RE: Careers? what do you all do for work?
Currently work in the security screening equipment field, installation, field service and repair of X-Ray and metal detection equipment, training operators, etc. Retired from the USCG in June of 2000, I drove little white boats with red stripes on the front.
Posted on: 12/26/2010 6:11 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Off Topic Forum - Cars, Trucks, Buggies and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10219773

RE: A good solid Tx
I have been leaning towards spektrum but haven't decided yet.....CGRetired, that avatar looks a lot like a 47 MLB....
Posted on: 2/5/2010 11:34 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Beginners"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9478409

RE: What airplane would you like to see kitted at .40 or .60 size?
F-106 Delta Dart Always loved the lines of that aircraft... built a .50 size one about twenty years ago that went like a bat outa H -E- double hockey sticks.
Posted on: 2/4/2010 2:12 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9476147

RE: Flaps
As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Yes, Fytch, that is my question. Thanks for clarifying. Tom
Posted on: 12/31/2009 1:12 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9375156

RE: Flaps
Sorry, my first post isn't very clear. Let me try again. My point is that flaps increase lift (and drag) when they go down, but also impart a "pitch down" to the wing. The elevator must overcome this this "pitch down" to make the plane "pitch up". If the elevator and flaps both went "up" to climb wouldn't this take advantage of this pitch moment change?, requiring much less elevator and flap movement, and consequentially less drag, in the corners? Tom
Posted on: 12/31/2009 12:02 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9374979

RE: Name this plane.
Blue Moon. (We have the second full moon of the month tonight) Logo could be a Smurf with a bad attitude but that might be inappropriate. Tom
Posted on: 12/31/2009 11:14 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9374842

Flaps
food for thought...On every flapped CL plane I have built, the flaps move down when the elevator moves up to "create more lift" to tighten up the turn. On flying wings, the elevons on the trailing edge of the wing move up to pitch the wing up for a climb. Hmmmm. Has anyone here ever experimented with hooking the flaps up "backward" to "tighten up the turn" and if so what was the result? Happy New Year and best to all, Tom
Posted on: 12/31/2009 11:03 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9374815

RE: How far is far enough
quote: ORIGINAL: BtnFlyGuy Tom, I just noticed where you live in Vancouver WA. I used to live in Bremerton as a Trident Sub sailor and I think you'll need nav lights on your plane more than worry about electrical lines if your weather is anything like mine was. Not Nav lights so much down here. I am about 75 miles inland, South of Puget Sound by about 90 miles, so we dont get the fog and drizzle like Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton etc. I just need a healthy dose of ground repellent and maybe pontoons as was previously suggested. Although with running lights I coould fly at nite....hmmmmm best Tom
Posted on: 12/20/2009 8:16 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9345395

RE: How far is far enough
Thanks to all for the replies. I am buying a property that is 350 feet wide by a little over 800 feet long with power lines on two sides. Based on all the great input I believe I will be fine with as long as I stay on the Southwest side away from the lines. If I get zapped and killed I will log on and complain about the advice!!! Best to all and have a great Christmas and New Year! Tom
Posted on: 12/18/2009 6:14 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9341852

RE: How far is far enough
Thanks for all the great info, i am surprised AMA says 50 feet is enough. Interestingly, apparently 50 feet from a 500 Kv High tension line is ok for AMA, which sort of scares the heck out of me. Maybe 50 feet from a 120 volt line going to a lamp post, but apparently the rule is one size fits all, coupled with a strong dose of common sense. Anyway very interesting replies and I appreciate all the input thus far. best, Tom
Posted on: 12/11/2009 10:17 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9321627

How far is far enough
Just curious, we all know one shouldn't fly too close to overhead power lines. Ten feet is way too close, 5 miles is obviously more than enough distance... How far away is "safe enough?" I guess my rule of thumb is 3 times the length of the lines...Interested in what others use as a guideline or if there is an "official" number. best regards and Merry Christmas to all! Tom
Posted on: 12/8/2009 11:33 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9315499

