ways to share our wonderful sport of modeling with everyone, especially the young.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
