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SkyWriter

Chartered Club #970
Skymasters R/C Club Newsletter - May 1999
See Skymasters on the Web at www.geocities.com/~skymasters

President’s Message

Hi gang,

Well, I waited right up until my editor imposed deadline to write this month’s presidents message, but I have a legitimate reason this time. I wanted to wait until after our Bald Mountain involvement day (two days ago). Well, my first thing to say to you all is Great Job! – Last I checked near 1:00PM at Bald Mountain, we had almost 70 people signed up and that almost doubles turn out over the last couple of years where we averaged in the 40’s. Outstanding effort people, we truly made a lasting impression on the troops at Bald Mountain and it really does pay dividends. My guess is that your editor will have another article in this newsletter to discuss the details, but I am proud of the club on this one!

This month also saw the annual trip to Toledo and it was a fun one again. I went down with more than my usual sum of money this time and my mind made up to buy a few things, weather I needed them or not (not that I’ve ever really needed anything I bought at a swap meet!). I was in the same little group of us who’ve gone down several times together, along with a new victim Joe Rubenstien. We shot up to the swap meet first, and this time all of the tables were occupied because dealers were allowed back. After about two hours walking the entire swap meet in fast mode, I came to the conclusion that a used ship would not be in order for me this year as nothing appealed to me very strong (although I did flirt with several ships, until I came to my senses). I even made a comment to Greg that I did not think I was going to be able to spend all of this hard earned money I brought down! (Greg, always keeping his wit about him, commented that he would assist me in spending my money and that I should not worry). I bought a few small things up in the swap meet like glue, hinge sheeting, etc. before we ventured out to lunch. I could not find a single dealer upstairs selling Saito, or O.S. 4 stroke motors for the life of me. We ran into another group of Skymasters, and made everyone walk a few blocks to a restaurant and had 9 Skymasters enjoy a meal away from the lovely Seagate Center grease burger inn.

The fun really began after lunch, when Greg Cardillo came up with the idea to pool our entire servo, receiver, etc. needs and go after one of the vendors for a volume discount. We had an order totaling about $900 if memory serves and we got a bit of a discount (free switch/charge jack harnesses). Perhaps next year we will try to pool a bunch more orders together to get even better pricing. As we were wondering around in the main floor I found much competition for my money and wound up spending a good portion of it. I bought all new field equipment (including the new SIG flight box) because I have worn out just about everything I have in that arena. I also bought a SIG LT-40 ARF and O.S. 52 four stroke for my son and daughter to learn on, as they expressed interest this year to do so. I pondered for all of Friday and some of Saturday about getting a ship for my Saito 300, and finally decided upon a Troy Built Staudecker. I hope to have it ready before flying season ends this year, but probably not. Randy bought an unusual ship (I will let him surprise you all when he brings it out!) and as always he brought up all kinds of ideas for me to spend my money, some of which I almost did.

We attended a few of the seminars that are put on, and I really enjoyed 2 of them. The first one was from Dr. Diesel and it was most entertaining, especially when he took the brand new .06 diesel Randy bought and got it running in the seminar in about 1 minute. (I tried to get him to mention to Randy to unplug the fuel tank vent line so the next time it wouldn’t take two hours to start, but he must have forgot!). The second seminar that Greg and I attended was on electric flight. Greg and I were both enthralled with a highly aerobatic glider (kind of an oxymoron to some) we saw, but it wasn’t cheap! – I can say that I have definitely come to the conclusion that electric’s can perform strong aerobatics, at the expense of shorter run times. I think that one can now easily build an aerobatic performer that will bore holes in the sky with strong aerobatics for about 5-7 minutes run time, vs. 10-15 minutes for glow. Electric also is more expensive than glow, when you consider that you also have to buy speed controller and need at least 2 battery packs per plane to fly more than once a session. Joe R. is working on building up my first electric adventure and I hope to fly it soon!

