Vol. 04 No. 11 — November 2004 |
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President's Message |
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Just when you thought that elections were all over, here we go again. This, however, is one of the important elections of the year, at least for Southern NH Radio Control members! It’s important for you to show up and cast your vote and show your support this Tuesday for club officers. Heading the ballot, Dave Redman for president, incumbent, Roland Harmon for VP, incumbent, John Hayes for secretary and newcomer Dave Beech for treasurer. We have a fine list of candidates that I do want you to know that I heartily endorse! A non-elective but most important part of our leadership group is that of web master, Kip Bean. He’s done a fine job and continues to volunteer to keep the club posted on what’s happening. Thanks, Kip. I do want to thank the club members for their support during my term in office. I’ve had a good time and hope that you too have enjoyed this past year. One of the advantages of not running for president again is that at least I don’t have to move out of the White House, (or in my case, the red house) at the end of my term. Whoever coined the phrase, lame duck president must surely have had me in mind because it certainly isn’t just a figure of speech for me, but I will be there Tuesday to cast my vote in this hotly contended race. Once again, I want to thank the members for their cards, calls and visits. Although I wasn’t always on top of my game, I did know you were there and I do appreciate it. Thanks, guys. A reminder of the days ahead when you’re not flying, you can start putting together items for our annual auction, which will be held in February 2005. Saw a tee shirt the other day, “I’m not a pack rat, I’m a collector.” Don’t be either, ferret out those items that you haven’t used, don’t intend to use and are taking up valuable space in your work areas. Someone will enjoy the benefits of your mistakes. See you Tuesday. -- Darrell Wagner |
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October 12th 2004 Meeting Minutes |
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SNHRCC MEETING October 12th, 2004 Location: Litchfield Middle School, Litchfield, NH Officers present: Darrell Wagner, Kip Bean and John Hayes. The Secretary and Treasurer's reports were read and accepted. Old Business: David Beach reported that the Flying Eagles Greenfield Float Fly was a wash out, they are hoping for better luck next year. Chuck Keller reported that the NEAT Fair was also a wash out in up state New York. Dams broke and there was severe flooding. Norm Ellis described the IMAC event in Concord and described some of the superior flying talents that attended. Concord's float fly was a success, many flyers attended. Norm Ellis reported that he was still trying to find a tree climber to recover his far out of reach plane. New Business: Nominations for officers for 2005 were opened and the following nominations were accepted.
It should be noted that Roland was not present to accept, however the nominations are open until they are closed just prior to voting at the Nov meeting. David Beach made a motion to have the officers look at creating a safety officer position. After some discussion, a look at the club constitution showed this position is appointed rather than voted. Dave withdrew his motion and John Marien accepted the appointment. Kip mentioned the Frozen Turkey Fun Fly which would be held on the weekend following the Nov Meeting on November 14th. -- John Hayes |
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| Gremlin Combat Event Coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Southern New Hampshire R/C Club hosted a Gremlin Style R/C Combat Competition at Wagner Field in Hudson, N.H. on October 31st, 2004. The event was CD’d by David Beach.
The weather was windy, but surprisingly warm for the start of the Halloween Gremlin Combat meet. As promised, the prior day and night’s rain finally stopped; and the windy conditions dried the field in time for competition. We had ten pilots show up, with everyone looking to compete in both stock and open class. But fair is fair, and the consensus of the group was that a ball bearing .25 is not ‘stock’. That, coupled with Jim’s loss of both planes during test flights left six entries in stock class, and nine in open. It was a competitive field, to be sure. The action started with a cut by Bob Sr. in the first heat. With several close calls in the second heat, and cut by Bob Perreault in the third heat, it was obvious that the combination of clear skies and dark streamers would keep the scoring going through the afternoon. All in all, there were 3 cuts in Stock and another cut in Open when the first round of each class was completed. It seemed that cuts got harder as the skies got cloudy and the wind picked up to the forecast 20 – 25mph gusts. Stock class got three more cuts by the time it was done, and two more were picked up in Open Class. It’s not every competition that you can get a cut, but be ‘out of the money’; but that was the case this day (sorry Rob). Once the rounds were completed, there was a three way tie for 2nd place in Open Class. Peter, Bob Sr., and Al got into a three way ‘fur ball’ for the fly off. With only seconds left on the clock, Bob Sr. recorded a cut to secure second place. Al got closest to the landing spot for third place, and that completed the day’s competition. Final standings:
-- CD David Beach |
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| Editor's Note: If there is a member out there who took photos of the Gremlin Combat Event, please submit them to the webmaster. -- Kip Bean | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SNHRCC Club Tractor - Points to Ponder... | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The club purchased the current tractor 3 years ago. At that time the club paid $681 for this mower. This was an exceptional price.
As most of you are aware, volunteers keep the club field mowed and ready for use, and for that I say, thank you, thank you, thank you very much! In spite of the great purchase price this tractor has developed a history of issues, that at times, prevent the field from being mowed. Early on the mower deck fell apart and had to be serviced. Last year the fuel system became a problem where the fuel freely flowed into the carburetor and on down into the crankcase causing a dilution of the oil, not to mention a geyser of gas from the carburetor. This was fixed, and the tractor ran fine until the belt broke and was replaced. Now, it seems we have come full circle to the problem with the carburetor acting up again. Finally, of late, the steering is getting quite loose making a straight pass down the field quite a challenge. Despite this, it has been a good tractor, considering the price paid for it, and the fact that previously we were paying a thousand dollars per year to have the field mowed, we have saved money. I do believe it is time to look at a better alternative which should last many years and is better built for the task, after all this is a large field to keep mowed. In the beginning it was one field, now it is two. What I'm suggesting is that we look at the John Deere tractors, Darrell and I did. There is just no comparison in the quality of the equipment. Everything from a cast front axel with grease fittings to the beefy undercarriage and drive system, these are built to last. The model seen was a 22hp 48" cutting deck for $2200.00 with a $200 Home Depot gift card (rebate) as part of the offer. We have volunteers that come out and spend their time mowing, I think the least we can do is to provide a reliable piece of equipment that is really made to handle the task, and is ready and able to do the job. Again, the existing tractor was good, but never designed for the level of use we demand from it. I would like to have some discussion about this at this November meeting and have a vote. This is the time of the year to get the best bargains. Thanks, -- John Deere... errr sorry, Hayes |
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| Frozen Turkey Fun-Fly - November 14th, 2004 - 10am | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| If the November weather cooperates with us, this will be the "third" Frozen Turkey Fun-Fly on November 14th, 2004, with a starting time of 10am.
Because of the popularity of the "Blackjack" format the CD has decided to stick with what works and seems to be very popular with all the participants. As usual, the top three cumulative scores will be awarded frozen Butterball turkeys. In the event that the weather goes away completely we will hold a random raffle to give away the obviously perishable awards, so even if the weather turns foul, be sure to come on out to the field for what has always been a very enjoyable time of fun, flying, friendship and the chance you could take home the core of yourThanksgiving dinner. -- Kip Bean CD |
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