North Penn Model Aviation Club
"the MAC" since Fall 2003

It wasn't a spectacular day for flying. Wind gusts were 15+ MPH and the sky was overcast. We still had a ton of fun, considering that this was our last meeting. Planes and batteries were lost and recovered. Jake and Dr.V spent 20 minutes locating a battery. It's better that we found it than the mower blades finding it.

This year was beyond successful! Thanks to all who made it so much fun!

At the last meeting Dr.Voicheck forgot his camera. Go figure. So, we decided to have one more after this one! The meeting went very well. Students crashed more planes today than in past weeks.

A few students were really excited about the quadrotor program at Montco based on last week's meeting.  JJ came back and talked to the students about getting started during this summer. After his talk, students got back to the second to last meeting. Garret flew his fixed-up balsa plane in the warm spring air. He was thermalling it across the baseball field for quite some time. Other students rebuilt their planes for combat action.

What a BEAutiful day for flying! The weather was nice and warm, and the fields were dry. Everyone was out flying and crashing planes all meeting. Patrick had a nice time with the autogyro after working on his lil squire. Garret flew the daylights out of the DynamicS. That plane is amazing to see in his piloting skills. Ryan flew the EasyStar again, and let a few members have some stick time on it as well. The plane is a very nice glider. Joe and the other students also combat flew their planes until they cracked them or crashed them. These knightfighters really held up well despite the haphazard repairs.

We had a new biplane at this meeting thanks to a friend Dave Segal. He donated planes and equipment to us before, but it doesn't mean we take that for granted. Thanks Dave! The weather was fantastic for flying, as it usually is in May. Students came out in full strength and hit the skies with excitement. Planes were flown like mad and planes were crashed and photographed. All in all, today was a picture perfect meeting.

Now that the weather is warming up, students are showing back up to "fly" planes. Flying is the operative word, but flying isn't something they always do. We were busy capturing video of the planes using the NPTV quad.

We had a first-ever flyover for the baseball team after the National Anthem. Check out the video too. We had the quad on hand to film the event. Thanks to all who came out and supported the event!

We attended another elementary school science night. This night, students were wowed by a flight demonstration using vapors and the quad. They really enjoyed it. Here's the video.

Students continued building as the weather warmed up. We're starting to see a light for the springtime. Patrick brought in his new plane and was very excited to show off it's gentle flying style. Other students continued working on airplanes and collaborated to see Patrick's plane shoot video.

Today's meeting was very busy. Students worked on filming video from airplanes to crashing quadrotors into the wall. Connor brought in his new twin engine airplane. It was quite a beautiful plane to see flying through the air. Joe decided to label left and right. This was one of his keys to success in flying. I believe he has a patent out on the paint job. The dynamic-s went through the sky like a hot knife through butter. Ryan put on a nice show with it.

Although there are only two pictures, a lot of fun things still went on at this meeting. Joe decided to start flying and stop crashing. We thought it was a better approach to flying than his previous pattern of "crash everything." Garret worked on his fan car and then drove it all over the school while the rest of the airplane folks actually built model airplanes.

Our first April meeting was met with unfriendly flying weather. Luckily, we had the gym and spent time practicing on the flight simulator. Jake spent time working our tv studio's quad. Our hope is to deliver a finished product by mid April. Ryan and Joe took the club's quads and flew them in the gym. Ryan was thoroughly impressed with the power from our club quad. Joe had fun with our micro quad but felt intimidated by the shear sound of the club's quad.

20 March 2013

Warm weather is right around the corner, and students are starting to get excited about flying outdoors again. The meeting was filled with a flurry of activities. Ryan and Jake spent time working with the tv studio's quad. Each bolt needs Loctite. There are so many! Joe is still finishing up his Knightfighter and will likely have it flying for the next meeting in April. Patrick and Ryan spent time working on some personal flying projects as well. Dr.V used this meeting to solder motors for the tv studio. There were so many connections and they all needed to be perfect.