I again want to remind all of the field safety rules and a basic courtesy rule. I have received several complaints of people forgetting that we have time limits on frequency pins. The limit is fifteen minutes total, especially when someone is waiting for the pin. If you take the pin and spend 10 minutes getting your ship airborne, then you have to limit yourself to a five-minute flight. The fifteen minutes starts when you pull the pin, not when you get airborne. One radio of mine has its frequency shared by at least 2 others in the club that I know of, and when I see more than one on my frequency, I take the time to talk with each one of them to determine a working arrangement with them on sharing the pin during the few hours I am at the field. Trust me on this one gang, talk to each other and you will find a workable arrangement.

Good flying and hope to see ya at the field

Joe Finkelstine

From the Editor…

Welcome to the May 1999 issue of Skywriter. I am a bit behind where I like to be this month, but you should still be receiving this the weekend before the first club meeting in May.

I would like to add my thanks to that of our President and Steve Fredericks on the wonderful turnout at Bald Mountain Involvement Day! It was wonderful to see that may club members and their families show up to help out! We really got a lot done and made a huge impression on some of the newer staff members that hadn’t experienced one of our Involvement Days before!

Last time, please check your mailing label to see your current membership status. Following your name is (#nnnn) if your 1999 dues are paid. This number (nnnn) is the new field lock combination! The lock will be changed on Sunday, May 16 following the Bald Mountain Float Fly! Membership status information is as of May 5. Please direct any discrepancies to our Treasurer! If your label still shows ‘not renewed’, we need to hear from you!

Please send me any input you may have for the newsletter. Please send mail to GMCardillo@att.net, or to my address on the back cover…

Meeting Minutes

April 14, 1999 Meeting at Larson Middle School

First and Second time visitors:

Bob Sobe, Gray Lane, Bill, Dan Devine

Presentation:

Joe Rivers from the Yankee Airforce museum was here. He had some great stories. You just had to be there.

Upcoming Events:

April 17th is involvement day, please come there are jobs for everyone. This year attendees will receive a $15.00 gift certificate.

May 15th Saturday, seven lakes float fly.

May 16th Bald Mountain float fly.

Business:

Harold is up for a governors award. It is Presented by John Engler for exceptional service. This is a real honor. Congratulations!!!!!

Greg brought up a problem with a HiTec (as the slave "buddy box") and Futaba as the Master Radio. You must remove the crystal in the Hitec or use a Hitec cord. see Greg if you have questions.

Shelter:

Gary Weaks gave a report on the new shelter. It will almost double in size, and go straight along the fence line to the west. Looking at late April or early May, to build it.

Show and Tell:

Gray Lane brought in a Hog Bipe. "Doesn’t like to fly upside down".

Terry Overton brought in a Balsa USA P-51. Silver ultra cote, Saito 150, 16-8 prop.

Vince Pettke/Darrell Cessna 182 .120 engine Vince tiger cat G&P sales is for sale.

Ron Sokacz Northstar Super tiger 45 18oz lead in nose. 7 lbs.

Charlie Judsie Super sportster 40 OS fx 46, 12/7 prop 5.25 prop.

Craig White Thunder Tiger trainer 60, OS 70 4 stroke. Around 7 lbs.

Pete Foss/ Sam Foss Wing up speed 400 motor, 21 OZ. B-24 Jack Stafford kit. 1/8" blasa sheet over foam, 1/64 chart pack tape for lines. 4-fp24 engines, 12 lbs will be 13

Ross Hardy Brought in a Gremlin. So what said Joe. 46la semi gloss oh who cares?

Gary Weaks Folker D7. Built in 94, Recovered it did not have a trailing edge. 7.5 lbs. Saito 70 surpass. He also brought in the most amazing scratch built Retracts for his Grumman Wildcat. You really had to see them.

Trailer purchased approx. $3000.00 carl say’s thanks,

Other:

Show and prize won by Craig White

50/50 was $15.00 Darrell

Motion to adjourn and Second

Events of the Last Month

Bald Mountain Involvement Day

WOW! AN OUTSTANDING TURNOUT! Involvement Day is our clubs first event of the year. This year we had 72 participants and everyone went home a winner. This is our clubs chance to show our appreciation for the use of Bald Mountain Park for the location of our flying field. Planning for this day starts back in January at the first board of directors meeting. Every year they try to improve on the number of members who participate in this event. They succeeded with a 60% increase over previous years. All Skymasters can be proud of the fact that over half our active members came to show their appreciation for what the park does for our club. Without this relationship, there would be no Scripps Flying Field.

