The November Meeting

 

The meeting was held on November 7, at 7:00PM. There were 19 members present.

Old Business – The nominating committee announced its slate of candidates for club officers for 2007. They are as follows:

President – Curt Buergin

V. Pres. – Ron Angle

Secretary – Daryl Allen

Treasurer – Chuck Paulson

(After more years of service than anyone can remember, George Gurney is retiring as our treasurer. Hell has frozen over!)

Newsletter Editor – Sam Stitzer

  The floor will be open for additional nominees at the December meeting, then we will vote.

 

 SCRC Winter Banquet – This event will be held on January 20, 2007 at the Old Fort American Legion Hall. The cost will be $16.78 per person if we get 50 attendees. The menu will include one meat. We will decide on the final details at the December meeting.

 

EAA Fly-In Breakfast – We made $220 serving food at this event. Bob Grove thanked us, and reported that the EAA chapter wants us to help again next year.

We were reminded that the December meeting is the last chance to buy 50-50 raffle tickets which will be used for door prize drawings at the Winter Banquet in January.

New Business – Ron Angle reported that there is a very large sports dome near Williamsport which is ideally suited for indoor electric R/C flying. Ron is pursuing the possibility of having an indoor flying event there, possibly in December, between Christmas and New Year’s Day.

Show and Tell – Nathaniel Rice showed some great video of night flying R/C helicopters. It was amazing! He also showed us some CAD drawn plans he made for an X-13 racer. He scaled up some free flight plans, then designed the structure for a .90 powered R/C version. The plans were beautifully drawn, and completely detailed. Is there anything this kid can’t do??

Daryl Allen had a plane he bought at a flea market for just four dollars! He wasn’t sure what it was. It was from the 1970’s, and was in bad shape with the canopy and fuel tank hatch missing, torn covering, and even some damage in the wood from worms! Daryl stripped the old covering, made repairs, and recovered it beautifully in orange and black Monokote. It’s a low wing trike geared ship with a .60 for power. (He later determined that it is a Trainermaster, by Lou Andrews., the designer of the Aeromaster biplane, which is still around) It looks great! I like seeing those old designs being restored and kept flying.

Program – George Mock gave a talk and demo of using a crimping tool for power connectors for electric planes. It works on the Sermos (Power Pole) connectors, and the joints are reported to be better than soldering. The ratchet feature on the crimper puts exactly the right amount of force on every joint. He also had a smaller crimp tool for making servo wire connections. This lets him make longer wires for servos so no extension wires are needed for wing mounted aileron servos. Great tools, George!

50-50 raffle – Paul Bittengle won this month.

 

   I’m writing this on the day after Thanksgiving. Yesterday my family enjoyed the usual turkey feast, and we offered prayers of thanks for the usual things - home, health, family, friends, and such. But today, I was reminded of several more blessings. Perhaps it is no accident that today was a perfect model flying day. The sky was clear, the temperatures mild, and there was virtually no wind. Both of my sons were here along with their R/C planes, so we went flying! A few other SCRC members were also at the field enjoying the day too. As I approached the field on Airport Road, I was greeted by the sight of George Gurney’s graceful Mystery Ship electric sailplane carving big circles in the sky. Its blue and white colors matched those of the sky and a few small clouds. What a gorgeous sight! George dropped the flaps and landed a bit far down the runway. The plane seemed to know that it might not see a day this nice for months, and perhaps wanted George to let it stay aloft for just a little longer. My little Daydreamer parasol loafed along at 1/3 throttle in the calm air, while I just enjoyed watching it fly by! My son Mike put his Mojo 3D plane through its paces to the tune of a sweet sounding 4 stroke 60, and Mark flew his old Flea Fli, which I built ten years ago. Karl Stashak’s Shoestring racer made smooth pylon racer turns at full speed, its yellow and red colors gleaming in the sun. Nathaniel Rice’s chopper was doing impossible looking aerobatics, as if the laws of physics had been repealed!

  Yes, it was a perfect day, and it reminded me that we are indeed very blessed by our involvement in this hobby. We have much to be thankful for. We derive immeasurable enjoyment, and have made friendships that, for many of us, have lasted for decades. For these things and many others, I am thankful, and I hope you are too!

 

Daryl Allen’s Trainermaster – before and after.

 

That’s all for now.  

Sam Stitzer  814‑364‑9530

samstitz@yahoo.com