Upcoming Club Meetings

µ Lake Washington School District Board Room, Redmond µ

7 PM August 10^th at the flying field; September 14^th indoors at the LWSD Offices

(Meetings are held on the 2nd Monday of the month unless otherwise noted)

Upcoming Events At 60 Acres

SASS/NWSS Thermal Grabber 2-Day TD Contest: August 8-9^th

SASS/ISSA Scale Fun Fly: August 15-16^th

SASS Club Thermal Duration Contest: August 22^nd

SASS Club HLG Contest: August 29^th

SASS 2 Function Club Contest: September 5^th

Ebey's Landing Slope Fun Fly: September 19^th

SASS Club HLG Contest: September 26^th

Ole and Jeff's Foam Follies!: October 3^rd

High Start
by Waid Reynolds <waid@aa.net>

J NOTICE: New Meeting Room. Pete Hinze advises that starting with the September meeting, our monthly club get-togethers at the Lake Washington School District offices will take place in the "AVONDALE" room which is upstairs and directly over the receptionist's desk. We are advised that it will seat 30 to 35 people. Unfortunately, it will probably not be well suited to the display of large models.

J More Field Improvements. Jeff Johnson kindly donated excavated soil from his home addition project to fill some of the big holes on the south side of the flying field. Guess who handled the grading and planting of the filled areas? You only get one guess and it's Pete Hinze. Again, Pete delivers the goods for SASS like nobody else! The next time you see Pete at the field (he'll be working his tail off), please stop him long enough to let him know that you appreciate his many contributions to the betterment of the club.

J Foam Follies. Curious? Want to know more? Me too! This is the stealth event of the season. Guess we'll just have to pin down the irresponsible parties, Ole Skotvold and Jeff Kasner, in order to learn more about the Foam Follies.

J Fun One. Last issue I asked who would be the first to fly their Fun One. I don't know if he was first or not, but Bob Brewer was the first club member I saw fly their Fun One. Bob's F1 flies beautifully. It is very maneuverable and has a nice flat glide. Surprisingly for a sloper it will slow down and circle almost like a hand launched RC glider. Looks to me like the F1 will be happy sloping in light to moderate wind and will work thermals with no complaint. It's a winner! Now, if I could only find the time and ambition to finish mine...

J Toshiro Visits. On July 23rd the Updraft's Japan Bureau Chief, Toshiro Saruwatari <tsaruwat@ori.u-tokyo.ac.jp>, was able to stop briefly in Seattle on the return trip to Tokyo from a conference in Chicago. Those of us who were privileged to be at the field that evening enjoyed greeting Toshiro, and inspecting the tiny "Calex" mosquito class HLG glider of his own design that he brought with him. The most recent issue of Sailplane & Electric Modeler Magazine carried an excellent article Toshiro wrote covering mosquito class activity in Japan.

J Transmitter Woes. My old reliable Ace Micropro 8000 transmitter is getting pretty long in the tooth. It's hard to believe that it's been seven years or more since I bought it. Anyway, after all those years of having its sticks wiggled this way and that, a couple of the pots (potentiometers) in the gimbals have gotten pretty flaky, resulting in extremely nonlinear movements (jerky) of elevator and aileron servos. They just don't make pots like they used too! Unfortunately, Ace did not choose to use off the shelf parts in the gimbals. Even worse, the outfit got bought up by Thunder Tiger and quit the radio business completely -- no parts and no service. Oh, I can get the pots that I need through a local electronics distributor if I want to order in lots of 10,000 or more and wait several months -- thanks, but no thanks. Anyway, at long last Ace has finally developed a policy on parts. They are selling the remaining parts through an outfit down the street from them called Sky Hobbies. They, SH, were able to provide me with a full set of new pots. If you are one of the few who still depends on a good ol' MP8000 to keep your gliders somewhat under control, or if you use other types of Ace equipment such as chargers, you may want to add the Sky Hobbies phone number to your address book: 800-241-7556.

