Christmas Party 2010 Pictures and Video

More to follow.

Club Christma Party Sunday December 19th

The BMAC Christmas Party will be this Sunday December 19th at The Stratton Elementary School gym. Activities are scheduled to get underway at 3 PM. Please try and bring a covered dish if possible.

Old Models Bring Big Prices

My first "gas" powered model airplane was a Cox control line Curtis Pusher plastic kit. I received it for my 8th birthday in 1960. Think my Mom paid about $10 for it at the local F.W. Woolworth's. It never did fly, think it was too heavy. It would just go around in circles on the ground and never did get airborne. I stumbled upon this one on eBay.

When I last checked the bidding was up to $400!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Thimble-Drome-1911-Curtiss-Pusher-C-L-L-M-Cox-SAM-/260707572919

Charleston R/C Expo 2011

Saturday February 26th, 2011
Charleston, WV

Charging Takes a Toll on a Battery's Insides

 The electric flyer's may find this of interest.

From Sciencemag:

As lithium ions flow from the positively charged cathode into the 200-nanometre diameter wires of tin oxide that make up the negatively charged anode, the nanowires writhe and bulge, causing them to expand up to 2.5 fold. The wires also change structure from a neatly ordered crystal to a disordered glassy material.

Complete article here:

Video here:

AMA Update on FAA

The FAA process to create regulation for the operation of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) in the national airspace continues to move forward. There's been a lot of speculation about what will be contained in the sUAS proposed rule that is scheduled to be released as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) sometime in June 2011.

Read the complete article here.

Anytime the government is involved, it can't be good.

How NOT To Land

Don't have any information on this video. A very bad day for someone.



RC Landing Almost Takes Out Pilot - Watch more Funny Videos

Model Airplanes In The 1930's

Another Informative Modeling Web Site

Lots of good information in the "How to" section.

Check it out at http://www.antiquemodeler.org/

And yet another: http://www.charlesriverrc.org/articles.htm

Vacuum Forming At Home

Need a custom canopy or other small plastic parts? Check out this DIY approach over at Hack a Day.

A little dumpster-diving let [Nick Skvarla] build his vacuum form machine for around $5. He pulled a vacuum cleaner out of the trash, which was tossed away because of a broken power plug. He put it into a box which had been sealed with spray foam and used a piece of pegboard for the top side of the enclosure. He takes a piece of 40 mil PETG plastic from the hobby shop and mounts it in a wooden frame. That goes into the oven on broil until the entire sheet is sagging, then onto the vacuum former.

http://hackaday.com/2010/12/02/vacuum-forming-at-home/

The Intricate Choreography of Flight

5,000 airplanes are in the United States skies alone every hour. 63 such planes were filmed for this time-lapse video showing the intricate and beautiful choreography of take-offs and landings. Watch it. It's worth two minutes

Thought this a really cool video.
Via Gizmodo 
And the GE Aviation site,which is also very interesting. Check it out here.

Attention Electric Fanatics: Don't miss the story about full scale electric flight on the GE site.

Good Turn Out For First Indoor Flying Session Of The Year

We had a good turn out for our first indoor flying session of the year. At times there were half a dozen airplanes and helicopters buzzing around the gym. There were plenty of mid airs and crashes, but no damage to speak of. Get a little electric and join us next Sunday.

Club Indoor Flying Begins This Sunday November 28th Starting at 4 PM

Just a reminder that we begin indoor flying this Sunday, November 28th, starting at 4 PM at Stratton Elementary School gymnasium, 1129 S Fayette St. Beckley. Get out those little electric airplanes and let's have some fun.

Lockheed Martin's Samarai monocopter

Lockheed Martin's Advanced Technology Laboratories is flight-testing a mono-wing rotorcraft, or monocopter, inspired by the maple seed, or samara, and called the Samarai. The aircraft tested earlier this year is a far cry size-wise from the design developed for DARPA's Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) program - that had a wingspan of just 7.5cm, this one is about 30in - but it is being used to develop the flight controls for eventual backpack- or pocket-sized versions that could be launched through a window to fly indoors.

