Buzzard Droppings August 2004

(President’s Message  Continued from page 1)

models.”

SO in the true spirit, I thank Karl for his creativity and efforts. Too bad more didn’t come out and participate.

I am also thankful for Karl’s eloquent suggestion for the club membership cap issue. Again, some may need a hard and fast rule, but the ability to bring interested individuals into modeling and encourage safety and learning is a good thing in my book.

The weather is cooperating again this summer, and the Farmer’s Almanac has predicted another great flying season for this summer. With possibly having a lot of use of the field this year, Bob’s suggestion to keep the majority of our flying activities well away from the South East corner of the field makes a lot of sense.

As a safety note, it is highly recommended that you don’t fly alone. Having someone at the field helps to keep us aware of the surrounding circumstances.

One of the questions I received this month was about the farmer and whether we can fly if he is working in the field. Dale has not asked that we stop

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Officer Reports:

President’s Report: Ron announced that the club scanner has been programmed and that he had personally purchased a second scanner.  Thus, we now have the ability to start a triangulation to find stray signals.  Ron is preparing a training manual and will start a class to teach others to operate the scanner. We will send an email to announce the class soon.  Bob Martin will see about getting a cabinet built to store the scanner in the shed.

Ron also stated that the club’s Open House was well attended and there were also many selling RC equipment in the event’s Swap Meet.  He stated that we had two visitors discuss concerns about flying and the use of the field during the day.  Ron discussed the situations with our neighbors and landlord, resolving the complaints to the mutual satisfaction of everyone.  Bob Martin stated that Ron did an outstanding job dealing with both complaints and he turned a possibly bad situation into a positive future relationship with our neighbors.

Bob continued on to mention that  we should maintain an awareness of our neighbors, the people living around our field.  We should always try to be good neighbors.  One way is to do as little flying on the east end of the field as possible.  We generally use that end to make our landing approach but please do the majority of the flying in the center of the field and at the west end.  We have over 20 acres to fly, so we really do not need to fly near the trestle and the house. 

Ron continued his report, mentioning that the field lease with our landlord is still being discussed.  An investigation of the local zoning and other details are under way.  An update will be presented to the club in the future.

Ron also mentioned that the port-a-potty was cleaned in May and June. Fred repaired the base skids in May.

Vice President Report: Brian Richardson, stated that the club’s Fun Fly is on July 24^th and Karl Schaefer will again be the coordinator.  Karl discussed the events that he is planning for the Fun Fly. He is going to change the scoring for the water carry, since last year the outcome of the entire event was determined by that single event.  He was amazed at the amount of water the planes returned with.  He is also planning the Limbo event where the pilots would try to hit balloons tied to a ribbon attached to posts on either side of the field.  He will have the egg drop; dead stick spot landing, and the time flight again this year. All AMA members are welcome, and the event starts at 10AM.

 (Secretary’s note, last year as a fairly new pilot I was hesitant to participate in the fun fly. At the last minute I paid the fee, $5, and I had a great time.  Even as a new pilot, I was able to make a good showing and have a great time.  If you are still undecided to come and be a part of the fun fly, I encourage you to do so.)

Secretary’s Report:  Bob Martin reported two new members since the last meeting and announced that we now have 60 full members, the club’s self-imposed limit.

Treasurer’s Report: Doug Hoff was not present, but president, Ron Swift, stated that financially the club currently is in good shape. He also stated that the rent for the field has been paid, but we still have not received the receipts for the field improvements from Joe Goffin.  Bob Martin requested that we encourage Joe to submit the receipts so that we can get a better report of the club’s current bank balance.

Safety Report: Randy Turner, our Safety Officer, was not present. Ron asked if there were any issues.  A discussion was held resulting in recommendations for safety and enforcement of the field rules, so those in the pits and spectator areas feel safe.  Dave Bell stated that the

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flying while the tractor is working the field, and the tractor has an enclosed cap to protect the driver. Use common sense. If the tractor is working in an area in line with take offs and landings, wait until  there is no possible safety issue. If your pilot skills or confidence in the model are not such that you KNOW there will be no safety issues,  wait for a better time.

Our next club event is the Combat event scheduled for August 14th at 10:00 am. (See page 5 for the flyer) I know Scott is putting a lot of effort in the preparation for this event, so I hope you will be there to support the event, even if you do not intend to fly in it.  The format for this event is that any kind of plane can enter the event. If you are willing to risk a possible mid-air, just about any model will work in this competition.

It seems like the number of activities is increasing. I have several items to complete for the club. Among those are the additional wind sock, power connector for Joe’s sprayer, scanner training, safety plaque and more. I appreciate the gentle reminders I’ve received to get these items taken care of.

See you at the flying field!

Ron