Letters to the Editor
5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie, IN 47302
Confidence Restored
This letter is to thank you for the excellent "Flying Site Assistance" column in the July 2002 issue by Joe Beshar on the Alinco DJ-X2T. Here is my story.
Two of our members crashed in rapid succession (within five minutes of each other) while flying at our facility. They were on widely different frequencies and both were certain they were hit by interference from "an unknown source." There were other members at the field but all other transmitters were off.
Panic struck. All sorts of wild ideas started taking root:
- "Sabotage! It must have been that guy we wouldn't let fly last week because he didn't have insurance."
- "It is those pagers up on the mountain overlooking the field!"
- "It is truck drivers operating their CBs out on the highway" (about 1/2 mile line of sight).
What was really bad was that a consensus was forming that the field was contaminated and it was dangerous to fly there.
Our field, the Pony Express Model Air Park, is officially a Carson City park. The city leases the land, at no charge from the BLM (Bureau of Land Management), and paid for our 500 x 50-foot macadam runway and field house (total approximately $40,000). Our club has invested about $10,000 in sunshades, assembly tables, fencing, etc. It is a nice facility that seemed to be threatened by "unexplained radio interference."
We borrowed a scanner (owned by the AMA) from George Steiner, our area frequency coordinator. We were unable to detect any radio interference on the days that we monitored. The scanner proved that the area was free from interference "most of the time." We still had some members who were not satisfied and wanted the club to buy a scanner, but $800 to $900 was a pretty big lump to swallow — then your article came along! Everyone agreed it was worth the price.
When the unit arrived, I was assigned the task of setting it up and programming it for channels 1 through 60. The instruction manual is OK, but intended for general use. Thank God for Joe Beshar! His instructions were clear, precise, and did exactly what I wanted to do. Instead of hours (or maybe days) figuring out how from the manual, I had the unit performing its job in less than a half hour.
Conclusion? The Alinco DJ-X2T is exactly what the members of the club wanted. It is small enough to fit in a flight box, so it is "on duty" without a big hassle. Any time there is suspected interference, we have a precise tool with which we can investigate and it didn't break the treasury. The rumors have stopped and confidence has been restored. Thank you, AMA, and special thanks to Joe Beshar!
Frank E. Chase Carson City, Nevada
CAD Pluses
Each time I receive a new issue of Model Aviation I turn to Bob Hunt's editor's column. The July issue touched me dearly. You see, I have spent many hours at a manual drawing table during the past 35 or so years and since about 1990 additional time at the CAD station.
You are quite correct in asserting that "an artist's touch" is seldom seen anymore on drawings. When viewing current drawings, they all seem to "look alike" in that CAD presentations are often shown according to industry-wide standards regarding layers, line weights, hatching, and so on. What this does is take away the artistic effect which identified a designer's style and sometimes his or her personality.
However, with the way things are changing so fast, computer-generated designs are needed in order to generate customer likes, dislikes, changes, revisions, etc., and be able to adjust to quick turnarounds to meet project schedules and other constraints.
For me personally, I have enjoyed my career in the design field spanning mechanical, civil, architectural, electrical, and other technical areas. In fact, my earliest memory of doing any kind of drafting was to enlarge a plan shown, I believe, in Air Trails magazine of an airplane shown at one-quarter size. My experience in enlarging that 8.5 x 11 inch page to four times gave me a beginning to understand how to read blueprints, how to actually draw plans, and led me into modeling of aircraft during 1945 and after.
I suppose that early experience had some impact on my ability and interest to pursue a career in engineering. In fact, that background has generated my interest in helping others in the stunt community present ideas and designs for models, some you may have seen.
Anyway, I really do enjoy using CAD to model designs. It is a pleasure to see an article in a model magazine showing that in some small way I have helped advance design and model building. I sense that you also have experienced and enjoyed these activities.
Your article on Ares 59 is superb. I believe every stunt flier should have a copy of this article and be able to promote others to be "Billy Werwage," particularly among youth. They may not be exactly like Billy, but his life of dedication to building and flying stunt models should be an inspiration to others, whether young or old.
Walt Moore via E-mail
Classified Drawings
One of the many features I enjoy in Model Aviation each month seems almost hidden away toward the back of the magazine on the Classified Ads page (page 189 in the August 2002 issue).
Well-done pencil drawings are truly unique pieces of art and I look forward to a new one each month, such as the spin sequence of the S.E.5 in the current issue.
