THE MASTHEAD PLANE
The Breguet 270 is a fine example of the 1930’s design philosophy of the French. “If it is ugly enough, maybe the ground will repel it.” This pod-and-boom, all metal sesquiplane first flew in 1929, and Breguet received an order for 85 planes in 1930, and another 45 in 1932 for the Breguet 271, an up-engined version. The 270 was designed as an armed reconnaissance plane carrying a pilot and a gunner/observer in open cockpits. Armament consisted of a fixed forward firing Vickers for the pilot and twin Lewis machine guns for the gunner to cover the rear quarter. The 270 could also be fitted with up to 264 pounds of bombs under the wings.
By the way, all-metal does not mean all-aluminum. The chassis was made of high-tensile steel! The plane spanned 55’9” and could move along at 147 m.p.h. for a range of 620 miles. Although still in use at the outbreak of WWII, it was rapidly withdrawn from service after sustaining massive losses while scouting across the Rhine.
For the modeler, this is your chance to pull out your Duraplane and dress it up! The only stumbling block, literally, would be those rather large wheel pants. Good luck with the grass!
PROPWASH
VOL XXX, No. 5 May, 2007
Arden McConnell president 313-274-3185
Mike Cuba vice-president 734-522-7638
Tim Kirsten secretary 313-565-6093
Terry Kozlowski treasurer 734-354-1928
Dennis Gazdecki safety 734-442-3402
Bobby Harmon field 313-541-4204
Al Zerber membership 734-427-4872
Kathy Kendzior at-large 313-274-1402
Ray Piper at-large 313-532-7286
Mike Cuba editor 734-522-7638
Charlie Thomas swap shop 313-565-2973
Bob Mayhew archivist 313-291-6855
Stephanie Thomas webmaster 313-565-2973
website http://detroitaeromodelers.org
RAFFLE WINNERS
The attendance prize, a gift certificate donated by Nankin Hardware & Hobby, was won by Kathy Kendzior. The Blade helicopter raffle prize was won by Dennis Gazdecki. Congratulations!
SUMMER FUN FLYS
Charlie Thomas will CD for us this summer. The events are scheduled for the third Sunday of the month at 5 p.m., starting in May. We will give out raffle prize tickets for prizes this time. Thank you, Charlie!
INTRODUCTORY PILOT
PROGRAM
Fliers have been put up in the local hobby shops as part of the introductory pilot program. Stephanie and Charlie Thomas have eight pilot/instructors lined up. We have some buddy boxes, and a couple of trainers lined up.
MEMBERSHIP
Al Zerber reports that we are stuck at 83 members. Check the mailing label for this issue. The June issue will be the last one delivered to members who have not renewed!
Club
meetings are at the Redford Community Center,
12121
Hemingway, in Redford
5/20 May
Fun Fly 5:00 p.m.
5/25 indoor
flying 5:00 p.m.
6/2 Rouge
Appreciation noon
6/12 business
meeting 7:00
p.m.
6/17 June
Fun Fly 5:00 p.m.
CLASSIFIEDS
Great Planes Piper Cub ARF, Saito .50 Golden Knight 4-cycle engine, Futaba Skysport 6-channel FM radio, 80 inch span, with a spare wing.
Great Planes Aeromaster 40 biplane, OS .91 Surpass 4-cycle engine, Futaba FG Series FM radio, 52 inch span.
Both
these planes are ready to fly and all come from Jack Shelby complete with
chargers. Contact Al Zerber at
734-427-4872
Curt Vanden Bosch has a like new Futaba 9CAP with a metal carrying case and manual for $200, and a like new Accu-Cycle Pro Series battery conditioner/charger for $35. Call Curt at 313-278-7662.
ARCHIVES
Bob Mayhew brought in the complete collection of newsletters, dating from 1978. Included are old rosters, officer lists, etc. dating from 1974. He has written two summaries of the club’s history. Look for them on the website! Did you know that we were originally called the Rouge Park R/C Flying Club? We didn’t become the Detroit Aeromodelers until 1973.
JACK SHELBY DONATION
Jack Shelby donated several planes and other R/C equipment to the club last month. He is moving to Arizona, and his health precludes him taking all his gear with him. With Al Zerber as sales agent, the donation has already netted the club over two thousand dollars! The Aeromaster and the Cub are still available. Many, many thanks, Jack!
If
you’d like to drop Jack a line of personal thanks, his address until 5/25/07 is
Jack Shelby
18600 Bainbridge
Southfield, Mich 48076
and after that
1846 East Buckridge Place
Oro Valley, Ariz. 85737
VANDALISM AT THE
FIELD
Someone with the maturity of day-old bread attempted to show his displeasure with the club by welding shut the frequency control box at the field. I’d call the behavior childish, but most children I know would feel rightfully insulted. The welds were removed by noon the following morning, with no premanent damage, and minimal disruption of field activities.
