MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

Minutes of the 04-08-2008 Tri-Area RC Flyers

President Jim Cook opened the meeting at 7:04 pm.

Attending were Marken, Berger, Carter, Fitch, Becker, Beres & Beres, Egan, Crumly, Cook & Cook, Cochran, Benjamin, Greene, Pendleton, Barras, Berson, Anliker, Caulkins, Kampmann, Smith, Granger, Bruce

Guest, John Nesset for his Third visit.

President Cook brings the meeting to order and guest John Nesset was acknowledged for his third visit. Pete Hanke sponsored John. The motion passed and John was unanimously voted in to the club. We welcome him as our newest member.

The previous meeting minutes are approved as submitted.

Treasurer Report: Bank balance $2,647.33, CD balance $4,209.23 for a total of $6,891.46. New membership dues contribute to the growth of the bank account. The Treasurer incurred $90.00 worth of costs for AMA dues. March net income was $55.00 from new membership.

Old Business: President Cook recognized Dick Benjamin for his procurement of the SKP Clubhouse for our use for the last few years and his hard work in support of the club since it’s inception. The attending members applauded Dick’s efforts and wish him well in his ventures to Alaska. The fence project has been completed. A crew of volunteers finalized the design and replaced the plastic fence with nylon netting draped over a bolstered substructure of plastic pipe and additional "T"-posts. I apologize for not including the names of the work crew but your efforts are very appreciated.

Safety Report: None

Crash of the Month: Lou Creedon is the recipient this month after he admitted to crashing his Ace Bingo due to "battery failure".

New Business: The June 8 meeting has been deemed the "SKP Appreciation Show And Tell Night". Please plan to bring in your favorite models and/or equipment for static display. Bill Berson noted the opening of a new hobby shop in Sequim next to the WalMart. Dick Benjamin brought in more goodies to sell off like his kit built Skybolt to make room for his suitcases and more important stuff he has packed for his move to Alaska for the summer. Dick intends to winter-over here so we will have him back for part of the year. Again we wished him well on his adventures to the North. A question was put to the attendees about swapping out crystals. The discussion about changing out frequency crystals in transmitters and receivers elicited quite a few opinions among the attending members. Opinions varied from "there would be no ill effect" to "you must stay within a couple of channels from the original" to "you have to stay within your Hi or Low band range". The major consensus was; to reduce risk of radio failure and catastrophic results that the best thing to do is to send your radio to an authorized service center for fine tuning as recommended by most manufacturers. Randy received a bulletin from Futaba about a recall on early 2.4 GHZ radios. Please go to the Futaba website for more information on this serial number specific recall. Bill Anliker is scheduled to show his powered parachute at the May 13^th Meeting.

Meeting adjourned at 7:56pm

Program: Bob Kampmann introduced Bill Berson to show a short video, pictures and talk about his experience building (and accidental flight test) his self-designed, home built powered-glider.

Respectfully Submitted by Greg Marken

AROUND THE CLUB

>There were a lot of folks at the field the Wednesday after the last meeting. I know because I could see the whole crowd down there having fun as I made a run to Seattle. DARN!!!!!

>There was another big crowd out on Saturday the 12^th, and this time I was there too. It was a near perfect flying day with no crashes that I saw.

>Jim Crumley suggested that we start a parts box in the shed for hardware, wheels, etc. This stemmed from his losing a #6 nut and not having a spare with him—almost cost him a flying day.

>From Bob Kampmann: This aircraft runs on four chainsaw motors.  Click on the site below.

http://users.skynet.be/fa926657/files/B29.wmv

>From Nate Moffett: Researchers from the University of Tokyo have teamed up with members of the Japan Origami Airplane Association to develop a paper aircraft capable of surviving the flight from the International Space Station to the Earth’s surface.

The researchers are scheduled to begin testing the strength and heat resistance of an 8 centimeter (3.1 in) long prototype on January 17, 2008, in an ultra-high-speed wind tunnel at the University of Tokyo’s Okashiwa campus (Chiba prefecture). In the tests, the origami glider — which is shaped like the Space Shuttle and has been treated to withstand intense heat — will be subjected to wind speeds of Mach 7, or about 8,600 kilometers (5,300 miles) per hour.

A large spacecraft such as the Space Shuttle can reach speeds of up to Mach 20 (over 15,200 mph) when it re-enters the Earth’s atmosphere, and friction with the air heats the outer surface to extreme temperatures. The much lighter origami aircraft, which the researchers claim will come down more slowly, is not expected to burn up on re-entry.

No launch date has been set for the paper spaceplane, but Shinji Suzuki, an aerospace engineering professor at the University of Tokyo, is thinking ahead. "We hope the space station crew will write a message of peace on the plane before they launch it," says Suzuki. "We don’t know where in the world the plane will land, but it would be nice to send a message to whoever finds it."

>Bill Smith has a new e-mail address: bill_kat@cablespeed.com

>Larry Berger Is on the AMA e-mail list for contest announcements. Check with him for info on area contests.

Larry sent me the info on the BELL-AIR R/C FLYERS BIG BIRD FLY-IN scheduled for June 7 &8. You should have received their flyer via e-mail from ye olde editor.

