HangarRash_November 2009.wps - Society of Antique Modelers

On the subject of scale modeling, I have a proposal to make to the club. About four years ago I registered with FAC to
form Squadron 70-The Scale Masters. We started off with a small group flying at Fairview Park in Costa Mesa (dog
park) and had some minor successes with conducting monthly contests for about one year of activity. At the end of this
period several active flyers dropped out- Bill Taylor when he had his stroke and Norm Jacky, John Anderson and a few
others who faded away for various reasons and the organized activity stopped. However, the squadron number is still
listed as active, and my proposal is to make the Scale Masters a sub group to the SCAMPS, much as the Scale Staffel is a
sub group to the Orbiteers. My thoughts are we could add one of the FAC scale events to the monthly club contest
agenda, and also get guys used to scale judging in addition to building and flying scale. That was one of the things we
were all hesitant about in the dog park contests, and did not encourage building to a higher standard as far as FAC scale
rules were concerned or even exploring the rules very much. This would also fill a hole between the FAC 69 group in
Balboa Park (Grassy Knoll) and the San Diego bunch. We had one contest at Perris in the late spring hosted by the FAC
69, but we could hold dual or tri-club scale events if we wanted. It would all build toward effective hosting of the
WESTFAC IV when it returns to Perris. Think about it-it doesn’t cost a dime and I would be happy to champion the
organization for the club. Send me your thoughts at the email address noted at the beginning of this column.
Gumbander Info
John Donnelson has gotten hold of some early summer Tan Super Sport rubber and done some testing on it. The word is
that the May and June batches of Tan Super Sport have the best properties ever seen for this material. What follows is
John’s email to me concerning this.
“I got a call from Don DeLoach a while back telling me that the new Tan Super Sport rubber is the best yet, and that if I
wanted some I had better order it before John Clapp (FAI) ran out. Its only available in 1/8 and 1/16. John said that it was
significantly better than last year's rubber (I have a lot of Sept 08) so I decided to run a comparative test. The new rubber
is dated June 09.
Since I have several models powered with Gizmo Geezer 9.5 inch front ends and have been using 36 in motors I decided
to do a back-to-back comparative test. I built two 8 strand x 1/8 x36 in motors and tested them to near destruction. They
were wound 5 times to near breaking torque, the Sept 08 only 4 because it broke on the 4th wind. Each was allowed a
short rest in between. The winder was a Gizmo, so the results are only as good as the accuracy of the Gizmo torque
meter. I didn't measure it, but Don said that the 09 rubber is slightly thicker that the older rubber, so one would expect
that it would have higher torque just due to the cross section.
In general, (I can provide data if desired), on the first wind it was 15% higher in torque, the second wind 20%, the third
wind 25% and the forth wind 30%. And, it was pretty even across the envelope. What make this especially impressive, is
that its exactly the characteristic that we need for the FAC mass launches, since you aren't allowed to change the motor
between rounds.
When I get some time I will take a new motor to break torque to see how far I can go and determine the rubber constant.
Don said that he normally winds a 16 strand (1/8in) motor to 40 in-oz and is now winding his Gollywock to 45 in-oz and
hasn't broken a motor yet. I would like to get some data for some good Tan ll to see how this new rubber compares.
Also, I have calibrated my Andriukov winder using Fernando's Morrill winder. I probably need to do the same with my
Gizmo winder. Knowing John, he probably did a good job of designing his torque meter to be accurate.”
I’ve been flying with May and June 09 rubber and it is noticeably better-takes the torque and is significantly more
durable. I was happy to get three full power runs on any of my large rubber jobs before the motor would break down.
I’ve been getting up to six flights without damage to the motors, flying to my normal torque levels. Now I don’t know if I
should save them or toss them! Of course I just hang onto the good ones as initial test motors for the next event, but all
the same it’s nice to get a little more for your money. Hopefully they have the process dialed in and can repeat this more
than once or twice a season!
News Flash-The SCAMPS board has endorsed Larry Tougas for Vice President of District 10 in the upcoming AMA
election. Larry appears to be a go-getter type guy; very interested in all aspects of aero modeling and interested in
promoting flying site retention as a priority. He has also moved the VP job into the modern world by establishing a
website where we can all go and communicate with other modelers, clubs etc. within District 10 and beyond. To me
anyway this is a significant step to take by him and a great tool for the future.