Yo dudes! You ever seem to notice lots of things in life that are not related to our hobby, that we seem to relate them together anyway???
Here's a recent example: Last week I finished up building a carport on the ranch. It is on the side of the zoot barn, which is right behind the zoot flying circle. During construction, it just seemed that this thing was not as sturdy as it should be, me being able to push on a corner post and the open structure bending and swaying a bit. I wondered what additional bracing might have to be done. Then came the final step, which was to put the metal roofing onto them there long twenty foot rafters and stringers. Lo and Beholdeth! Now said structure is incredibly rigid! Then the modeler's analogy instantly pops into mind ... I had just put the "covering on the wing." Now the "trailing edge, ribs and spars" no longer bend and twist, and no additional bracing will be needed.
In a previous column, I puzzled over the RC'ers term "3D" flying. What the heck does this mean? Ken Burdick offered some thoughts on definitions, at least on what they might mean for CL ... they be:
Uh, thanks for the help Ken, but this doesn't really answer the question. Some magazine article on RC flying came to the surface awhile back, so I gives it a look. It explained that 3D flying was operating one's aircraft under stall conditions with sufficient power/thrust to overcome drag/gravity, resulting in "extreme" maneuvers. Wonderful. But still the actual term is not explained. The mystery remains ...
While the combination of Food and Flying is hardly anything new, I believe that the Zootster did his part in making this pairing a popular attraction at Northwest events. It was at the 1999 Fall Follies in Salem that the tradition of serving zoot-burgers during the middle of Sunday's activities began. A similar offering was made during the short run of the Field of Dreams stunt contests. And other events have done likewise. Hey, everyone has to eat!
Speaking of eating, I remember that this was made all the more fun at a particular past Fall Follies meet when somehow we either ran out or forgot to bring utensils for the side dishes. Modelers are of course ingenious when it comes to improvising, and very quickly the utensil of choice was a spare prop out of the toobox. Whether spinning on the front of an engine, or used as a utensil, each style of prop had its own special performance parameters ... Wide blade Rev-Ups and B-Y&O being favored as serving tools, and the APC worked well as knife-style cutlery. Master Airscrew and Top Flites mainly relegated for plate to mouth action. Wotta blast! At the next appearance judging lineup look closely for any props that seem to have strange discoloration, that just might be a stain from bbq sauce or potato salad!
Later dudes, be cool!
This page was upated Nov.17, 2007