President's Message

Hello and greetings,

At the risk of using a pun I'll say that the summer is really flying by! Here we are in August already, but we still have several flying events ahead. Remember to read the Skywriter for all of the details, but a few dates to put on your calendar include August 12th for our annual Multi-event. If your plane has multiple engines, wings, fuselages, or all three (wow, I can't even picture all three) bring it to the Multi Event. Also, August 20th is our annual Corn Roast and Top Gun Contest. Enjoy corn on the cob picked just hours earlier. The flying is quite a treat as well. This year will also include a slot for Great Planes Slow Pokes. Don't miss the fun.

Our big event of the year, the 10^th Annual Mid-West Regional Float-Fly is also just around the corner on September 9 and 10. Once again SKS Video Productions will be covering the action. Of course this enormous event requires lots and lots of volunteers. There are many jobs before, during and after the flying. If you can help out at all, Carl Long is coordinating this year's effort, please contact him and be a part of our decade celebration.

If you have never flown from the water before it is best to seek advice from a more skilled club member first. Last year was my first year of participation as a flyer and I am looking forward to more fun this year. Flying from the water requires some unique considerations beyond the design and attachment of floats. One is the fact that you must use a non-wooden propeller. The prop striking the water spray will instantly chew up a wooden prop. Once you master the water flying skills, the picturesque flying sites are quite rewarding. (There is an excellent article by Chuck Cunningham in an old RCModeler on setting up planes on floats… Let us know if you need a copy, or talk to other club members that have flown on floats before. Ed.)

Just in case giant scale isn't quite large enough, friend and Skymaster Grey Lane introduced me to ultralight flying. We attended a recent ultralight fly-in near Flint and I got the thrill of my life when it was my turn to take a ride with an instructor in a two-place ultralight trainer. Prior to take-off I was a little concerned about the absence of any solid structure around me. This was truly a motorcycle with wings. However, once airborne and with the control stick in my hand I was immersed in the pure joy of flying. Once back on the ground I checked out the many variations of this branch of aviation. In many respects it is much like our hobby. Most pilots built their own planes from kits and personalized them. There was a tremendous emphasis on safety both on the ground and in the air. Engine reliability was the most emphasized. With dual ignition, dual carburetors and engine instrumentation this is where the priority was placed. This is a good lesson for us R/Cers, too. Engine failures probably cause more damage to R/C planes than any other type of failure. How many of us are flying with worn out glow plugs, dirty fuel filters or no fuel filter? We can all be safer pilots if we take the extra time to ensure that we have reliable engine set-ups.

Lastly, just a reminder to join in on the fun we are having on Wednesday student nights. Bring a plane, something for the grill and a dish to share. We usually eat around 6. Enjoy the flying and camaraderie of your club.

That's all for this month. Fly safe and happy landings.

Gary Weaks

From the Editor…
Welcome to the August 2000 issue of Skywriter! Running late this month, but a lot of information on our events to share!

I am running out of time this month, so no pictures this time… I'll try to get some on the web by mid-month.

Several successful events again in July - dodging the rain showers - see more details inside - and Student nights continue including our annual Fish Fry on August 16!. Some great turnouts recently! August is also the home of our Multi Engine / Multi Wing Event and our annual Corn Roast / Top Gun event with a Slow Gun event this year as well. Look for more info inside!

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…
 
 

Events of the Last Month

Fun Fly
Mark Smith
The Day was far from perfect, then it started to rain. A plane was sacrificed to the tree gods but still no break in the weather. (a tough loss Carl) I guess we can't always have calm winds and sunshine. The gusty wind gave everyone problems, although the wind did pop more balloons than the planes did. The events were stopped because of a thunder storm moving in. When all was said and done we completed only 2 of the 4 events planned for the day. We did get to try the carrier landing after the rain stopped, Cardillo and Lange will have a step on the Competition next year!

A total of 19 pilots braved the wind and rain; at the end Greg Cardillo & Ross Hardy took the honors in the expert class, Dave Lange & Ross Jones aced the Intermediate class and Michael Fleming in the student class with Greg Cardillo as his Instructor. The slowpoke class was cancelled because of high winds.

Jerry Blumenthal and his score keeping wizards did an excellent job of keeping track of the events. There were reports of money changing hands; an investigation is underway! Carl Long did a great job keeping everyone fed along with his kitchen helpers Josh Hardy and Andy Smith. The field crew Bob Donohue and Paul Zabawa kept the balloons set-up and things moving along. I want to thank everyone who helped to make this a fun event! I hope everyone had as much fun flying as I did planning this event. Start building those fun fly ships now - next year will be sunny?!!(please)

(Thanks Mark for coordinating the event! That Carrier Landing is going to be a tough one next year… Ed.)

