SCRC Meeting Notices
Monthly meeting are generally held the first Tuesday of each month with exceptions caused by holidays, etc. During the summer months, the meetings are held at the club's flying site. All other meetings are held at the Central Pa. Institute of Science & Technology, (formerly known as the Centre County VoTech School) in Pleasant Gap. The meetings start promptly at 7:00 p.m.

Newsletter for the July 2003 Meeting

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Next Meeting -Tuesday, July 1, 2003 at 7:00 PM At the SCRC Flying Field

In case of inclement weather meet

At the Central Pa. Institute of Science & Technology

(formerly known as the Centre County Vo-Tech School)

Room B-127 - or another room nearby!

‑The June Meeting‑

            The June meeting was held on June 3, at the Vo-Tech School since it was raining and we couldn't meet at the field.

   A new member, Ron Dotts was introduced. Ron lives near the flying field and has watch us fly many times. He saw a P-51 flying there and that was the clincher! He said “I've got to try this!” Many of us started the same way, Ron.

  Also, we welcomed Mike Yeager and his brother from the Altoona area.

   Jon Polay said that the flying demo at the Salem Hill Home will be scheduled for a Saturday soon, if it ever stops raining!

   Plans were firmed up for the June 8 Fun Fly/ Picnic. Jeff and Harry have food preparation down to a science! Since the weather was a concern, we decided that our president Jon Polay would make a “go, no-go” decision by 9:30AM on Sunday, then call Al Niessner, who would e-mail everyone, announcing the decision. Club members were told to check their e-mail about 10:00AM to see the results.  Technology is great!

   Al Jones announced that he has new member packets available for any new member who didn't get one yet.

   Al Niessner reported that the flying demo at Corl Street Elementary School was rained out.

   A motion was made and passed to delete references in our club constitution to the now defunct Land Acquisition Fund.

   Al Jones passed new club membership rosters to everyone present. This list keeps growing!

   Al also showed us an article on Burt Rutan's White Knight space vehicle. This craft is designed to fly into space and re-enter the atmosphere without generating the destructive heat which has plagued all other spacecraft to date. It's an amazing design!

  Mark Wharton told us how his Soar Star crashed due to a radio problem. He was using a “Feather” single-conversion receiver on channel 58 in it, and two other pilots were flying on channels 17 and 40. It turns out that the intermediate frequency generated by the other two radios is only a few hertz away from the IF in Mark's receiver, and the single conversion design cannot filter it out. The result was a hard thump on the ground for the Soar Star! This could happen with any combination of channels the same numerical distance away from the channel being used by the Feather receiver. Single-conversion receivers are light and inexpensive, but apparently require some extra care when others are flying!

   After the meeting, Jon Polay won the 50-50 raffle and took home $11.50!

‑ Safety First! ‑

   I was at the field on June 15, and saw a couple of things which could have caused injuries: Mark and Chris Wharton were tuning the engine on their Ugly Stick when the prop suddenly shed both of its blades! One blade was found a few feet away, but we never found the other one! This demonstrated a good reason for staying out of the prop arc of a running engine!  The prop was a black nylon type, and Chris then installed a wooden prop!       Secondly, a small child walked onto the runway while several planes were in the air. Fortunately, no one was taking off or landing, but the potential for injury was certainly there. Parents, please keep an eye on the little ones! They don't realize the danger they are in on the runway!

‑ June 8^th Fun Fly –

   I missed this event because I was on my honeymoon with my new bride, Sonnia. After 25 years of marriage, then five years of bachelorhood, I took the plunge again! I heard that the weather was good and the Fun Fly/ Picnic was well attended, with plenty of flying and eating activity! 

‑ Coming Events –

August 2 & 3 - Liberty Bell Jet Rally in Lebanon. Here's a chance to see great turbine jet action. It's well worth the trip!

Mid-August – Wings over Piper at Piper Field in Lock Haven.

July 20 – Our second club Fun Fly and Picnic.

August 17 – Our annual Air Show.

 The Whartons' Stick just before the prop blades came off.

     That's all for this time. Let's enjoy the long days of summer – lots of time for evening flying!

Sam Stitzer  814‑364‑9530

samstitz@yahoo.com

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