Another month gone and as I write this, finally some RAIN! No April Club Day due to the adverse weather we have been experiencing, but we did manage a club day on May 3.
Membership Renewals Due June 30
It is that time of the year and membership renewals are due on June 30 and need to be paid by then if you wish to fly at LMAC after that date. This year a reduction in fees $180 for Seniors and $0 for Juniors. Associates are $85. Renewal details are here. Please fill in the form so we know if any of your details or privacy requirements are up to date.
Club Day – May 3
This was a day where we needed to have a clean up of the materials left over from the new club extension and the remains of the awning over the barbecue area. Only 10 turned up but that was at least enough to sort and tidy up the surplus materials. Those in attendance were, Danny N, George C, Kevin S, Mark H, Max W, Mick G, Ray & Micah G, Richard C and Russel W (visitor, but prospective new member). Those that turned up made light work of the tidy up, sorting reusable material from waste. This was all stacked in the paddock adjacent to the southern pit fence. More on this in the following section.
Thanks to Danny for putting on the barbecue.
New Members
The club is please to welcome 2 new members; Eddie van den Berg and his son Royce. Royce adds another junior to our ranks. Due to the closeness of the new financial year Eddie and Royce will commence their full membership from July 1. Royce on particular is keen to get his models into the air and I am sure anyone who is able will provide Eddie and Royce as much help as possible to help them achieve their wings.
Clubhouse Projects
The main project has been completed, thanks to a few volunteers and a special thanks to Peter Stokell. Peter builds these sheds for a living, and as a friend of mine, graciously offered his services for free. On April 26, the main extension, minus the roller door, window, gutters and some flashing, were completed in one day. Mind you we all got there around 9am and we didn’t finish until dark! A shout out to Daniel Heazelwood, who was the only member outside of committee who was able to assist, and being the only member under 60 (Daniel is 43), and the rest averaging 71 years, the youth for climbing ladders was a big asset! It was acknowledged by all that were there, that we would still have been trying to understand the construction manual at the close of the day, if not for Peter. Peter knew every part and was able to direct the crew to what each part was and what to get next. Those that were there at the start were, Mick G, Danny N, George C, Phillip E, Daniel H and Peter Stokell. Richard Cooper came later and gave some moral support and OH&S advice. Due to no light, the installation of the roller door could not be done, but would have to wait until Sunday. Some pictures from the day –
The work wasn’t finished, so Sunday morning, Mick & Danny & George headed to the field. Mick and Danny then went about getting the roller door in place. What looked like an onerous task at first, was relatively easily managed by Mick and Danny.
After Mark Holman collected the downpipes and flashing from the suppliers in town, Mick went out on Monday, May 19 to cut the extension adjoining flashing and adjust the sisalation to ensure it was weatherproof. Wednesday May 21, Mick and Danny returned again to install the centre flashing.
Thursday, May 29 Mick & Danny returned to finish off. This included removing the centre purlin from the middle of the old clubhouse, opening up the internal space. Thursday May 29, Mick and Danny were back at it again, this time installing the window in the extension.
Lastly, Mick visited the clubhouse again, only to find a rat had decided that the condiments stored in a cupboard were there to be eaten, not only did he eat the condiments, but he also took to the silicon handle of the frying pan. Mick cleaned it all up and decided to move the cupboard and to his horror as he was moving it, the giant rat ran out of the cupboard. He had no idea that whilst he was cleaning the cupboard, that the rat was still in there! We decided that the best way to protect any foodstuffs and utensils was to find something inaccessible. We decided on a filing cabinet and this is now in place at the clubhouse.
Thursday, June 12 and Mark and Mick were back and this time to vermin proof the bottom edges of the newly constructed extension.Thanks to Mark for organising the materials and as Mick put it, “for doing most of the work”.
Still more work to do, but I am sure all members will recognise the effort of all those involved in this major project.
Finally, the club and its members are extremely grateful to the MAAA who have wholly funded the purchase of the materials and some external labour.
Phillip Ellmers Launches a Glider!
May 1 – Phillip sent a message with the comment “We launched this glider in Bass Strait today. it’s on its way to Victoria Coast line and return. It takes two weeks.” First thoughts were “what glider did Phillip and Liam have that they would launch in the Bass Strait?” There were a couple of images attached, and opening those the answer became clear. If you want to know more about it, here is the link Slocum. These are the photos –
Strip Upgrade
The committee recognises that our flying strip is not up to standard, despite best efforts and investment to date to achieve a better surface. After consultation with the seed supplier last year we again invested in a different seed, “Fine Fescue Truffle Mix”. This seed will be broadcast rather than drilled, which we would hope will give a more uniform coverage. We will have to be careful that the birds to descend on the strip as they have in my paddock, where I sowed some seed.
Our last attempt was severely hampered by the lack of spring/summer rains (we are in a drought). Recognising this, we know that we need to have access to water to guarantee success. The solution a built in pop-up sprinkler system. We have had quotes to provide irrigation materials that range from $6k-$10k! The greatest expense being to pipe the 300m from the 300mm main irrigator supply line to our airstrip. We have a workaround and now we will only have to supply the sprinklers and fittings. Depending on water pressure and flow rate, we will likely have 2 seperate lines on the strip. Possibly like the diagram below. Updates will be provided as the committee reviews what is required.
AGM
The AGM was held on Monday, June 2 and to say the attendance was disappointing is an understatement. I expect the cold nights or other commitments kept members away, but the AGM is the main event to elect members of the committee and other positions, and importantly for members to express their views on the future direction of the club. The President’s report, his report on the TMAA AGM, and the Treasurer’s reports are on the website here
From the World Wide Web
Gernot Bruckmann – I’ve posted some videos of this guy before. Here he is competing at the world F3P championships in Switzerland.
Well that’s it for another month. This edition is missing material on members projects. Some of you out there must have acquired a new model, radio or are currently building a kit. Please send me anything you have as it is difficult to put this together without input from members. 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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