The current Park Manager is Bob Riemer, Assistant Manager is Chuck Dennison, and his assistant is Blake Smith. They spend many hours lining up jobs for Skymasters to complete in one day. This is not as easy as it may seem. A normal day for them may be working on one or two projects with four to six employees. Keeping 72 people working all day is a real challenge. This year we did many small clean-up projects: painting, trail clearing, brush cutting to clear parking areas. Skymasters accomplished projects in one day that would take many weeks for park employees to complete. We have to thank these managers for giving our club this opportunity to participate in park programs. Chuck Dennison is the new Assistant Manager this year. I met with him several times before Involvement Day to line up projects. Was he impressed at the end of the day when he ran out of jobs for us to complete!

Thanks to all the members who made this day successful. A special thanks to Gary Weaks, Harold Reuter, and Greg Cardillo for helping me organize and assign the projects. Also to Ross Hardy for signing up members and allocating gift certificates.. If you missed receiving yours, you can obtain it from him at the next meeting. We all owe Jim Schwartz and Ron Greening a thank you for setting up the lunch program for as many years as involvement day has been in existence. Jim spends the better part of a week preparing all the food. He prepares all the food himself; this is not deli food. He prepares it from scratch. His menu included 75 bratwurst, 60 hot dogs, 108 buns, 13 pounds of homemade potato salad, one gallon of cole slaw, 60 deviled eggs, 5 gallons of coffee, and 4 dozen donuts. Thanks Jim. Also, thanks to Denise Cardillo for organizing the club trailer and kitchen counter after a full season of use.

Thanks to all the following members who participated. Also to anyone I missed. This is a great start to a new season.

Involvement Day participants: Steve Fredericks, Gary Weaks, Ross Hardy, Marv Middleton, John Verbruggen, Gary Walling, Al Nelson, Jim Schwarz, Paul Zabawa, Harold Reuter, Nick Raiti, Alan Mrock, KC Satchell, Ron Greening, Doug Riley Sr, Doug Riley Jr, Bill Leppard, Jack Fleming, Jim Zagacki, Al Post, Mary Post, Ron Sakacz, Greg Cardillo, Bob Donohue, Mark Smith, Carl Long, Graham Overton, Jim Fritcher, Bud Howard, Vince Pettke, Jim Held, Paul Shurtliff, Linda Shurtliff, Mike Jones, Aaron Dechazal, Tim Reetz, Pete Foss, Bill Wood, Ron Thuringer, Terry Overton, Joey Bowen, Joe Pelish, Dave Shea, Kirby Elliot, Matt Rowan, Norb Pietrykowski, Joe Rubenstein, Ross Jones, Chris Knee, Dan Devine, Darryl Watts, Craig White, Charlie Giudici, Joe Finklestine, Don McLean, David Hass, Otto Gutgsell, Denise Cardillo, Alyssa Cardillo, Matt Cognata, Laura Devine, Tony Devine, Terry Bacon, Joe Hass, Greg Charbeneau, Sam Foss, Carolynn Foss, Chris Hass, Paul Zlotoff, Jamie Jones, Arynne Jones, Dave Lange!!!

Thanks,

Steve Fredericks

(Thank you Steve for once again coordinating this important event!)

Skymasters Events

May 12, 1999 Skymasters Meeting – Larson Middle School, 7:30 PM.

A paper airplane contest is in the works! Come try your folding and flying skills!

May 15, 1999 Skymasters Seven Lakes Spring Float Fly – Seven Lakes State Park, Holly (Big Seven Lake), 9:00 AM

The flying events for 1999 start off this weekend. Start getting your planes ready, and come join us! Saturday! Contact Chet Brady at (810) 469-3079 for more info on this event.

May 16, 1999 Bald Mountain Float Fly – Lower Trout Lake, Bald Mountain State Park

See ad in this issue. Remember, Scripps Road Field is closed during this event!

