2010 DARTS LSF and Fun Fly
Sunday, Sept 19, 2010
DARTS Field, Fairborn, Ohio

We had a beautiful day for soaring yesterday at Twin Towers if not a lot of lift.  We had two winches launching to the north west and a slight breeze that picked up only toward the end of the day.  

Ed Franz, John Lueke and Don Flemming put on a Altitude limited Electric Soaring demonstration that answered a lot of my questions about that event. When the motors shutoff there isn't much of a zoom afterward and all three aircraft leveled out very close to the same altitude or at lest so close that I could not determine which was the highest. I also can say the altitude of 200 meters is equivalent to a good winch launch. Not as high as a  great launch nor as low as an average launch but a good winch launch altitude.  Seriously, this type of event is the right direction for the DARTS club to pursue electric events because the ability to thermal is paramount with the motor used only to launch. Ed Franz and his collaborators have achieved a balanced, economical and competitive soaring event.  

John Lueke set up a hobby shop with an array of aircraft that he wanted to sell.  So, I super glued my wallet shut. Some others were not so prudent and walked away with neat stuff.  

Don Harris made several hour thermal duration flight attempts coming up with a 35 minute flight.  I figured if Don Harris with his Ava and three scout planes ran out of lift it was best not to go on a goal and return with my Mantas.  My Mantas isn't ready anyway as I asked Don to fly it and he gave me good advise for getting better control.  Mr. Harris also showed us how to hang your sailplane upside down by the hook to get a reading on CG as it relates to the launch. If the tail slightly hangs lower than the rest of the aircraft it will launch good i.e. CG slightly aft of the hook. Don also gave us a launch peddle seminar. I tried to take notes but it was better to watch and listen to the steady cadence he tapped out.  

Mark Groves beat me in a Vista  last man down skirmish but I can't remember how. I think he used one of those "Men in Black" memory erasers on me. Mark also brought out a scale gull winged sailplane that really is sharp.  

Ken Davidson had his grand kids out with him and it was fun to hear them talking about the airplanes and wanting to see grandpa fly.  For a short time Ken and I fantasized about 2.4 Ghz information return technology that would allow for artificial horizon indicators superimposed on a pair of heads up display sunglasses, then we just decided it was best to go fly.  

Don Flemming questioned Don Harris about ancient RC technology, airplanes and events--I guess to try and determine how old they both are. As I had little idea about what they were talking about other than "galloping ghost" I figured they are both pretty old  

it was a good day,  

Thanks to the participants:   Ed Franz Mark Groves John Lueke Ken Davidson Don Flemming Don Harris and Ken Davidson's daughter and grand kids.