To the surprise and disappointment of many, right after the 2008 NEAT Fair in mid September, a violent windstorm passed through the Ohio area and totally collapsed the Columbus inflatable dome. As a result, the festival’s original early November date had to be cancelled. It is currently believed that the dome will be rebuilt but the timing is not certain at the moment. The next festival may have to be put off until November 2009.

Oddly, in 2007 a group of indoor RC flyers from Muncy, Pennsylvania, decided to try their own indoor-fly at a dome in the Scranton area of Pennsylvania. But just before the scheduled date a storm collapsed the roof on that dome and in that case the dome was not rebuilt.

But despite this 2007 disappointment, the members of the Muncy Indoor Flyers Club were able to obtain the use of a new sports dome located in the town of Muncy, PA (approx. 8 miles from Williamsport, PA --- headquarters for the Worldwide Little League Baseball organization) for the weekend of October 18 and 19, 2008, to hold their event called the Keystone Indoor Electric Fly (KIEF).

 Members of the Muncy Indoor Flyers

Meanwhile, because of the cancellation of the JR Festival in Ohio, many indoor modelers simply changed their plans and decided to attend the KIEF event. As you will soon find out, everyone who did attend thought this was truly a wonderful affair that will likely become a very popular event in years to come.

Keep in mind that the KIEF caters to the general indoor/parking lot flyer with models weighing up to approx. one pound, plus the E-3D precision aerobatic pilots and to the micro scale and sport indoor flyers. All these factions are able to “survive” and enjoy flying indoors under one common roof, like KIEF’s.. As best we can tell this first time event attracted approx. 75 to 80 registered pilots  --- not bad!

Since this was a first time event I’d like to introduce the club officers, the CD and the Micro Event coordinators.

 Tony Minnella, President of the Muncy Indoor Flyers Club

 and overall man in charge

 Ron Angle, club Vice President at the right, presenting a donation check to the Dome Director, Mr. Dan Johnson

 CD for the event,  Mark Vukmanovich

 Micro Event Coordinators,  the popular team of Joe and Cindy Malinchak, who also write a by-monthly micro/indoor column for the AMA’s MODEL AVIATION

  KIEF was also very proud and privileged to have as guest visitors, their AMA District-III VP, Bob Brown, at left, as well as AMA President, Dave Mathewson

 The sign that greets arrivals – and there is more than enough parking!

From the approach highway on nearby I-180, I was able to take this photo looking down at the dome:

This is a closer view as you enter the parking lot. It is a truly large structure.

Inside the incredibly large dome. Many of the domes we fly in are normally intended for indoor golf practice. The Columbus Ohio  dome is like that and the floor area tends to be somewhat square measuring 330 feet by 270 (89,100 square feet). But the  Generation Sports Dome in PA was designed for indoor football and soccer, for which several sports events can go on simultaneously. The floor size in this case is 200 feet wide, but get this --- 600 feet long! Ceiling height at top dead center is approx. 85 feet. This is a photo taken at one end, looking towards the other end 600 feet away:

There is about a 15 feet wide poured concrete path all around the inside of the dome, surrounding the artificial turf. There are many benches provided, but no tables, so the message for the future is clear: bring your own folding table and any folding chairs.

You can see the netting in this photo:

The 600 feet length is actually divided into three sections. A floor to ceiling net is located 150 feet in from both ends. That leaves a 300 feet section in the center. On one end is the E-3D area. At the other end is the micro flying area and in the center is the larger area intended for the parking lot type models up to approx. one pound in weight. With this type arrangement the micro fliers were well protected from all other aircraft. This made for relaxed flying of these micro size/weight aircraft.

In the above photo you can see three of my aircraft (at left, NANO-IMPULSE – September 2008 RCMW; in the center, the Pilatus Porter (Fall 2008 BackYard Flyer) and at the right, the MINI-IMPULSE – March 2008 RCMW). All are lined up close to the poured concrete short wall the surrounds the entire interior of the dome. On top of this wall is electrical conduiting and outlet boxes so that you can conveniently plug in your chargers. Not all the outlets worked this first time around, but I suspect by next year they will all be “live”.