The dirt bikers are leaving ruts on the field near the top of the hill leading down into the Valley of Doom. Take care when you are taxiing in that area.
ROUGE APPRECIATION
DAY
Saturday, June 2nd is the big day, with Sunday, June 3rd as a rain date. We are looking for volunteers to help with the cooking from 9:30 to 12:30. You don’t need to work the entire period, but the more volunteers we get, the less time each volunteer has to spend! We are also looking for a ground tarp or two, coolers, and another screened tent for the condiments. Contact Tom McNulty at 313-937-2744 to volunteer. We will be putting on an air show at noon for the crowd. Stephanie Thomas has printed up about 500 introductory fliers for the DAM. We could use a volunteer to hand them out during registration on Rouge Appreciation Day.
FIELD DEDICATION
Plans are moving forward for the formal naming of the field. All materials and labor have been donated for making the sign, and Friends of Rouge Park are paying for the paint. The sign will have three lines, and look like this:
River Rouge Park
Detroit Aero
Modelers
Alexander
Jefferson Field
The date for the ceremony has not yet been set, but as they say “Watch this space”! Many thanks to the Friends of Rouge Park, and not just for their donation of paint for the sign. They were the driving force in the grassroots movement last summer to stop the sale of Rouge Park to private interests.
SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL
HOBBY SHOPS!
NANKIN HARDWARE & HOBBY
35101 Ford Rd. 734-722-5700
RIDER'S
HOBBY SHOP OF LIVONIA
30991 Five Mile Rd. 734-425-9720
RIDER’S
HOBBY SHOP OF TAYLOR
22789 Northline 734-287-7405
ELECTRODYNAMICS
31091 Schoolcraft 734-422-5420
PROP SHOP
23326 Van Dyke 810-757-7160
JOE'S
HOBBY CENTER
Grand River & Drake Rd 248-477-6266
MAY SHOW AND TELL
Bobby Harmon brought in a PTS F-22 Raptor. His is the $159 ARF version, which comes without the engine or radio. It has a 52 inch wingspan (with the wing extensions), leading edge droops and functional flaps, as well as a low-pitch three blade prop. Bobby has already installed the flap servos, and replaced the prop with a two-blade 10/6 for a little more speed. He has a Thunder Tiger .46 installed, but plans to replace it with an OS .65. It seems no one is immune to “the need for speed”!
Mike Cuba showed us two F/F rubber-powered stick planes. He’s been experimenting with coverings. One was covered with the tissue they wrap flowers in at Westborn Market. It looks like tissue paper, but has a loose net weave reinforcing the tissue. His second plane was covered with CostCo saran wrap. Mike discovered that not only can you glue this onto the airframe with thin CA, but you can also heat-shrink it!
Nick Kyriacou showed us a locator device that homes in on lost airplanes that he purchased at Toledo this year. The locator and two bugs are about $100. They claim 600 feet, which Nick has verified in the open, but not in the Valley of Doom. Unlike other retrieval devices that depend on the receiver battery and give off a beeping sound, this one has its own button battery, and emits a radio signal that is picked up by the hand-held tracker device, which gives direction and an indication of distance. You can see the Loc8tor (not a typo, that’s how they spell it!) on R/C Universe or at their own website www.loc8torus.com. Battery life for the emitter is claimed to be at least a year.
SAFETY REMINDERS
Three issues were addressed at the May meeting. Remember, the field rules state that there shall be no flying while field maintenance is being done. This includes flying the north side of the field while the south side is being mowed! We have beautiful safety tables at the field now, so let’s make sure we either use them or have a tail restraint when running up an engine. Finally, anyone flying at the field must have at a minimum, a valid AMA card, and preferably a DAM membership card for the frequency control box. A membership card in the National Rifle Association won’t do! The police shooting range is north of Joy, not south!
PUBLICITY
Kathy Kendezior wants to set up a vendor booth at the Thunder Over Michigan for the next year to hand out information about our club. She inquired about the possibility of us putting on a demonstration flight, and the reply involved meteorological conditions in a much warmer environment. Ah, well, such is fame! Kathy is also looking into purchasing a newspaper ad to promote the August Fun Fly, which would run in the neighborhood papers.
AUGUST FUN FLY
We were reminded at the May meeting that the club is responsible for food at the August meet being organized by Andy Pesonen and Vince Blasky. If we are going to “prepare” food (use the grill for hot food) then the person(s) doing the cooking have to attend a four-hour seminar to be licensed as a food preparer. The only cost is the time investment, but our only other option is to sell totally prepackaged food (pop, chips, apples, etc.) and even then we have to get permission to sell in the park. May as well jump through all the hoops and serve hot food! Contact Andy, Vince, or Tom McNulty to get the details and volunteer.
PROPWASH
31425 Myrna, Livonia, Mi. 48154