At this week's meeting our club saw the quadrotor fly for the first time. They were thoroughly impressed, and inspired to build and fly. Sam finished his plane and said he can't wait for nice weather to fly it. His pushrods were acting up so they were all replaced. Patrick gave the plane a final once-over before they took it out to fly. Joe spent time soldering. He's really good at it! Damian and the sim-boys spent time practicing their skills. The RealFlight software has some entertaining features, like rc dogfights and a model designer.

With so little time on our hands it's a wonder anything gets done. Last week's meeting was a huge inspiration for us. Students were ecstatic to come in and fly their planes. We finally found open airspace in the empty Auditorium and let the planes rip. The ducted fans on these planes are very different than what our propeller planes usually sound like. Besides the awesome jets, students worked on finishing projects and practicing their flying skills. Garret and Ryan stayed really late to help Dr.V with the club's quad. Although the settings were very touchy and Dr.V almost chopped his face up, the quad flew for the first time. It's very intimidating. We look forward to getting the settings dialed down and much calmer.

Mike and Dave, two friends of the club who are also Keystone Radio Control (KRC) members, joined us to build planes. Dave and Mike donated the equipment and time to teach us how to build their micro jets. This is one of the most generous donations our club received, and it was truly a momentous club meeting. Thanks to them we built four working jets by the end of a regular club meeting! There were many photo opportunities and I couldn't pass on any of them. We owe these guys a huge debt of gratitude and we are forever grateful for their generosity. The students had so much fun learning new techniques and working together on these micro jets.

Club students are very excited for next week's meeting where we'll be building micro jets. In the meantime students worked on making messes and leaving them for me to clean up. Jake touched up his KnightFighter with a very visible strip while Ryan took the time to decorate Patrick's newest plane. Garret worked on the Rascal near Nick, who worked on trimming his KnightFighter's wing. As usual, a fun time was had by all.

A quick break in the weather brought some members outside. We always enjoy flying outside with warmer weather. I look forward to the spring for warmer days like today. However, we have a few months to go. Students spent time messing with the flight simulator, soldering speed controls, and repairing sketchy servos. A few planes needed serious work after flying, but no one got emotional over it.

The funfly was a huge success! We raised enough funds to keep us going another year. At this meeting we discussed how the club was successful at the event, and how we can make it better next year. Students repaired and reorganized the room to make room for more toys. We made quite a few connections at this last event. A few people donated items for our club, including Mike C who wanted us to fly his micro jets. Students had a great time working with the equipment and learning from each other.

Final preparations for the funfly were going on despite Dr.Voicheck's incessant need to run the CNC router. Students were busy building and flying. Nick spent two full meetings troubleshooting his servo connections on his KnightFighter. It turns out that a bad servo caused all the problems.

This was our last meeting before Christmas break and students were very excited to work on their planes. Jake now pilots his flying wing with a ballet figure from Dr.V's niece. Sam continued working on his flying wing, with hopes of finishing it before the funfly. Mark, an NPMAC alumnus, stopped in while on break from Drexel. He lent a helping hand to Alex on his jammed motor. Other students continued working on their planes too. Connor, Kyle, and Connor worked on their flying wing rebuild. The plane was pretty trashed after a few unplanned landings.

With two meetings before the break, students were very anxious to get working on their planes. Patrick worked hard to repair his Vapor. It's tedious work. Sam and two other students prepared their Knight Fighters for combat. Sam's will take a lot longer because he's working solo on this one. Patrick also bugged Dr.Voicheck enough to finish the half-sized biplane plans that includes a full fuselage. The plans still need work but it's a step in the right direction

Our technology department was finally able to install the flight simulator. Students were very excited to fly any and all types of aircraft in the software. Students waited semi-patiently to have a turn at flying and crashing some very fancy and expensive aircraft. As for actual building, usual activity continued. Patrick worked on his micro squire. Many students flew their Knight Fighters on this cold day too.

