Summer is with us and it is hot and VERY DRY as everyone who has been to the field or viewed the Webcam images can attest. Without sounding alarmist, we need to be mindful of the conditions and ensure that any activity eliminates any risk of fire – the ground is tinder dry and even a small fire would escalate very quickly.
Club Day – February 1
I was unable to attend due to interstate family visiting us, however the roving reporters advise a great day was had by all. 16 members in attendance. Those in attendance were Daniel H, Greg R, Ray & Micah G, Kevin H, Kevin S,Phill & Liam E, Max W, Meilin H, Mick G, Nara T, Peter D, Peter K, Rodney K and Vincent G.
Kerry has decided to retire from canteen duties. Kerry first started with doing the Christmas lunch in 2001 and the canteen not long after that, so after 23 years, with a brief hiatus, she deserves a rest. Whilst I might be biased, I am sure all members would share my thoughts and thank Kerry for her contribution over the years. Thank you Kerry! As members saw, Peter Daniel quickly stepped in to do the club day BBQ (he will do so when he is available), so this will be a task that will likely be shared amongst members. Thanks Peter.
Vincent obtains his Silver Wings!
This would be a memorable day for our newest member, Vincent Garratt. Max W took Vincent for his Silver Wings test, which he successfully completed. Vince was joined by family and friends, making the day even more special for him.
Peter Daniel also stepped up and supplied some photos from the day. Thanks Peter! (Click on images to enlarge)
Clubhouse Projects
The clubhouse extension is now going to be a prefabricated steel extension, manufactured by ShedsnHomes. This was what was proposed back in 2012 and whilst not inexpensive, this will be the quickest way to have the extension built. The cost is $6730, this has been paid for by the MAAA and we still have almost $1000 left of the grant given to us. This will give us the opportunity to revamp the interior to make a more functional kitchen area and seating for members. There will be a 3.05m roller door on the southern wall that can be opened up to provide space for seating inside the clubhouse, whilst allowing those on the outside area to interact. We expect delivery of the kit at the end of March. A 3d image of the extension is here.
The construction of this should be just like any kit, so those members that nominated to assist, will be needed when the time comes to start the build. Those that offered to assist were –
Jacques Wakae
Some of you may know that in his younger years, Jacques was a pilot for the Belgian Air Force. Jacques, like the rest of us, has experienced those challenging moments with our models that end up with a not-so pretty landing. I’ll let Jacques tell his story –
Stampe-Vertongen SV23 crash at Goetsenhoven August 1957
Might as well give you a detailed compte-rendu of that accident before my time is up.
It was my second solo flight. I went solo early, with 8:50 flying time.
I was supposed to do circuits with my instructor monitoring me from the side-line.
Weather was calm. I cannot recall if it was my first or second circuit, but as I
approached on final, I knew I was way to high.
Not wanting to be marked-down for doing an overshoot, in the wisdom of a 17-year-
old, I said to myself, if I nose up a bit more,
the plane may have a larger downward component like a falling leaf.
Well it did, the plane stalled, started to drop a wing, I reacted with the obvious, full
throttle AND full up elevator.
The drop was a good 20-30 feet, the plane hit the ground tail first, then right wingtip
and right wheel, the impact induced a rotating bounce to left wheel and left wingtip.
I was frozen and still at full throttle.
The plane did a ground loop 180 degrees to the right where I managed to straighten
it out going downwind at full throttle.
Perfect take-off.
Came to my senses, looked around, things did not look normal.
On the left side, all cross bracing was slack and oscillating in the wind. The top wing
was kind-off bouncing up and down.
I could see the ground between my feet, as the canvas was missing.
I have no mental picture of what occurred to the right side. (afraid to look, I suppose)
I throttle back and did a 180 to the right, then proceeded to a picture-perfect landing.
The plane did not roll quite level, a flat Tire I presumed.
I parked the plane, got out and with my parachute over my shoulder proceeded as
nonchalantly as
possible to the building, hoping nobody had seen my antics.
Fat chance!
A gaggle of mechanics swarmed the plane almost immediately.
I was later told that there was major damage to longerons and spars and most
worrying the engine only hung-on by one bolt, all others were snapped-off.
The plane was scrapped and I got a red endorsement in my logbook.
How cruel of them.
One plane down, plenty more to go.
Flight promotion was the 136th.
I departed to Belgian Congo 3 months later for advance training on Harvards in
Kamina.
Jacques Wakae
Poll
There are often enquiries of who is going to the field on a particular day. Maybe a mid-week session or a non-club day. The question is what is the best way for members to communicate their intentions with each other. Is it an email (too slow?), a text message (you can get contact details from the member list on the website), or is it via social media (Facebook, WhatsApp)? The easiest way to determine what is best might be to setup a poll for members to vote on. Note: The advantage of WhatsApp is that regardless of what phone you have (Apple or Android), members will be able to see a response from everyone.
Please login to complete this form
Here are the submissions so far.
Request for help –
I received an email via the website, seeking support for the Aged Care Volunteer Visitors program. The attached flyer gives an explanation of what is sought. Please contact genU if you can assist.
Aeroplane-MarketingTech Tip
Control-Linkage-SolutionsFrom the World Wide Web
Let’s face it we manage to complain about the weather the way it interrupts our flying. “It’s too cold, it’s too hot, it’s too windy or it’s too wet!”. Always something interferes with our outdoor flying. Well here’s a way the Brits fix that – they fly indoors, with models that seem to defy gravity in such a relatively small space considering the size of some of the models.!
Fantastic Indoor Scale RC Aeroplanes HIGHLIGHTS COMPILATION | BMFA Indoor Scale RC Nationals 2023
Well that’s it for another month. Feel free to leave a comment below on what interests you or what doesn’t.
Don’t Forget – Put a Spark in your life and fly electric!
George
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