May 22, 1999 Barn Raising – Scripps Road Field . Time to expand the shelter! Come out and lend a hand. The more people, the easier the work!

May 23, 1999 Mammoth – Scripps Road Field

See ad in this issue. It’s the big ones! Monoplanes 80"; biplanes 60", or ¼ scale.

May 26, 1999 Skymasters MeetingScripps Road Field!!! Field Opening meeting at the field. Come out anytime after 5. We have some maintenance work to finish, and we need to break in the grill again before student night! The club will provide main dish. Feel free to bring a side dish or dessert to pass.

June 2, 1999 Student Night! – Scripps Road Field, The fun starts whenever you can make it! Student night begins June 2 and continues every Wednesday through the summer. We are out there rain or shine. Dinner is at 6pm. (We always eat, we sometimes fly!) For those that haven’t participated before, here are the hilights: Flying: Students have priority for flying. We will have multiple instructors available (almost all day). This is a great opportunity to meet and fly with different instructors, and make arrangements to meet on other days. Eating: For those wishing to participate, we ask that you bring enough meat for the grill for at least the number of people with you, and a dish to pass! There is always plenty of food. I have never heard anyone leaving hungry! The debate continues: Are we a flying club with an eating problem or an eating club with a flying problem! Come on out, and bring the family!

June 5, 1999 Skymasters Meeting – Scripps Road Field, 12:00 noon

Summer meetings are short, so be prompt and bring a plane!

June 6, 1999 Kid’s Day – Scripps Road Field, 10:00 AM.

See ad in this issue. WE always need plenty of Instructors and trainers to fly (not yours Ross!). The club will provide the fuel. Each of the past two years we have logged over 100 ‘kids’ of all ages trying out our planes.

June 13, 1999 Harold "Big H" Maseles 4 Stroke and Majestic Flyers – Scripps Road Field, 10:00 AM.

Any aircraft powered by a 4 stroke engine or a majestic flyer (old timers, slow biplanes).

Upcoming Programs/Events

Skymasters events listed elsewhere in this issue!

Saturday/Sunday, May 22-23 Michigan Whirlybirds Helicopter Meet, Paul Giles 810-790-5952

Saturday/Sunday, June 5-6 Flying Tigers Great Lakes Pylon Race, Pat Falgout 419-841-8957

Sunday, June 6 RCCD Warbirds Over Lennox R/C Combat, Richard Vukmirovich 313-526-3168

Saturday/Sunday, June 19-20 PMAC 5th Annual IMAA Giant Scale, Tom Wheeler 248-334-7693

Saturday/Sunday, June 26-27 RCCD IMAA Meet, Richard Vukmirovich 313-526-3168

Saturday/Sunday, June 26-27 Indian City Precision Aerobatics, Bob Kane 734-281-8514

Saturday/Sunday, June 26-27 DAM / Whirlybirds Air Show (part of Willow Run Show), Stan Spiewak 313-534-3300

*See additional information for these events in this issue of Skywriter!

Event info from mailings received, AMRCC, and Michigan RC Flying Times

 

Shelter Expansion – It’s a Barn Raising!

After studying the proposed "Tee" arrangement for the expansion, it became clear that the shade in the summer evenings (when we have our larger crowds) would be in the wrong place. We therefore decided to pursue a "straight" addition on the west side of the existing structure. Materials for the expansion have been delivered to the flying field. A work day is planned for Saturday, May 22 to raise the roof! The post holes should be done by mid May in preparation. Come on out and help!

Field Report

After a very, very dry 1998 and winter of this year we are finally getting some much-needed moisture. On Sunday, 4/11/99, the field was cut, rolled, and aerated (thank you to Ross and Joshua Hardy and Steve Fredericks). It is far from perfect, we will be fertilizing and seeding in order to get the grass to grow evenly on the field. Right now it is growing in clumps, especially on the south west quarter. We realize that this makes take-offs and landings more difficult, but if the weather cooperates we should soon see some much needed improvement.

Keep our field clean! The area around the shelter was recently cleaned up. Please do not leave empty fuel jugs at the field any longer, Al does not need them. Also, do not place aircraft remnants such as crashed wings, etc. in the trash - take them home with you and give them a proper burial.

