SEPTEMBER 2011
THE FLYPAPER
Monthly News Letter of the Freeport IL Radio Control Modelers
AMA Chartered Club #253
Established 1963
Finally with the worst of the summer heat seemingly over, the last several weeks have seen an uptick in activity at the field. Unfortunately, the day of the highly anticipated Baker Memorial Fly-in began with threatening skies and rain in the forecast. Despite this, a small group of daring flyers had begun to gather by 9 AM and a few flights had been made. It was obvious, though, that the majority of folks were keeping their planes under cover until the weather improved. Unfortunately, it wasn’t in the cards. About 10 AM one line of storm clouds passed to the north, along with audible rumbling and grumbling. But the next storm line drew a bead on Baker’s, and as the white wall of rain came across the field people scattered for the shelter of the canopy the shelter house, or their vehicles. And waited. And waited. And waited. A few people had apps on their cellphones where they could look at weather radar and after an hour what they saw was not encouraging. More folks departed. A small river was running through the shelter house, but although a number of people had already left, Dave Shuey had fired up the grill and was determined not to let a glowing pile of briquettes go to waste. He broke out the hotdogs, pop, and chips and put on a feed for those remaining. For the rest of us cowards, the next day looked a lot more promising. Plus, there was certain to be leftovers.
The rain had passed through by the next day, but unfortunately was replaced by wind. Although a number of spectators showed up, the wind limited the flying to only a handful of brave souls. Troy Lieb got in a flight with his Cub, Jeff logged a couple flights with his F-16, Craig’s reliable Ultra Stik got some air time, as did Mark Reeder and Dave Shuey. Bill Niles got 3 flights off the catapult with his Meteor. Tim Fry almost got into the air with his F-35 but had a problem on take-off. The good news is, it’s fixable.
The charge station is operational and is seeing a lot of use. Already plans are being discussed to improve accessibility by adding more outlets to the table, as well as possibly running underground DC power to the flight stations.
Ed Keech is back and airborne following his cataract surgery. Congratulations, Ed!
There’s been some discussion about putting down more fabric (similar to the runway) under the canopy and around the flight tables to help improve the appearance, and to help reduce the amount of trimming required. The canopy with its 6 support poles and earth anchors creates quite an obstacle course for the mower (or the guy running the trimmer) so perhaps fabric would be a way to make mowing and trimming more time efficient.
Launching ducted fan jets from the catapult has been working quite well. After several dozen launches, the only problems were one misfire (operator error---the tow ring fell slipped off the hook) and two flubs. The flubs occurred when a landing gear attachment point beneath the wing snagged on one of the cat rails during launch and tried to take the cat along with the plane. Fortunately no damage occurred and the cat has since been modified to reduce the likelihood of snagging.
If you have a ducted fan jet that you’d like to try launching with the cat, contact either Tom Burgener to discuss hook mounting or Bill Niles to discuss take-off technique.
Jerry Colby has been working on a 120% version of a foamy that he’s been flying. The smaller one is an easy flier and hopes are that the bigger one will be, too. He has also made plywood templates for easy replication should anyone be interested. The big one has a 48” wing and the entire plane can be cut complete from a 2’ by 4’ piece of fan fold foam.
And hey, the next time you see Jack Baxter, be sure to ask him about his new Super Cub.
The summer is slipping away. The next club meeting will be at the library. The days are getting shorter. Each flying day is precious. Make the best use of them.
If you are not comfortable flying, give one of our “beginning pilot instructors” a call to set something up for you. Our instructors are Jeff Burd (291-9053), Marlin Winsel (235-4631), and Mark Reeder (233-9236).
Always, always, think safety. Leave nothing to assumption! It’s the only way!
Minutes for September 7, 2011
Baker Field
After a couple hours of flying by members, President Dave called the meeting to order at 7:05 PM.
Members present:
Ed Keech, Bill Niles, Dick DeHahn, Dave Shuey, Joseph Eipers, Marlin Winsel, Fred Smith, Dick Potempa, Jeff Burd, Dave Nienhuis, Craig LeBaron, Kenny Schultz, Gerald Schuelke, James Kwak.
Visiting: None
The August minutes were approved. Motion by Marlin, seconded by Jerry S.
Treasurer’s report: As of Sept. 7, 2011, there is $2461.95 in the club account.
Checks written since last meeting were:
$99.58 to Dave Shuey for Bakers and charge table expenses, and,
$37.62 to Jeff Burd for Sneek’s expenses.
Total $137.20 spent. No deposits for August.
A motion was made by Dick D., seconded by Ed K, and approved to accept the treasurer’s report.
Old Business:
Dick reported that the back-ordered canopy did not come in at Farm and Fleet. They will not have them again until next year.
New Business:
The proposed dates for next year’s Sneek Fly In are June 22, 23, and 24, the fourth weekend in June. After discussion, it was left to the board to finalize at the next board meeting.
There was discussion about the new rock chips put under the shelter to help reduce the mud problem which was quite apparent during the rained-out fly-in last Saturday when the ground under the shelter turned into a mudhole.
Also, a new sign has been placed at the corner of Blumendahl and Oppold roads to help newcomers find their way.
Thanks to Dave Shuey for getting the chips and the sign, and to Ed and Fred for helping spread the chips.
Fabric will be looked at next spring.
Jerry Schuelke proposed that the club investigate using a screen tarp for a covering that could be left up all summer. This will be considered next year. Also, he knows of a source in Lena that can print T-shirts and hats for a reasonable price. He also suggested that the club include rain dates for future fly field events.
Jeff Burd looked for input about moving the date of the Cedarville swap meet to Saturday instead of Sunday. He has received comments from folks who attended last year that Saturday was better. He will check to see if the facility is available Saturday and report back. No opposition to the date change was voiced at this time.
Jeff also reported that he had purchased oil filters for the mower (at $33 apiece) and that he will get oil and change it yet this fall.
It was suggested that Freddie look into getting wheels for the flight tables to make them easier to move for trimming. Also, perhaps 1 or 2 new tables need to be added to the flight line.
The meeting adjourned at 7:26.
The next board meeting is Sept. 28 (or 29), 2011, and the next club meeting is Oct. 5, 2011.
Thanks to Craig for taking these notes for me in my absence.
Respectfully Submitted,
Tom Burgener
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