RE: RC Report Website?
Wow, I just got my "final" issue, I was oblivious to this thread and this situation until my copy came in the mail today. RC Report was my only subscription, with the exception of MA which I get as a result of my AMA membership. I feel like I have lost a lot of great friends who came into my home once a month to chat about RC. I have to say, I admire Gordon for sticking by his convictions and doing what he thought was right. I truly appreciate all the hard work he and his staff put in to put out such a great project. I wish everyone associated with the magazine the best. What a great run, what a great Magazine, and what a wonderful group of people. Best regards to all Tom p.s. Gordon, If you read this, thanks a bunch. I certainly will not be requesting a refund. You have educated me, enlightened me, and made me laugh out loud. Have a slice of Pizza, I'm gonna go have a beer. Thanks for all your hard work. td
Posted on: 1/31/2009 11:43 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8424767

RE: Stooge!
I homebuilt my stooge, but to make things simple I use an empty carpenter's chalkline to activate, rolls up easy, and it never tangles! Tom
Posted on: 8/17/2006 9:47 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4636537

RE: MIDWEST 44' MOTOR LIFE BOAT
Bluesman, 44300 (the prototype) is now on display at the Maritime Museum in Astoria. I was never stationed at Coos Bay, but had a lot of friends through the years who were there. Tom
Posted on: 8/13/2006 5:22 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "RC Scale Boating"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4618062

RE: MIDWEST 44' MOTOR LIFE BOAT
Fritzke, What a beautiful site! Brings back a lot of memories, Quillayute River was my first Motor Lifeboat Station in the early 80's, Bill Standeven was one of our engineers and took a lot of great photos. Somewhere I have original prints of a couple of those, and if I recall correctly, at least one made it into LIFEBOAT SAILORS, an excellent book by Dr Dennis Noble. Bluesman, I have no better to photos to add, Fritzke's site has all the detail you could ever want. The only thing that may be confusing is the many changes made to the boat through the years, but his site is well documented as to the dates of the photo's. Thanks for the great link! Tom
Posted on: 8/11/2006 11:18 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "RC Scale Boating"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4610123

RE: MIDWEST 44' MOTOR LIFE BOAT
Bluesman...In my former life I was a US Coast Guard Surfman. I spent a lot of time on the 44's. I have pictures (somewhere) and will see what I can come up with to help out with your detail questions. I am on the road right now so it will be a little while, but will see what I can do. Let me know of any specific questions you have, that will help narrow the search. Also, the boats appearance changed through the years as it was updated through the years. Rub Rails, antennas and electronics, as well as anchor location and many other minor items were changed. best regards Tom
Posted on: 8/10/2006 10:35 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "RC Scale Boating"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4605710

RE: Goodbye, 59S
I think Wally's Jenny ended up in McMinnville at the evergreen Museum, along with the Spruce Goose. Vancouver to NC... thats a long move..... Tom
Posted on: 8/8/2006 7:29 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Airplanes - Full Scale"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4599195

Goodbye, 59S
For those in the Pacific Northwest, Evergreen Field in Vancouver, Washington was permanently closed to all traffic on July 18th. The airport was in operation since the end of WWII, but couldn't survive the encroachment of the rapidly growing city (the short version of a long story). Thousands of pilots learned to fly here (including me). It's a sad day in Vancouver. The owners made Herculean efforts to keep it going, but in the end it was just not possible. RIP Evergreen, and thanks Wally. Tom
Posted on: 7/25/2006 11:45 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Airplanes - Full Scale"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4542703

RE: what flite-line combat airplane are these ribs for
Those look like VooDoo ribs to me, I think I have a set of plans at home, Ill see if I can locate them and verify. Regards Tom
Posted on: 7/14/2006 12:02 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4501210

RE: Self righting
The 47 in the photo series was built by Textron Marine in Louisiana. The older 44 and 52' MLB's were built by the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, MD When I was still in the CG we had a lot of Boston Whalers, but nothing that big. They took a hell of a beating, but were pretty hard on the crew, too.... regards Tom
Posted on: 7/5/2006 6:07 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4466741

RE: Self righting
look at the last photo, one crewman is inverted in his belt, hanging outside the lifelines....maybe Im getting off topic a buit, sorry guys Tom
Posted on: 7/5/2006 11:02 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4465211