J Mount Vernon NWSS Contests. Sandie Pugh reported the following about the July 18-19 Event: Mount Vernon was actually fun. It was kind of windy on Saturday and lift wasn't always available. The wind calmed down on Sunday and the lift was some of the best I have seen at Mt. Vernon. There were two mid-air collisions. Russ Young and Tim Callahan collided in a thermal on Saturday and Tim lost. On Sunday, Deene Almvig had a mid-air with one of the other pilots, and Deene lost. Lynn King had his plane crash on Sunday -- not sure what was the cause.... he suddenly was yelling, "heads-up, heads up", while it came down and landed in the corn. The Tercels were having some winch problems, so we didn't get in as many rounds as we could have. But it was a lot of fun. Seemed like the turnout was smaller than usual.

Jim Pugh's notes from the June 6-7 contest at Mt. Vernon: around 18 in expert Open, 8 in expert 2M, 5-6 in Competitor Open, 4-5 in Competitor 2M. Had to wait Sat. for the farmer to rake up the grass. Only had 4 rounds. Weather and lift were good. Sunday lift was spotty and it was windy. Dave Beardsley won open and 2 Meter in expert. Bill Hanson was 2nd in 2 Meter expert, just 2 points behind Dave. Arend Borst was 2nd in Open Expert. I was 4th in Open and 4th in 2M. Sandie was around 13th in expert open, if I remember correctly. Sherman Knight was 3rd in open and 3rd in 2M. [Thanks, Sandie and Jim! -Ed]

J More Info From Pete. Those with winches might be interested in the following properties of the braided nylon line commonly used:

The last two sizes would probably be of interest mostly to Steve Dentz and perhaps Doug Kyllo. Q

President's Message
By Bob Brewer, SASS President <airbrew@quidnunc.net>

At the end of July I find S.A.S.S. to be alive and well, even though the neighborhood of 60 Acres South seems to be closing in around us. Earthmovers to the west continue to carve out more fairways for the expanded golf course. (Galen Davis reports good lift over the bare earth). To the north, soccer is boiling over into our field for overflow parking. We experimented, as a courtesy, with soccer parking on the east side of the mowed flying area. This became difficult to control, resulting in the field gate being locked for the hand launch event (apologies to the grunt and toss crowd). For the remaining soccer events we will use "do not park" signs at the gate, which seem to work well. Dave Haldeman, soccer field manager, is very concerned with minimizing our inconvenience.

Rocket launching individuals and groups continue to share the field frequently since this is the only place King County permits launching. Without exception, these folks have been courteous and safety conscious. Communication is the key to staying out of each other's way. So, take the time to make sure they understand the space needs of your Winch/Hi-Start. Considering the ever increasing use of 60 Acres S. I find it remarkable that there are so few problems and no serious incidents. Every S.A.S.S. member that flies at the field has made this possible - keep up the good work.

Hand launch and thermal competition continue to thrive under the guidance of Adam Weston, Jeff Johnson and John Fuller. It is gratifying to see the enthusiastic help that members offer. Waid Reynolds and Charlie Harris, respectively, will need similar assistance August 8-9 at the Thermal Grabber and August 15-16 with the Scale Fun Fly.

There are informal slope adventures going on continually - how about sharing your experiences through Waid Reynolds and the newsletter?

Good Flying,
Bob Brewer Q

According To Pete
By Pete Hinze <phinze@aol.com>

Though we tend to think of 60 Acres as a "club field" (and don't we wish it was), actually it is King County Park land designated for multiple uses -- for running dogs, dog trials, kite flying, rocketry, rubber powered free flight models and R/C models that are not gas powered plus just sun bathing and watching whatever is going on. However, Parks will not provide labor or material of any kind to maintain the field except to mow the grass occasionally and that came about relatively recently. The SASS club has a continuing presence on the field so Parks looks to us maintain, improve and oversee its well being. That wouldn't be to bad if we had the exclusive use of the field. But, no matter how caring we are with it, it is open to the general public and we are powerless to stop the 4-wheelers from tearing up the turf, and people from dumping their refuse and garbage, damaging equipment and facilities and so on. We are left with the consequences.

