Why is this man smiling? Paul DiFeo holds what s left of his P-39. The Incredible crash sequence (p.7) was caught in high-res photos by Juhan Sonin.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Why is this man smiling? Paul DiFeo holds what s left of his P-39. The Incredible crash sequence (p.7) was caught in high-res photos by Juhan Sonin."

Ami Smith
5 years ago
Views:

1 B u r l i n g t o n RC Flyers AMA Charter 1752 Volume 23 No.2 APRIL 2006 Why is this man smiling? Paul DiFeo holds what s left of his P-39. The Incredible crash sequence (p.7) was caught in high-res photos by Juhan Sonin. Next Club Meeting Tuesday April 11, 2006 VFW Hall, Lexington

T h e B u r l i n g t o n R a d i o C o n t r o l F l y e r s N e w s l e t t e r www.burlington-rc.com AMA Charter 1752 Volume 23 No.

The treasures report was read and accepted then moved to audit. Al mentioned the loss of fellow club member Gil Levey and how he would be missed.

2 T h e B u r l i n g t o n R a d i o C o n t r o l F l y e r s N e w s l e t t e r AMA Charter 1752 Volume 23 No.2 April 2006 Secretary s Report for February 14, 2006 membership meeting Meeting was opened by President Al Prudhomme at 7:30 pm, the minutes were read and accepted. The treasures report was read and accepted then moved to audit. Al mentioned the loss of fellow club member Gil Levey and how he would be missed. He then asked for a moment of silence as each of us remember the loss of a dear friend and charter club member. Following this, Al introduced Katherine Moore of WREN (Woburn Residents Enviromental Network) who is working to save the Cummings trust from sale and development. She pointed out that land is being taken all over, and if something isn t saved then all will go to development. She noted that the Woburn aldermen and the Burlington board of selectmen have agreed this land should stay as is, because development would put a great strain on Woburn s public services. She noted that in particular, Cambridge street could not handle more traffic. Katherine went into detail as to the value of the open space (Cummings property), a portion of which our flying site is located on. Many details of her presentation interested all members present. Meeting was then suspended while all members enjoyed coffee and donuts. After break, Al P. asked for a committee of volunteers to work on a new sign for the field to show who we are and that we use the field in the very best way. President Al also asked for a new wind sock every six months or so, noting it would dress up the pit area. A volunteer stepped forward and it was determined a new sock will be put up soon. New Members There were no new members present at this month s meeting. Field Report Jack Stanley reported the upper runway has some large holes. He asked for vounteers to please come and help on the field day April 23, and to bring equipment (shovels, wheelbarrows, etc). Show and Tell Miguel Machado showed a very impressive model of the Japanese battleship Yamato that he built and how he adapted it for radio control. Miquel demonstrated how the gun turrets and propellers moved. He ended by telling all how much he looks forward to the first sail. Rob Catalano showed a small foamy built to interest his 6 year old son. He showed how he got the airfoil into the flat wing. Mitch Buckley showed the begining building stages of a giant scale Carden Yak. This was a large kit and Mitch will plan on flying the forty two pound model when it s completed. Ryan Metivier showed the framed up skeleton of his Skeeter 30 profile kit with a wingspan of 30. Raffle Winners Jack Stanley won the Katana 40 Arf. Ryan Metevier won a glow starter. Rob Catalano won some glue, and Marco DelVecchio won some fuel. Meeting was adjorned at 9;30 Pm Next Club Meeting Tuesday, April 11, :30 pm at the Lexington VFW Hall, 2 Hayes Lane (off Woburn Street) Lexington, MA Coffee and donuts will be served! Show and tell bring a plane for a free raffle ticket. Raffle Prizes: - KMP Extra 330 ARF! - Great planes tools - Fuel and other goodies Club Activities Field Day April 23, 2006 starting at 9:30 AM The field is in tough shape so we need all the help we can get to do some repairs. Please join us for our annual spring field day. We will need able bodies along with shovels, wheelbarrows and rakes to help with the patching. NO FLYING will take place until after the work is done (noon-ish).

