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Old 08-19-2016, 04:34 PM
  #2976  
flyboy2610
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Originally Posted by skylark-flier
Flyboys
Yes?
Old 08-19-2016, 04:42 PM
  #2977  
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Originally Posted by GallopingGhostler
Development of incendiary ammunition made a break through in downing flammable doped fabric wooden framed aeroplanes. Now one could "wing" an aeroplane to down it, send the pilot to a fiery death, truly frightening.
Somewhat along the same lines was the Japanese Zero fighters biggest weakness. American fighter planes had their fuel tanks lined with a self sealing rubber bladder. As the fuel was used up the bladder collapsed, preventing a buildup of explosive fumes in the fuel tank. The Zero did not have this. One or two good hits from incendiary ammo to a partially used tank of fuel and bye, bye Zero!
Old 08-19-2016, 08:27 PM
  #2978  
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Originally Posted by spaceworm
We issue pistols to flyers who make it a habit of flying over the flight line. They are expected to do the honorable thing and dispatch themselves if they cause an accident.
Love it!

To come back to my own BE2 build, I had hoped that Lt Davies was flying a new aircraft when he was killed, but research indicates that he was flying an aircraft, A2738, which had arrived at the squadron in December 1916. In First World War terms it was something of a veteran by the time he was killed in it at the end of April 1917, which means that I am going to have to paint squadron markings on the side of it. In the case of 12 Squadron this consisted of two lines along the full length of the longerons from the engine to the stern-post. Something else which could go wrong!
Old 08-21-2016, 10:52 AM
  #2979  
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Originally Posted by FlyerInOKC
You have to admit it took some major guts to climb into one of those cloth and wood crates with a wicker seat and no parachute! Braver men than I!
Been thinking about what you say here and I agree .........BUT! .... back then the plane was some high tech. stuff and the mentality of being in a machine that could manuver at such high speed, I think negated some of the fear, with the knowledge we have of the situation today it would appear the pilots of that time had to be especially brave/stupid.

But consider todays fighter pilot knowing the enemy has missiles capable of three or four times his speed that can guide itself for a long time from quite large distances up his planes tailpipe and/or explode in very close proximity makes it seem like the bravery/stupidity level isn't much different. Parachute or no.

Just a thought!
Old 08-21-2016, 11:08 AM
  #2980  
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Agreed, but you have to bear in mind that the British Empire, France, Russia, the United States and Germany, Austria and Turkey, not to mention many smaller countries, were at war. Conscription existed in all of those countries in 1914 except for the USA and Great Britain. It was introduced in Great Britain in 1916, except for Ireland. If you were in the infantry, as most soldiers were, life was very unpleasant compared with the Flying Corps. Rats, lice, mud, cold, heat,flooded trenches, trench foot, poor food, artillery, poison gas, machine guns and rifle fire.

A couple of sorties a day in a BE2, a good dinner and a clean bed were quite a good deal by comparison. If you survived that is.
Old 08-21-2016, 01:12 PM
  #2981  
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Originally Posted by Telemaster Sales UK
Agreed, but you have to bear in mind that the British Empire, France, Russia, the United States and Germany, Austria and Turkey, not to mention many smaller countries, were at war. Conscription existed in all of those countries in 1914 except for the USA and Great Britain. It was introduced in Great Britain in 1916, except for Ireland. If you were in the infantry, as most soldiers were, life was very unpleasant compared with the Flying Corps. Rats, lice, mud, cold, heat,flooded trenches, trench foot, poor food, artillery, poison gas, machine guns and rifle fire.

A couple of sorties a day in a BE2, a good dinner and a clean bed were quite a good deal by comparison. If you survived that is.

Comparing ground forces to airforces was not On my mind, just the airmen. ground forces no matter what war we could speak of for the most part had a rough go and for longer periods of time. especially compared to our airmen.

I only considered the the mindset of the airmen then and now.

