The Fly Paper

Tommy mentioned the drainpipe that was discussed last month. Charles Perkins looked at it and it was decided to scrape and grade the area instead of replacing the pipe. The spring clean up date was discussed again, but not decided on yet.

Next we covered the two motions from the last meeting which included the renewal date and late fee. The first motion to set a renewal late date of December 31st is already in effect per the by-laws. The second motion to include a late fee of $10 was then discussed. A motion was received and seconded to amend the motion to include a re-initiation fee of $35 after March 31^st. The members then voted unanimously to adopt the motion effective immediately. The discussion continued about how ALL club members are safety officers when out at the field.

New Business: None.

Broken Prop: None. (Come on guys-we have to come up with a good one on somebody next month)

This month we welcomed 6 new members to the club: Taylor Brown, George Hollister, Julian Aughton, Allen Jackson and his son Eric, Andy Case, and Aaron McDowell and his dad Steve.

Dave Zeigler brought some of his balsa kits and planes to show. He even flew one around the room. David Miles brought two of his handmade airplane hangers. He sold them to the first two people who would give $8 each. They went quick! Randy Hawkins showed off his B2 stealth park flyer. It had twin electric motors, two .19 oz. servos, and an all up weight of 5 oz. He said that it’s definitely not a slow flyer and needs a little room to turn. I brought in my PICA 1/12 scale P51 powered by a speed 400 electric motor. It has an 8 cell, 500 mah battery pack for an all up weight of 21 oz. (It flew quite well and the motor handled the current with no problems. Looks like a keeper!)

April will have two events. The first is our annual spring Electric Fun Fly on Sat. April 17th. Anything and everything electric powered with the Intent to learn more about electrics. The second is our new spring Night Fly following the meeting on April 29^th. This is one not to be missed. Bring something with lights on it to fly. ****Just a reminder. **** The April meeting will be held at the field. (Weather permitting)

Jim has had a goal of expanding this wonderful show into all areas of model aviation and has done an incredible job of covering just about all bases. In doing so, he recognizes the importance of having our newest generations introduced to the valuable skills and interests that we developed when growing up building models. This has been one of my personal passions lately, to inspire kids into wanting to build models and to allow them to experience the self-pride gained through being creative. When Jim asked me if I would be interested in helping out at the show, there was no hesitation in giving him my answer, "Sure would!"

It does seem evident that this hobby is developing heavily toward the beautiful and GIANT R/C model aircraft. I love to see all of the options that we have available to us! It is not uncommon for one of us adults to live our entire life in awe of these amazing flying machines (both full scale and models). Very often we will not follow through with the fantasy of actually building and/or flying them until later in life (usually now having more time and money). However, most of us got a taste of what it was like to build something, and to feel the satisfaction gained by it from our early years. After discovering that feeling, you have a tendency to crave getting back to it whenever you get a chance. This same productive spirit surfaces in all kinds of other areas through out our lives.

Society seems to have taken a number of changes in direction. Kids today have a very different perspective than the kids of previous generations. We didn’t have all of the choices of entertainment that most kids now have (cable TV, video games, unlimited communication possibilities, and more cool store bought toys than I could have ever have dreamed about when I was growing up). So many choices for spending time are of a passive nature, and with so many cool toys, none of them seem to have as much value as they should. If something breaks, throw it away and we’ll get a new one some day. Besides, there are at least 14 other choices of stuff to play with right now.

This is a change from the way it used to be in the "good ol’ days". Modeling used to begin in the childhood years as a creative and stimulating pastime, rewarding the use of your hands and mind in the process and satisfaction of building something. Materials were valued and not wasted. It satisfied one of the most basic of the human needs, that of being able to create. To build out of raw materials something that really works and to gain the self-pride of being able to think, "I did that". It struck a melodious chord in our soul to feel productive and valuable.

Modeling is an exceptional way to build a kid’s self-confidence and the desire to be productive, which seems to be lacking in our newest generations. It also teaches the importance and value of being able to repair something rather than to just throw it away "cause it’s broke". And besides that, it's just plain old fun and an easy way to build a common bond across a generation or two. A little quote from my friend and modeling legend George Perryman, "Every minute spent modeling adds 2 minutes to the rest of your life". I agree with George wholeheartedly, and believe that every minute spent helping to inspire a kid in a positive direction not only helps them in their life but comes back around to help us all.

Enough philosophical digression, back to the Perry Show. We sure saw a lot of smiles coming through our little classroom located in the conference center between the 2 large exhibition areas. It was filled with lots of colorful and economical examples of what is available at the other end of the flying model spectrum (R/C dominating the majority of the show). The idea was to emphasize what can be done with the minimum of money for the maximum of fun. Even though we called it the kid’s area, there was definitely no age limit! An island of tables was set up in the middle of the room to build models. Any kid that came in could build his or her own great flying balsa airplane. The models chosen were my Freedom Flight beginner series of hand launched gliders, including either the single winged "Tiger" or the 2 winged "Tiger Bipe". These planes are very simple and confidence inspiring, both in building and in flying characteristics. Skills to be introduced were the use of super glue to build balsa models, the use of a sanding block (or an emery board that is provided with my most basic models) and the importance of aligning the various parts when building an airplane. The importance and the concept of having a dihedral angle on the wing was discussed and then the affect of adjusting the center of gravity was demonstrated by supplying sticky clay to experiment with the airplane’s balance. Then a box full of colorful magic markers was provided to decorate and personalize their own airplane. A number of the older kids opted to step up to the graceful flying, cambered 12" wingspan "Feather" hand launched glider. Between a 160 and 180 little gliders were built that day, and I think that just about every one of them flew really well. There sure were a lot of proud airplane builders leaving that room to go out and find another place to fly!