No credit is given to the excellent artist who does these drawings. There is no name or signature. Who is this person? He (or she) certainly deserves credit for such realistic and yet artistic work.
George W. Alexander Corpus Christi, Texas
Aircraft Notes
I enjoyed reading the letters cited in Mr. Mathews' feature "Flying for Fun." Our "black and white" concepts of the earlier years have certainly become more technical today; one hopes this is an improvement (August 2002 issue).
I should note, however, that the Nakajima Ki-43 "Hayabusa" was given the Allied code name "Oscar," not "Zero." The "Zero—'Sam'" A6M aircraft were built by Mitsubishi, and though often called "Zeros" were once called "Zeke" by the Allies. Thus the name applied to all A6M variants except the A6M2-N, a seaplane built by Nakajima.
I have noted several F4U Corsair models showing a white outline just forward of the cockpit. In my years as a naval aviator I don't recall seeing any F4Us with that feature. Does anyone have the true word about this?
Robert Corbit Worthington, Minnesota
Senior Students
I started in RC seven years ago when I was 53 years old. I've been a member of three clubs, still belong to one in Florida and one in Wisconsin. I'll be 60 years old in two months and I'm still the "kid" in both clubs.
My reason in telling you this is that the AMA plays the same record over and over: "focus on youth." Sure it's honorable, futuristic, and probably gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling. Meanwhile, 50 million young retirees—baby boomers—are looking for a hobby.
I've been the only club instructor for our tiny club in northeast Wisconsin. Do you know what it is like to struggle to learn the intricacies of RC and become a club instructor at the same time?
My "students" average 67 years old. They have never asked for help in their adult lives. When they first joined the club they would sit and just watch the others fly. You had to convince them, yes it's a difficult sport, but you can do it. No, they shouldn't feel embarrassed when they made a mistake. And because most of them cannot begin to assemble their models, even the most basic ARFs are a challenge.
I can tell you the AMA is part of the reason for the high turnover in our hobby/sport. Someone recently criticized the vast coverage your magazine gives competition. He's right on the money. Who competes? One out of every 500–1,000 members? Every month my senior students look at Model Aviation and wonder why it takes them so long to learn RC flying. After all, everyone in your magazine flies TOP RC (Tournament of Champions), beautiful scale models, etc. This causes them to second-guess their abilities and maybe stop before they learn to fly.
Half of your magazine should be devoted to newcomers. Your mentality is stuck in the Golden Age of Aviation when every kid was a master modeler. Your magazine is useless to a potentially huge audience of RC fliers: senior students.
Anthony R. Bacich Athelstan, Wisconsin
A Great Dad
My dad's name is Leon Chambers.
My father and I have been in this hobby for a lifetime — we love airplanes! He is 70 and has just been diagnosed with lung cancer. We don't know what stage yet, but he is no longer able to go with me to the club field much; he gets out of breath so easily and I've never known him to complain all his life (he's a "tough old goat"). But I know he's in a lot of discomfort.
We started when I was 12 or 13 flying control lines. Then after his Army career we entered the RC category and I took an interest in Pattern flying for a while. I won my first contest (Novice) in Nashville, Tennessee (August 27–28) in 1988. So I'd say we started flying RC maybe four or five years before then.
Anyway, it's really hard to get myself geared up to going to the field without him because for the last 18 or 19 years I hardly went without him to fly. We love to have a good flying day and I always call him up and ask if he had a good time. Sometimes it's just fun to have him with me to have someone to witness some of my crazy maneuvers or a crash once in a while, or to fuss and argue about this or that.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that all my life he's been a great dad and good advisor. He's helped me through lots of problems and been a real "solid rock" foundation and a wealth of knowledge and inspiration for me.
Dad served in the Army in Vietnam and Korea; in Vietnam he was an in-flight crew chief in helicopters (H-21s). He retired after a 20-year hitch. We were Army brats (me and my brothers and sister), but what an education!
Mike Chambers Attalla, Alabama
Not the Last Time
I recently crashed my FMA Razor flying wing (pilot error) and was obliged to return a servo to the manufacturer, Hitec RCD Inc., for repairs.
It was returned promptly, repaired and with some extra servo arms, at no charge. This is the first time I've used this manufacturer's equipment, which, by the way, has performed flawlessly; it will certainly not be the last!
Alex S. Rogers Tucson, Arizona
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
