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.

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Newsletter for the January 2004 Meeting

Past Meeting - Tuesday, January 6th, 2004 at 7:00 PM

   At the Central Pa. Institute of Science & Technology

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

Room B-115 - or another room nearby!

Check the sign in the Lobby for room confirmation!

Minutes from this Meeting

‑The December Meeting‑

   The December meeting was held on December 2, at 7:00PM with 24 members attending.  Treasurer George Gurney said he will have his annual financial report next month.

  A motion was made and passed to use $200 for door prizes at the Winter Banquet. $120 of that money will come from the proceeds of our 50-50 raffles held at each club meeting throughout the year.

 Al Jones has arranged our Winter Banquet to be held on January 17, 2004 at the Elks Country Club near Boalsburg. We decided on using the same menu as last year (it was good!).

 A slate of nominees for SCRC officers for 2004 was presented by the nominating committee. Since there were no additional nominations from the floor, the nominees were railroaded….uh, voted in by acclamation!

 Our officers for 2004 are:

President – Jim Rhodes

Vice Pres. – Will Coder

Secretary – Chuck Paulson

Treasurer – George Gurney

Newsletter Editor – Sam Stitzer

   Roy Long offered to make a laminated sign for the frequency board at the flying field which has the field's official address to be used in case a 911 call must be made for an emergency. Thanks, Roy.

   George Gurney reminded us that SCRC T- shirt transfers are still available. For $6.00 you get a coupon to take to T's Custom Printing in State College. They will iron the transfer on a shirt free if you use one of their shirts, or for $1.00 if you bring your own shirt.

    Jon Polay announced that he and George Gurney's daughter Sue are getting married on December 12. Congratulations, Jon and Sue!

    Hugh Zinsmeister mentioned a safety concern at the field. A plane had difficulty taking off, and flew over Garbrick Road at an altitude of only about eight feet. The club rule is to stay at least 25 feet above the road. If you see that your plane is too low on takeoff, you should either turn left or dump the plane into the grass.

   After the meeting, Jim Rhodes won the 50-50 raffle, and took home $13.50.

The State College Radio Control Club

Presents its annual

Winter Banquet

at the

State College Elks Country Club

Located between Rt. 322 and Rt. 45 near Boalsburg

Date: Saturday, January 17, 2004

Social time begins at 6:00PM with dinner being served at 6:30PM. Cost is $23 per person.

Buffet style meal featuring these goodies:

Sirloin Steak

BBQ  ¼ Chicken

Baked Potatoes

Vegetable Kabobs

Tossed Salad Bar

Potato Salad

Pasta Salad

Dinner Rolls

Assorted Desserts

Great door prizes will be given out after the meal. We took $200 from the club treasury to buy some GOOD stuff! Reservations required by January 9, 2003. Call Al Jones at 237-2284. See you there!!

 ‑Coming Event‑

  January 1 – Our annual New Year's Day flying. Come out in the morning and start the year off right! Let's hope for good weather! Flying on skis is fun!

‑January Meeting‑

 The January meeting will feature a talk by Al Jones on flutter; its causes and cures. It should be interesting!

 ‑A History Lesson‑

   December 17 was the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first successful flight of a powered aircraft. No doubt you've all seen the footage of the Wright Flyer replica's unsuccessful attempt to duplicate the original flight. It reminded me a little of Paul Bittengle's Mud Duck model! I guess it just goes to show how ingenious the Wright brothers design was. They were way ahead of everyone else in their time!

  We R/C modelers have our own equivalent of the Wright brothers. Twin brothers Walt and Bill Good built and flew the first practical radio controlled model airplane back in 1937. The plane was called a Big Guff, and had an eight foot wingspan. It weighed 8 ½ pounds, and was powered by one of Bill Brown's Brown Junior gas engines. It had rudder and elevator controls. It used a vacuum tube receiver, and the transmitter sat on the ground, powered by a car battery. It set the stage for the development of our modern R/C equipment.

   A few years later, in 1940, the late Clark Hile and Terry Noll of Pleasant Gap built a Guff model and equipped it with radio control. Their flights were probably the first R/C flights in Central Pennsylvania. The Guff sat in Clark's attic until 1977, when Bob Grove acquired it, and fitted it with a glow engine and modern R/C equipment. Bob attempted a cross country flight from Bellefonte to Mill Hall to the original Buzzard Field which was located on Bob Edelstein's farm. The Guff's engine quit near Hublersburg, and Bob made a smooth landing. He fixed the problem (pinched fuel line – the 64 oz. tank had shifted in flight), but when he attempted to take off, he hit a guard rail along route 64, thus ending the flight.

   Fast forward to Thanksgiving Day, 2003. I received a phone call from Bob Edelstein. Bob said he had acquired the Guff from Bob Grove, and has repaired and restored it to near original condition. He installed an original Brown Junior engine in it, and it now resides in a museum in Lansing, Michigan near Bob's home! The Good Brothers are from that area, hence the museum exhibit in their honor.

   I was thrilled to hear that the old Guff had found such a fitting home! If I ever get to Lansing, you can bet I'll make a trip to that museum!

    In July of 2001, we had our SCRC meeting in Gary Hile's (Clark Hile's son) aircraft shop near Centre Hall. Gary showed us some photos of the Guff, and parts of its original R/C receiver (the size of a brick!). At that time, Gary was working on the canards for the Wright Flyer replica.

   I guess the bottom line is that we have a connection to full scale and model aviation here in Centre County, and it feels good to me. There's an old saying about looking back to see where you've been so you can see where you're going. How true!

The Good brothers with their Big Guff – circa 1937.

That's all for now. Happy Holidays!

 Sam Stitzer  814‑364‑9530

samstitz@yahoo.com

For Access to past SCRC Newsletters --  click on the month for the desired year.