It has been several years since we have addressed the validity and usefulness of our safety regulations

Gary L. White

Description

THE M.A.C.K. Charter 896 TRANSMITTER PUBLICATION OF THE MODEL ASSOCIATION OF CENTRAL KANSAS, INC. Volume 14, Issue 2 Web Page- http://mackrc.tripod.com February 2002 around 3:00 pm and we spent the 2002 PRESIDENTS COLUMN next hour playing combat and OFFICERS generally having a good time. Mike Bailey is organizing a Slope Fly at February is here and we have President; Joe Dunnaway th thWilson on March 9 & 10 . I’m not Vice Pres; Jarold Schmidt some snow on the ground now. The Secretary; Roger Brining sure about what kind of events he is forecast for the last weekend in Treasurer; Gary Shelton going to have but I’m sure there will January called for highs in the 60’s be combat and a Foamy glider race. and low 70’s with wind from the If you want more info let me know. South at 25 to 30 Mph. It sounded One of Cory Dewald’s friends is just like a perfect day for Slope Soaring CLUB MEETING starting to fly and I got him to try my at Wilson Lake. Mike Bailey from Date THL Zagi. He picked it up pretty fast Wichita called and said a few of the February 9, 2002 and was out over the hill and soaring guys from his area were headed to in no time. I had more fun watching Wilson and wanted to know if him than I did flying. anyone wanted to meet them up LOCATION We have discussed starting a call there for some flying. It sounded like list for anyone that ...

Informations

• Publié par: Moshug
• Nombre de lectures: 49
• Langue: English

Extrait

Charter 896

THE M.A.C.K. TRANSMITTER

P BLI ATI NF THE MDEL AIATI NF ENTRALKAN AIN . Volume 14, Issue 2 Web Page http://mackrc.tripod.com February 2002 around 3:00 pm and we spent the 2002 PRESIDENTS COLUMN next hour playing combat and OFFICERS Mikegenerally having a good time. Bailey is organizing a Slope Fly at February is here and we have President; Joe Dunnaway th th Vice Pres; Jarold Schmidt not& 10. I’mThe Wilsonon March 9 some snow on the ground now. Secretary; Roger Brining forecast for the last weekend in sure about what kind of events he is Treasurer; Gary Shelton January called for highs in the 60’s going to have but I’m sure there will be combat and a Foamy glider race. and low 70’s with wind from the South at 25 to 30 Mph. It sounded If you want more info let me know. like a perfect day for Slope Soaring One of Cory Dewald’s friends is just CLUB MEETING at Wilson Lake.Mike Bailey from starting to fly and I got him to try my Date THL Zagi.He picked it up pretty fast Wichita called and said a few of the February 9, 2002 guys from his area were headed to and was out over the hill and soaring Wilson and wanted to know if in no time.I had more fun watching anyone wanted to meet them up him than I did flying. LOCATION We have discussed starting a call there for some flying.It sounded like list for anyone that would like to join Farmers State Bank a lot of fun to me.I called a few of us when we head for the slope. If you 1614 Main the guys in the club and we ended would like to be on this list, let me Great Bend, Kansas up with about 5 of us headed for Wilson on Sunday. know who you are and your phone  We all arrived around Noon and number and we will call you. TIME The WRCC auction was held found Mike Bailey and Jimmy Prouty nd rd February 2& 3and I ended up 7:30 P.M.Scottfrom Wichita already in the air. Essmiller and Jimmy Ruble had their with a new Carl Goldberg Ultimate Electric Zagis and I was flying my Bipe set up for a YS120.It may take THL Zagi.The wind speed was me awhile to get all the pieces for this EDITOR pretty low so my Foam1 didn’t have thing but it should be fun when I get Sharon White enough lift to stay in the air. Cory donewith it. 140 S.E. 30 RD Dewald showed up a while later with Cory Dewald called me on Sunday, Great Bend, KS67530 rd a Zagi and some kind of glider with Feb. 3and said he had put skis on 7923317 an 8foot wingspan. his Cub.I went over to watch the EMail [e-mail] Mike Bailey has been doing some fun. Aftera few false starts because Dynamic Soaring and has a special of the soft snow grabbing the skis, it glider made for this type of high was finally in the air.I have a few speed flying. We decided to see if pictures of it to prove that it’s not too Articles and Photos there was enough wind to D.S. from cold to fly. must be received by the Dam.After several attempts we The next club meeting will be Feb. the last Saturday of the th finally decide that the wind speed 9 . I’llsee you there. current month to be was not high enough so we headed published in the Joe Dunnaway upcoming issue. Theback over to the slope again. wind finally started picking up

