The Flight Line

NEWMAN LAKE AERONAUTICAL PILOTS SOCIETY "We love this stuff"

Newman Lake, Washington AMA Charter 1959 January 2017

In this Issue...  Editor's Note President's Corner  President's Corner By Jack Dubuque

 Latest Meeting Minutes For quite a few years now  Did You Know…. several club members, myself  Piston Engine Series included, have made an effort to get  Securing Exhaust Deflector out and fly at least one time every month of the  Upcoming Events entire year. Several years ago some of us  Projects & Pictures qualified for the AMA all season flyer badge, and  Airplane of the Month we have tried to keep it going. There were a few years that were quite close, like 2016 when there was only one day in December that was deemed Editor's Note flyable. Fortunately we were able to take By Dave Schmeder advantage of that day to get our December flight in. I am hoping we will be able to continue this We are starting a new year and streak for many more months. I don't know what that means you have made your the record is, but I do know that at least one of the New Years Resolutions. Whether Baron's flyers has at least 20 consecutive years of your resolution is to finally master all season flying. I invite all of our members to the rolling circle or to land without bouncing 4 or come join in and go for your own record. After all, 5 times, I hope your flying year is a good one. isn't flying the most important phase of this

hobby? I have always marveled at the internal combustion Jack engine. The fact that this invention has stood the test of time (over 100 years) and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down is incredible. Designers NAPS Club Information were very creative in the early days when it came Location to airplane engines. They made all sorts of sizes, 11501 North Star Road shapes and cooling methods. Newman Lake, WA. 99025

Officers This year I am very excited to present a series of President: Jack Dubuque 509-953-1370 piston engine designs. Each newsletter issue will Vice President: Miles Fuhrman 509-998-2236 include a short article on an engine. I hope you Sec/Treasurer: Dave Schmeder 509-928-3691 enjoy reading it as much as I did doing the Trustee: Randy Brown – Exp 12/31/2017 research. Trustee: Patrick Winters – Exp 12/31/2018

Dave Field Maintenance: Ron Pierce 509-710-1586

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NAPS Club Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes from January 14, 2017: The November meeting was called to order at 10:07 AM by President Jack Dubuque. 17 club members were in attendance and 3 guests (Skip Blythe’s wife Kathy, Chad Scharff’s daughter Caitlin, and new perspective member Toivo Mykkanen (first meeting)).

The November meeting notes were approved as published. The January Treasurer’s report was presented and approved.

Old Business:  Donation update – Most of the items that Roy Johnson donated to the club have been sold. Only one item remains, a 48” biplane kit. Jack will take this item to the Monroe swap meet at the end of January and try to sell it. The club has made $162.52 so far. Thanks again, Roy!

New Business:  Perspective member requirements – Skip Blythe lead a discussion about the current club bylaw requirements for new members, suggesting that maybe the club could be more flexible in some situations. After a long discussion it was decided that the board of directors will write up a change proposal that would amend our current bylaws to include allowance for exceptions. This proposal will be sent to all members before the April meeting in hopes that it can be voted on at that time.  Flying Heritage Collection – Bill Boyeson commented on Paul Allen’s personal collection of rare airplanes and highly recommended that anyone traveling to the Seattle area be sure to visit the Flying Heritage Collection. Paine Field Airport 3407 109th St. SW Everett, WA 98204  New Perspective member – Toivo The hard working Mykkanen has been in the RC hobby on- Newsletter staff and-off for many years and has recently will be taking a moved back to Liberty Lake from short break in Thailand. He is an avid builder and is Z February and Z looking forward to getting back to flying Z March, but will again. be back in April Z with another Meeting adjourned at 10:51 AM exciting issue. Dave