I don’t want to sound like a travel coordinator, but the website lists at least half a dozen motel/hotels that are all in and around the Williamsport, PA area, roughly 8 miles from the dome itself. When first checking on this accommodation I received some prices like $110 to $120 a night and almost canceled my plans.

But then I came upon the Econo Lodge which was giving “show rates” starting at $61.00. The address is: 2019 E. Third Street, Williamsport, PA 17701 and  phone number is: 570-326-1501 (Mention “KIEF when making reservations to get the show rate). They also provide a more than adequate free continental breakfast. Also in the same area is a load of different restaurants to choose from. Enough said! And yes, cell phones work in this area!

Throughout the entire Saturday, then through the night and into the full day on Sunday, there were planned times for flying, contests and demo flights. This website will provide the full schedule of activities: http://www.pafunfly.com/schedule.html.

We learned on arrival that flying actually started on the Friday afternoon thanks to Dome Director, Dan Johnson. You may want to check that out in advance next year and plan your arrival accordingly.

Demo flying was held at noon time (for about an hour) on both Saturday and Sunday. CD Mark Vukmanovich did the excellent PA announcing of all the expert pilots and their flying.

Two one hour night flying segments were set aside on Saturday evening between 7:30 and 8:30 PM and then again at 11:00 PM until midnight. During this time the field lights were turned off and the various aircraft was flown with built-in lighting systems.

On both Saturday and Sunday lectures were held on some of the latest micro RC technology. Joe Malinchak, a noted indoor expert, gave these lectures both days. A separate meeting room was made available for this purpose. Joe even made demo flights in this classroom environment to the delight of everyone present.

Vendor participation for this first show was kind of at a minimum. Because of the late cancellation of the Columbus event, many were unable to make the switch in schedules. On top of that the big Chicago Manufacturer/Dealer Trade Show was held this same weekend. Obviously many manufacturers had made previous plans to attend that show, which is almost the size of the Toledo Show. The Muncy Indoor Flyers club has indicated that more attention will be paid next year so as not to have this kind of conflict.

A list of the vendors for this year can be found at this website: http://www.pafunfly.com/Vendors.html.

The only problem expressed by some vendors is that the larger ones had to be placed outside of the dome area in sort of a lobby area. Most stated that they would like to be right inside the dome where “all the action” is. This vendor layout may change for next year; the details are being worked out now.

I’m sorry to say there was no 15 X 60 foot water tank, as we have seen at Columbus. Many came with float equipped aircraft but could only fly the planes off the artificial grass. Again this is something being considered for next year. If it is decided to have a “tank” it is expected to be mentioned well in advance of the next event, so that many modelers can equip their planes with floats.

Now we finally get down to the flying! There were six major awards made for these categories:

(1)- BEST MICRO AIRCRAFT

(2)- FURTHEST TRAVELER

(3)- BEST SCALE

(4)- MOST UNIQUE PERFORMANCE

(5)- BEST HELICOPER

(6)- BEST NIGHT FLYING MODEL

The awards were all very nice plaques. The presentations were made by Muncy Indoor Flyers club president, Tony Minnella, at the end of the Sunday noon time demo session. These were the winners!

Best Micro Award went to Robert Guillot of Brooklyn, NY. Robert is shown receiving his RC Micro World plaque from Micro coordinator, Cindy Malinchak.

Robert’s micro plane was a 1.1 gram total weight scale Ord-Hume light plane. Robert made the electric motor and even carved the tiny prop. The receiver was a 27 MHz, 55 milligram unit made by Nick Leichty of Florida. The magnetic actuators were made by Robert and the battery power came from a single 10 mAh Li-Poly cell. On three channel control it flew incredibly well.

 The 1.1 gram Ord-Hume compared to a penny

Furthest Traveler Award went to Ken Spencer, from Webb City, Missouri. Total travel time was 20 hours in a car along with Bob Selman and Gary Jones.