RE: Self righting
here's a 47 just before a capsize, they actually went over backwards on this one
Posted on: 7/5/2006 11:00 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4465198

RE: Self righting
"I noticed the self righting CG boats once in a while while fishing, watching them practice in a big surf is fun but I have never actually seen them get the thing to go over!" NJ... that's because they are doing everthing they can to stay right side up. Its hard to rescue someone when you rudders are pointed at the sky! If someone intentionally rolled a CG boat these days they would be brought up on charges! To much damage to an expensive platform, not to mention the likelyhood of injury to the crew. I ran one boat while in Scotland that was a self righting catamaran. It had a heavy duty cage (think Bimini-top-from-hell) that had a large bouyancy chamber on top of it. The new Coast Guard 47 MLB has a version of this, I'll see if i can locate a pic. Tom
Posted on: 7/5/2006 10:40 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4465124

RE: Self righting
I ran several full size self righting boats for the US Coast Guard years ago, including the 44' MLB (Motor Life Boat). Nearly all of them relied on a low center of gravity, a rounded, buoyant topside which was also waterproof. Some of the smaller RIB's (Rigid Inflatable Boat) relied on a "righting bag", attached to the cage back aft which was manually inflated after a capsize to bring the boat back over. Great in theory, sucks in practice. I think you could do this on a model with a taller than normal, rounded deck and a low center of gravity. You should have seperate watertight compartments fore and aft and a creative ducting system for supplying combustion air to the engine compartment. Properly designed, it will minimize taking on water while inverted, but allow enough water in to avoid starving the engine, then dump the water in the bilge where a pump can get rid of it. A 44' MLB took on about 300 gallons or so in a rollover, not to mention the damage done to the electronics, antennas, the mess in the engine room and ill will of the crew towards the coxswain who immersed his shipmates. One note about the 44, it was not really "self righting" Its righting moment was nearly nonexistent from 140 degrees of roll, past inverted, to 140 degrees on the other side. In practice it worked fine since the next wave rolled you enough while inverted to get the slimy side back down. best regards Tom
Posted on: 7/4/2006 3:25 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4462357

RE: First CL flight..OS 32 venturi
Thanks Rude! I may give that a try. Been to busy to fly lately, but sounds good. Tom
Posted on: 6/29/2006 9:24 AM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4444181

RE: First CL flight..OS 32 venturi
Well, I flew again Sunday, and even with an 11X4 this thing is still FAST. Or maybe I'm slow..? I'm leaning towards putting my OS .20 sportster on this to slow it down and get a longer run from the stock tank. Maybe with a 10X4 I won't get screwed into the ground Tom
Posted on: 5/15/2006 9:40 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4282267

RE: How to double your HP with a Zenoah !! (and some pics of what I have been up to!!)
I didn't know you were a Marine, Del! My Son is a LCpl on Okinawa.... Kill any more Salmon lately? Tom
Posted on: 5/3/2006 1:23 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4236224

RE: Switching over to alcohal carb
I would give the folks at KLOTZ a call, or here's a link to their website http://www.klotzlube.com/storeCats.asp?ci=8 there is a fuel forum on RCU that has a ton of info: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_199379/tm.htm since you are running a spark and not a glow plug, I would guess you wouldnt need Nitro unless you want to blow the head off your engine, but I'm not sure what to do with ignition timing when you you go to Alcohol. I would check with the guys who fly weedeater motors in their models and see what they do. they have a forum here too i bet. best regards Tom
Posted on: 4/27/2006 11:29 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4215095

RE: Switching over to alcohal carb
One of the biggest differences in an alcohol carb is jets, the carb need to put in about twice as much alcohol as as it does gas. (richer mix). If you add nitro, the rich must be even richer. Alcohol burns cooler and makes more power, at the expense of fuel economy. There are several synthetics as well as castor that mix well with alcohol. Tom
Posted on: 4/26/2006 11:09 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4211192

RE: Opinions wanted.....Steering bellcrank
Completely off subject... Del, did you get out on the river this weekend? It was beautiful weather... I missed the whole week on a road trip up north. Regards Tom
Posted on: 4/23/2006 11:14 PM by Author "doucette" in the forum "Speed - RC Gas Boats"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=4202505