I considered this before I enlisted and decided the safest place for me was behind all fighting lines as a mechanic and succeeded in doing just that. But I will admit if the opportunity to fly had been offered me I probably would have taken it.
Old 08-21-2016, 01:36 PM
  #2982  
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Conscription in US was enacted May 18, 1917 under Woodrow Wilson, and terminated November 1918 when WW1 ended. I don't think anyone was drafted. However, it paved the way for future conscriptions. I see a clue of accuracy regarding your description of flight crews, Telemaster, extending beyond WW1, a better way of life but expected life expectancy was oft counted in months.

The Japanese considered the Mitsubishi G4M Navy Type 1 attack bomber a "one shot" aircraft. My college fluids dynamic professor, Dr. Chai told us of his enlistment in the Japanese Army during WW2. He being Korean (Japan had captured Korea and was conscripting young Korean men), took their battery of tests. Then he was given the choice of being 1) Radioman, 2) Bombardier, 3) Mechanic. He thought, "Radioman and Bombardier fly out, don't fly back." He choose mechanic and spent the rest of the time until wars end as that.
Old 08-21-2016, 08:08 PM
  #2983  
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From a British and French perspective the First World War was a disaster which still affects the national psyche. Both nations lost more men in that war than they did in the Second World War.

The British Army had about 800,000 fatalities during the war, plus at least another 50,000 Britons who died fighting in the armies of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa or other nations which made up the British Empire at the time. My grandfather's cousin, an artilleryman in the Canadian Army was one of these.

The French lost 1,400,000. I live in a small "commune" in the middle of France, current population about 800. There are 80 names on the local war memorial.

On 1st August 2014 at 16.00 a commemoration service was held at the local war memorial to remember the moment when France declared war on Germany one hundred years earlier with the tolling of church bells. http://www.lamontagne.fr/limousin/ac..._11103278.html. The man in the sash is my friend Roger Aubard, the best pilot in the local model flying club. He was mayor of the commune at the time.

Some of the men who flew aircraft in the First World War had served on the ground first. Manfred von Richtofen was a cavalryman and my namesake served in the infantry for about a year. Others volunteered for the flying service after having been wounded, but to return to model aircraft, I have carefully checked the balance point on the BE2 with the lead under the engine and it seems to be within the range recommended. I hope to fly it in the next few days, light winds are forecast.

I fly back to England myself on Thursday to prepare my 1974 Rover for an event in Troyes in the Champagne area of France in September so there won't be much opportunity for flying over the next few weeks.
Old 08-22-2016, 03:17 AM
  #2984  
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Originally Posted by flyboy2610
Somewhat along the same lines was the Japanese Zero fighters biggest weakness. American fighter planes had their fuel tanks lined with a self sealing rubber bladder. As the fuel was used up the bladder collapsed, preventing a buildup of explosive fumes in the fuel tank. The Zero did not have this. One or two good hits from incendiary ammo to a partially used tank of fuel and bye, bye Zero!
Actually, more A6Ms were lost to the pilot getting killed than a fuel tank exploding, at least until one was found, up side down and intact in Alaska. After that, the allied pilots were trained on where to aim
Old 08-22-2016, 04:30 PM
  #2985  
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Originally Posted by Telemaster Sales UK
From a British and French perspective the First World War was a disaster which still affects the national psyche. Both nations lost more men in that war than they did in the Second World War.

The British Army had about 800,000 fatalities during the war, plus at least another 50,000 Britons who died fighting in the armies of Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa or other nations which made up the British Empire at the time. My grandfather's cousin, an artilleryman in the Canadian Army was one of these.

The French lost 1,400,000. I live in a small "commune" in the middle of France, current population about 800. There are 80 names on the local war memorial.

On 1st August 2014 at 16.00 a commemoration service was held at the local war memorial to remember the moment when France declared war on Germany one hundred years earlier with the tolling of church bells. http://www.lamontagne.fr/limousin/ac..._11103278.html. The man in the sash is my friend Roger Aubard, the best pilot in the local model flying club. He was mayor of the commune at the time.

Some of the men who flew aircraft in the First World War had served on the ground first. Manfred von Richtofen was a cavalryman and my namesake served in the infantry for about a year. Others volunteered for the flying service after having been wounded, but to return to model aircraft, I have carefully checked the balance point on the BE2 with the lead under the engine and it seems to be within the range recommended. I hope to fly it in the next few days, light winds are forecast.

