February Club Meeting

Monday, February 1, 7:30 pm

Budget & Covering Workshop

Livonia Senior Center

5 Mile & Farmington Livonia

Ribcrackers Model Airplane Club

Thunderbolt February 2010

Club 2067

We’re on the web!

http:/www.ribcrackers.org

Gus

Good News for all except the few who like to

Alpine or Nordic ski in southeast Michigan. With

the temperature dropping down well into the 20’s at

night, places like Mt. Brighton and Alpine, ski bums

can weather the mid January thaw that we are in

the midst of. Hurray!

Any model activity in January is good.

This past weekend was complete with a swap meet

Sunday (January 17) hosted by Detroit Aero Mod-

elers and the opportunity to set up some flying time

with six of fellow Ribcracker members that after-

noon. The weather was adequate in the beginning

with continuous improvement throughout the after-

noon. I liked “flying great”, Ron McHale’s routine

where he kept his Reactor down on the deck about

3 to 5 feet off the field and flew multiple circles, fig-

ure eights and the like for what seemed to be about

four minutes right out from the flight line. Very

cool. Alex had skis installed on his Decathlon and,

surprise... flew in a very scale like manner! His

gasser had no problems and was very impressive

to watch. Ralph had a couple of nice flights with his

electric pusher as he did what a glider is supposed

to do. Dennis was in attendance with skis attached

to the “Boss”. After the incidence of the skis was

adjusted he got the little plane in the air and after, a

trimming segment provided some real excitement. I

heard the term “snow and go” for the first time as

he did a few of those. Flight #2 was even more in-

teresting with the “Boss” chasing Ralph right down

the road with what might be described as “smoking

the tires”. The plane will certainly live for another

day. Dennis then brought out a pattern plane that

was much better off the snow and put a smile on

his face. I even got in a couple of flights by using

the road for take off and full flaps for landing and in

between had a great time. I will have skis in the

future to add to the fun.

We have arranged to have a covering dem-

onstration at the February meeting. We will start a

project that will show the basics on the install and if

time allows, be on primary covering using at least

two colors. We will have irons and heat guns and

with the local talent should be capable of answering

any questions. The trim tape might have to wait for

the following meeting but I am sure that we will

cover that too. (Pun intended) Hopefully club

members will gain building and repair skills and

master coverers will get valuable work hours cred-

ited to your requirement for the 2010 season.

Remember co-pilot Radar? Well, who says

you can’t teach a young dog new tricks. With the

help of my four year old Granddaughter who had

too much trouble with the name Radar, he is now

“Rudder”. He made his first visit to the field. A big

success other than Alex’s gasser was a little star-

tling. (We are already working on that. Gas is

good) Reports “What a Hobby”. Indeed.

See you all at the meeting and I expect we

will hear from Dino who snuck out last Friday night

down to Florida for some air time and relaxation.

Now that’s real R & R.

President’s Message Gus Dabringhaus

Meeting came to order at 7:37, when Gus

finally showed up. The minutes from the

previous meeting were approved. A dis-

cussion ensued regarding the “guess the

Airplane and owner” quiz. Apparently

there was a full size plane included to

increase the difficulty. No one actually

responded to the quiz, but all thought it

was in good fun and should be done

again. (what about offering a prize such as a

bottle of CA for the next quiz? – Gerald) All

contributions would be welcome.

Treasurer’s report

Dennis passed out the budget that

was prepared by Roger and was

reviewed by all. The 2010 budget

will be presented at the February

meeting.

The Porta-Pottie is no longer being

serviced but is still on site for our

use. Just remember that it has to last

until spring.

A concern was raised about the defi-

cit. No action is currently being

proposed

AMA enrollment is down

Secretary

Don’t forget that it is time renew

your AMA and your Ribcracker

membership. After the March meet-

ing you will be assessed late fees.

Editor

Thanks for all the contributions.

Don is getting great comments from

people all over the country. The

newsletter is being sent to AMA,

past members and others of interest

so we get more exposure

Disappointed about the response to

the quiz but will try again.

New/Old business

Warren took care of the annual

donation to Walbridge in appre-

ciation for letting us use the field

RCCD Swap meet on the 24th

of January .

* It is the general consen-

sus that better deals can

often be gotten through RC

Universe but you can’t beat

rubbing shoulders and

swapping stories/ideas with

fellow modelers.

Gus would like to include a build

clinic in next month’s meeting. By

moving the official proceedings

along in an expeditious manner

there would be enough time to do a

covering/repair clinic after the meet-

ing. Everyone is encouraged to at-

tend to learn new building tricks or

just get more confidence to repair an

ARF after that “rough” landing.

Along that same vein of thought

there was a suggestion to skip the

budget discussion in the interest of

time but it was decided to keep the

budget for now.

Update on the Flight line move:

Still don’t know what is under the

mound to the east. Until it can be

determined if the mound can be re-

duced the move has been tabled.

This month’s raffle included a

Lanier Laser ARF, transmitter case,

and a 1600 receiver battery.

Model of the month:

Roger Wilfong brought in a mini

Telemaster with two versions of the

wing: one with ailerons and one

without. Roger got creative with the

radio programming so that he didn’t

have to change wires on the receiver

when he switched wings.

Dennis Robbins brought in a Balsa

USA Taube 40 in the bones. He had

an OS 48 4-stroke engine and util-

ized the pinning technique described

in last month’s Thunderbolt. Dennis

also expounded on the virtues of

Aliphatic glue which was used on

this model.

The winner was Gregg Kostyniuk

who brought in a Nitro Edge 540

ARF powered by a Mangum 60. A

very nice looking plane.

Congratulation Gregg!