Ken Spencer with his multi-wing design

Best Scale Award went to Ed Andrews with his 1920 Transaero multiwing aircraft. This plane had a total of 9 wings with a span of 21 inches and a total flying weight of 10.5 ounces. I believe it employed a total of eight motors that appeared to be of the N20 variety. Flight performance, was excellent, as seen in this photo:

Most Unique Performance went to Peter Sripol of Beaver Creek, Ohio. Peter is a teenager who came with his bother Steven and his Dad. They literally had a fleet of large fantasy scale transport type aircraft. Each had many engines and despite the size and weight, flew ever so slowly to the thrill of all the spectators. These young men really had their act together.

 One of Peter’s large fantasy scale aircraft

Best Helicopter Award went to Jim Bumbaugh with his T-Rex 500. Jim left before I could get a photo but I have tell you he is one heck of a pilot.

Indoor RC flying at KIEF was somewhat like a three ring circus: E-3D on one end, regular flying (parking lot types up to about a pound in weight) in the center stage or race track as it was referred to, and micro on the other end. All three factions were separated by floor to ceiling netting so that one couldn’t crash into the other. Keep in mind this is a very big facility, because the center portion alone is 200 X 300 feet with an 85 feet ceiling.

What I’m going to do now is offer a few comments on the E-3D flying. Then I’ll cover the center stage activities more as an overview and finally I will concentrate on all the micro flying; after all this is an “RC MICRO WORLD” report.

E-3D FLYING

After my initial reaction to E-3D flying about five year ago I personally tended to lose interest in this type flying, probably because I could never at my age hope to fly those kind of maneuvers. I’m use to seeing these high power loading models, with considerable control throw, fly all over the sky, twisting and turning and what not!

But this time my observations were a little different. On Sunday morning the Micro area was turned over for a two hour period where the best of the E-3D aircraft competed for a special award.

 Planes lined up for the E-3D competition

Instead of flying all over the dome, these planes followed a rigid maneuver plan. They also flew at surprisingly slow speeds, yet were precisely controlled. The maneuvers were called out so you could anticipate what was going to happen in advance. This same type flying was also done both days at the noon time demo sessions. I truly enjoyed watching these flyers and was surprised to see that the pilots weren’t all teenagers. Maybe there is still hope for us “old guys”!

 A typical E-3D model in vertical hover mode

This is the area where regular fixed wing aircraft were flown throughout the day, following the published flying schedule. Total plane weight was limited to around one pound (16 ounces) but certain slow flying planes weighing a few ounces more were allowed at the discretion of the CD.

Bill Rugenstein of Indianapolis, IN flew single and twin motor powered AMA Delta Darts set up for electric RC. These planes were built from reduced size plans by Gene Bond that appear free on Ezone. The twin uses two 10 gram brushless motors while the single motor version uses a 5 gram brushless motor. Spextrum 2 gram 2.4 GHz receivers and Blue Arrow servos do the controlling. Weight of the single is 42 grams, with the twin weighing 3.9 ounces. For info, Lightflite (http://www.lightflite.com/) will soon have a Delta Dart variation available which they call the “D-LITE”.

Single on top, twin on bottom

 The twin in flight

RabidModels.com specializes in profile scale foamie warbirds. Marc Stermer and Steve Lawrie are now offering kits for an array of popular profile warbirds that are easy to assemble and a pleasure to fly. You can look these up on their website at: http://www.rabidmodels.com/. What follows are four of the models that I photographed in the pit area. Later you will see another of their models in flight.

 B-36 Peacemaker with a 49 inch span

 68 inch PBY Catalina that would have flown great off water!

Heinkel 219 Uhu with a 48 inch span

 Grumman F7F Tigercat with a 28 inch wing span

Winner of the Most Unique Performance Award was Peter Sripol and his brother, Steven. They had an entire fleet of fantasy scale electric powered aircraft. The following are four of their designs, which flew extensively over the weekend.