Original post at Aviation Week here.

Who is going to be the first to build their own model?

New Airplane Design Mimics a Seagull

An attempt to redesign the airplane resulted in a surprising craft, one that mimicked a familiar, if much smaller, flyer: a seagull.

In a bid to increase the energy efficiency of the familiar tube-with-wings architecture, Joachim Huyssen, of Northwest University in South Africa, began by thinking about the basic principles of aerodynamics, according to his collaborator, Geoffrey Spedding, of the University of Southern California.

The complete article at LiveScience.com is available  here.

 I wonder about yaw control, don't see a rudder.

Free Indoor R/C Plans and Information

Since we're about to start doing some indoor flying, thought this web site I stumbled across might be of interest. Free full size plans, information and links.

http://www.indoorflyingmodel.com/index.html

The Beast Has Arrived! UPDATE

I stopped by the hobby shop in Teays Valley today just as they were unpacking their shipment and was able to purchase one. Looks like it going to be a wild little airplane. Lots of expo is recommended even on low rates. More to follow after the first flight.

Jeff test flew it today and it flys great. He decreased the controls to about half of that recommended  in the manual. When flying off of grass it must be hand launched because of the tiny wheels, and I think removing the wheel pants might be a good idea because they look very fragile and prone to breakage.

Even though I said I wasn't going to fly anything until after my eye surgery, I lost self control and flew the Beast this afternoon. What a blast! It will slow down and fly below 1/4 throttle , so indoor may be a possibility.

If you get a Beast, you won't be disappointed..

Paper Airplane In Space

Although not a model airplane in the traditional sense, I found this to be pretty cool stuff.

An oversize paper airplane sent up toward the edge of space by a British online tech publication has snapped stunning photos of the final frontier and Earth far below.

More information here and here.

Via msnbc.com, and cnet,com

Micro Indoor R/C Fun

Since we're about to do some indoor flying, thought this might be of interest.
 
Fun video of micro-model airplane builders having a blast inside a gymnasium in Japan somewhere. Rubber band ornithopters! Flying angels! Itty-bitty biplanes! Styrofoam pterodactyls and sea turtles!

Via BoingBoing

Club Meeting

Just a reminder that our first meeting of the season will be this Friday, November 12th,  7 PM  at the airport. Look forward to seeing you there.

BMAC and K&T Karts and Hobbies Special Promotion

Hey Folk's!

Christmas is just around the corner and Greg asked me to inform everyone that from now until Christmas, if you spend $100. at K&B Karts Hobby Shop, your name will go into a drawing that could win you $300. in store merchandise. He also has lots of new RC products in stock. Drop by' hang out and get your name in for the drawing. 

Also a reminder that our next meeting will be Nov. 12, 2010 at the Airport. The meeting starts at 7:00 PM. 

Tony Harris, Secretary BMAC

Really Cool Virtual Reality Tour Of A P-51 Mustang

Check it out by clicking here,

Via Tony Harris

The C.G. Is Very Important!

A STOWAWAY crocodile on a flight escaped from its carrier bag and sparked an onboard stampede that caused the flight to crash, killing 19 passengers and crew. 

 

Read the  complete report here.

Video Fun

Video From My Astro Hog

Shot from my Astro Hog with a little video camera / DVR I got from Nitro Planes for about $27. Information here. 
We just taped, strapped it in place, and as you can see vibration is a big problem. Will try and come up with a better mounting system. Was fun to play with on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

Saito Engine Information

Stumbled upon this Saito engine page and thought other members might find it useful.

http://saito-engines.info/index.html

An Incident with Lessons for All of Us

From the AMA:

Passing of Randall Thompson

With sadness I have to tell you all that we have lost another Friend, fellow RC Airplane enthusiast and BMAC Club member. Randall Thompson pass away Oct. 14, 2010 after a long illness. I spoke to his wife Bonita today and she will inform me later of arrangements. Randall will be missed. Please keep Bonita in your prayers.