I fly back to England myself on Thursday to prepare my 1974 Rover for an event in Troyes in the Champagne area of France in September so there won't be much opportunity for flying over the next few weeks.
I have heard from more than one source that it is considered France lost an entire generation of men in WWI. By the time Hitler appeared the army was still run by WWI generals with a very limited pool of men to draw troops from. If you are a Downton Abby viewer a major storyline was the lack of eligible men for the peerage ladies to marry.
Old 08-22-2016, 09:17 PM
  #2986  
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Several brief points concerning the Great War gentlemen.

You're right Flyer, the British and French generals in the Second World War, did not allow for the use of "All-Arms Tactics," the combined use of aircraft, artillery, armour and infantry, which was Blitz Krieg. Curious really when you consider that it was just these tactics which the Allies used in 1918 to break through the trench system which had characterised the war on the Western Front.

One of the few amusing points of warfare in 1939 was that both British and German tanks of that time had good armour plating but inadequate guns so shells used to bounce off the hulls of the tanks without causing much damage. It must have been quite noisy for those inside mind!

My maternal grandfather who had rejoined the British Army in 1913 and served as an infantryman throughout the Great War, was wounded four times during the war. If one German soldier had been a bit more lucky or a bit better trained, I would not be here!

Another point for you American gentlemen to consider, then in the pacifist phrase of the time, "No More War!" The population of the USA in 1900 according to Wikipedia was nearly 76,000,000. Curiously the population of Great Britain, which included the whole of Ireland at that time, and the population of France, were both estimated at 38,000,000. In other words the populations of both Great Britain and France where about half the size of that of the United States. Let's assume that there was no significant proportional change between 1900 and 1914.

Just imagine what the impact on American thinking of the losses of the First World War, if the USA had lost 1,700,000 of it's young men in that conflict. That's twice the number of British fatalities in WW1.

If the Americans had lost men in the same proportion as the French, they would have lost 2,800,000.

Finally on a lighter note. A photograph of my BE2, as posted above (2944), has been chosen as the poster girl to advertise a fly-in at my local club on 4th September. Unfortunately I will be in England at the time so won't be able to participate but I will be taking my lap-top with me so I'll be able to stay in touch with you guys!

Last edited by Telemaster Sales UK; 08-22-2016 at 09:23 PM.
Old 08-23-2016, 10:48 AM
  #2987  
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Originally Posted by FlyerInOKC
In high school a friend had the Honda CB250 and I had the Yamaha 200 Electric. His Honda had a 4 cycle engine and the Yamaha 200 had a two cycle engine, my bike could run away from his without even trying. I had him on HP too. I sold it back in 1978 to apply the money to a Triumph TR2A sports car.
I had a Yamaha CS3C with the 200 cc engine with high pipes and skid plate. Did not make it a good trail bike as it was heavy. But I tried it anyway. Kept it until I got a 175 cc single dirt bike.

Much later got my 1966 TR4a.
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Old 08-23-2016, 04:42 PM
  #2988  
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I had a 59 TR3A after I sold the bike.
Old 08-24-2016, 05:41 AM
  #2989  
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Originally Posted by FlyerInOKC
Good news to my fellow members of the over the hill gang...er... over 50 crowd. After all the news reports about how impossible it is for the 50+ old workers to find fulltime work; this 58 year old got a job offer after 4 months of looking. God looks after little children, fools, and not overly bright R/C builders! I start on 8/22 for a small SDVOSB (Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business for our members across the big pond) supporting a new project for the Veterans Administration. As some of you know one of my 4 sons is a Disabled American Veteran so their issues are close to my heart. I guess I'll be able to eat and support my R/C addiction a little long now. ;-) The only downside is a lack of building time but looking for work was swallowing that up that time any way.
Congrats Mike!
Old 08-24-2016, 01:40 PM
  #2990  
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Originally Posted by DBD1
Congrats Mike!
What can I say? They were looking for some good help and said I would do until they found it! ;-)
Old 08-24-2016, 01:45 PM
  #2991  
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I am home as I type this recovering from cataract surgery! If you have cataracts and are resisting getting your eyes fixed, let me encourage you to make a doctors appointment right now!

