The January Meeting

   Meeting was called to order at 7pm and Mr. Lee Kramer introduced himself as a visiting guest.

   1. Al Jones updated the members on Will Coder’s condition. Will’s wife requested that phone calls to the house be limited and cards (only) should be sent to the address posted on the SCRC home page. We wish the best for Will and Diana.

   2. Meeting minutes from the December 5th 2006 meeting were approved.

   3. Treasurer’s report was read by Al Jones and approved by the members. The highest source of income for 2006 was from club dues and the largest expense by far was field rent and maintenance.

   4. Old business –

    Payment for the January 20th banquet is due by January 10th, $17.00 per person in a check to Al Jones. 30 people have paid so far and the meal will likely be served in the upstairs banquet room. Be there by 6 pm for social hour and dinner will be served at 7pm.

      Curt reminded those in attendance of their 2007 club dues.

     Ron Angle and Al Niessner made a presentation on their Indoor Fun-Fly from December 28th held in the STN Dome in Williamsport. Al, Ron and four Wings of Williamsport club members made use of the facility for 2-1/2 hours. Al showed slide presentation and a video. Ron mentioned that if this activity becomes a reoccurring event, then a dome-based AMA chartered club should be formed for liability insurance purposes.

    The new office of Club Historian was discussed but it was decided that George Gurney will turn over the archives to Curt Buergin for now.

   5. New Business –

   No personnel changes to the appointed offices (Safety Officer, Field Marshall, Newsletter, and Webmaster). The new position of Assistant Safety Officer was discussed and it was decided that Hugh should be present before further discussions take place.

   There will be a Fan Appreciation Day for the Spikes indoors at Penn State on January 28th between noon and 6 pm. There may be an opportunity for SCRC members to have a static display of models as advised by Bernie from Nittany Line Hobbies. Interested parties should contact Ron Angle. Also, AL Jones mentioned the upcoming RC Flea market at the Legion Hall in Export, PA.

       Al Jones updated us on a couple of AMA programs. The Introductory Pilot Program allows non-AMA modelers to fly under the tutelage of approved instructors - and be covered by insurance. The AMA Flying Site Volunteer Registration program is a way to let the AMA know of any available, potential flying sites. If anyone wants to be an instructor or a volunteer, Al has the forms.

    Al read his SCRC Bylaws revision/clean-up proposals which were discussed, revised and approved.

     Ron drafted and presented a club brochure that will be used to inform new modelers of SCRC existence. These could be placed on Hobby Shop countertops or distributed at special events.

     Henry Margusity mentioned that the wind sock at the far side of the field was in poor shape and Jack Garbrick will allow the club to replace it with one that he already owns in early April. Further discussions lead to decisions to replace the other two wind socks on the frequency board if they are donated.

     George Mock advised of a possible slope-soaring site on route 522 South and Woody mentioned that Randy Grove has a ¼ scale Taylorcraft model for sale - $200.

  6. Program – No program

  7. Show and Tell

     Nathaniel Rice showed an OS 91 engine that he intends to use in his scratch-built and self-designed racer model and George Gurney advised us of an on-board altimeter that is now available on the market.

     I showed and narrated a video of my slope soarer and other gliders owned by my sons and their friends flying near Lancaster, PA.

8.   Daryl Allen won the 50/50 and split $24.00 with the club.

The meeting was adjourned at 9 pm.

A sad day for SCRC

   With great sadness I must report the death of SCRC member and good friend, Will Coder. Will passed away on January 15. His obituary in the Centre Daily Times read, in part “His greatest passion was designing, building and flying radio control model airplanes. He was a member of the State College Radio Control Club for almost 20 years and spent a great deal of time watching and sharing with his flying family.”  The key word is family. Losing Will feels like we lost a family member. Will loved all of us and the feeling was mutual. I admired Will‘s ability to design his own models and then build them from scratch. He was the master of Monokote covering. His planes had flawless finishes, and his building craftsmanship was evident on them from nose to tail!

   Will put great effort into organizing our winter banquets, especially procuring and often donating items for door prizes. 

To say he will be missed is a huge understatement. We miss him already. Our sympathies go out to his wife, Diana and other family members.

SCRC Winter Banquet - 2007

   We had our banquet on Saturday, January 20 at the Old Fort American Legion Hall with about forty people attending.  We enjoyed an excellent meal, followed by some funny but true sayings about aviation by Curt Buergin. I gave out just two Crash and Burn awards (one to myself for crashing my slope soarer twice in two flights). I read a Top 20 list of reasons why model airplanes are better than women. (I probably ticked off all the wives – sorry!), followed by a list of Rodney Dangerfield one- liners. Finally, a stash of door prizes was handed out. This included several nice kits, some balsa wood, covering, numerous tool, and more!

  One very special prize was given out that night. Diana Coder donated the last plane that Will had built, but had never flown. It is a 78 inch span parasol wing design which Will had shown at our club meeting last June. (photo below)

 

 

Her stipulation was that whoever won it must finish it and fly it. Daryl Allen was the fortunate winner of this beauty. We’re all looking forward to its first flight!

   Many thanks go out to all who helped make the banquet a success – George Mock for making arrangements with the Legion for the banquet, Al Jones and others for bringing the door prizes, and everyone who participated in the very enjoyable evening.

 

 That’s all for now.

 

Sam Stitzer  814‑364‑9530

samstitz@yahoo.com