 An eight motor Spruce Goose

 A 10 motor ducted fan fantasy scale of no plane in particular

 A Cessna Skymaster push/pull twin observation plane

 The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar

 JT Models Gee Bee R-1

 Jason at left and Tom McQuistion holding a pair of their new profile foam Ercoupes

 Both JT Models Ercoupe’s flying in  formation,

 to the delight of the spectators during the noon time demo session

Bill Jones flew this small autogyro. I copied down the name “Jochen-K” and was told to look under the Ezone Mag, autogyro section, “NANO-MUM”. I hope that works. This little autogyro weighed only 76 grams and was powered by a 5 gram brushless motor operated by two 200 mAh Li-poly cells. It uses a Bird receiver and two Blue Arrow servos.

 Bill Jones and his micro autogyro)

 A closer look at the auto gyro

The next two photos were taken of M-163 Komet fantasy scale models. They had motors in the rear with props. Both flew well in the demo sessions. Sorry I didn’t get the name or more data. If you e-mail us we can easily add the information.

ME-163 Komet

 Autogyro caught in flight

Just a quick re-visit to RabidModels.com and their 35 inch span Grumman F5F Skyrocket profile foamie warbird. These were flight photos with Marc Stermer at the controls.

 Two lumbering, slow sport flyers in a formation pass-by

MICRO ELECTRIC RC

On the opposite end of the 600 feet long dome was the 150 feet section dedicated to the micro flyer. This area was 150 by 200 feet of floor space with a ceiling height in that area of about 70 feet because the dome begins to taper down. But this space was still bigger than anything we had encountered in our travels. Also the floor to ceiling netting prevented the larger and faster models from encroaching into our area.

 This was the busy micro “pit area”

The Micro Contingent, coordinated by Joe and Cindy Malinchak, came up with two additional events with their own set of awards. The first was  “MICRO FUN SCALE” that basically followed AMA rules with a weight limit of 2 ounces, but certain relief on that weight was given this first time around. The contestants had to fly five mandatory maneuvers then flew five optional maneuvers with scoring by a team of judges.

 The award plaques

 First place was won by Bill Lyons of Moline, IL with his Bede Jodel, which weighed just 13 grams. It used the Plantraco 900 MHz RC systems, a Horizon ParkZone motor and 70 mAh Li-Poly battery cell.

 The Bede Jodel

Second place went to Del Ogren of Deerfield, IL with this Gee Bee ASCENDER canard, which was most unusual. The plane weighed only 20 grams and used the power and RC system from the Horizon ParkZone Cessna.

 The Gee Bee Ascender canard

Third place went to Ken Spencer with his Gee Bee R-1 that is now offered by Bob Selman Designs. Ken used the Horizon ParkZone Vapor brick and a Selman 7 mm pager motor (blue) geared 4/1 with a 4 X 3 prop.

The second micro event was the “OLD TIMER CLIMB and GLIDE”. The planes followed SAM rules and had to be published or kitted prior to December 31, 1942. The contestants were given up to a 30 second motor run. Then the glide portion was timed for a score. These neat “Disc” awards were earned for first, second and third places.

First Place went to Bob Selman with his Baby Buzzard, a much reduced size Buzzard Bombshell. Bob sells these kits, which can be found on his website as follows: http://www.bsdmicrorc.com/.

 Bob Selman with Baby Buzzard

Second place went to Ken Spencer who proxy- flew Jerry Combs’ similar Baby Buzzard. Both planes used Plantraco Butterfly equipment including the 900 MHz receiver, Bahoma Li-Poly battery cells, HingeACT (magnetic actuator), GB-05 motor and an MCF 4027 prop.

 Baby Buzzard

Bill Lyons took third place honors with his beautiful half size Korda 1938 Wakefield design.. This plane weighed only 14 grams using a Plantraco radio, Horizon ParkZone Vapor motor and 70 mAh battery cell. Covering was Gampi tissue.

 Bill with Korda Wakefield

Ken Spencer had this four winger, which he called the “Quadracelle”. At 6 to 7 ounces this aircraft was on the upper limit of what was allowed to be flown in the “micro” area of the dome. This plane was designed by Pat Tritle and kitted by Dare Inc. It employed a GWS geared, brushed motor and a 3 cell 1000 mAh pack.

