April started out with a bang, first was the motor building class held by Wolfgang Ludwig on April Fools Day. See the report that follows on this event and the photos that follow the report.

On the second we had a club contest in the cold, wind and heavy overcast. Nine of us flew to some degree but it was not a great day for soaring. It was good to have a heavy, fast plane that could reach the lift way out there. If you did not get south to the parking lot or further, you were generally down quickly.

Sorry I do not have photos for the club contest but I forgot my camera.

April 1, 2006

By: Jack Iafret

Even though it was April Fools Day, this session was no joke. Fifteen people came to my house early and ready to learn CD ROM motor building by our local expert Wolfgang Ludwig.

I can not tell you how well organized Wolf is, he had kits for all the students with all of the materials they would need to successfully build and test run a motor using his many little “build secrets”. I had built several motors prior to this class but now am armed with many techniques that help the build process go much smoother and faster. As always, preparation is the key for success and that is what Wolf showed us in spades.

Wolf did the class prep at his own expense so you can see how dedicated he is to the cause and we all thank him for that dedication. Wolf’s friend, Ron Mulberger, was a vital cog in the teaching wheel and did a lot of the soldering for us and provided the power supply for the test stand so thank him when you see him at the meetings. Ron does a lot of 3D stuff so uses the motors in that area.

We wanted something to do as a club activity and this one hit spot-on. Our sailplane club is still a sailplane group but the advent of good low cost outrunner motors and high discharge rate batteries has led us to a lot of electric-launched sailplane flying. We are not replacing winch-launched sailplanes, but adding a whole new genre to master making the hobby more interesting and challenging.

Michigan in mid-winter it is not a fun place to set up and fly our normal winch-launched planes. Somewhere along the line, some of us got the F5J bug (or more correctly, the X5J bug, as there is no FAI event called F5J). We are just learning this contest format, but it is apparent that a strong motor-battery combo is an advantage; hence winding you own motor to fit your needs has a lot of merit. It is not only inexpensive and fun to do but it is very practical for tuning your plane for maximum performance.

So now you know one of the reasons for this class. A second reason is some of the members just wanted to learn something new and perhaps put their little gems to use in a sport plane or foamie. Also we hoped it would be a good social event. The class really accomplished all of the goals set up by the club.

The ‘work’ (or ‘play’ depending on your outlook) started at 9:30 AM and ended around 3:00 PM with several breaks for coffee, bagels and pizza. These breaks were timed around the various build stages, do a stage, take a break, do the next stage- take another break and before you knew it, we all had motors.

When you got your motor completed, Wolf had a great test stand that would allow motor swaps in a few seconds. All the motors were tested and the smile on the builder’s faces when their motor fired up and spun the prop was just fantastic. We were like a bunch of kids in a candy shop.

We all started with the Komodo kits but Wolf had us modify the windings and wire gages to suite our needs. Both the single and double stator motors were built and the power output of these little motors is amazing. Wolf said the doubles are capable of sinking 400 watts due to the high temperature ratings of the magnets included in the kit. I think he tested the singles to 200 watts because of power supply limitations.

Although he could not make the session, Bob Belger machined up a bunch of gearbox adaptors to fit the motors. Most sailplanes need to swing very large diameter and pitch props so gearboxes are kind of standard, even with the high torque capabilities of an outrunner. Bob also machined the very nice attachment system Wolf used on the test stand so the motors could be changed out in seconds.

One nice thing that happened is that one of our long time but not too active members, Bud Kelner, showed up with his grandson Timmy, both of them built motors that ran well. If for no other reason, this alone made the class worthwhile.

I did take some photos and they will be displayed later this month along with this report on our Greater Detroit Soaring and Hiking Society website, www.gdshs.com.

Thanks Wolf for making it a fun and well-run day.

Those taking part in the session: 

	Ron helping Bernard and Timmy Kelner
	Timmy was a cool kid here today and got his motor running and maybe will put it into a 3D machine.
	For once the school teacher was being taught but I think someone else did all the work to make his motor run. We will never know. In honor of the this occasion we had a special chair made up for Hutch- ask him about it.
	Dave showing his build box. He came out with probably the neatest jobs in the group, don't know if it makes it run better but it sure shows attention to detail and good building skills.
	Our illustrious class leader, Wolfgang Ludwig. As I said in the report, one of the best organized men around and really a good teacher considering the class he had, he was still successful.
	Ray Milio also did an outstanding job on the build, another one of those do the details right people.
	Barney hard at work. He did a good job considering I was helping him from time to time and he had to redo a bunch of stuff.
	Mike Holmes did well until I dropped his motor and made all the magnets snap together. Took awhile to redo it but it also got done and tested.
	Mike Wade was Hutch's helper today. He is learning to build a 5000 watt motor for his hand launch (Mike likes to go fast).
	Gerry came up for the event and smiled a lot when his motor ran well. He also had a loosing bout with a bottle of CA- Debonder anyone.
	This is Wolfs test stand, it was powered by a 40 amp power supply and can tell you all the stuff you need to know to be successful in data collection.
	The quick change hub that Bob Belger made is great, you can test almost any motor or motor/gearbox design out there today. It only takes a few seconds to go from one motor to another.
	Ray Milio looking satisfied after pizza and a successful motor build. He was one of the first done and did a very good job according to Wolf.
	Dennis Kozak on the lunch break. I guess the food was good as it was all gone by clean-up time.
	Aren't Steve and Hutch just the perfect pair?
	Jim, Dennis and Steve solving the world problems during a break in the action. One can only fly for so long without having a little diversion.
	Dave Corven with "Number 16" Supra, the hottest sailplane on the market today. Order one now and in about three months you may find it on your doorstep. BTW, Dave has two of them. It test flew for the first time today and it was obvious why they are in such demand, great launches, goes up on a gopher belch and slows way down for pin point landings. Dave is a happy man with his new toy.
	"The Prez" with one of his prize possessions getting ready for a good old thermal hop.
	Dennis trying to decide where the lift went so he can due his divine TD powers for the crowd
	Your old web master trying to master landing an RES ship in a good wind. Those bent wings make the job really hard in a cross wind.
	Hutch launching his new Hera. First flights today and quite successful even though the pilot's knees were knocking a little on the first launch. All went well and Hutch is a happy camper.
	Darn electrics with all that high priced junk that needs to get stuffed into the little bitty fuse. Steve, Ken, Dennis and I did a little MOM to kill the time.