State College Radio Control Club Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009 Meeting Minutes

 

Ron Lueth called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. No guests or new members in attendance.

 

  1. The minutes from the May 5th meeting were approved.

 

  1. Treasurer’s report. Three members paid dues since last meeting. Al Jones advised the balance of SCRC’s account and the report was approved.

 

  1. Old business –

 

·         Field Search Committee. No new developments.

 

·         AMA’s Membership Drive 2009. Ron gave AMA flyers to A.J. Jaffe who will keep them on hand at Nittany Line Hobbies. Prizes will be distributed to winning clubs. For information, visit:

http://www.modelaircraft.org/membershipdrive.aspx

 

·         Air Show committee. Ron advised that Packer’s food service is booked for the event. After discussion, a motion was passed to obtain a commitment in writing from Packer’s. We will accept a donation from Packer’s instead of asking for a percentage of the income.

 

Hugh motioned to exclude the sky-diving routine unless we can arrange to have it done free of charge. Motion carried. A motion to offer a $100 donation to the Civil Air Patrol for their help with parking and the performance of their flag ceremony was approved.

 

We agreed to talk to Bob Grove to possibly arrange a static display of full-scale aircraft and inquire about gyrocopter flying demonstrations. Al Jones will get estimates from companies that provide port-a-jon services.

 

Chuck Paulson advised that media outlets should be informed of the event about one month prior. Nathaniel Rice will update the air show flyers for 2009. Mark and Chris Wharton offered to provide the P.A. equipment and control the sound again this year. Many thanks to all of our hard-working volunteers!

 

·         Bob Booz reminded us of the upcoming Relay for Life event on June 27th. Volunteers are appreciated. It’s for a very good cause and participation in charitable events is important to SCRC for maintaining status as an AMA Gold Leader Club! The dates for SCRC’s 2009 events are as follows:

Open Fun-Fly – Sunday, June 28th

Relay for Life at the Grange Fairgrounds. Static display and flight demonstrations - Saturday, June 27th

Member’s Fun-Fly / Club Picnic – Sunday, July 19th

SCRC Annual Air Show – Sunday, August 23rd

 

·         SCRC’s proposed “Basics of Radio-Controlled Aircraft “course for OLLI (Osher Lifelong Learning Institute). Al Niessner, our course instructor, advised that registration began on May 27th so we should soon know if we have students. Classes are scheduled for Tuesdays, 10:30 am until noon, July 14th, 21st and 28th. The first two classes will be held at the Old Gregg School Community Center, Room 106, 106 School St. in Spring Mills. The July 28th session will take place at the SCRC field (Centre Airpark).

 

Subject matter includes radio-controlled aircraft history, construction, radio operation and installation, propulsion systems and controls. A flight simulator will be available. SCRC members will demonstrate outdoor flight and participants may fly a trainer on a buddy box. We are looking for volunteers so if anyone can help with some of these subjects or demonstrations, please contact Al as soon as possible.

 

  1. New business –

·         Al Jones brought along a 3-channel trainer-type plane to be auctioned off for the widow of the original owner. It was very well built by Rochaus’ Wings & Things and included three servos and a glow engine. Steve Boucher offered the winning bid. Al gave away his library of model aircraft videos and a channel 44 Futaba transmitter formerly owned by Will Coder.

 

·         Todd Cook finished working on the trainer that was donated by Alex and Eric Granlund. It looks and flies great. Todd turned it back to the club. A motion to make this plane an air show raffle item was voted down. Sandy Jaffe’s motion was approved to keep the model as club property to be used to train novice flyers.

 

·         Al Jones had new and improved copies of the membership roster to hand out.

 

·         In an effort to make members feel less isolated, Ron Lueth motioned to do away with the hard line field rules that require certain aircraft types to fly in specific areas. Motion carried. Helicopter pilots are still encouraged to stand and fly to the right side of the flight line but may use their own judgment of distance when setting up near others

 

·         Ron Lueth, Nathaniel Rice, George Gurney and Al Niessner presented a program to the 5th graders at the Our Lady of Victory School in State College. Al advised that this was a fun experience for the SCRC participants and much appreciated by the teachers and students.

 

·         Ron announced that he is maintaining a web site on RCG. RC Groups hosts the SCRC Club Presence on their site for free. This site is not meant to replace the current SCRC Club Site, it is just meant to enhance our presence in a larger community. If people access RCGroups, the search functions can point them to our club as a PA resource. Joining RCGroups is free. Users can post Pictures, Videos and events. We can set up Polls, discussion groups and such. We can also create a collaboration site so every one can see what milestones are met for the air show. Here’s the link: http://www.rcgroups.com/state-college-radio-control-club-scrc-614/

 

·         SCRC’s Open Fun-Fly on Sunday, June 28th. Ron asked if there were any outstanding requirements Woody advised that the barbeque grill is ready. No other preparations were noted or discussed.

 

  1. Program – no program.

 

  1. Show and Tell –

·         A.J. Jaffe showed his new T-Rex 700 high-performance helicopter. It’s a glow engine-powered .91 size heli that weighs in at less than 10 pounds, making it the lightest model in its class. The kit is about $700. Engine, exhaust system, gyro, main rotor blades and radio gear are all extra making the total come to $2,000. It’s a very nice model and A.J. is happy with the way it performs.

 

The motion to adjourn passed at 8:15 PM. A.J. Jaffe won the 50/50 drawing splitting $14.00 with the club.

 

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Daryl Allen, Secretary