Next meeting – April 8th

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A Lesson in How to Crash Did you know..... From the newsletter of the Silent Electric Flyers, ... that the Silver Centenary biplane, built in I recently destroyed a very nice aerobatic 49-inch Yak. Not Australia in 1930, received its airworthiness really a great thing to do, but it happened and I hope by telling certificate 77 years after its first flight? my story I can save at least one other pilot from doing the same. I had just finished putting some very detailed cockpit work in a very nice Cermark 49-inch Yak 54 so I could enter it in to the 2010 Spring Fling Scale contest. I had earlier increased the power to 4S and had to beef up the motor mount with added carbon fiber along the top and sides to hold the now nearly 1,000 watts it could develop, so I was confident it would perform very nicely. In full-scale aviation, we always say it takes two or three problems to make a crash, as we are trained to recover from one problem at a time. I think this story bears that axiom out. It took three distinct errors on the pilot’s part to create an unrecoverable situation. It started with my desire to fly one afternoon after I had just finished the above modifications and checked the balance and The Silver Centenary was built by Selby Ford. Plans control throws in my shop. Because of all the things needing to for the plane, which was named in honor of Western be done, it got later and later in the day before I got out to the Australia's 1929 centenary, were drawn to scale on field. By the time I got settled in and ready for takeoff the sun the floor of the Beverley powerhouse which Ford was very low on the horizon, but the wind had calmed down a lot (error one). owned. The aircraft made its inaugural flight on 1 I did my preflight and noticed that I had a little extra throw in July 1930 and was flown for the next 18 months, the surfaces, but that’s okay, I wanted to be sure I could but when Ford was unable to provide the authorities recover from any attitude I got into during the trim flight (error with blue prints and technical specifications, it was two). mothballed in 1933. I took off and climbed out to the west, noticing I needed to adjust the elevator a little for smooth, level flight. While doing this, I let the airplane get a long ways downwind to the east (error three). As I started to turn toward me to come back to the center of the field, I over rotated due to the larger-than-needed throws of the , and due to the low sun angle I lost orientation of how far I’d banked and in my attempt to recover I must have thought I was inverted and zigged when I should have zagged. End result was a near full-power dive into the ground instead of pulling up smartly. So how could I have avoided this unnecessary loss of a very nice and near new airplane? 1. Don’t get in a hurry to go do a flight. If it’s 3:30 p.m. when you leave for the field in the winter, it will be dark For the next thirty years, the aircraft hung from the in only 1.5-2 hours. 2. A headwind is a good thing, dead calm requires more roof of the Beverley powerhouse. After Ford's death roll out and longer takeoffs. from a car accident in 1963, the people of Beverley 3. Larger surface throws are inherently bad for control. created an aviation museum with the Silver Use small, reasonable throws and check that the surfaces Centenary as the featured piece. are in line with the wing or tail fixed surface for easier flight control. In 2006, Ford's grandson Rod Edwards retrieved the 4. Keep your situational awareness! Don’t let one aspect plane from the museum to enable restoration. As of flying (ex. trimming) get in the way of overall flight path control. If you get too far away with an “active” part of the restoration, Mr Edwards decided to model, you’ll have more problems keeping it under obtain airworthy certification for the plane, and in control. August 2007 the Silver Centenary received its airworthy certificate 77 years after it was originally --- AMA Insider --- built.

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1903 Wright Engine 4 Cylinder In-Line – 12hp

Once they had decided to attempt powered flight, the Wrights calculated they needed an engine that produced at least 8 horsepower and weighed no more than 200 pounds. A quick survey of the automotive market showed there was no such engine available and they would have to make their own. An acquaintance at the nearby Buckeye Irons and Brass Works advised then that they could save weight if they cast the engine block from aluminum. Although this was a soft metal, alloys had recently been developed that were much stronger – both Benz and Daimler in Germany were successfully making engines with aluminum blocks. The Wrights decided to cast the block from an alloy of 92% aluminum and 8% copper.

The completed engine weighed 180 pounds and developed 12 horsepower at 1,025 revolutions per minute. The ignition was the make-and-break type. No spark plugs. The spark was made by the opening and closing of two contact points inside the combustion chamber. These were operated by shafts and cams geared to the main camshaft. The ignition switch was an ordinary single-throw knife switch bought at the hardware store. Dry batteries were used for starting the engine, and then was switched onto a magneto bought from the Dayton Electric Company. There was no battery on the plane.

The engine was cooled by water from a narrow vertical water reservoir mounted on a forward strut. The system was not a radiator in the typical sense, for the water did not circulate. The reservoir simply replenished the water jacket as the water evaporated from it.

After powering the Flyer on four flights at Kitty Hawk on 17 December 1903, the engine was seriously damaged when wind overturned the Flyer. Today, the original cast aluminum engine block is displayed at the museum attached to the Wright Brothers Monument at Kitty Hawk, NC. --- wright-brothers.org ---

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A Secure Silicone Exhaust Deflector copper “o-ring.” (Pictures One and Two.) By Noel Hunt

The newer breed of engines are great at retaining the fuel and oil in the engine, discharging it only from the exhaust outlet. Unfortunately, that outlet often discharges onto a fuselage side, or a wing surface, and so we still need to clean the aircraft at the end of the day’s flying. Such was the case with my Norvel .40. I tried the standard silicone exhaust deflectors a Step Four: Cut a thin strip of masking tape and couple of times and they did keep the airplane clean, apply it to the muffler outlet, leaving only about ¼ but only for a flight or two. Then the airplane would inch of the outlet unmasked. Include a fold-over at land with the deflector missing and sludge on the the masking tape’s free end, to facilitate easy fuselage and wing. Chances of finding the deflectors? removal. (Picture Three.) Zero!