Thank you.

Gary Weaks

Our thanks also to the Friends of Bald Mountain. On April 24, they held their annual clean up day at the park. Well, they spent part of it at our field. With the help of Friend’s President, John Griffiths, the Park’s tractor and Ranger Blake Smith, a donated dump truck/driver from Eagle Valley recycling, and a couple of Skymasters (Ross and Greg), all of the old car parts (yes even the old pickup bed) have been removed from the north side of the runway! We filled the dump truck three times with all the junk we pulled out, much of which appeared to predate State ownership of the land!

Thank you Friends of Bald Mountain!

Fuel Buy!

The fuel order has been placed. It should be in mid to late May. Additional gallons of 10% bulk Cool Power are still available. Contact Greg if you would like to be added to the list. Thanks to Al McGee for placing and handling the order!

Kathy Frederick’s Honored!

Kathy Fredericks, wife of Skymasters Steve Fredericks, recently received the Betty Campion Distinguished Support Services Award for her superior service to the Lake Orion Community School District for the past 21 years. Kathy is currently secretary at Stadium Drive Elementary. Kathy was nominated by reading recovery teacher Leann Lowe, and supported by Principal James Theunick. Congratulations to Kathy on her award!

Toledo Expo 1999

Many Skymasters made the annual trip to the Toledo Expo 99. For those who haven’t been there, there are five parts to the show. The main floor contains the vendor/dealer displays. This is the area to see the new products, talk with the manufacturers, and buy lots of neat stuff! Separate rooms are used for symposiums on various topics. This year symposiums included talks about deisels, electrics, nicads, and many others. The second floor contains a swap shop spread sown the hallway and in the rooms. Dealers were allowed back in the swap meet this year, and the tables were again full. Saturday night is an auction. Only large items are auctions (ie: no small engines, hardware, etc). There were some good looking planes on the auction block, and some good deals found. They also had drawings for the kids present giving out items ranging from small kits to a $100 savings bond. This year was my first attending the auction, and I am sure it will not be my last! The fifth area is the static competion displayed down the center aisle of the vendor displays. As usual there were some fantastic models entered in the static competition. Three entries were from Skymasters. Pete Foss brought his F7A Rice Pattie Hattie, a photo recon version of the B-24 built from a Jack Stafford kit with a lot of custom detail work from Pete.


Vince Pettke had two entries. He brought his Cesna 182 built from a Top Flite Gold Edition kit that has visited several of our Float Flys, and a new F7F-2D Tigercat built from a G&P Sales kit that will be the subject model of an RCModeler kit review. Both showed Vince’s normal excellent building and covering skills. Great job to both of you!


Skymasters Information

Skymasters field is located within the Bald Mountain State Park (see map). State Park Permits are required and can be obtained from the Park Headquarters located on Greenshield Road or at club events. Flying is permitted from 10 AM to 8 PM. The noise limit for 1998 is 95dB at 10 feet - this noise rule is strictly enforced.

Wednesday evenings during the summer is Student Night and there are usually instructors around all afternoon. Student night is also ‘pot luck’ buffet night so that you can fly-n-feed (though not usually at the same time). Students are encouraged on other days and weekends. It is a great idea to come on Wednesday, meet the Instructors and arrange for more instruction time together. Our Chief Flight Instructor is Chris Knee. Assistant Chief Flight Instructor is Graham Overton.

From June to August, Club Meetings are held at the field on the first Saturday of the month at 12 Noon - a great chance to fly and gossip too! Winter meetings (September to May) are held at Larson Middle School (on Long Lake just east of John R - see map) on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month at 7:30 PM. Show and Tell, coffee and donuts, and model-speak are the order of the evening. Come along - they are fun.

The Skywriter newsletter is sent to all members, local hobby shops and other local R/C clubs. Any and all contributions are welcome, please pass any articles to the Editor. If you know of anyone who may be interested in our hobby (friend, relative, neighbor, colleague or acquaintance) - please give them a copy of this newsletter or a copy of an AMA magazine - it may spark their interest and get them into our hobby!


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