Dr. Gordon Johnson, our RCMW Technical Editor, holding his little Monocoupe that has been around for a few years. It has a 16.5 inch span and is made of Depron foam sheet to which printed tissue is added with the color and scale detail. The original used a Uttam brushless outrunner motor and two Falcon servos. This updated version used a Horizon ParkZone brick and a 7 mm (red) geared pager motor from Bob Selman Designs.

 Gordon with Monocoupe

 Overall shot of the Monocoupe

 Close up showing pager motor and brick installations

Mike Cross is local to the Muncy, PA area. His regular job is designing and building small brushless motors for medical equipment applications. Mike and his wife are shown here holding a fantasy scale Sky Ray ducted fan jet. This aircraft has a special 7 mm inrunner brushless motor built by Mike that operates a ducted fan assembly of his design. A Horizon ParkZone Vapor Brick provided the RC system. Total weight is just 16 grams. The Vapor airborne systems binds with any Spektrum DSM2 transmitter. So Mike was easily able to set up mixing at the transmitter to obtain elevon control

 Mike and the Mrs. with the Sky Ray

 Close up photos of the Sky Ray

 Close up of the motor/fan unit

 The Sky Ray caught in flight

Gary Jones, from the Missouri contingent, designed this “BL-IMP-E” indoor sport model. It uses a 10 gram brushless outrunner motor, a Spextrum AR6300 2 gram 2.4 GHz receiver, two Blue Arrow servos and a 2 cell 300 mAh Li-poly battery pack. Total weight is 75 grams (2.6 ounces). Again this receiver can be bound to any Spektrum DSM2 transmitter, so that regular features like servo reversing, end point adjust and expo rate can be applied to the model.

 The overall “”BL-IMP-E”

 The 10 gram brushless motor up front

 Close up showing the AR6300 receiver, Fiegeo ESC and Blue Arrow servos

 Joe Clements’ Selman Bipe in wood!

 Close up of the bipe showing the Plantraco receiver, Selman converter and 2 gram brushless motor

AMA District-III VP, Bob Brown has been getting very interested in indoor free flight scale flying. Bob showed me a new dual 7 mm geared pager motor (the Voodoo Twin 45 Power Unit) from Atomic Workshop of Great Britain. This is Atomic’s website: http://www.atomicworkshop.co.uk/catalog/index.php?currency=USD.

Keep in mind that these dual motors would be fine for indoor RC electrics as well. I suspect you could obtain power inputs on a single cell up to about 6 watt (1.6 amps). Atomic also has a “Zombie Flight Profiler” that is a solid state timer/controller for electric free flight applications. It weighs just 1.25 grams.

More good news is that Shorty’s Basement (Dan Kane) of Marion, Ohio, will soon be carrying these motor and profilers here in the USA. So keep this website in mind as well: http://www.shortysbasement.com/index.php?act=viewCat.

 Atomic Workshop dual 7 mm geared motor

Retired AMA District-II VP, Joe Beshar, flew this Peck Polymers Baby Ace. It used one of the original DWE receivers with magnetic actuators. Motor was a Selman 7 mm pager (blue) with 4/1 gearing and a 4 X 3 prop. This was powered by a single 300 mAh cell.

 Joe with the Baby Ace

 Close up of the Baby Ace

The new $99 Horizon Spektrum 5e transmitter, which is now the least expensive Spektrum system, that still operates on DSM2. So it can be bound with most receivers including the Vapor Brick and the 2 gram Spektrum AR6300 receiver.

 Spektrum 5e transmitter

For those who want to fly really micro indoor aircraft, Sergio Zigras (szigras@yahoo.com) has developed a 900 MHz spread spectrum frequency hopping receiver that weighs only .35 grams. Dimensions are 18.5 mm X 10.5 mm. These receivers will be made available through Nick Leichty at his website: www.MICROFLIERRADIO.COM.