Skymasters Events

Every Wednesday Through August 30^th - Student Night! – Scripps Road Field

Flying starts at 10am weather permitting. Dinner at 6pm regardless of weather! Flying till 8pm. For those new to the club, this is a great chance for students to meet and fly with different instructors. Then make arrangements to get together other days as well. Dinner is a potluck. Families welcome. We ask that you bring something for the grill - at least enough for your family - and a dish to pass. You will not leave hungry! This potluck is supported by those attending. We will have a sign up each week with needed staples (charcoal, plates, ketchup, etc…). If you would like to bring these instead of a dish, you can contribute that way as well.

Come on out; bring the family, and enjoy. Remember, "We always eat, we sometimes fly!"

August 12, 2000 Multi Engine / Multi Wing (Saturday!)– Scripps Road Field, 10:00 AM

More than one engine and/or more than one wing to fly today. Usually a unique combination of airplanes.

August 16, 2000 Fish Fry!!! (Wednesday!)– Scripps Road Field, 10:00 AM

Take a normal student night and add some deep fryers and you get the Skymasters Fish Fry! Come join us for a night of food and fun (and maybe even some flying!) Bob Burns is taking a collection to help buy the fish - we've gotten too big to catch it all ourselves. See Bob at any of our Student Nights or other club events. Over 100 people came out on a rainy night last year! (The grill will be available for those that would like other choices.) Bring a dish to pass, and come enjoy.

August 20, 2000 Corn Roast / Top Gun / Slow Gun – Scripps Road Field, 10:00 AM

Our annual Corn Roast for members, their families, and the neighbors to our field. The club provides all the fixins for this one - no charge for food/drink. Come on out and enjoy the corn, and whatever else our President chooses! Open flying all day. Also the chance to compete for Top Gun honors; the Slow Poke Static competition; and the Slow Gun honors.

What is Top Gun?? Those who choose get 3 minutes of flying to impress the rest of us. Pilots not competing vote on the winner who gets custody of the perpetual trophy, a hat, and bragging rights for the year.

The Slow Poke Static competition is voting on our club kit bash contest. You've seen some of them at our meetings and at the field - now see them all at once, and pick the winner.

Slow Gun is the same as Top Gun - with one twist - you must fly a Slow Poke!

September 9-10, 2000 Midwest Regional Float Fly – Island Lake State Park, 9:30 AM

Our 10^th Annual of this event - hopefully the largest ever. Get those planes on floats and come enjoy the fun. Two full days of flying, a great dinner Saturday night, lots of prizes for pilots, and our Super Raffle for the Top Flight Stinson - built, covered, radio, engine, Ready to Fly!; and second prize of a Great Planes Spacewalker - assembled - just add radio and engine and go flying!

We have had about 100 pilots and 140 planes the last two years. See August 2000 RCM for a write-up on last years event! SKS videos will be back this year to make another video tape!

Carl Long is running the event this year - and help is needed. Contact Carl if you can help out!

See signup sheets in this issue!
 
 

September Float Fly "Administrative Staff"

HELP!!!

We have had many compliments about how smoothly our event is administered. To make this happen took a lot of time by several people. It is much better if people who are not planning on flying can take care of the administrative duties. As you can see from the "job descriptions" listed below, no special skills are required to do any of these jobs. This is a very large event that is fun to be around even if you are not flying. It is an opportunity for some of you new pilots who don't feel like you are up to floats yet, to join in on the fun (in fact some of the non-flying guys wives are planning on working, joining the activities and staying at the hotel). You will note that some positions have "shifts," if you are willing to work more than one shift either on the same job or on a different assignment please let us know.

Carl Long is coordinating the administrative staff, so please call or e-mail him to let him know what you can help with. 810-254-0048 – cclong@tir.com

Please sign up for one of more of the positions listed below:

Flight-line Coordinator: (7 people each day)

Transmitter Impound Monitor: (2 people each day)

Retrieval Boat Operator: (4 people each day - boats are provided)

Retrieval Boat Assistant: (4 people each day)

Kitchen "Servers": (6 people each day)

(Note: Carl will have the appropriate amounts of soda, food, supplies, etc. in place. We need people to "work the counter" and cook. We particularly need extra people during the heavy luncheon traffic periods.

Registration: (4 people each day)

Prize Coordinator: (1 person -no solicitation, the prizes are already here.)

Tear Down Crew: (3 people)

Flying Site Security: (1 or 2 persons)

Nurse or Doctor: Does anyone have a spouse or acquaintance who would be on site each day?

We are in need of a medical professional - a nurse, paramedic, or similar to be onsite for the event. We like to have someone available to help out in the (hopefully rare) case of prop meets fingers or such.

