RCCR Newsletter for November-December 2008
Craig Donaldson

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With the flying season winding down and access to our normal fields getting difficult, it’s a perfect time to talk about park flying and the so-called “park flyer problem.”

The small electric airplanes we call park flyers are perfect for this time of year when the flying fields are no longer easily accessible, but the weather is still flyable. One can take care of their flying “jones” without trekking long distances through the mud on foot, or spending significant amounts of time out in the chilly fall weather. “Problem” is, we’re not the only ones that know about these great little machines. Because they can be flown easily and discretely in most any open space, the activity of park flying has become popular with people who do not belong to AMA or a flying club.

How can that be? How can someone fly R/C airplanes and not be a member of AMA or a club? It’s a proverbial, “Why pay for the cow when the milk is free?” situation. When virtually any open area can be your runway, there’s no need to join the local club for access to their field. If there’s no need to join the club, there’s no need to join the AMA either, because AMA is a simply a “requirement for club membership.”

Notice that I have always quoted the word “problem” up to this point. That’s because the biggest “problem” with park flyers is PERCEIVED. Sure, there’s the risk that independent park flyers operating too close to a club field could cause a shootdown for one of the groups, but really, how often does that happen? Has it ever happened? Yes, it’s a real possibility and we should all be concerned, but the reality is that we only have control over what we do at our own flying field.

The real problem comes when we decide that we’re the “Model Airplane Police.” We aren’t, and we can’t be. Any
authority we have ends outside either the Northampton or Black Creek park flying areas. We have no business
confronting people flying at other parks, or flying in other areas at Northampton or Black Creek.

The real problem is in how we interface with people flying casually outside Northampton or Black Creek. We are
salesmen, not shock troopers. We want to convince people to join AMA, to join our club. Getting in someone’s face, or a shouting match is not the way to convince them what a bunch of nice guys we are, and how worthwhile it is to belong to our group. Leave enforcement of park rules to the parks department.

I’ve personally heard an account of park flyers being aggressively confronted by someone claiming to be from the
RCCR, claiming that the RCCR had authority to enforce model airplane rules at any Monroe County park. Just to be crystal clear here, once again, we do not have authority outside either the Northampton or Black Creek flying areas. Such behavior is completely uncalled for and is unacceptable. It does more harm than good. If you feel that an activity going on at a park is dangerous and/or against park rules, call the parks department.

Look at people flying in parks as opportunities, not enemies. Try making friends instead of telling them what they’re doing wrong, or how they “have to” belong to the AMA. Ask if you can lend a hand when you see someone having trouble with their airplane. Don’t forget to mention trainer night at Northampton.

Don’t forget our annual membership meeting on December 10, 2008 at Our Mother of Sorrows Church.

Work Party at Hasman
Joe Somers has asked that the following information be sent:
==================================================================
RCCR members, - We have cleared 400 feet of hedgerow at Hasman which blocks our view of full size planes landing from the North. We now need to get rid of the brush by running it through a chipper and blowing the chips back into the hedgerow. This Wednesday, the 19th, at 10 AM we need a work party to move the brush to a chipper supplied by Jim Bloechl and Davey Tree Service. Jim will do all the work loading the chipper (safety first) we only need to bring the brush to him. The more people the easier it will be and the quicker it will be done.
Bring some work gloves and a pair of lopping shears to trim up the small stuff that may have been missed.
Dick Foster will be there with his chain saw to do any of the big cutting. (as long as you stay behind him you're safe) Lunch at Abe's after we're finished (dutch treat) See you there, Your Friendly Field Maintenance Crews.

Hi Gang,
The link below will take you to a video that Greg Covey took of my Sprint jet flying at the CHIEFS field, a few Sundays ago.
He’s getting real good at keeping up with the models with the video camera…………
The model is now retired for the season…………It has 52 flights on it………….and has consumed 93.7 liters of Jet-A fuel (24.8 Gal.)……….. Since the 1st flight on Labor Day.
Can’t believe the good flying weather we had in the 1st two weeks of November.
It’s time to hibernate and get building………..
http://www.gregcovey.com/reviews/BoomerangSprint.wmv 
Paul Weigand

 
Click here to learn how to enter the RealFlight Video Contest for your chance to win a whopping $1000 shopping spree at your favorite Great Planes dealer!