 900 MHz SS receiver

Sergio Zigras also came up with this scanner that lets you know all the 900 MHz RC channels in use at your flying site. This was a prototype unit. If you are interested contact Sergio at: szigras@yahoo.com.

 900 MHz scanner

Yet another new development from Sergio Zigras the LZS.6, a 0.6 gram fully proportional sub-micro servo. Output thrust is 7 grams.Can be operated from a single Li-poly cell. Dimensions are 100 mm X 18 mm X 4 mm. These servos will be manufactured and sold by Nick Leichty at: www.MICROFLIERRADIO.COM.

 0.6 gram servo

Micro Event Director Joe Malinchak flew this Ultra Micro Bug, which is made from Durobatics foam sheeting and weighs a total of only 14 grams. The RC and power system is from a Horizon ParkZone Vapor. The prop is a 4030 carbon type available from Bob Selman Designs.

 Ultra Micro Bug

 Close up of the Vapor brick installation on the Bug

What to do when charging very low capacity single Li-Poly battery cells? Bob Selman Designs offers this Didel BiCha Dual LIPO Charger. It can charge two packs simultaneously at 10 to 150 mA current. It will accept Bahoma magnetic clip-on cells or the plug-in variety. Charger is powered by four AA battery cells. This is the exact website for this charger: http://www.bsdmicrorc.com/index.php?productID=527.

 Rear of charger showing the four AA cells

Everywhere you looked modelers were flying the tiny Horizon  E-Flite Blade mCX RTF helicopter. This little rotary wing aircraft has a rotor span of only 7.5 inches and weighs only 1.0 ounce. You can buy it with a 2.4 GHz SS transmitter or buy just the helicopter and bind it to any existing Spektrum DSM2 transmitter. Modelers were buying this helicopter at the show, charging the battery and were then flying within an hour’s time. It just doesn’t get any better.

Note: This November issue of RC Micro World includes a separate article about the mCX helicopter. Further, here’s the Horizon website for this craft: http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=EFLH2200.

 Blade mCX helicopter

 Boomer Bus

Joe Malinchak used his QUAKER FLASH for the old timer event at the old NIRAC championships out in Michigan. At 4 1/2 ounces it was only allowed to be flown this year at KIEF. Next year the 2 ounce maximum plane weight will be in effect. Obviously this is a larger model than we expect to see next year. Note the dummy moor that covers the GWS geared/brushed motor:

Quaker Flash

This is the tiny 0.6 gram brushless outrunner motor made by Uttam of DC Enterprises in India. Bob Selman introduced this motor at the NEAT Fair. It powered his little “Thistle” all balsa pusher aircraft.  

I’ve quoted Bob Selman designs many times throughout this report. He has emerged as the primary source of all micro/ indoor electric aircraft throughout the USA. Bob wasn’t selling at KIEF, but had these two tables set up to display the many aircraft that he, Ken Spencer and Gary Jones flew over the two day period. One more time, this is Bob’s overall website: http://www.bsdmicrorc.com/.

 Bob Selman’s display

Sergio Zigras flew this Nick Leichty test bed aircraft. It used his new receiver just described. Serg got many excellent flights with this aircraft. Some upwards of 15 to 17 minutes flight time. Unfortunately it got “mid-aired” on Sunday morning.

A large lecture room was located off the front entrance lobby. On both afternoons, Micro Director, Joe Malinchak gave lectures on the latest micro equipment. As you can see in these photos Joe, was able to fly demo flights of both the Horizon ParkZone Vapor and the E-Flite mCX 1.0 ounce helicopter. An entire lecture schedule will be prepared for next year.

I couldn’t resist this photo of two “great micro minds” when they meet and talk shop. Bob Selman at the left is drawing a diagram on the inside box cover, while Dr. Gordon Johnson listens to the explanation. Wonderful micro things come from both of these experts.

The master micro scale builder, Robert Guillot had this tiny Elias Bros. “AIR SCOUT”. A real work of art. Flew great on a 4 mm motor geared 4/1.

