Pilot Profile - Malorie - Page 2

8. The amount of females actively flying RC helicopters is relatively low, how have you found being female in a hobby dominated mainly by men?
When I first started flying, it was quite uncomfortable being the only lady at the field but I really wanted to fly and soon became quite comfortable at the flight line. All the guys in the clubs I've been envolved with have been very supportive and encouraging.

I find that a lot of the guys would like to see more women envolved in R/C. One of the biggest reasons I see for so few women in this hobby is because there are so few women out at the field to start with, even just to come out and enjoy the weather. I know a lot of you guys use this hobby as a get away but it sure would be great to see you bring your wives and girlfriends with you once in a while.

I have recently become involved with the LadyHawks, a group dedicated to encouraging more women to become envolved in R/C. They have been actively recuiting members now for a few years. Joan Liska (the president of LadyHawks) is a terrific person to chat with and is a real go-getter, drop her a line and show your support. (www.ladyhawks.net)

9. Tell us about the setup of your primary machine and reasoning for it.
Really my setups are pretty straight forward. My favorite machine is my Intrepid Gasser with the tourque tube driven tail. I am running all JR 4131 servos and a Futaba GY401/9253 gyro servo combo on the tail. I run the 4131 servos in an effort to increase flight times without carrying a huge battery or recharging every flight. I'm running the stock Zenoah G23 engine with a Bergen Gas pipe, MS 710mm blades, V-Paddles with no weights, and MS 107mm tail blades.

I find that the Zenoah G23 has plenty of power for 3D flight in this machine. It is pulling +11 1/2 and -10 1/2 degrees of pitch with the MS 710s. The 710s give very nice performance in autos without sacraficing agility. In fact this machine rolls and flips faster than my 3D 60. I usually run about 1750-1800 RPM head speed which makes this gasser a very lively, agile machine.

The MS 107mm tailblades along with the GY401/9253 combo gives excellent tail authority that stays locked in through all flight modes.

10. You're a pilot sponsored by Bergen R/C Helicopters, can you tell me a little about Bergen and how you got involved with them?
Bergen R/C Helicopters is a small manufacturer located in Cassopolis Michigan. They have been producing top quaility R/C helicopters for both us hobbiests and the industrial market for around 15 years now. They started out producing aftermarket parts for a number of the more popular helicopters on the market at the time. Eventually they developed the Intrepid line of helicopters and began producing it.

Larry Bergen was one of the charter members of the Michianna R/C Choppers club and was Vice President when I joined the club. Larry and I have scince become good friends and, eventually, my flying had advanced enough that he offered me a sponsership. I have scince been doing demos for them and have been involved in the testing of some of the modifications as they come out.

11. You're one of a small group of people who actively 3D's gas powered helicopters. How do you find gas powered helicopters for this kind of flight, and what do you do differently with gassers from glow powered helis?
One of the big differences with gas engines is the wide torque band. While the power to weight ratio is not as good as the glow engines, the wide torque band seems to make up for that. I really don't fly this machine any differently than any of my glow machines. The additional weight and resulting inertia, make the maneuvers a bit larger but other than that, they really fly no differently.

12. Gasser's are often looked upon as big, slow, heavy, underpowered and expensive machines in comparison to their glow powered counterparts. I understand Bergen is currently working on a machine that will be powered by the new Zenoah RC230 engine which looks like it will dispel these impressions, can you tell us about this project?
First I'd like to dispell this misconception. The Intrepid Gasser weighs in at less than 12lbs dry weight. With the larger rotor disk the disk loading is as good or better than most 60 size machins. Running the stock G23 (turning more than 2hp) and pulling +10 1/2 to -10 1/2 degrees of pitch this machine is anything but slow. The Intrepid Gasser has the stock G23 included in the kit which puts the price right on target with most of the high end 60 size machines. To top it all off, the gas machines cost only pennies per tank of fuel!

Actually, Bergen R/C, like probably most of the manufacturers out there has been working hard on numerous gas projects and experimenting with different designs and engines. This is an effort to get the gas machines into closer competition with the 90 size machines that have become so popular. I have had an opprotunity to fly a few of these experiments. To date I still think the best choice in gas machine is the stacked frame Intrepid Gasser with the Hanson Modified engine broken in properly. Incidentally I have heard a rumor that Hanson has a hot little number on the way to market soon that will bolt in the same place as the stock Zenoah G23.

13. Our hobby can be very trying at times, we all sometimes get runs of bad luck, give us an example of a frustrating run you had.
I think everyone has had thier string of seemingly endless crashes and mine came along this past summer. But what has been more frustrating to me has been my wonderful luck with demo flights. Every time I've been asked to do an impromptu demo something seems to happen. I end up giving the impression that these things are a whole bunch of work.

While I was at the Joe Nall Memorial I was asked if I would do a demo. The Joe Nall is the biggest large scale airplane event in the country. This past summer there were well over 500 pilots regisered with over a thousand spectators. My 3D 60 was flying pretty flawlessly during the open flying the night before so I figured OK, why not. About one hour before the demo I got my pin and went off to the sidelines to get a bit of a warmup flight. A croud had gathered to watch me warm up. Of course so many things went wrong with my heli that I had to pull out the 46 for the demo and never got a warmup flight in. Anyone that may have been thinking that they wanted to try helis probably thought twice after that fiasco. I'm just glad that it didn't happen in front of the whole croud at noon, but it sure didn't help my nerves. This type of thing seems to happen all the time no matter how prepared you are.

14. What would you describe as some of the highlights of your flying career?
Being asked to do demos at the Joe Nall and the past two years at IRCHA have been a great honor. Come to think of it, pretty much anytime I've been asked to do a demo has been great.

15. What are some of your short term, and long term goals for your flying?
Easy answer to both, HAVE FUN. and HAVE FUN! :)

In the short term I want to continue to learn more maeuvers while keeping things smooth with good flow and continuity. It is always a big temptation to go out there and bang the sticks around. It works good to figure out new maneuvers but in my opinion isn't a lot of fun to watch. One of my favorite pilots to watch is Scott Cathey. He does everything so smoothly with a nice flow and great positioning in his routines. He really is a great pilot. It is so much fun to watch someone who has a tiger by the tail and makes it obey every comand, instead of yet another wrestling match where your waiting to see the tiger win.

As far as long term, I have been considering competition but I don't think I'm quite ready for that yet. I have a ways to go before that. At this point I'm still trying to get my four basic flight attitudes worked out.

I plan on staying very involved with my two clubs and, as I said earlier, I just became involved with the LadyHawks. I plan to put some time into helping to encourage more women to become involved with R/C. I feel that in my position as a sponsered / demo pilot I can make a difference to this part of the hobby.

16. Any closing comments?
I would like to take this time to thank my sponsers for thier support.

I'd also like to thank my clubs Michiana R/C Choppers, HedgeHoppers R/C Flying Club, more recently the LadyHawks, IRCHA (thanks Ron), the AMA, and all of the wonderful folks I've had the pleasure to know because of this hobby.