Respectfully submitted by Gerald Klose

2010 Board of Directors

President

Gus Dabringhaus

810-417-0350

gusbarbd@comcast.net

Vice President

Hank Wojcik

313-659-1677

Secretary

Matt Jerue

248-348-5948

mdjerue@mi.rr.com

Treasurer

Dennis Robbins

248-661-3562

drobbins421@yahoo.com

Thunderbolt Editor

Don Unsworth

248-348-0961

dunswrth@sbcglobal.net

Field Marshall/Safety Officer

Alex Alexopoulos

248-909-6869

Chief Instructor

Warren Wells

248-437-2694

Minute Recorder

Gerald Klose

248-582-1803

Raffle Coordinator

Warren Wells

CLUB POSITIONS

January 4, 2010 Ribcrackers January Meeting Minutes

It’s around 10:00 am, the

temperature is very cold and

the sky is a dull grey. Even

the snow covered Ray Field

looks dark and desolate. So

where are the brave and

hardy Ribcrackers Pat Giet-

zen wonders as he makes

fresh tire tracks on Wal-

bridge Drive? Like me, they

are at home in front of a

warm fireplace getting ready

to start the holiday bowl

football games marathon. In

truth, I forgot and I’m the

one that sent out the re-

minder email of the annual

tradition. Ooopppps! There

was a time that the Club

awarded a cash prize for the

first flight of the new year.

It was so valued that a mem-

ber trucked through deep

snow down

Talk about timeliness. On page 54 of Model Aviation, February issue,

there’s an article on renovating a damaged (destroyed ?) plane. This was

the discussion at the January meeting and will be the topic for the next

few months at the monthly club meetings.. Also, on page 77 is a terrific

article on changing out a crankshaft bearing on a YS61 engine. There has

to be someone in the club that has done this and I will volunteer my self

as an assistant to present at a future meeting. Any takers?

Lang Field’s long ¼ mile drive with young daughter in tow to get the first flight. Another member took his dog

along as the required witness!

So, after waiting a decent amount of time, Pat left, but to let me know that he was there, sent me a picture of the vacant

flight line. Such a dark, dismal looking morning, I just couldn’t publish it here. Thanks for the picture, Pat.

It wasn’t until 1:00 pm that the first pilot showed up with a plane. It was Ron McHale and his Reactor outfitted with

skis. Three flights, no other pilots showing up, cold, it was time to call it a day, but before leaving, also sends me a

picture from his cell phone as proof that he was there. So 2010 bragging rights to Ron for the first flight of the year

and the Club’s “ATTA BOY” award. Are those tire tracks on the field?

From the Journal

Don

First Flight of the year Are those tire tracks on the field?

Feb 24, 2010

Skymasters Swap Shop

Larson

Middle School

Joe Hass

248.321.7934

The following are high altitude pic-

tures of Ray Field and the sur-

rounding area. These are survey

pictures taken by USGS on

4/10/2002. I imported them from

TerraServerUSA into a USAPhoto-

Maps program that stitches them

into one huge surface image/map.

I then clipped the desired views,

enhanced them a bit and added

some dimensions that are of inter-

est to me and may be of interest

to club members. If you express

interest in some other views and

dimensions, for example the de-

sired flying patterns, let me know.

The area discussed at a recent club

meeting for an expansion of the

current flight line can be seen in

the lower right hand corner the

top photo.

Runways (Rwy) are given a num-

ber between 01 and 36. This indi-

cates the runway's heading: A run-

way with the number 36 points to

the north (360°), runway 09 points

east (90°), runway 18 is south

(180°), and runway 27 points west

(270°). Thus, the runway number is

one tenth of the runway center-

line's magnetic azimuth, measured

clockwise from the magnetic decli-

nation.

A runway can be used in two direc-

tions, which means the runway has

two names: "runway 33" and

"runway 15". The two numbers

always differ by 18 (= 180°).

Greg Kostyniuk

United States Geological Survey of Ray Field

Nice bird Ralph!

Dennis making last minute adjustments.

Alex’s Super Decathlon

in a great approach.

Gus’s Hanger Nine with flaps down.

SNOW and GO in JANUARY

Ron’s

Reactor.

How about

those skis!

RAFFLE WINNERS Blue Ticket

Greg Kostyniuk…...Gift Certificate

Red Ticket

Matt Jerue………. Lanier Laser ARF

Marshall Stern……... Radio case

Roger Wilfong……….. Battery

895 Grace, Northville, Michigan 48167

Reminder

Don’t forget to re-up your

Ribcracker membership.

Late fees after March meeting.

When your soldering gun tip breaks, a new one can be made from a scrap piece of copper electrical wire. Use a piece

of 12 or 14 gauge copper electrical wire cut to any length. Bend to shape as shown on the attached sketch. Hammer

flat the rounded portion of the tip. File or sand tip to desired shape then install in soldering gun. Apply flux and tin

the end of the wire with solder and it is ready for use. These tips last a very long time but will eventually break from

repeated use. It is a cheap fix and can be done easily by anyone who uses soldering tools.

TIP OF THE MONTH

For Sale Great Planes Super Skybolt electric...flies on 6 cell

lipo from 3200mah to 5000mah, receiver ready $250

CMP Power 3D electric, receiver ready, also flies on 6

cell lipo and flies very good pattern aerobatics $250

I am willing to separate motor, esc, etc also.

Talk to me. I’m willing to bargain.

Ron McHale 248-762-9709

HAMMER THIS PORTION FLAT

THEN TRIM OR SAND

TO DESIRED SHAPE

12 OR 14 GA

COPPER ELECTRICAL WIRE

BEND TO SHAPE DIMENSION

TO SUIT

SOLDERING GUN

Warren