After stuffing themselves with turkey over Thanksgiving break, students returned to the club with renewed excitement and enthusiasm. Connor worked with students to complete their plane. Cooper continued working on the circular winged plane from very little plans or sketches. Patrick repaired the ROTC's Champ after he broke it. Josh worked on z-bends for his flying wing. Joe received some expertise from Garret on hinges and servo connections. Lastly, Nick worked on the motor mounts for his flying wing.

Many students were excited because this meeting was on a Tuesday before our Thanksgiving break. The frenzy of foam and flying is evident by student excitement and involvement. Student activities ranged from finding parts, cutting planes, flying quads, to soldering and gluing. Many students are anxious to complete their flying wings by the time winter rolls around.

New toys showed up for our meeting today! Garret gathered the troops and flew the micro quadrotor. There was a lot of excitement with that new toy. Nick checked out the new products and admired our new flight simulator. Many students spent the day building their planes and helping one another. Garret also test flew his JetCat with rudders. It performs amazingly well despite the extra weight.

A handful of students were lucky enough to try flying for the first time at today's meeting. Dr.V gave flight lessons on the extra mini biplane. At least six students were able to fly on it before Nick smacked it pretty hard into the ground. Repairs only took a few minutes, and the plane was flying again shortly. The very last photo shows some new toys the club acquired. The students will enjoy flying the quad at the next meeting, and playing with the new radio and flight simulator.

Students couldn't wait to join after the new member meeting. New members worked on cutting out planes and revamping older ones. Many students cut out Knight Fighters for combat flying. Students were given time to work and enjoy the many fun aspects of this hobby. It really helps to have a group of people working on similar projects. There's always someone available to help.

The new member meeting occurred at this meeting. There was a flurry of excitement and enthusiasm for flying airplanes and planes. As you can see from the photos, the club meeting was busy today. Students were allowed to try flying on the simulator only today however, plans involve using the trainer planes next week. Veteran students rebuilt planes and showed off their flying skills. 

Today's meeting marked one week from our first member meeting. Students at today's meeting were thrilled with Garret's flying skills and the Dynamic-S. After a few go-arounds for landing approaches, Garret set the plane down gently. Students also had an opportunity to try some flight simulator time and micro heli time as well. After today's meeting, veteran club members asked for a new flight simulator and another computer radio.

Students were amazed at the newest club airplane. Ryan and Garret both put the plane through it's paces with vertical climbs and high speed motor-off passes. The club members couldn't wait to get their hands on this new toy. After demonstrating the new plane's potential, students continued building and trying new toys. The KnightFighter is still very popular with club students, and many are now being built from 6mm Depron instead of bluecor. The quality of bluecor went down and now we can't build with it.

Our first high performance plane showed up in time for our club meeting. The plane's directions state 30 minutes. After an hour and 15 minute we decided the directions were wrong. Our biggest hangup was the wrong battery. Dr.V purchased a 2 cell instead of a 3 cell. The motor won't spin at all. In the meantime, students built planes and cleaned up for our first club meeting. Recommendations were made for purchases and money was spent on batteries, motors, and speed controls. We also found out that Frankenquad is going to send us a free quad frame for the club.

12 September 2012

Welcome back! The school year started just a few days ago, and we're already digging through the piles of old planes and finding the equipment we misplaced in the wrong bins. It's always exciting to start the school year because there are new ideas and new people. Although the club does not accept new members until early October, we won't turn anyone away if they show.

With a fresh start, students gutted the supply cabinet and reorganized a lot of things. We threw out many parts that are useless to us anymore. Our supply cabinets are not overflowing but things collect quickly. We have a few sheets of 6mm depron and a full case of 3mm depron. If the CNC router shows up, that foam will be used up quickly.

A few students were able to fly their planes from last year at the meeting. We purchased a new semi-hotliner called the Dynamic-S and it should be here next week.

This year will be filled with dreams of building new things, including hopes of a quadrotor. I want to shoot aerial footage with the quad and expose students to a new world of flying. We will likely host another indoor funfly. This could bring in substantial funds that we can use to buy new toys. I also want other parts of the school to find out about our club and the technology and engineering programs that we run.