** Another way to volunteer is simply to tell Carl what hours you would be available on which day and he will assign positions as needed. Please volunteer now so this does not have to become a last minute telephoning campaign.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!
 

Inventory Clearance Sale!

Randy MacInness is having an inventory clearance sale of his workshop! Selling some to make room for more…

Contact Randy at 248-394-0414

Kits:

OV-10 Bronco - Hobby Hangar; 52" Wing; .20-.25 engines; wing built - $75
1/2A Fighter - Tony with Paw .06 Diesel included - $110
Topaz - Pegasus; 124" Wing Sail Plane - $85
Slow Poke - Great Planes - $35
Smith Miniplane - Sig; 44" Wing Biplane - $75
Piper J3 Cub - Sig; 71" Wing - $45
Ringmaster Bipe - Sterling; 20 3/4" Wing; .049 - $8
Stinson 125 1/2A - Micro X; 38 1/2" Wing - $20
Skybolt - Sig; 51" Wing Biplane - $45
Hog Bipe = Sig - $75
Stinger .10 - Lanier - $25
Sukhoi 60 - Byron; 60" Wing; Supertigre .90 and Smoke System Included - $350
Valley Flyer Midwing - Dave Gunning - $65

Engines:

Saito .91 New - $160
Thunder Tiger Pro .46 New - $80
K&B .20 Used - $15
ASP .46 Used - $25
Thunder Tiger Pro .61 New - $120
OS .40 Control Line New - $45
PAW .49 Diesel Used - $65 (2 available)
Paw .08 Diesel Used - $15

Planes:

Stinger .40 - Needs Wing - $25
Small 1/2A Bipe - $35
Cap 232 - needs work - Free
Smith Miniplane - $75
Spitfire - $75
Spectra Glider - 2 wings; Futaba Radio/battery - $100
Green (unknown) Glider - nice; Spoilers; Servos - $100

Upcoming Programs/Events

Skymasters events listed elsewhere in this issue!

Sat-Sun, Aug 12-13 LIFT Northern Michigan Soaring Champs, Troy Lawicki 231-929-3816

Sunday, Aug 13 Chesaning R/C Big Bird Fly-In IMAA, Greg Brausa 248-373-8949

Wed-Thur, Aug 16-17 Weak Signals SAM 40 Old Time, Phil Smith 734-429-4707

Sat-Sun, Aug 19-20 DAM Giant Size Air Show/Fun Fly IMAA, Stan Spiewak 313-534-3300

Sat-Sun, Aug 19-20 RCCD 10^th Annual Great Lakes Scale, Bob Chapman 248-524-0092

Sat-Sun, Aug 19-20 PMAC IMAC Pontiac Grand Prix, Tom Wheeler 248-334-7693

Sunday, Aug 20 MISS Summer Soar In Sailplane, Al Sorensen 313-274-8712

Saturday, Aug 26 Bits & Pieces Big Bird Fly-In, Adrian, Larry Dalrymple 734-722-2489

Sat-Sun, Aug 26-27 Hobby Stop "Silver Cup" Pylon Race, Wayne Yeager 517-547-4430

Sunday, Aug 27 Midwest R/C DeBolt Fun Fly, Pete Waters 248-486-4800

Sat-Sun, Sep 9-10 GDSHS Sailpane - Addison Oaks, Steve Martinez

Sat-Sun, Sep 9-10 Milan Flyers Precision Aerobatics, Tom Weedon 734-697-0875

Sat-Sun, Sep 9-10 Midwest R/C Open Air Show, Craig Moehler

Sunday, Sep 10 Michigan Whirlybirds Heli Fun Fly, Paul Giles 810-790-5952

Sat-Sun, Sep 16-17 Flying Pilgrims Fall Phase Out - Big Bird IMAA, Andy Pesonen 734-422-6389

Sat-Sun, Sep 16-17 RCCD 2^nd Annual Motor City Classic IMAC, Sam Monteleone 810-469-4594

Sunday, Sep 17 Chessaning R/C Sport Scale Fly In (any size), Greg Brausa 248-373-8949

Sunday, Sep 24 Jackson R/C 3^rd Outdoor Swap Meet, Ed Prahl 517-784-1448

Sat-Sun, Sep 30-Oct 1 Flying Tigers NMPRA District 5 Pylon Championship, Pete Bergstrom 313-928-8260

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

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

Other Area Events

Reminders…

Please be sure your name is on your transmitter! We have had several left at the field recently with no identification…

Remember field maintenance has priority over flying activity! If the field is being mowed, please wait for the work to finish - then enjoy flying on a newly cut runway!

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 2000 is 94dBa 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 Greg Brausa.

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!