It is un-believeable the difference. only my right eye is fixed, my left eye was my good one, well now my left eye is the bad one and It has me amazed how well I can see from my right eye. I am still healing of course but the immediate improvement is hard to believe, bright things are really bright and my left eye which will be fixed in a few weeks seems to have a yellow hazy tint that is blocking everything.

I can actually see the individual blades of grass in my fields from my windows now....Protect your eyes gentlemen

Last edited by donnyman; 08-24-2016 at 01:48 PM.
Old 08-25-2016, 08:31 AM
  #2992  
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When I had my cataracts removed, besides seeing 20/20, I noticed how it was so much easier to drive at night. Oncoming headlights were no longer a vision issue. I'm 66 now and my depth perception is like a 20 year old, with an added benefit of being able to keep my planes out of the trees! Using reading glasses for closeup is a great trade off.
Old 08-25-2016, 08:44 AM
  #2993  
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The biggest thing my wife comment on when she had her's done is how much brighter colors like white were.
Old 08-25-2016, 08:57 AM
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Get well soon Donny!
Old 08-25-2016, 09:25 AM
  #2995  
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Originally Posted by FlyerInOKC
The biggest thing my wife comment on when she had her's done is how much brighter colors like white were.

Congrats on a successful procedure!
My wife had both of here eyes done several years ago, about 2 weeks apart. Great results. Mine are "ripe" now, am doing them next month. My biggest issue is driving at night, with lights coming at me, especially in the rain..
Old 08-27-2016, 08:36 AM
  #2996  
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Thank you everyone! I tried to respond yesterday but my system was not cooperating at all.

my eye is doing well, and I am elated and impatient to have the other fixed.

I have some older computers I run windows 95 and 98 on to operate autocad and my plotters, well the motherboard battery went dead but I found a fix by soldering in a cr2032 button cell to the leads of the clock chip and now my system is up and running but I have to relearn how to set up my bios.

I am eager to play my old games again (red Baron) and such. these systems will never see the internet so I wont have any hassle from microsoft.
Old 08-27-2016, 10:10 AM
  #2997  
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Pleased that you are on the road to recovery Donny.

Apropos of the BE2, I duly did fly it on Tuesday last, with the extra weight in the nose and the difference it made to the flight stability was marginal. There were times during the flight when I was not in control of the model and I was lucky to bring it down safely, either that or I am a better pilot than I give myself credit for! The local cognoscenti thought that the upper wing could be at too high an angle of attack. I will check the angles against the plan and report back. I'll probably be adding a little more lead to the nose too because I was towards the rear of the recommended c of g range on Tuesday.

On a lighter note my BE2 has such presence that it has been chosen as the poster girl for a fly-in at our club on 4th September. Being France, there will be lots of nice food and drink t the event as well! Unfortunately I will be in England at that time so won't be able to participate! .
Old 08-28-2016, 07:38 AM
  #2998  
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Hello Telemaster

I just had a look at the plans for your bird and the center of gravity(C/G) seems to far rearward. Either a mistake was made when the plans were drawn or the plans were not properly tested. The C/G symbol is not very prominent either though it is one of the more important bits of information on a planset, I see this quite often. go slowly when changing the C/G.

What is your bird doing in flight? if aileron sensitive the C/C is surely rearward.

My eye gets better as each day passes it will be a week or So before they do the other, I think I may have 20/20 vision when finished.

thank you!
Old 09-02-2016, 05:19 AM
  #2999  
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It sure has gotten quiet around here, has everyone pooped out?

I am still excited with my surgery and seeing almost perfectly in my right eye the doc said it may be a month before the other is fixed

meanwhile the King kobras are slowly coming along mine is on it's wheels but still has quite a way to go.

Is anyone other than Flyerinokc and I building/flying anything? We have a big bird gathering today I will attend for a while if anything gets interesting I will try to get pics.

see ya later.......maybe!
Old 09-02-2016, 05:59 AM
  #3000  
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Well I did fly, and then dumbthumbed my T-Clips. Going flying in a little while. Weather is pretty nice today. Light winds, cool temps, and sunny. Going to maiden my giant P-47.

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