It has been several years since we have addressed the validity and usefulness of our safety regulations. The winter months, while there is very little activity at the flying field, is the time for reviewing and revising these regulations pertaining to the operation of models at “Fred SchmidtMemorial Airfield”. Below are the existing rules. Please consider them carefully and be prepared to discuss, revise, or accept them as written at the February Club meeting. M.A.C.K. SAFETY REGULATIONS I .official AMA Safety Code and all safety recommendations must be followed and The obeyed at all times. Model flyingMUSTin accordance with this Code in order for be AMA liability protection to apply. A model aircraft is defined as an aircraft with or without engine, not able to carry a human being. II.All transmitters must be left in the transmitter impound. When the impound is in operation you can not have your transmitter in your possession,sitting or laying beside your airplane,or turn it on without first obtaining the frequency pin from the transmitter impound and attaching it to your transmitter antenna. All transmittersMUST havethe proper frequency flags and channel numbers attached to their antennas. III.No engines will beSTARTED, IDLED, or ADJUSTEDin the pit area west of the chain link fences!NO EXCEPTIONS!This is for the safety of the people and equipment including yoursin the pit area and under the shelters. The organization went to the expense of installing the fence for your safety. IV. All vehiclesMUSTbe parked in the designated parking areas. The drive between the R/C pits and the C/L circles is for unloading and loadingONLY. Thereis absolutely no provision or reason for leaving vehicles in this drive! Late arrivals or early departures cannot get in or out of the loading and unloading areas. For safety reasons no vehicles should be left this close to the pit area or flight lines. V.Schmidt Memorial Airport is a privately owned model airport. Any modeler using Fred this facility must be a member in good standing of the Academy of Model Aeronautics and have in their possession a current membership AMA card. SAFETY IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE!

Charging Your NiCd Batteries If only electricity came in a bottle. Although it can be a headache, battery charging doesn't have to be a guessing game. We talked to Team JR member, Anderson Yau, about proper NiCd charging. Here's his take.

Should you discharge first?

Yes, you should always discharge NiCd batteries to the point where they are depleted and no longer usable in the application they are intended for (i.e. car pack, transmitter pack, or receiver pack).

How do you know when to stop charging?

If you are using a modern peak detection type charger, this is not something you will have to worry about  the charger will automatically stop charging for you. If however, you own a charger with a timer, there are 2 things you can do to determine when to stop charging.

1. Continually to monitor the temperature of the battery pack when charging. When you notice it becoming warm to the touch, stop charging. This should allow the battery to become roughly 85% charged.

2. To safely reach a full capacity charge you will need to add a voltmeter in parallel with the battery to monitor its voltage as it is charging. As soon as the voltage on the voltmeter begins to drop (.005V per cell), the battery pack is fully charged.

Is capacity a factor in charge time?

Yes. With a fixed charge rate the higher the capacity of the batteries the longer it will take to charge a battery pack. To determine how long it will take to charge a fully discharged battery pack use the following: Time= (Capacity/Charge Rate) x .06, where .06 is the conversion factor for converting hours into minutes and amp into milliamp. Let say you have a 1500mAh battery pack and a charger that charges at a 4amp rate. Plugging these figures in would give us 1500/4 x .06 = 22.5 minutes.

Do NiCds really have a memory factor? If so, how do you deal with it?

Yes. Most people often notice these phenomena in the form of reduced battery runtime (capacity) and lower performance due to repeatedly charging the NiCd pack without completely discharging it after use. In many instances you can overcome this phenomena by regularly going through the cycle of discharging your NiCd pack completely after using it and then charging it right before you plan to use it again. This will help most packs regain some capacity, but not necessarily all of its capacity.

How often should you change your batteries?

NiCd batteries are fairly durable batteries so you will not need to change them often unless you notice any performance decrease.

Will running NiCds down to empty before charging diminish their lifespan?

Running NiCds down to empty is good as long as none of the cells in a battery pack go into reverse polarity. You can prevent cell reversal from happening by remembering to not leave your car, radio gear, or other equipment that will drain the battery pack indefinitely after it has ceased to operate.

What's the trick to getting the most charges out of NiCds?

Completely discharge your NiCd batteries after you use it. Let the batteries cool down and rest several hours before you charge it again. When charging, do not let your batteries become overcharged to the point where the pack is too hot to touch. If the cells do become overcharged and vents, it releases chemicals and gases, which make up the battery and therefore reduce its useful life.

Joe Dunnaway, at the M.A.C.K. field, took the pictures of Cory Dewald and his Cub with skis on it on Sunday, February 3, 2002. Here’s proof that it’s not too cold to fly. Truisms A pilot’s heart rate is inversely proportional to airplane’s altitude.