I devised a neat, simple, inexpensive, solution that works. And it will work on any muffler that has a smooth muffler outlet. (Some of the manufacturers are now including a zip-tie groove in the outlet that serves the same purpose.) I have since flown the Norvel with the same deflector for more than 50 flights. So I modified a few more mufflers and took pictures as I did so. Step Five: Mix some JB Weld on a clean piece of Step One: What you’ll need: disposable card. Apply a thin layer to the ¼ inch of • Appropriate size silicone exhaust deflector for your exposed muffler outlet. Slide the copper o-ring onto muffler, and zip-ties. the outlet and center (about 1/8 inch from the end). • JB Weld. Apply more JB Weld to the outside of the o-ring. • Isopropyl alcohol and masking tape. (Picture Four.) Using a clean piece of paper towel, • Paper towels. wipe away most of the JB Weld. (Picture Five.) • Short length of 16 or 18-gauge solid copper bell wire. • Side cutters.

Step Two: Thoroughly clean the muffler outlet using a clean piece of paper towel and isopropyl alcohol. Do this three or four times to ensure all the oil is removed.

Step Three: Wrap the copper wire around the muffler outlet about twice to get a consistent radius Step Six: Carefully remove the masking tape while for at least one turn. Remove from the outlet and the JB Weld is still wet. This is where the fold-over decrease the radius slightly for a snug fit on the will help. (Picture Six.) Allow the JB Weld to cure outlet. (Or you can wind it around something that has per the instructions. It is not like 30-minute epoxy; I a slightly smaller diameter—I used an Exacto knife give it 24 hours. handle.) Cut the ends so you have just one coil and the ends butt against each other. If it does not come out just right, repeat until you get a good fitting

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Step Seven: Install the silicone exhaust deflector on the muffler outlet and retain it in place with the zip- tie on the “north side” of the new copper o-ring.

--- AMA Insider ---

Upcoming Events

Jan 27-29, 2017 Northwest Model Hobby Expo - Monroe, WA

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Projects and Pictures

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….. continued from April 2016 Newsletter

Pay n Pak Hydroplane

You may remember the April 2016 newsletter article that described Dave Robinson’s Atlas Van Lines U-76 Dumas hydroplane kit project. Dave decided to convert the kit to his favorite boat, the 1974 Pay-n-Pak. He recently finished the boat and is looking forward to making the maiden voyage when the weather is warmer.

Boat Model: Dumas Kit #1312 Length: 36" Beam: 18" Weight: About 8 lbs. Motor: MECOA .46 Marine Inboard Speed: About 35 MPH

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Airplane of the Month F7F Tigercat 1943 (364 built)

The Grumman F7F Tigercat is a heavy that served with the Navy (USN) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) from late in World War II until 1954. It was the first twin-engined fighter to be deployed by the USN. While the Tigercat was delivered too late to see combat in World War II, it saw action as a and attack aircraft during the Korean War.

Designed initially for service on Midway-class aircraft carriers, early production F7Fs were land-based variants. The type was too large to operate from older and smaller carriers, and only a late variant (F7F-4N) was certified for carrier service.

Grumman's aim was to produce a fighter that outperformed and outgunned all existing fighter aircraft, and that had an auxiliary ground attack capability. Armament was heavy: four 20 mm cannons and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns, as well as underwing and under-fuselage for bombs and torpedoes. The F7F Tigercat was one of the highest performance piston-engined fighters, with a top speed well in excess of the US Navy's single-engined aircraft—71 mph faster than a Grumman F6F Hellcat at sea level.

All this was bought at the cost of heavy weight and a high landing speed, but what caused the aircraft to fail carrier suitability trials was poor directional stability with only one engine operational, as well as problems with the arrestor hook design. The initial production series was therefore used only from land bases by the USMC, as night fighters with APS-6 . At first, they were single-seat F7F-1N aircraft, but after the 34th production aircraft, a second seat for a radar operator was added; these aircraft were designated F7F-2N.

Marine Corps night fighter squadron VMF(N)-513 flying F7F-3N Tigercats saw action in the early stages of the Korean War, flying fighter missions and shooting down two Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes. This was the only combat use of the aircraft.

--- Wikipedia ---

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