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Bullsheet - June 1998
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President's Message |
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Awards Night Thanks to Dave, John and Kip the Awards Night went like clockwork! The plaques, that were presented, were personalized with a picture of the recipient's aircraft in the background. They are very professional and classy and appreciated by all. Flying Field News As if we hadn't had enough bad news with the rainy weather last month, we found out at the last meeting that things are changing faster than we thought. I am referring to the status of the Litchfield flying field. The field is under contract and the sale is expected to be final on October 15th. Well, they say every cloud has a silver lining, and that seems to be true for the SNHRCC. The new owners will be the Charbonneau family. They are the operators of Litchfield Sand and Gravel. The message we have received is that there are no immediate plans to do anything with the property. It will provide a buffer zone for their operation. So things are still status quo. The club owes a debt of gratitude to John Hayes for keeping the lines of communications open with the present and future owners. Thanks John! Club Support Month Now that we have a reprieve per se, it is time to come out to the field and support our club. My last two messages focused on the events in the month of June. And finally June is here! Glider Contest, June 13th I know that John has put together a message for the Glider Contest; and Shawn McCarthy has his own recent exploits with gliders which he has transcribed to ink for our enjoyment. So please review their messages and come out to check out the event. High Hopes Balloon Festival, June 20th The High Hopes Foundation will hold their 13th Annual Balloon Festival on Father's Day Weekend. The festival starts Friday at 5pm and ends Sunday at 8pm. This is a great charitable event the proceeds, from which, go to help New Hampshire children with chronic and life threatening illnesses. And our club is doing its part by putting on a R/C Demonstration on Saturday, June 20th from 10am to 2pm. Bob Brodeur has organized the flying team. But we still need your help. The show would not be complete without a lot of airplanes for static display. So bring out an airplane for show. I would also like some volunteers to help answer questions from the crowd. So come out and support your club. The directions are quite simple. From the Bedford/Manchester area just follow Route 101 West to Route 13. At the bottom of the ramp take a left and look for the signs to the Balloon Festival. Take the first left on to Emerson Rd. Hope to see you there. If you are interested in taking photos or just want to see the balloons lift off come out at 6AM. That's right; 6 in the morning. Otherwise you will have to catch the flight at 6pm (weather permitting). If you have extra time that day, or anytime during the weekend, I can help you get involved as a volunteer with the Festival. It is such a good feeling to give a little time to help others so much in need. The tasks are very simple. Sell programs, buttons, T shirts, and hats. All we ask is for 1 or 2 hours. Call me if you want to volunteer now, or see me or one of the staff at the Festival. I will be there most of the weekend. Old Time Pattern Meet, June 28th The last event of the month is the annual Old Timer Pattern Meet on Sunday June 28th. The CD for this event is Drew Davenport. So if you have a pre-1969 designed aircraft contact Drew for the rules and requirements. -- Bob Patukonis -- Bob Patukonis |
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Modeler of The Year 1997 |
| The recipient of the 1997 Modeler of the Year Award is a member who, quite frankly, draws a lot of respect. He is a member who is not afraid to raise an issue. He will, however, also offer suggestions to solve that issue. And when the chips are down he is there to volunteer his support. Congratulations, Darrell Wagner |
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May 1998 Meeting Highlights |
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May 12, 1998 at Griffin Memorial School, Litchfield, NH Secretaries report was read by John Hayes, a motion was made to accept and passed. Treasurers report was read by Dave Muse, a motion was made to accept and passed. Old Business: A question was raised about the videos and whether we could buy some additional tapes to increase the library. A suggestion was made to choose which ones were wanted and to bring forth the proposal at the next meeting. The club voted an expenditure of $100.00 for prizes for the Glider contest to be held on June 13th. Bob Patukonis reported that the High Hopes event scheduled for June 20th is a go. Insurance for the event will be acquired. Also mentioned was the fact the High Hopes field will be mowed and rolled prior to the event. Drew Davenport is working on the Old Time Pattern contest scheduled for late June. The field status was mentioned, The current owner has accepted an offer for the purchase of the land. This purchase will take place on the 15th of October. The new owner currently expects to leave the field as-is, and we are expecting to continue with an arrangement similar to the one we currently have. Darrell asked about putting down stone dust for the runway, as this would be like a paved strip. A motion was made to have Darrell look into what it would take to do this. The motion was withdrawn and a decision to wait till a later date was suggested. The meeting was adjourned. Awards were presented for the Show & Tell held in April, Best Scale
Best Sport
Best Finish
Best In Process
Best Club Project
Modeler of the Year Darrell Wagner Hobby Highlights: Dick Worsley was kind enough to come and talk to the club about control line modeling. Although this isn't in our radio controlled world, it was very interesting to hear some of the techniques they use to get the types of results which enable them to perform the various stunt maneuvers in their competitions. -- John Hayes |
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Gliders - Shawn McCarthy |
