Now you're Talking

Now you're Talking

Soapbox

Editor's note: The following was originally addressed to AMA president Don Lowe.

This is a belated response to a letter written by Jim Thomerson of Collinsville, Illinois, who wrote in the December issue of MA on the subject of "Thoughts on Technical Articles."

I agree with him on the need for publication of such articles, and especially the need for reviews of the text. There are many technical articles published in the modeling magazines which are riddled with errors. This should be avoided where possible.

The governments of the world have funded work done on Remotely Piloted Vehicles (or UAVs as they are now known) but very little (if any) money has been spent on really low Reynolds number research. In order for individual modelers to perform research and development (R&D) they have to spend their own money in the pursuit of some new technique or theory.

I believe that it is the function of the AMA to fund at least the publication of such endeavours. AMA sponsors promising young people to go to college and university to further their aeronautical studies; why not encourage these and other technically capable people to write and share their knowledge through the medium of your ready-made journal, Model Aviation?

Dave Gierke and Frank Vasallo have recently published engine power and propeller thrust data, which has greatly improved the modeller's understanding of model airplane performance, propeller unloading in flight, static thrust, and so on.

There are other aeronautical engineering graduates out there who put many hours of their time and effort into producing better designs and techniques for modellers. Carl Risteen of Canada and William F. McCombs of Dallas, Texas are just two such names that spring to mind.

It appears that the AMA relies on such specialist groups as the NFFS (National Free Flight Society) and the LSF (League of Silent Flight) to play the role of coordinators and custodians of technical development in the aeromodelling field. In the past Frank Zaic made a huge contribution to model aviation with his Year Books. R. J. Hoffman’s book Model Aeronautics Made Painless is another such contribution to the science of aeromodelling. Some of these works equate with the great life-study works of Hoerner, who spent his life collecting lift and drag data on a multitude of shapes and bodies.

"... an urgent appeal to AMA to recognise their role in promoting the science and hobby of model aviation ..."

This is thus an urgent appeal to those in authority at the AMA to recognise their role in promoting the science and hobby of model aviation by promoting and encouraging authors to publish, and at the very least, compensate them for the many hours spent in preparing the texts.

Frank Zaic published a set of "Needed Developments" that one of his contributors, Roger Schroeder, envisaged should be met to further the understanding and control of model aircraft. They are:

1. Angle of Attack Recorder.
2. Glide Angle Recorder.
3. Air Speed Recorder.
4. Good data on airfoil characteristics at model speeds.
5. Airfoils developed especially for model speeds.
6. Profile drag data on model shapes at model speed. (*)
7. A simple automatic device to cause model to circle upwind and eliminate long-distance retrieval problems.
8. A reliable mechanical DT device.
9. Design guides to follow in constructing strong, flexible, warp-resistant structures.
10. An easily made, efficient, folding propeller and hub device.
11. A jig design to easily make propellers.
12. A study of aerodynamic characteristics of model props. (*)
13. Determination of optimum aspect ratio for different size models.
14. A study of the materials available for construction with recommendations for application of new materials.
15. Establish better wind gust stability criteria for models under 30 inches in span.
16. Devise a reliable device to change the trim of a model under power and glide.

Some of these topics, as far as I am aware, have already been addressed and solutions produced. The rest are still outstanding. The items marked with an asterisk (*) are of particular interest to me and I would appreciate the publication of such data if it exists. The list was published 30 years ago in the 1964–65 Year Book and the topics are just as pertinent today as they were all those years ago.

Isn't it time that something was done about it?

Ed Baumgartner Box 1980 Halfway House 1685 South Africa

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.