Radio Control: Electrics
Bob Kopski 25 West End Dr. Lansdale, PA 19446
THIS MONTH'S TOPICS:
- The Electric Connection Service
- Meet Announcement — KRC
- Reader Inquiries — The Esquire
- Electric Is No Good!
The Electric Connection
Service happily offers three names this month.
First up is Tony Turley, 229 Pine Circle, Dunbar, WV 25064; telephone (304) 768-2821. Tony is a member of the Flying Hillbillies, a club of about 60 members in the greater Charleston area. There are now three serious Electric fliers locally, and Tony is hoping to hook up with more. He'd very much like to form an Electric-only club — a great idea. If you get in touch with Tony, tell him "Bob sent ya!"
Next, from the northeast corner of Connecticut, Jim Marinelli Jr. writes that he's eager to find other E-fliers or an Electric club nearby. Jim flies several .05 Cobalts and some smaller motors, and he's hoping to move up to the .25 size soon. E-modeling fun is meant to be shared, so readers in that area are asked to contact Jim at 75 Rosen Ave., Torrington, CT 06790.
Finally, Gordy Stahl, 6623 W. Chambers St., Milwaukee, WI 53210, tells of a newly formed Electric club in his area: the New Berlin Associated Electric Flyers (NBAEF). The name is well liked — by the time one is done saying it, one's batteries are charged. Interested persons can get more information by sending an SASE to Gordy's address. Incidentally, Gordy and some others are going to Holland this summer to support the U.S. F3E team in its efforts to capture the gold.
Best wishes to Tony, Jim, and Gordy in their pursuits. How about letting me know how this all works out, guys?
Meet Announcement — KRC
The Keystone R/C Club has announced the 13th annual KRC Electric Fly, to be held Saturday and Sunday, September 19 and 20, at the Buc-Le Aerosportsmen Flying Field in Quakertown, Pennsylvania — the same magnificent site as in past years.
This year's Electric Fly will continue some traditions and will also offer expansions, improvements, and some new events. Optional competitive activities include an All-Up-Last-Down (AULD) event each day, with up to 15 participants — a new high. Because of the event's popularity, KRC has set up a pre-registration plan for the AULD. The AULD is co-sponsored by Sonic-Tronics and KRC and features cash prizes totaling $300 plus plaques. Other competitive events include 20 Loops, 30 Rolls, Stand-Off Scale, Best OT, and Pilot's Choice. The field will be open both days for fun-flying except during the AULD and special demos.
Meet improvements this year include enhanced frequency control, with flight stations and ready boxes manned by station monitor personnel to guarantee everyone air time. A 20-minute pin time will be strictly monitored and enforced. Also, narrow-band/Gold Sticker radios will be allowed.
The renowned KRC Electric Fly Raffle will again offer lots of prizes. As in past years, KRC will raffle at least four fully equipped, ready-to-fly Electrics plus many other items. New this year is a separate special raffle feature whose proceeds will benefit the U.S. F3E team activity — KRC feels the highly specialized part of Electric is as important as anything else Electric is.
Another crowd-pleasing activity is the KRC Saturday Night Dinner and Social — an early sellout at 140 seats for the last two years. This year's affair will move to a larger nearby facility to accommodate more attendees. Dinner reservations are required and tend to go fast, so order early.
For a fully detailed mailer and dinner reservation application, contact the Contest Director, John Hickey, at 1624 Maple Ave., Hatfield, PA 19440; telephone (215) 368-9895.
Finally, Mitch Poling, the Electric columnist for Model Builder and the longest-running E-writer I know, is planning to come all the way from Germany to this year's meet. See ya there!
Reader Inquiries — The Esquire
The October 1991 column included a photo of my "new," electrified Esquire — a popular Midwest kit from the 1950s and 1960s. Since that column appeared, readers have steadily inquired about a source for plans. The Esquire is now a Vintage design, and I built mine to participate in Vintage meets.
You can get plans from Model Builder magazine. It is plan #9862. For plans, write to Model Plan Service, 34249 Camino Capistrano, Capistrano Beach, CA 92624; or call (714) 496-5411.
Esquire plans are also available from NASCO: P.O. Box 10127, Costa Mesa, CA 92627; telephone (714) 723-6057. Ask for plan V104, priced at $13.
Readers have also asked about the Midwest Tri Squire — a sister ship to the Esquire — but I know of no source for its plans. If any reader does, please let me know.
Electric Is No Good!
Recently a reader accused Electric columnists (in general) of misleading readers by failing to write about the "bad" aspects of Electric. At that time I promised I'd do so in the future — and the future is now.
So far as I know, about half a dozen perceived disadvantages or "bad things" about Electric flight are frequently cited. I've received mail over the years that lists these complaints. Here are the common ones:
- Electric is too heavy and doesn't fly.
- Electric doesn't have enough power to fly well.
- Electric has too short a flight time.
- Electric is too complicated.
- Electric is too expensive.
- Nobody flies Electric around here.
I can understand readers familiar with Electric laughing at these claims, but they represent genuine perceptions held by many modelers. My purpose in this column is to offer help, and anyone who believes any of the above truly needs help.
The reality is that plenty of modelers are still convinced Electric's no good — either because they got a bad start or received incorrect information. I'm not foolish enough to believe Electric is for everyone, but I do want to help make sure that if Electric really is for you, a poor beginning or misinformation won't turn you away.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
