MINUTES OF THE LAST MEETING

Minutes of the 08-12-2008 Tri-Area RC Flyers Monthly Meeting

President Jim Cook opened the meeting at 7:00 pm.

Attending: Marken, Greene, Dantzler, Granger, Calkins, Berger, Cook , Pendleton, Anliker, Bruce, Crumley, Bangle, Henley, Smith, Barras, Kampmann, Berson, Cochran, Cook, Maupin.

The previous meeting minutes are approved as submitted.

Treasurer Report: Larry Berger reports no changes.

Safety Report: None

Old Business: None

New Business: During the Board Meeting just prior to the General Meeting, Grant Smith suggested the club provide student pilots with a copy of Pete Granger’s "The RC Flight Manual". During the debate about how to get "The Manual" into the hands of our student pilots, Mr. Granger graciously offered to sell the club copies of his "The RC Flight Manual" on CD for $5.00 a copy so we could furnish a copy to student pilots free of charge upon joining and paying their initial dues. Copies of "The RC Flight Manual" on CD can be purchased from Pete at the club "discounted" rate of $10.00 each. (I think I saw a copy sell on e-bay for $128.50). This is "A Process-Oriented Guide to Developing Good RC Flying Skills". "The Manual" is authored by Russ Petersen (retired Navy Pilot) and Pete Granger (retired Boeing Engineer). With the better part of sixty combined years of RC experience these two men share with you a wealth of information. "The Manual" will take you from basic aeronautics, basic flight to advanced aerobatic maneuvers. This author recommends a copy for every RC library.

General: Neighbors of a club field in Sequim have raised issue with the noise of model airplanes. No specifics were discussed and the conversation turned into a reminder for all that fly at our field to adhere to the flying boundaries posted on the map attached to the safety fence. Speaking about the map on the fence. President Cook publicly thanked Bill Berson for reattaching said map to the fence after a windstorm removed it from its location. Jim and Cindy Cook conveyed to the attendees some experience they had on their trip to witness some RC events near AMA Head Quarters in Muncie, Indiana. They also had time to stop by the Oshkosh EAA Fly-in and saw some new things like the (still in R&D stage) Jet Belt powered by two or three small ducted fans. Bill Berson also attended the Oshkosh air show and witnessed the not so impressive jet belt moments in flight. The Board, with the leadership of Jim Cook, formed a nominating committee after Pete Granger and Grant Smith volunteered to Co-Chair. The committee is open to all input from members in regards to nominations for election to positions for 2009. Officer positions up for re-election are, President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, Safety Officer, Web Master and Director Position 3. Pete and Grant look forward to hearing from the entire membership.

Crash Of The Month: Nate Moffet, unaware his confidence was being betrayed in a public meeting, WON the trophy by unanimous decision. Nate’s new Citabria had an unfortunate impact with the ground just after takeoff. The Citabria was badly injured.

Meeting adjourned at 7:18pm

AROUND THE CLUB

>Jim Webster has a new e-mail address: jkwebster623@msn.com

>We had to go to Port Alberni, BC in late July and discovered where 2 WWII vintage Martin Mars amphibious planes were based. They are converted to water bombers for fire fighting, and one was in California doing just that. There is a small museum on site, and they give tours inside the airplane for a fee (I did not do this).

>Monday August 11 was a nearly perfect flying day. Nate Moffett was at the field with a never flown Citabria that was his first airplane build about 6 years ago. It was a really beautiful airplane. The preflight and range checks went well and soon it was time to take it to the runway, As I went to pick up the plane for Nate, I noticed the wing bolts were missing. Whew! Dodged that bullet. The second try all was in readiness, and I gently put the plane on the runway center and got it pointing exactly down the field. Nate slowly advanced the throttle, gave it a little rudder to correct for torque, and the tail came up. After lift off the plane ever so slowly rolled to the right and crashed off the runway inverted. What a shame!

It would take a major effort to ever repair this former beauty. Life is sometimes very hard.

>Long time former member Keith Allred stopped at the field for a visit. He tells me that his eyesight is causing him so much trouble, especially depth perception that he has had to give up flying. He plans to sell off all of his stuff soon. Watch the FOR SALE section.

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.

HINTS, KINKS, AND STUFF

I only went to the Martin web site, but there is a lot of good stuff on it including pictures. If you want a bigger picture, just click on it. The Martin unit was supposed to be demonstrated at the EAA Oshkosh show. Jim and Cindy Cook and Bill Berson attended and were not impressed with the jet pack demos.

>I gave my Senior Telemaster to Russ Petersen last year. He has since put it on floats.

JUST PLANE FUN—The Bomb Threat

A man who was late for his flight called in a bomb threat for the flight he was supposed to take. The delay caused by the search for the bomb grounded the plane long enough for him to get on. Meanwhile, police had traced the call to a cell phone, identified its owner, and pulled the culprit out of the aircraft. The man was charged, released, and was allowed to board the plane, which departed about a half-hour late!

SPARKS—The Blinky

The Blinky by Astroflight is a 1 x 2 x ¼ circuit board that needs only one adapter to accommodate most LiPoly battery balancing connectors. It works on up to 6 cells and initially measures individual cell voltage. If all the cells are at or above 3.2 volts LEDs for the number of cells will come on for 3 seconds, then go out, showing that the battery is OK to charge. Then the LEDs start blinking as the device works to balance the battery—and this happens whether or not you are charging. The LEDs blink back and forth in a seemingly random pattern until the pack is balanced, then they all go out and stay out. The unit requires an adapter for Thunderpower batteries, also an Astroflight product. Polyquest batteries need to have a connecter pin moved to a different position, but this is easily done.

I got mine from R/C Hobbies in Sequim for just under $25, and they can be ordered directly from the Astroflight web site. The little instruction booklet is very clear, and tells how to deal with a lot of different LiPolys. It is a simple item that does what it is supposed to do with no fuss or bother. I like it!

Aeronica C-3

Jim Tolpin has agreed to finish the Dumas C-3 build and review. The plane was just too delicate for my gypsy way of life. Jim is a really busy person, so it may be a while before you get to see the results.

EDITORIAL—Club Programs

It has really been a refreshing change to have Bob Kampmann arranging our programs. They have been mostly different from past programs, always interesting and fun, and of course "flying object" oriented. Do give Bob a big pat on the back for his creative and effective efforts on our behalf. If the rest of us gave as much to the club, just imagine where we would be!

FIELD MAINTENANCE

This month Grant Smith and Tim Bangle have volunteered to do the honors—thanks, guys.

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.

>Keith Allred--Hi my name is Keith Allred. I have been a member of the club for the past 5 or so years. I want to sell all of my RC planes, radios, motors and extra equipment. My eyesight and coordination are not what they used to be. Please flee free at call me and let me show you what I have. Home # 437 8183 Cell 302 3837

Dragon lady with a 91 magnum Hitec radio system X flash 5, the radio has a second flight pack. Channel 27

Kaos 40 with a 46 Magnum motor, the radio is a Airtronics Vangard 5 channel with 4 servos. Channel 40

I have a number of other 40 size motors, extra film coverings, a covering iron and heat gun. I also have a gasoline motor that has never been in a plane, a flight field box with a new battery and a starter motor. There are other parts and stuff I will be happy to show you. I would like to get somewhere around $ 500.00 for everything, but am open to your offers. I will sell individual parts except for the planes and radios.

MONTHLY MEETING—September 9 at 7:00 in the SKP Clubhouse

The board will meet at 6:30 to go over club business.

I'm sure Peter will enlighten us at any rate.

Pete Granger

granger@olypen.com