In the few years I have been in this club the frequency board at the south end has been destroyed and removed; the replacement and current post has been destroyed twice before; the south end had an anchored picnic bench same as the north end until it was pulled out of the ground and converted into a bonfire; Two chemical toilets have been totally destroyed. After a recent 4th of July the field was covered with all manner of garbage that the hoards the night before had brought and left including clothing and shoes. The garbage cans had been literally disassembled by extremely powerful explosives and the north frequency board was damaged by explosives. The "Honeybucket" portable toilet company advises me that on last 4th of July weekend 160 units were blown up beyond repair at a cost of $275 each to the people leasing them.

So far this week before the 4th the soccer fields across 116th have had two toilets and a large refuse container destroyed by the explosive of choice this year which is a tennis ball filled with gun powder and rated at about 1/2 stick of dynamite. On our side of the road one of the small picnic tables on north end had the top and one seat broken off. Now the seat is bolted to a swivel pin that is .875" diameter cast iron and yet they were able to snap it off like a twig. That was very difficult to repair which took most of a weekend to do. Just last Monday night a beer drinking party on south side decided to pull down the wind streamer from its pole which they bent severely. That cost me a whole evening and $8 to repair. We are not dealing with little boys riding through on their bikes.

Someone asked why the field was locked up on the 4th. Virtually all of this damage occurs at night and if it were our field exclusively then we could just lock it up in the evening and it would be relatively safe. The fact is, if the weather is nice, people, blankets, dogs, kids, camping ice boxes, grandmas, whatever and whoever will pour in to play, picnic and shoot their fire works and get drunk into the wee hours. If we wait until the HLG contest is over and even one family has settled in then we are stuck with leaving it open to the good, the bad and the ugly all night. Many people who come to use the field and take it for granted will probably say "So what, who cares, not my problem". But many of us know this field as a flying field is priceless and irreplaceable. (Californians would kill for it). We treasure the field and have worked continuously to improve it with the amenities of toilets, equipment storage, tables, wind streamers and most recently repair to the damage caused by people who carelessly spin their wheels when the thin soil is wet and soft. It is heartbreaking to work your butt off to fix or improve only to have some baboon get his kicks tearing it up.

I hope that the foregoing will give you a picture of the mayhem that has gone on before and how limited we are to prevent more of it. The Parks people; the soccer people and the Honeybucket people all cite the experience that the more inaccessible the site the less likely the vandalism and the only way we can do that is to simply lock everybody out of the field until the hormones settle down again.

Over and out.......Pete Hinze

[What a great guy! Pete camped at the field for several nights in order to successfully prevent damage to the facilities. Thanks, Pete! You are appreciated. -Ed] Q

SASS HLG Contest -- July 4^th
By Adam "Red" Weston, AMA 181712 - SASS - LSF 7179 < adam.weston@pss.boeing.com>

The SASS 4th of July HLG fly was a great success! 9 pilots braved the elements to put in six great rounds of flying. 3 sportspersons [is this the politically correct term for sportsmen? -Ed] and 6 expert class contestants showed up. Steve Cameron put in an almost perfect performance, with Joseph Conrad close behind, and Adam Weston even closer on Joseph's heals. A close race was run in the sportsperson class as well. Steve and Scott got a little too close with Steve's Obsession coming out the winner, and Scott's Scratch built Cirra going home with a three-piece wing! Scott came back flying Adam Weston's Monarch D, and finished a respectable 3rd.

Results:

Expert:

Steve Cameron, 5945 Orbiter - RG-15

Joseph Conrad, 5510 Sunspot

Adam Weston, 5498 Glass Tactical Err

Phil Pearson, 5442 Sunspot Omega/Glass Tactical Err

Jim Pearson, 5378 Sunspot Omega

Bruce Kimball, 5026 Climax/Carbon Delite

Sportsperson:

Rene Cesedes, 5364 Epsilon

Steve Cheldelin, 5291 Obsession C

Scott Pack, 4229 Cirra/Monarch D

2 Chrysalis from DJ Aerotech, and a couple 'Red Herring' foam deltas from me were appreciated by all. Rene and Steve took home Red Herrings, and Scott and Phil were winners of Chrysalis kits. (Since Phil has too many planes to fly as it is, he donated the kit back to the pot to be given away at the next contest. Thanks Phil!)