Ken Spencer is another master micro builder/flyer. This is his 1909 Demoiselle that used the Sig plans scaled down to 18 inch span. Uses a Uttam 13/3/14T gold brushless outrunner one cell motor powered by one 250 mAh cell. Radio is a Falcon Breeze Block. Total weight  is 54 grams (1.9 ounces).

Jerry Combs couldn’t make KIEF but Bob Selman and Ken Spencer brought some of his micro aircraft. In this box was his little Stearman with a 7 inch wing span and a weight of 3.6 grams, while the Aeronca Champ has a 9 inch span and weighs 3.7 grams. Both models employ 30 mAh single Li-Poly cells along with the Plantraco GB-05 motors and 3 inch carbon props. Flight times of  7 minutes are common.

MICRO INDOOR RC WRAP-UP

It was interesting to note when the KIEF event was over, one could sit back and reflect on the considerable progress made in the micro area, in just the four weeks since the NEAT Fair. Many of the Horizon ParkZone RTF aircraft were flown during the entire weekend. Some modelers actually bought these planes while attending KIEF. We saw  PZ Cessnas, Citabrias, Embers and Vapors along with the E-Flite mCX 1.0 ounce RTF helicopter.

Many flyers were using the Horizon ParkZone Bricks (combination receiver, ESC and two servos on one board). These are now available as separate items from Horizon and Bob Selman Designs. If you purchase the Vapor Brick you will be able to bind it to any Spektrum DSM2 transmitter. That will give you many more control features then you get with the basic Cessna/Citabria/Ember transmitter. Because of the obvious advantages the prevailing operating band at KIEF was the 2.4 GHz spread spectrum channels, which require no frequency control, nor must the transmitters be impounded.

Micro flyers found that the PZ brushed/geared motor can support aircraft weights up to about 31 grams (1.1 ounces) total.  But you can easily switch to a higher powered Selman 7 mm geared pager motor and increase your plane weight upwards to 2 ounces. I will have a detailed report on this motor and the necessary battery power in the December RCMW.

We saw several of the new 2 gram brushless motors and even saw one of the new 0.6 gram motors from Uttam in India. A simple converter from Bob Selman will let you operate brushless motors from  built-in brushed ESC’s. Again, power like this can enable you to fly up to 2, possibly 3, ounce total weight aircraft.

More surprises! I hardly saw any of the Falcon 1.6 gram servos, even at the reduced $35 price. But I did see a lot of the 2.5 gram Blue Arrow servos, which cost half that price. In fact many were using the Blue Arrow servos along with the Horizon Spektrum AR6300 2 gram 2.4GHz receiver.

For those dedicated to the extremely small models, like under 10-12 grams, Sergio Zigras and Nick Leichty have made new receivers and sub-micro 0.6 gram proportional servos available. You will have to pay more for these smaller sizes and weights, but at least now this miniature equipment is plug & play, without the need for microscopic soldering skills. And, of course, refined state-of-the-art magnetic actuators are also available now as plug & play. Micro indoor RC flying has certainly come a long way!

SUMMARY

COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS

Since this was a first time event I’m sure many of you have comments and suggestions for next year. Club president, Tony Minnella has indicated that the dates for next year have tentatively been set for October 16, 17 & 18, 2009. The Friday will be added to make this a three day event. Those dates will not interfere with the industry “I-Hobby” show in Chicago, which next year will be held the week after KIEF, on October 22-25, 2009, so that problem is eliminated.

Vendors are going to be moved from the lobby to the field area, by taking away a small portion of the indoor flying area. This way all the vendors will be with the flyers.

The Micro Lectures are going to be planned for both the NEAT Fair in September (http://www.neatfair.org/) as well as a second lecture series to be held at KIEF.

If you have overall event comments please direct them to club president, Tony Minnella at this e-mail address: quazar1@comcast.net. If you have comments specific to the micro flying and lectures please direct those to Joe Malinchak at: joemal@echoes.net.

Bob Aberle, AMA 215

RC MICRO WORLD

RC Micro World

November 2008