Radio Control: Helicopters
Larry Jolly 15781 Empire Ln., Westminster, CA 92683
I'm glad to be back with you again. I hope all of you have been getting in enough building and flying. I have three new ships under construction and can't seem to find enough time to finish everything with the demands of my business and family. I always look forward to a break, and whenever it looks like I'm going to have one I plan to attend a meet or fun-fly just to hang out with the guys and decompress. Everything worked out and I was able to jump in the "old Cessna" and fly to Merced in September to take part in the fly-in. I saw a lot of good stuff.
10th ANNUAL MERCED HELICOPTER FLY-IN
It was a real pleasure to see Chuck Winter and the crew from the Merced club. These guys have been putting on a great fun-fly for the last 10 years. This year attendance was a little low, with about 70 fliers and over 100 machines present. Several events were flown, including auto rotation, drag racing, scale, and limbo. Factory fliers performed daily demonstrations.
Tim Schoonard from Miniature Aircraft U.S.A. flew the new XL-Pro Graphite Conversion. It is a smooth-flying machine that represents the apex of Miniature's attention to the mechanics of an FAI-class machine. Highlights included:
- Total weight: 9.5 pounds (includes 200-gram blades, 50-gram paddles, six servos, gyro, and a 1,300‑mAh airborne battery pack)
- Woven graphite side frames, CNC machined for absolute fidelity
- Controls supported on ball races with push-pull on collective, cyclic, and rudder
- Shock-mounted servo tray with provisions for an in-flight mixture-control servo
- Increased collective range: full ±25° with no binding at the extremes of control deflection
- Graphite tail boom with ball-raced carbon tail-rotor drive; accepts Miniature's gear ratios
- New epoxy canopy and Lexan windshield
The model I saw featured gold-anodized metal parts and was built by Tim Schoonard. The XL-Pro flew smoothly and will be a hot contender on the contest trail. Miniature Aircraft is to be congratulated for the fine job they are doing by constantly expanding and refining their X-Cell mechanics.
Marty Kuhns, our local Kalt representative, showed the crowd what 3-D flying looks like with an Enforcer. Marty put on an impressive display. Ken Marshall, also from Kalt, flew both his Alpha II and Alpha Gas. The Alpha Gas showed why it is the most popular alternate-energy-source machine. (Editor's note: the Alpha Gas uses a spark-ignition, gasoline-fueled engine.)
Ken's Alpha II was equipped with a new constant-speed rotor device called the Throttle Jockey. The unit uses a magnet attached to the main-rotor shaft and a magnetic detector head mounted on a side frame to drive the engine throttle servo and maintain the desired rotor rpm. The head can be set for a given rpm regardless of throttle-stick position—so if you set the head at 1,700 rpm, it will hold that speed at full positive and full negative collective pitch with no overspeed at neutral. You can achieve a similar effect with a well-tuned U-shaped throttle curve on a computer radio, but the Throttle Jockey works with any radio.
Ken's Alpha II also had a new solid-state gyro. I flew his ship and was greatly impressed with the response of this gyro. The unit's control gain appears to be infinitely variable and represents things to come on the gyro scene, as all the major manufacturers are working on solid-state systems.
Robert Gorham from Futaba and TSK put on a dazzling demonstration with his TSK Blackstar, Jazz Ranger, and Y&S-powered racer. One of the guys on the line said he clocked Robert's ship at 96 mph with a radar gun. Robert's demonstration featured incredible verticals and carry-through stall turns. Robert has been working with the Y&S engineers for the last year, testing to get the most from the engine.
Also on hand was Kyosho's newest field rep, Tony Davis. Tony flew the Concept 60 and 30 SR and did a great job getting comfortable with his Concepts.
Besides the factory demos, there was a lot of super fun-flying all weekend. It was not uncommon for five or six ships to be in the air at one time. I saw some impressive 3-D flying by Texas flier Skip Johnson in his X-Cell 60. On Sunday there were well-supported awards and a raffle with a lot of merchandise, including a Futaba radio and two X-Cell helicopters. A great big THANKS goes to Miniature Aircraft and all the other manufacturers who donated prizes to this fun event. I had a great time, and I hope to see you in 1993 at the 11th annual Merced Fly-In.
NEW PRODUCTS
Positive Performance Headers: One of our local fliers is Kenny Mooers. Kenny builds funny cars for a living and is an incredible craftsman. After I damaged one of my Hatori pipes in a crash, Kenny fixed it better than new and showed me some headers and pipes he had made himself. He is currently offering exhaust systems for the Kalt Gas, TSK Ace and 5-Star, Shuttle, and Concept 30 and 60. For more information contact:
- Positive Performance Headers, P.O. Box 1757, Walnut, CA 91788
- Phone: (714) 595-7031
A Hel-X product (details forthcoming) retails for $129. I'm going to try a set on my Shuttle and will report how they work. To order a set contact Hel-X at 1-800-553-4359.
Miniature Aircraft has a new X-Cell X-Press newsletter. This promotional tool features useful information from Wayne Mann and other M.A. field reps, plus news on what's new at Miniature. If you didn't get a copy, contact Miniature Aircraft at 2324 N. Orange Blossom Trail, Orlando, FL 32804 to get on their mailing list.
THE MOVIES—AGAIN
Did you see the recent action thriller Under Siege? If you did, you may have seen some of my company's handiwork. My team built the Byron F-18s and our own 1/2-scale Tomahawk cruise missiles used in the film.
This was the first time I had the opportunity to work with Kevin LaRosa of Jet Centers. Kevin was extremely helpful and a pleasure to work with. Kevin and his crew installed the missiles on his full-size Long Ranger helicopter. It was quite a rush to have my team viewing the cruise missile while I was sitting in the passenger seat of the Long Ranger. We were on the water at a distance of about eight miles from the coast. There were some missile shots from the air as well.
After 12 minutes of filming Kevin would land and wait for the next take. We had access to the film, but I was not allowed on the helicopter as a passenger during filming. It was a job I won't forget.
BCNU
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
