The July Meeting

The Meeting was called to order at 7:04 PM. Mr. Todd Cook was in attendance as a new SCRC member. Welcome, Todd!

   1. The meeting minutes from the June 5th, 2007 meeting were approved.

   2. The Treasurer’s report was read by Al Jones. Al advised that the field maintenance and the AMA appreciation plaque were paid for. Two members have paid dues since last meeting bringing total membership to 49 people.

   3. Old business –

·         Curt thanked Mark Wharton for donating the wind socks – the ones on the frequency board. Curt reminded us of the upcoming SCRC Members’ Fly on July 22nd and motioned that participants should provide their own food for this event. Motion carried. Curt will bring coolers and ice for the club. Tables and chairs will not be provided but Woody will check the barbeque grill for sufficient propane and the grill will be available for our use. Set up for the Members' Fun Fly will be at 10 AM on 7/22 at the airfield.

·         The amended SCRC rules have been posted at the frequency board. These changes establish a model aircraft holding pattern when landing soon enough to safely avoid full-scale aircraft is not possible. This area is over the field directly across the street (Airport Road) from Centre Air Park or, if not feasible/safe, another safe area out of the full scale aircraft's line of flight, such as the field on the opposite side of the runway from the full scale aircraft's downwind leg of its approach. Curt advised that two outdoor audio speakers have been mounted on the frequency board to monitor radio channel 122.9 so aircraft radio communications can be heard at the flight line.

·         Henry Margusity went over the details for the scheduling of the 2007 air show in August. Al Niessner sent an email to club members asking for their participation by flying their models and contacting Daryl Allen to sign up. For the members in attendance, a sign-up sheet was passed around. Daryl advised that SCRC may be required to cover the expenses of the planned parachute drop. Al Jones moved to permit the air show committee to spend up to $150.00 for such expenses. Motion carried.

 ·         Henry advised that he would have a finalized air show schedule by the next club monthly meeting and George Mock is going to look into possibility of a free or cheap "community service" type advertisement for the air show in the "Valley Vine" publication.  Bob Grove was asked if he could get a NOTAM issued for the airfield. He advised that he had tried to do this for last year's air show, but that the authorities would not allow it. However, he advised he would pass the word around to the full scale pilots as he had done last year.

·        Curt requested our Safety Officer, Hugh Zinsmeister, to review the air show’s scheduled events, as they are finalized, to insure compliance with the AMA Safety Code, and Hugh agreed to do this. Hugh advised it was doubtful he would be present to give the pilots a safety briefing prior to the air show, and Paul Bittengle, our Assistant Safety Officer, agreed to do this. Al Jones noted that Diana Coder had requested we have a notice on our website regarding the August 19 air show (which is to be in memory of Will Coder) by mid-July.

·         Ron Angle made a motion for the club to apply for a $10 "Limited Occasion License" to allow us to hold a raffle during the air show. The motion failed. Instead, it was decided to not have a raffle, after  Al Jones suggested we just do a prize giveaway (no cost to enter), and hope that the voluntary donations via the donation buckets (which we had already planned to have) would cover the cost. Al Jones' made a motion for the club to seek to acquire a giveaway prize, donated if possible, and this passed.

New Business –

·         Al Jones updated us on the efforts of the field search committee. The American Legion property is still available and there is a municipal meeting for planning a new park coming up in November. The committee asks all members to keep their eyes open for possible sites and contact Al Jones, George Mock, Sam Stitzer, George Gurney or Al Niessner.

·        The field search committee also discussed posting advertisements in the “Valley Vine” publication and on the internet to lease property. Al Niessner read a draft of such an ad which states SCRC’s requirements. Al recommends at least eight acres of property. Al Jones advised that the Field Search Committee had suggested the idea of preparing an audio/visual (MS PowerPoint) presentation to assist us in our search for a flying site. This idea was discussed, was well-accepted and the committee will pursue this further.

·         Bob Grove advised the club that he will be flying a full-scale aircraft for the Young Eagles project on Monday evening, July 30th so activity (landings and take-offs) will be increased for that night. The Young Eagles event will begin around 5:00 PM. Bob also gave us a rundown of the expenses incurred by the pilots of Centre Air Park and asked that we give them the consideration that they deserve. He reminded us that the airport is designated for emergency landings, as demonstrated by the recent glider landing that resulted in a fatal crash when the pilot was later being towed up and out of Jack Garbrick’s property. (Several of our members witnessed the crash and assisted in the rescue attempt. Thanks, guys, for your courageous efforts.)

·         Bob Grove also voiced a safety concern for the RC flyers – low, high-speed passes near the flight line side of the runway. Such passes are too close to people, buildings, aircraft and other property and after discussing this with Jack Garbrick, they decided that the Club will not necessarily be held responsible for such actions, but individuals may be ejected from Centre Air Park property for committing unsafe acts. SCRC members are reminded that high-speed passes should be done over the longer grass on the far side of the runway (or further out) – about ¾ of the width of the runway away from the flight line.

5. Program – No program

6. Show and Tell – None

The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 PM.

July 22 Fun Fly

   We had our club Fun Fly on Sunday, July 22. It was a sunny, warm day, but a little windy. The wind didn’t stop the members in attendance from flying, though! Many flights were made throughout the day.  There were some nice scale models being flown. Woody Struble’s 10 foot span Cessna 310 twin was quite an impressive sight against the summer sky, as was his ¼ scale Cub. There’s something about that “Cub Yellow” finish that just looks good! There were two other Cubs there, too. It looked like a preview of the Wings Over Piper event! Woody was going to fly his big P-51, but the engine would not cooperate. Woody says it needs a carb cleaning. A host of other planes were flying as well as some helis doing their amazing aerobatics! All in all, it was a fun time for everyone there. Thanks to all who made it happen!

Coming Events

August 2 through 5 – Liberty Jet Rally at Maytown Airport near Lancaster, PA. Lots of R/C jets in a nice rural setting. If you’ve never seen turbine jets, here’s your chance. I’m going!

August 3 through 5 – Wings Over Piper at Lock Haven (Piper) Airport. This is a gathering of Piper Cub models and many other large scale models, and it’s not far away!

August 19 – SCRC Airshow. Our big event of the year. We hope you can all be there to participate, and have a good time! Final plans will be firmed up at the august meeting.

Flight line at our July 22 Fun Fly.

 

That’s all for now.  Let’s fly!

 

Sam Stitzer  814‑364‑9530

samstitz@yahoo.com