Future SASS HLG contests: August 29 (J. Conrad), and September 26 (S. Cameron).

P.S. Herold (Locke) stopped by with some neat pictures of his Herring:

http://www.blarg.net/~awagner/red_herring.html Q

Facts to File and Forget
By Pete Hinze <phinze@aol.com>

Just a suggestion for Updraft. A FYI (For Your Information) or perhaps FFF (Facts to File and Forget) section for little bits of possibly useful and/or interesting information that may be only a couple of lines or a vignette that wouldn't ordinarily command its own heading, section, whatchamacallit. For instance, one time I attempted to estimate the amount of soap generated by showers and baths and flushed into Puget Sound each day based on my own soap bar usage as average. It was startling - tons and tons - but I can't remember how much. If I could recall wouldn't that be a point of interest (maybe not, huh ?)? Anyway, here are a few that might be of interest:

Using a field effect amp meter and a volt meter I recently measured the winch loading during a Dave Beardsley launch of his 2 meter Super V. His zoom peaked the meter at approximately 400 amperes and at 10 to 11 volts. For a second or so his input to the winch was between 5 and 6 horsepower. The power at the drum was probably 7hp or so depending on motor efficiency. No wonder we break those heavy winch lines so often. Or...

To find the actual current load in a two-function model I set up a test using RCD 535 Rx, two Futaba S3003 servos and a 270 mah battery fully charged. With system idling - on but no motion input signal - load was 35ma = .035amp. Rx plus one servo with continual lock-to-lock motion signal, load = 100ma = .100amp. With both servos in constant motion the load = 150ma = .150 amp. Or...

On the recent 4th of July night the 60 Acres field gate was locked. Three families were observed to have walked in from the west parking lot and discharged their fireworks. On the morning of the 5th it was found that each family had left an average of 6.75 lb. of debris which included bottles, cans, food wrappers, bags and, of course, the spent fireworks carcasses. The east parking lot was packed with cars and fireworks for over two hours and had that hoard been on the field I estimate the debris load would have been perhaps 200+ pounds. Q

Thermal Duration Club Contest -- June 20^th
By Jeff Johnson < jeffmj@microsoft.com>

This was an interesting contest on a nice, sunny, breezy day at 60 Acres. This one was definitely not a landing contest. Not one pilot made their time in all 5 rounds. I can't remember the last time that happened. The winners just didn't miss by as much as some of the others. We flew a 5 min. task, a 7 min. task, two 10 min. tasks, and the coup de grace, a 15 min. task. In each round, whoever was in first and second had to launch first and second in the round, to discourage someone from getting a lead and sitting on it. Rene, the Open class winner, missed his 5 min. task by 1 min., but made all the others. David Beardsley was on fire until the last round, where he flew great, but could only manage an 8:22. The trend continued in 2M. Waid made all of his times except for the 15 min. task, where he only managed a 10:22. Still enough to hold on. It looks like his new 2M Super V is treating him well. We all missed Sherman, but an unexpected visit to the surgeon held him at home for most of the day. Get well soon; it's not the same without a few Yea-Hahs to lighten up the day. A final note, team Super V continues to clean up: 1st ,2nd , and 3rd in expert, and 1st ,2nd , 4th , and 5th in 2M.

The results:

Expert Open

Sportsman Open

Novice

Two Meter

Wafting Away on Whidbey Island
By Pete Hinze <phinze@aol.com>

June 13 was the last scheduled club outing for Whidbey Island until September 19. If you missed it you passed up a really good outing. The only thing missing was a bit higher wind velocity pushing up the Ebey Landing slope. The wind was working the Landing early on and through to the afternoon although it was on the light side. Even so, the more adventurous pilots like Skotvold, Fuller, Kasner, Martin, et al found enough lift to commit "ZAGImania" combat. A lot of the planes ended up down at the bottom of the slope but were not necessarily the victims of combat.