Video submission deadline January 31, 2009.
 

Leading a Club is More Than Doing the Job Yourself

by Dave Mathewson, AMA President

The year 2008 is winding down and this is the time when many of our clubs elect new, or reelect current, officers for the coming year. I’m going to begin this column by shamelessly plagiarizing an article I recently read about being an association officer: “Filling an officer role does not mean that you are required to do the job alone. Being an officer simply means that you are responsible for ensuring that the job gets done. As an officer, you are allowed to ask other members of the club to help you fulfill your duties.”

How true is that? I’ve been a member of a number of different organizations, and far too often I’ve seen cases of burnout because club officers feel a need to carry the load of running a club or association entirely on their own shoulders.

Sure, there’s a responsibility that goes along with being a club officer, but that responsibility doesn’t include doing all of the work yourself. In fact, over time, many clubs eventually fail because the club officers allow themselves to be put in a position where they had to do all of the work and simply accepted this as the way things were done. In other words, it was easier to do the job yourself than to solicit the help of others. At least that sounded good at the time.

As club members we should accept the fact that we all need to play some part—even if only a small part—to ensure the well-being of our club. That’s what being part of a club is supposed to be all about. At the same, time we recognize that those who have volunteered their time to be club leaders have accepted a greater level of responsibility; however, that responsibility should lean more toward creating an atmosphere of teamwork and cooperation within your club.

As a club officer you also have an opportunity to influence the direction of, and culture within, your club. Your members depend on you, as well as the other elected officers, to help set and meet goals and objectives for your club during your term. How you do that can mean the difference between success and failure, not only for you, but for your club.

In some cases, if things go extremely wrong, it can result in an officer eventually leaving not only the club, but modeling all together, because the pressures of holding a club office have taken the fun out of what was supposed to be an enjoyable activity.

Please keep all of this in mind as we move into the new year. Being a club officer doesn’t mean tackling every project or activity yourself. It doesn’t have to feel like a job. Most often, it can be an enjoyable experience if approached the right way. Enlist your members to do their part in support of your club. Most want to be a part. They just need to be asked.

Since this is the last issue of the AMA Insider for 2008 I want to close this month by wishing everyone a happy holiday season and the best of luck in the coming year.

The newest issue of the AMA Insider has been posted on the AMA Web site http://www.modelaircraft.org/insider/index.html

Papa Jeff
 081106 Greg's Float Fly slideshow

 

 a couple of weeks ago we had a video of a one-wing landing by Jim, the RealFlight author, with his RC plane: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOBB_-gZFNo

Then the full size copycat followed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRCbkBfdBrQ

Here's the AVweb story :
http://www.avweb.com/blogs/insider/AVwebInsiderBlog_ViralVideo_KillaThrill_LostWingLanding_199096-1.html

"No N number...can't be a legit plane. Great marketing! Look at all of us talking about "Killa Thrilla" clothes...and the company logo is where the darned N number is supposed to be! hello?"

A fighter pilot is noted for intelligence, independence, integrity, courage, and patriotism. "Fighter Pilot" is a state of mind, not a job title. Therefore, not all people who fly fighters are fighter pilots, nor do all fighter pilots fly fighters, some of them drive trucks.

Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association

" ... Perhaps the most moving display was a tribute to Dan Landis and all those involved with our military programs, flown by Lynn Bowerman. Dan is a civilian RC enthusiast who is now using his  skills to fly UAVs in Afghanistan in support of our troops.  Narrated by "Papa Jeff" Ring while clad in full camos, the sight of a Predator RQ-1 UAV orbiting the field gave reason for many present to consider our freedoms and brought lumps to a lot of throats."    FLY RC Magazine January 2009 page 26.

click here for This Year's End Of Season Picnic Video

Protect flight electrical components for float flying with ACF-50, a state-of-the-art compound for controlling corrosion on aircraft electrical and avionics systems and airframes. Recommended by Thayer Syme, FlyRC Magazine, November 2008 page 44.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/acf50.php

 

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