RADIO CONTROL SOARING
Marc Gellart, 1796 Homeward Ave., Lima OH 45805
About the author
I am Marc Gellart from Lima, Ohio. I was raised in Texas and graduated from Texas A&M University. I have been an active soaring enthusiast since the late 1980s, although I built my first sailplane—an Olympic II—in 1976 and had my first soaring experience in 1975 under the watchful eye of Cecil Haga, flying his Legionaire 140.
I am a very involved contest flier in the Ohio Valley, concentrating on Thermal Duration contests. I also fly Hand-Launch, Cross Country, F3J, and slope soaring (when the winds are right, yes, you can slope in Ohio and Indiana). I am involved with the Dayton Area Thermal Soarers (DARTS) and the League Of Flight by Thermals (LOFT) in Fort Wayne, IN. I am also the coordinator for the Ohio Valley Soaring Series (OVSS).
Industry support and fundraising
Industry support is one of the cornerstones of RC soaring, but how do you go about getting a company to supply goods or services to your organization for fund-raising or rewarding participants?
When soliciting support:
- Start early.
- Find out what is required by the company (for example, evidence of an AMA-sanctioned event).
- Stick with the process until you get support.
Ohio Valley Soaring Series (OVSS) raffle
As part of the OVSS, every time a competitor flies a contest day, he or she earns a chance in an end-of-the-year raffle. Last year the prize was a DJ Aerotech Monarch 2M. Joe Hahn and Don Stackhouse were generous enough to take a chance on a completely unknown entity. In the end, Don Harris (Double Level V LSF [League of Silent Flight] of Westerville, Ohio) was the season champion and won the Monarch in the drawing.
In 1999 I worked to improve the series' year-end raffle by writing letters requesting support from companies that are soaring-dedicated, soaring-related, or regionally concerned with the Ohio Valley states. The letters included the who, what, where, when, and how of the OVSS, but in many cases that was not sufficient. After the letters went out, I learned that many corporations will not support an activity that is not directly related to an AMA-sanctioned contest. When I received many "thanks, but no thanks" replies, I called back and learned the OVSS was not considered because I had not included a copy of an AMA Sanctioned Event form.
OVSS is holding an AMA-sanctioned event, in conjunction with LOFT, on Labor Day weekend at the International Aeromodeling Center, Muncie, IN. After further contact and the proper forms were sent in, many of the companies that initially turned OVSS down decided to support us in 1999.
Central Arizona Soaring League — Southwest Classic (SWC)
Phoenix, Arizona is about the nicest spot you can find in the U.S. in February. If you ever want to take a vacation with your sailplane, the Central Arizona Soaring League's (CASL) Southwest Classic (SWC) is one of the neatest contests you can attend. I have been lucky enough to compete in the SWC for a number of years.
Dave Wenzlick, Contest Director, had the '99 SWC held at the location other CASL members use as their home field, in Gilbert, AZ. The SWC took place at Schnepf Farms, Queen Creek, southeast of the Phoenix metroplex. Schnepf Farms is used for outdoor concerts; Dave found a completely grass-covered area instead of having a landing zone with limited grass. The field has some of the nicest camping setups, bathrooms (real ones), and showers. We stayed at the field; setup was determined prior to the contest. Launching was to the south; landings to the west. A consistent east-to-south light breeze prevailed; lift got better as the winds got lighter and more variable in direction.
SWC drew 152 fliers competing in two contests:
- Precision Duration: three rounds (4, 4, and 7 minutes).
- Add-Em-Up: four rounds; a 34-minute target time consisting of nine-minute maxes, given a two-minute buffer. To get the max you would have to average about 8:30 per round.
Lift was variable enough—especially during the last round—that getting maxes wasn't guaranteed. The landing zone was a modified landing strip/circle five feet wide by 1,667 feet long; we used landing tape graduated in one-point-per-inch increments. The landing task was well accepted.
Fliers brought molded models in large numbers. SWC featured Northeast Sailplanes Psykos and Mueller Esprits among many designs. If you did not own a molded model, you likely bought one at the contest. Skip Miller was exporting two designs to Eastern Europe; his tent was next to a consistent group of pilots lined up asking questions and making orders.
Notable designs and equipment observed:
- Eclipse Xantippa V-tails, pylon-mounted wings using the 5D7037 airfoil—works of art that fly very well. Skip also has Emeralds coming for sale.
- RnR California's Joe Wurts was flying an all-molded Diamond—the same airplane that won the F3J World Championship.
- Whyte Wings' Sapphire G was shown with an update: instead of obeche-sheeted wings, the G update includes bagged fiberglass/carbon wings and rudders.
Joe Wurts was crowned overall champion at the SWC and was first in the Add-Em-Up event. George Joy won Precision Duration. The top five overall, with Joe first, were:
- Joe Wurts
- Daryl Perkins
- Bren Lugo
- George Joy
- Richard Burns
If you are looking for a great place to escape the winter blues, consider spending some time with the CASL in Arizona.
This Old Sailplane
How many of you give your sailplane a good inspection at the end of the year? Last fall I bought a Sapphire from a friend to use as a backup model for the coming year. It was flyable as-is, but it clearly had high mileage and had not had much TLC in a while.
My teardown and refurbishment process:
- Unhinge the flaps, ailerons, and rudder; remove all graphics and reflective tape.
- Clean hinge tape and adhesive residue, then inspect flying surfaces for warps and structural problems.
To remove hinge tape, I use a covering iron set fairly low (about 1.5). I start at one end of the hinge and pull up the tape while leading the process with the iron. Without the iron, some tapes can tear the underlying material. This process works best with Mylar-type hinge tapes; plastic tape, such as 3M brands, generally does not need heat.
Once the tape is off, I clean off the adhesive with Goo Gone™ (available at Lowe's). I like Goo Gone because it is nonpetroleum-based and I have not had problems with it deteriorating paint or clear polyurethane on obeche-sheeted wings.
After the goo is gone, check control surfaces for warps and any potential structural problems. On my Sapphire, the rudder trailing edge was broken and the stab trailing edges were badly warped, so I stripped off the covering, added spruce trailing edges all around, and recovered the surfaces.
The flaps and ailerons were basically in good shape except for a bit of warp in each flap. To straighten the flaps:
- Use a covering iron to heat the surface.
- Weight the surface down with twists opposite the warps.
- Place a piece of fiberglass as a non-stick barrier between the iron and the surface.
- Heat along the length until warm to the touch, repeat a couple of times, then let completely cool, unwind, and check alignment.
- Repeat until the flap or aileron is in the desired shape.
From this point, I will finish the Sapphire's makeover with the fuselage and a new look for the wings.
Sources
- Magic American Corporation (Goo Gone™)
Cleveland, OH 44122 (800) 321-6330
- Northeast Sailplane Products
16 Kirby Ln. Williston, VT 05495 (802) 658-9482
- Skip Miller c/o Wood Logic
3229 Walnut Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 449-8765
- Whyte Wings
1578 Osage St. San Marcos, CA 92069 (760) 744-1553
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