The frequency control clip board had 19 sign on which is the highest turnout I can recall. At one time I counted 33 planes ranging through Predator, Gentle Lady, Oberto' U-2 to a tiny scale by Rick Miles

About 4:00 the wind was shearing around to the South so the party broke up but about 8 or 9 of us repaired to the Tyee restaurant (near Coupeville) for much needed victuals, repartee and intellectual intercourse. Refreshed and revitalized we moved up toward Oak Harbor and finished the day at Sky Meadows (overlooking Penn Cove) where the wind was minimal but workable. Anyway, it was enough for my I-26 to serve as a target so Ole Skotvold could practice his combat interception and diving attack modes. He also worked on perfecting a new technique wherein as a model flies by he gorilla launches a high energy, head-on, total destruction intercept.

All things considered, it was a great day to be alive and in the company of good fellows. There were only two negatives all day long. First was a matronly, grandmotherly-type lady at the Landing who lectured Jim Martin (as I recall) after he retrieved a model from down slope and to the effect that our climbing up and down the slope would kill the grass/weeds/nettles/picker bushes/etc. and cause erosion that would destroy the area. Ideally, dealing with her complaint could have been handled masterfully by the artful diplomatic skills of Mike Dooley but he was out of range at that time. The second negative was when Dick McDonald lodged his Gentle Lady high up in the southern branches of the ancient cedar tree next to the road at Sky Meadows. There was no way to retrieve it at the time but the wind had shifted to the North and we hoped that perhaps overnight the wind would dislodge it. The next day Dick returned equipped with an extension ladder and some wood poles he had rigged for splicing. In short order he had the model down without damage and the negative became a positive. Keep in mind that Dick did not bring the poles home but they are secreted in the grass near the tree.

So endth the saga of June 13, 1998. I hope September 19 is better with only the addition of a little more wind and no negatives. By the time you are reading this September 19 will be close at hand so plan on joining in on the fun and camaraderie. Q

Lake Wallowa, Oregon Fun Fly
By Waid Reynolds <waid@aa.net>

The fun fly in the Joseph/Lake Wallowa area of Northeastern Oregon was well worth attending. The soaring was excellent, the scenery is unparalleled, the recreational opportunities were abundant. And, there was no traffic! My entourage stayed at Wallowa State Park at the opposite end of the beautiful lake from the small town of Joseph. Many other glider fanatics from around the country were also camped at the park. Those who preferred more comfortable accommodations had plenty of lodges and motels from which to choose.

Rain and low clouds greeted us upon arrival Thursday evening and continued until morning. Fortunately, the clouds began to break and the sun came out by 10 AM or so on Friday. Thermal soaring of all types from HLG to electric to aerotowed scale took place all day at the Joseph airport. The mountains were still shrouded in cloud so no one ventured up the gondola to Mt. Howard until Saturday.

Saturday dawned clear and calm. After breakfast most of the 40 or 50 participants headed for the airport again. And again the thermal soaring was outstanding. Later in the day a large group adjourned to the top of the mountain in search of slope lift. Unfortunately, the winds there were calm, too. Thermals had to suffice.

I finally rode the gondola to the top of the mountain on Sunday, which was another picture perfect day. The view on the way up (and down) in the gondola is great. And, it just gets better when you reach the top of Mount Howard. For the hungry there is a restaurant at the top that even serves some local brews for quenching your apres soar thirsts. A short walk from the gondola station got us to "the flying site at the end of the world." Those who are afraid of heights, need not apply! But what a spectacle of snow capped peaks, emerald mountain meadows, and forested valleys presented itself. Later we walked a little further to the summit to take in the incredible 360 degree view. It was truly awe inspiring.

The smart money had electric gliders to make retrieval easy in case the typically mondo thermals stopped working. Then there was the guy who thought he was smart, and launched his monster electric glider into the abyss. After a few moments it was far away and losing altitude rapidly. With great aplomb he pushed the throttle up, confident that the prop would spin and save the day. To his considerable consternation nothing happened, except that beads of sweat instantly formed all over his brow. Fortunately, the story had a happy ending. Thermals were abundant and our somewhat shaken hero saved the glider and the day.