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So we are going to have a Glider contest at the SNHRCC field. Aren't Gliders supposed to be real easy to fly, slow, and just downright boring? What's the challenge? That's what I always heard anyway. Well NOT SO! John Hayes, who likes real fast planes (ever see his clipped wing, Train-Air with a piped .32? It's called the Hot Air) and is a builder of real BIG planes of late, has convinced me to give gliders a try. So when I had a chance to buy a glider at a Flea Market for cheap $$ , I went for it. John and I have been out on Sunday mornings lately, before powered planes can fly. You know what, gliders are a blast! Gee, there is something to be said for silent flight after all. Gliders may be easy to fly because they are slower than powered planes (at least my floater is) but they are a challenge to fly WELL. It is a whole different experience trying to find a thermal, trying to conserve altitude by flying with smooth, small inputs. I am learning to look at subtle hints the plane is giving me; a raised wing tip here or a little bobble there as the plane hits a bit of lift. Last week I was pretty impressed with myself I had 4 or 5 minutes circling in a small thermal at about tower height THEN I learned about downdrafts. Poof! The plane was out of lift and I was down. I am also learning about C.G. and tow hook placement. It makes for an interesting flight when the plane slips off the high start at about 80 feet and flips over on it's back (I saved it that time). I am also pretty sure I have flown in higher wind conditions with my glider than I have EVER flown with a powered plane. Turns out I enjoy gliders quite a bit. So what's the point of this rambling? The point of all of this is to get you out to try something new and different. I doubt gliders will ever be my primary interest; I like powered planes most of all. But, I now have a plane I can fly for a change of pace. To top it off, I think it will improve my flying because I have to concentrate on what the plane is really doing, instead of blasting around. Think of gliders as another type of R/C plane, just like pattern is different from scale is different from electric. So here's the challenge: John will be running a glider contest the second week of June. Here's your chance to try a low key, no pressure event that is out of the usual rut. I know I will be out there battling for the prizes. I hope you club members who have a glider (or can borrow one!) will come out and give it a try. Then maybe you'll join us for an early Sunday morning flight |
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Darwin Awards 1997 |
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One Amateur's Misfortune This man was in an accident (work accident, not car accident), so he filled out an insurance claim. The insurance company contacted him and asked for more information. This was his response: "I am writing in response to your request for additional information". For block number 3 of the accident reporting form. I put "poor planning" as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain more fully and I trust the following detail will be sufficient. I am an amateur radio operator and on the day of the accident, I was working alone on the top section of my new 80 foot tower. When I had completed my work, I discovered that I had, over the course of several trips up the tower, brought up about 300 pounds of tools and spare hardware. Rather than carry the now un-needed tools and material down by hand, I decided to lower the items down in a small barrel by using a pulley, which was fortunately attached to the gin pole at the top of the tower. "Securing the rope at ground level, I went to the top of the tower and loaded the tools and material into the barrel. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the 300 pounds of tools. You will note in block number 11 of the accident reporting form that I weigh only 155 pounds. Due to my surprise of being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rather rapid rate of speed up the side of the tower. In the vicinity of the 40 foot level, I met the barrel coming down. This explains my fractured skull and broken collarbone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. "Fortunately, by this time, I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold onto the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of tools hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the tools, the barrel now weighed approximately 20 pounds. I refer you again to my weight in block number 11. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the tower. In the vicinity of the 40 foot level, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, and the lacerations of my legs and lower body. The encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of tools and, fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the tools, in pain, unable to stand and watching the empty barrel 80 feet above me, I again lost my presence of mind. I let go of the rope. -- Kip Bean |
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Fly Like an Eagle - John Hayes |
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As I write this I can't help but think back about 20 years ago when there was a small group of us guys from NH who visited the various glider contests throughout the New England area and sometimes NY and PA. We had a name for ourselves, and I still have the banner we displayed on our awning, we proudly called ourselves the Granite Glider Guiders. The name sort of implies what one would envision to be a guided falling rock! Well, nothing could be farther from the truth. These gliders or sailplanes are quite the opposite, they are very sensitive flying machines allowing the person flying to virtually feel the air rather than simply slice through it. Once you have experienced the thrill of riding a thermal to an altitude of 2000' you will be left with a sense of accomplishment that can only be matched by repeating it. OK..OK.. I got sidetracked Really though, the 13th of June is quickly approaching and we will be having the club only glider contest for our members who wish to come out and have some really low stress fun. Yeah, this will be a contest with prizes, simple rules and no pressure. We won't have any food or drink at this contest so do plan on bringing out plenty to drink and any food you might want for lunch, otherwise the pizza place at the end of the road will, I'm sure, be happy to see you. Pilots meeting will be at 9:00am sharp with flying commencing immediately after. There will be two High-Starts for launching and we will have as many rounds of flying possible up until 2:00 when the field will reopen for general flying. For more details contact me John Hayes. I know a number of you have gliders, so blow off the dust and lets have some fun. Oh Yeah..(this sounds like lawyer talk at the end of a commercial) there will be a $5.00 entry fee per entry, this will go back into the treasury to offset the $100.00 allotted for prizes. -- John Hayes |