Tony Harris, Sec. BMAC.

Attention BMAC Members: New Location To Enter Field

Our lock has been moved to the gate at the Mercantile entrance. Your key will work the same, we have just switched gates. This one should require a little less muscle to operate.

16 Full Scale Spitfires In Flight.

  16 Spitfires Flying Together. Duxford Battle Of Britain Airshow.
Thanks again to Tony Harris for the Link. Tony says: "This sent chills all thru my body.I must have flown one of these in another life! Cranked up the speakers and blew out my ear drum's".

This Just Ain't Right!

"Gnat" shooting -RC Planes and Shotguns!
Thanks Tony Harris for the link.

...In Memory of Victor Manuel Morales - Memorial Fly 9-18-2010

Cool Model Website

Stumbled upon this site the other day. It's got lots of very interesting and useful how to articles and much more.
Check it out. http://www.airfieldmodels.com/index.html

More Photos

Added pictures of Victor's tug boat,provided by Tony Harris.

Updated Photo Gallery

Added new photos of Gene Cook's Yak , Tony's ME-109 and also added a video page. If you have photos (videos too)  and would like to have posted, send them to me.

Ed Wilhelm vacuumtubesforever@gmail.com

BMAC also made it in the current edition of Model Aviation. Check District III News.

Work At BMAC Field

Kevin Dean operates some heavy machinery as improvements are made to our flying site.
Many thanks Kevin!

How Many Pilots Does It Take To Start A Messerschmidt?

Tony Harris' ME-109 

A beautiful day at the field (Saturday Sept. 25 ) as the crew prepares Tony's new ME-109 for it's first flight.

The O.S. 1.60 was being somewhat stubborn.

Human Powered Ornithopter

Want something different for that next scale project? How about an ornithopter.

From ZDnet :

Over half a millennium ago, Leonardo da Vinci sketched the first human-powered ornithopter. For centuries since, engineers have attempted to build a human-powered aircraft with flapping wings. Now, a University of Toronto PhD candidate made aviation history with the first ornithopter of its kind to fly continuously.

The complete story plus video here.

A Video From Tony

Hey guys! Thought you might want to check this out. Tony.

Full Scale Electric

The all electric Cri-Cri, jointly developed by EADS Innovation Works, Aero Composites Saintonge and the Green Cri-Cri Association has made its official maiden flight at Le Bourget airport near Paris on Thursday. This Cri-Cri is the first-ever four-engined all-electric aerobatic plane. The event has been supported by the French Musée de l’Air et de l’Espace.

Read the complete story from sUAS News here.

Tony Harris and his Fokker D-VII

Tony had this to say about his new Fokker:

Took over a year to build. Powered by a DLE 55cc gas engine. Flew her for the first time last weekend. It was a beautiful sight and a great feeling [ once my leg's stopped shaking.

Fun Fly This Weekend, Belpre, OH

Across the river from Parkersburg, WV

Blennerhassett RC's Fall Fun Fly-In

September 24 through 26th.

Come join open flying all weekend long, the field will be open Friday through Sunday. This is a none sanctioned event. Everyone is welcome. Come fly or just watch and share flying war-stories. More details will be posted soon. Details contact Larry Smith 304-485-5965

R/C in "The Good Old Days"

Check out these videos from  The R/C Hall of Fame, Part 1 and Part 2.
Single channel, galloping ghost and reeds. It's amazing they ever got an airplane up and down in one piece. I will never complain about my new fangled computer radio again.

My beloved Astro Hog dates from this period, it won at the 58 Nats. The fuselage is large because it had to carry a tube type receiver (remember those things that glowed in the dark inside old radios?)

Chilli Fly 2010 Photos

Victor's Last Airplane

Flown at Chilli Fly 2010 by Jeff McClung and Kevin Dean

 

Chilli Fly

Photos of this years event will be posted shortly. Here's some from last years.

Under Construction

Much more to follow. Stay tuned.