Those of us lacking electric motivation in our gliders just had to wait for a good lift cycle, using HLGs to sample the air. When the "house thermal", which stayed over the peak most of the day, was pumping well were able to use it just like slope lift. I've never seen a Zagi climb so fast and so high! Powerful stuff that mountain lift. The slope and landing area consisted of broken rock, so foamies and "catchable" craft worked well. For hard bodies there was a nice soft snow field nearby for them to land in. If you want to fly pure glider hard bodies there you better come equipped with plenty of skill and confidence. You don't want to have to chase a glider down the rugged mountain side. And, you don't want to land it on the rocks. Electric gliders are definitely recommended for this site.

Wil is already planning a bigger and better event for next year. He offers the following information:

Sailplane & Electric Modeler magazine and the Mid-Columbia Soarers have determined the dates for the 1999 Alpine Soaring & Electric Jamboree. The 1999 dates are July 9 - 12.

During this 4 day period it is hoped that we can attract over 150 pilots and their families to the Wallowa valley for some excellent soaring. This year's event was a tremendous success and nearly all participants told us they would be coming back. Consequently, S&E Modeler and the Mid-Columbia Soarers wishes to host the a similar event in 1999. However, in 1999 we wish to add some additional events to the agenda.

This year we hosted only alpine soaring and aerotowing for the R/C sailplane enthusiasts, in a very informal format. Next year we would like to structure the event more and host alpine soaring, aerotowing for scale gliders, electric powered airplanes, a handlaunch airplane contest, a thermal duration contest, a Limited Electric Motor Run contest, and more. Further, we would like to host (or have hosted) a Saturday night banquet, a day time barbecue (day not chosen) and a manufacturer's raffle. To accomplish this, we are enlisting the support of two additional model clubs in the northwest. They are the Portland Area Soaring Society and the Seattle Area Soaring Society. The both have large memberships and members known for their organizational abilities.

As you may not know, Sailplane & Electric Modeler magazine now has a worldwide circulation exceeding 32,000. To promote the event we plan to place advertisements within the magazine to attract entrants from the world over. Hopefully, we can attract a large crowd of flyers and spectators to the beautiful Wallowa valley for some of the most spectacular soaring in the world, and to enjoy all the vacation entertainment.

To help us meet this end, we would ask that any business owners or merchants interested in assisting or providing services to the event please contact us for further information. 1998 soaring in the Wallowa valley was superb! We hope we can bring those pilots and more back to the valley for an even better 1999.

Wil Byers
Managing Editor / Kiona Publishing Inc.
Sailplane & Electric Modeler magazine
P.O. Box 4267, W. Richland, WA 99353-0024
Phone: 509-627-0456. Email: sailnelec@aol.com. Web: www.semodeler.com Q

From The Internet

From: aainds@yahoo.com
Sent: Thursday, June 11, 1998 12:38 PM
Subject: RC AIRPLANES WHOLESALE OUTET!!!!!!!

THE BEST RC AIRPLANE SITE ONTHE WEB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MOST ITEMS AT OR BELOW WHOLESALE http://www.aaind.com/enter.htm
STILL CANT FIND WHAT YOU NEED GO TO http://www.aaind.com/trades.htm
BUY SELL TRADE,ITS ALL FREE
HAVE A GREAT DAY BOYS, KEEP YOUR FINGERS OUT OF THE PROPS

From: Mark Morland
Sent: Wednesday, June 24, 1998 11:53 PM
Subject: Slope Sites

German slope sites...

http://www2.telecom.at/koralpe/modellfl.html

From: Mark Morland
Sent: Wednesday, July 29, 1998 10:08 AM
Subject: New Wind Site

http://www.intellicast.com/sailcast/

From: Mark Morland
Sent: Friday, June 26, 1998 10:52 AM
To: waid@aa.net; johng@frugal.com
Subject: Night Operations

Aircraft illumination lamps for night flying. Suitable for gliders and power.

http://www.NightOps.com/

From: Waid Reynolds
To: all SASS members
Subject: Wind at Eagle Butte and Kiona Butte

Thanks to Wil Byers for locating this weather site on the web. Now we can find out what the wind is doing at Richland without spending 3 hours on the road to find out in person.

http://terrassa.pnl.gov:2080/HMS/stamap.htm

Station 26 is at Benton City near Kiona Butte. Station 27 is at Vista Field near Eagle Butte. Q