>Bob Reinach now has an e-mail address that works! reinachrc@embarq.com

NEW MEMBERS

I hope to obtain a brief bio and a picture of our new members to enhance their introduction to the membership. This is voluntary on the part of the newbys, but it should be beneficial for all.

MEET JOHN NESSET

I have lived in this area for 30 years with my wife, Shan. We raised three children, all of which have flown the nest. The oldest, Chris, is married with three kids. He is a Navy Prowler pilot, but is transitioning to the new Growler in Virginia now. The middle son, Bernt, married, lives in Seattle. He and I started flying RC about two years ago. Lydia, my youngest attends George Fox U in Newberg, which is very close to the RC airpark in McMinnville, where I fly while she and Shan do stuff. Lydia is going to Malawi this summer as an intern missionary. That’s a country I had to look up, as I had never heard of it.

I look forward to seeing most of you out at the field next month. After that we spend summer in SE Alaska.

HINTS, KINKS, AND STUFF

>There is a new hobby shop in the area. Mr. and Mrs. Tim Verdick are the proud owners/operators of REMOTE CONTROL HOBBIES at 1254 W. Washington St.—right in the Wal Mart parking lot. They are open 10 – 6 Monday through Thursday, 10 – 7 Friday and Saturday, and 12 – 4 on Sundays. Their shop is very well stocked already, and they are still adding stuff. If you are looking for a particular item give them a call at 360-681-0506; if they don’t have it they are glad to order for you. When you are in their shop, be sure to introduce yourself and let them know you belong to our club—you just might get a pleasant surprise.

>Please note that the RAMS are holding a war bird and scale event this year on May 31.   We are hoping to inspire and increase more scale activity in the area.

This web site should give you all the information you need:

http://www.seattlerams.com/Database/Contests/ContestSpecifics.asp?ID=27

>From old modeling friend Paul Moore in Duncan, OK: A couple of You Tube Videos, In the first a 33% model loses a wing half in flight, the second is a turbo-prop motor power at a Top Gun Scale meet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZaXMrFh3n7M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df5vyLg95U0

>One of the problems with using a Slot Machine to cut hinge slots is the start up torque with usually yields a misaligned slot. During my travels this winter I found a tool that may eliminate this problem. It is a Slot Machine Cutting Guide made by Great Planes. I paid $5.99 for mine. I have not used it yet, but it looks like it should work. It is identified as GPMR4013.

>There is an R/C Museum in McMinnville at 3182 NE Rivergate St.; McMinnville, OR 97128. It is co-located in a building with MITI (Martin Innovative Technology, Inc.) Always phone ahead to ensure it is open at: 503-434-9265. Normally open everyday except Tuesday from 9 to 6.

SPARKS—Dumas Aeronica C-3

This model is a small, electric park flyer that is supposed to fly pretty slow. All of the structure is very light stick and frame construction that employs laminated bowed curved wing tips and tail feathers. The kit came with tissue to cover the plane with, but I will probably use Solite or Coverlite.

EDITORIAL—INSTRUCTORS

Our web site has a section for instructors that has the following listings:

(1) Will be gone all summer and probably should be dropped from the list, at least for the near term.

(2) No longer a member

Last winter a new guy asked for an instructor at a meeting and NO ONE volunteered. Saturday the 12^th Bill Berson was instructing very successfully, and he isn’t even on the list! What is wrong with this picture????? Yes, the instructor list needs to be updated, but that is not the real problem. Where are the qualified pilots that are willing to pay the hobby back by helping others learn to fly?

At one time I was the only instructor in the club. Some days I had as many 5 students at the field. I didn’t even bother to take my airplanes out of the car those days, and when I finally left for home I was physically and emotionally drained. Then Russ Petersen joined and we were able to work a tag team effort on the rookies. The result was a book we wrote together for newbys.

The number of trainees has dwindled over the years, and we have gained mostly qualified pilots, so there should be no need for one or two people to carry the entire instructing load. I am proud to have soloed a number of our members and will not hesitate to work with another rookie as long as I am not getting close to leaving for the winter or other extended travel. If you have experienced the rush an instructor gets when a student solos, you can understand why I keep coming back for more.

So, what do we need to do? First, the qualified, willing pilots should ask Roy Greene to add (or keep) their name on the instructor list. I would like to publish the new list in the next newsletter as well. Secondly, Roy needs to update the instructor list. Finally, the next time a new guy asks for an instructor, jump on him like stink on a skunk!

Hey Roy, please keep me on the list.

FOR SALE OR TRADE

If you want to list an item, just send me the details including your name, phone number, and asking price or trade-for item. Low pixel count digital (JPEG) pictures are also acceptable.

We are no longer having copies of the book printed, as it is just too expensive. Instead we have made a limited number of CDs. I will bring a few of the CDs to the next meeting along with a printed copy so you can see what you are buying. I will be able to sell the CDs for $10 per copy.

Officers will meet at 6:30. Our program this month features Bill Anliker and his powered parachute. I understand Bill plans to bring the whole thing to the meeting so you will be able to really check out this wonder machine. Perhaps we can prevail upon Chuck Dantzler to report on his visit to the McMinnville R/C Museum as well.

Pete Granger

granger@olypen.com