A Great Video!
Space Shuttle
What does it look like in the cockpit of a Space Shuttle. Click below to find out. Wait a few moments for it to load and you can then look all around.
http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html
More Wind Turbine Stuff!
We're not the only club that is being affected by the close siting of wind turbines. Have a look at this article to see what the Northumbrian Model aircraft Society are going through.
http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2011/04/03/northumbrian-model-aircraft-society-object-to-windfarm-79310-28447947/
Our New Neighbours
So it looks like the wind farm construction will start in either Spring or Summer 2012 and things will certainly look and feel a lot different once they are in place. To get an idea of how tall they are have a look across at the wind turbines that are currently being erected behind what used to be Hepworth Iron Works in Crow Edge. I had a drive past today and the tower is pretty high and once the blades are attached it will be huge.
One thing that will not be known until the turbines are operating next to the Whams is what physical effect they will have on the air in their wake. Obviously the whole point of a turbine is to extract energy from the wind and that will leave what is called a 'wind shadow' behind it. There will also probably be some turbulence from the blades themselves in much the same way that an aircraft's wings leave turbulence behind them. This is the reason why there is a separation between full size passenger jets taking off from airports. The bigger the plane the longer the separation.
Have a look below at the amazing photo showing the formation of condensation from wind turbines positioned in the sea. It's very noticeable what wake and turbulence is produced and the effect looks to be much further back from the source than you would imagine.
Last of the Summer Wine and HDMAC
In 2000 while flying on Tinkers a group of us were approached by a person involved with the TV programme Last of the Summer Wine to enquire whether we would be interested in doing some flying scenes for a planned episode. If this wasn't tempting enough the suggestion that we had a virtually blank cheque to buy all the equipment necessary definitely had us volunteering. The basic story line was explained to us and with that knowledge in our head a few of us went over to Leeds Model Shop to buy the required goodies. Three trainer type planes were needed and we opted for the ARTF Thunder Tiger 2000's. These needed two Irvine 46's to power them and also some RC gear to install inside them. Various other accessories to finish the planes were also needed. The best bit of this was when the total price had been worked out and we just phoned the BBC up to get their credit card details which were then processed by Martin at the model shop!
Two models needed assembling ready for the flying scenes. The third was to be handed over to the filming crew because they were going to turn it into a 'lamp' Yes, you did read that correctly and all will become clear if you watch the video.
The morning of the actual filming day was very clear and if I remember correctly a little breezy. Other members who were there to help included Dave Brian, John Woodhouse, Trevor Elam, Alec Barber and John Mosley. The location for the flying scene was the old disused quarry at the side of the road going from Tinkers down to Jackson Bridge. This was definitely not a power model friendly flying location and while the model could be hand launched the only place to land was the road which had a wall and drop on one side and a steep banking on the other. Not sure how but I was elected the one to have to cope with these problems!
The first part of the scene involved a model plane flying VERY low over the three actors that were laying back on the ground. I was asked to actually fly this low over them. There was no way that I was prepared to do this as one mistake could have ended the careers (and lives) of three well known public figures! Plan B therefore involved hanging the model on a long steel line that was held at both ends and was above the actors. Less dangerous but still not entirely safe we proceeded with this line of attack. Some of my club colleagues were holding the line at the top end and giving it enough tension so as not to sag too much in the middle. The model was fired up and then sent on it’s way down the long steel line. This sounds straightforward but in reality the line sagged an awful lot and where the plane passed over the actors it didn’t clear them by much. Anyway, at least that bit was done without problem and the film editors cleverly 'removed' the steel line from the final film.
The next step was for the model to actually fly out over the valley and do a big sweeping turn. To do this while keeping the model nice and low and in shot someone launched the model just behind where the camera was positioned so it did actually look as though the model was doing a low pass (which it didn’t). This proved quite easy however the landing was rather more tricky. The road was steep and the wind decidedly turbulent and I really did just have one go to get it right. Plenty of touch and go practice obviously helped here as I managed to get the plane down although if I remember correctly the undercarriage took quite a bit of punishment!
It was important that we still had this model flyable as there was one final scene to shoot. The crash. The story went that the model was hit by an arrow which then caused it to crash. Now generally crashes are not intended and the model ends up ‘anywhere’. On this occasion though the crash had to be in a specific place. So, after flying the model around a little I started the dive to the ground. Unfortunately, the model being a trainer didn’t like the idea of diving (and presumably dieing) as it tried to pull out. This made the job even more difficult but I did in the end manage to stuff it into some bushes at full speed. Unfortunately this is not where the camera was pointing so another attempt had to be made. Fortunately the model was still flyable (yes after a deliberate crash). This time the crash was in the right place and captured on film. Guess what though? The model was yet again still intact so a friendly helper put the poor model out of it’s misery by giving it a good going over so the cameraman could get a shot of a well and truly broken model. Oh, and the arrow was stuck through it at this point too.
What was amazing with the whole experience though was just how long it took to film, as you can see in the videos, just a few minutes of actual programme. After the filming we then stayed around for the rest of the day where we watched some more filming at another local location. A great day and the time HDMAC was on the telly!
Some of you may have enough time to watch the entire programme but for those who haven’t the real action in Part 1 is from 04.15 – 07.12 and Part 2 from 12.20 to the end.
Bird Watching from Bernie Hunt - 12 April 2011
When you are up at Tinkers you might notice a big bird of prey thermalling effortlessly at a great height. In all probability it will be a Buzzard, which is Britain's second commonest bird of prey after the familiar Kestrel. The Buzzard can be recognised by its broad wing with white patches near the tip and short tail. It is about 5 foot span and eats rabbits (dead or alive). Here is a picture of one taken as it flew over our house at the weekend.
Pegboard
Many, many years ago there used to be a club newsletter called Pegboard
Most of the longer term members will remember this however I suspect many of the newer faces won't as it hasn't been published for quite a while
For the latter group I'd better explain that Pegboard was a regular club newsletter that was sent to all members and which contained news, articles, jokes, competition reports and anything that was related to the club or indeed model flying in general. The magazine was edited by various club members during it's existance and I even did a stint myself.
Well I have to admit that the idea to resurrect Pegboard was not my idea but it was suggested this afternoon by the seasonal migrating member known as Bernie Hunt who after quite a traumatic trip to New Zealand is now safely back in the UK. It didn't take him long to get his glider charged up and join us this afternoon on Tinkers for some slope soaring. Incidentally Dave Sykes thoroughly welcomed him back to Tinkers by performing a spectacular mid air with Bernie's model. No real damage was done fortunately but mid airs are a well known hazard on Tinkers especially when EPP60 racing is being practiced.
Anyway, Bernie suggested that Pegboard was, in it's time, a great way to involve the membership in all the goings on within the club. At that point I suggested that it could be included on the club website.
So, here it is and I've started Pegboard off with this brief article but what's really needed is for others to contribute too. Anything will be considered providing it's in good taste and sort of related to the club or model flying.
Photos can be posted too so if you've got some of a new model or caught a fellow club member off guard looking rather odd then you now know where to send them.
Hope to hear from you soon and lets try and make this work!