3 April The Presidents Letter Now it s spring... a strange winter with little or no snow has passed. I visited the field on weekends this winter and even got my plane up, (with help) in late January with wheels on...the turnout on those nice January and February, weekends was large with much activity and looking towards April, it shows no letup... I don t have anything else to add, no other observations except the fun of our hobby. At the field everyone is enjoying the time either flying or talking and combination of both. Real enjoyment at a great field with great members is the bottom line. Donated trainer At the Board of Directors meeting on March 27 th we discussed cutting the tall grass and the equipment needed for the job, a field day to clean, clear and repair the field, and upcoming fun flys. These issues will be discussed on our April 11 th membership meeting. Please note April 23rd as the potential date for our Spring clean up. I look forward to our April 11 th meeting and hope to see you there.. We look forward to a great flying season, and with your involvement on and off the field. Well, bottom line is I know it will be. Sincerely, Alfred Prudhomme, Jr. President, Burlington RC Flyers Thanks to the kindness of a friend, the club now has a Hobbico trainer to help instruct new pilots that might not be able to afford their own equipment. We all know how expensive it can be to get started in this hobby so this is a great asset to the club. Many thanks for this donation. And thanks to Jack for getting it ready for battle. Thanks to all who helped move the large boulders to block the opening from Blanchard Road on Sunday, April 2. This was a big task but was essential to keep cars from driving on our field. Many THANKS! About the cover (online version) Juhan Sonin captured a great sequence of photos of the demise of Paul DiFeo s P-39. This is why friends don t let friends fly warbirds. See page 7 for the rest of the shots. Dan Harmen thinks he saw a Zero at the P-39 s six. Treasurer s Report Bank Balance 1/31/06 $ 1, Income Dues $ 1, Fuel $ Auction $ Raffle $ TOTAL Income $ 1, Disbursements Coffee & donuts $ Newsletter $ Postage (newsletter) $ Raffle prizes $ Web hosting fee $ AMA Club Charter $ Stationary $ TOTAL Disbursements $ Bank Balance 3/25/06 $ 2, Flight Instruction Any new member desiring to fly MUST demonstrate the ability to fly, or else take flight instruction until such proficiency is demonstrated. Beginner Flight Instructors: Victor Samsanov (781) Sandy Holmes (781) Bob Johnson (781) Juhan Sonin (617) Dave Palermo (781) Mel Suarez (781) Advanced Flight Instructors: Victor Samsanov (781) Dave Palermo (781) Juhan Sonin (617) Helicopter Instructors: Alex Lob (617) Richard Szostak (781) President: Al Prudhomme, Jr. sedate9@aol.com Vice-President: Jack Stanley stanley5@rcn.com Treasurer: John Hatfield (781) jhnhtfld2@cs.com Secretary: Claudio Tracanna cat342@rcn.com Membership Secretary: John Hatfield (781) jhnhtfld2@cs.com Newsletter Editor: Rob Catalano (617) rob@catalanodesign.com Board of Directors: Dave Palermo, Juhan Sonin, Rob Catalano This newsletter is published by the Burlington RC Flyers, a non-profit club organized for the promotion of radio controlled model aircraft building and flying. The club operates a flying field in Burlington, MA and offers free instruction in safe model flying to any member. Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) membership is required. Contact any club officer for more information Burlington RC Flyers

4 4 Burlington RC Flyers Newsletter A tribute to Dick Mayer Fellow club member Dick Mayer passed away this past November. would say Dick embodied the I principles of an RC hobbyist. He knew things not just from reading but from doing, experimenting, building. I remember one time I was not sure whether it was my receiver or transmitter that was not working. He says, let me see the transmitter, turns it on, says turn your TV on. He walks up to the TV and flicks the transmitter on/ off. He smiles sheepishly and says Your transmitter is working. Dick was so enthused about wrapping his own electric motors that one time he brought one of his handwound gizmos to a meeting. He fired it up with a prop while the rest of us hunched down in our chairs hoping not to see a whirling missile fire across the room next. I looked a Juhan, he looked at me and we smiled nervously knowing that this was one of those crazy moments around the hobby world that you just hope for the best and enjoy the show. Here I am weeping for a guy I didn t know that well, just well enough to know not to ask him an electronics question if I was hoping to fly in the next 20 minutes. There was only one way to keep him from talking about his love of flight an things electrical/ mechanical and that was to say Dick I gotta go fly. He had this little red plane, electric, that looked rather fast and sleek with one of his engines/motors -- not sure which -- on it. It was a bit too hot to handle but he kept bringing it out and wanted, like many of us, to master a new aspect of flight. He loved the outdoors and even though he could barely walk he would go on hiking trips. His basement was a hobbyist s dream. He would say Can you believe that this company was giving away this milling machine? as he pointed to this old, device that few know how to operate and beamed, just beamed with pride. Dick, a toast, to you and all you did to encourage, teach, and enjoy this gift of flight and also for your warm patience with those that were younger than you but just as crazy. Mel Suarez Where are our leaders? Out and About with Al Prudhomme, jr. I must admit I enjoy writing this column and have had good comments from fellow members from time to time. For me a few rules apply. Rule number one is I don t want to go too far off topic of our hobby and the needs of the Burlington Flyers. The topic of the environment is never far from our thoughts at the excellent field we are able to use. Thus my rule number two is not to be negative with an issue relating to what could happen, or might happen at our field, altering the long period of how things have been. I had a look at one issue we discussed at our last membership meeting and will share a few thoughts. I have a great interest in Esterbrook woods in Concord. One gets a great sense of history when walking past a few old cellar holes along the old road. I went to a Concord Board of Appeals meeting on the issues of encroachment into a section of the Esterbrook woods. The Middlesex school would like the right to expand now, with a possible extension of 10 years. The hearing went on with school officials stating there desire to expand at any cost, and taxpayer citizens of Concord speaking in opposition. Good American democracy in action. And so it went. The topic finally ended and they went on to other matters. The Board of Appeals agreed to continue the discussion of the Esterbrook Woods matter next month. As I left the meeting, I chatted with others outside the meeting hall. What I learned from this was the absolute lack of leadership and the total inability of any one in authority to make a decision one way or the other. The only thing decided upon was to continue the hearing next month Sure there was an agenda pushed by all sides. The town of Concord, the citizens for Esterbrook woods and the Middlesex School. No one could, or wanted to, make any type of decision. I felt it all a waste of my time. When I got home I pulled out one of my books on leadership, a subject that has always interested me. It is a complex subject with many views, but you know good leadership when you see it. Unfortunately it is in short supply in local town politics these days. Al Prudhomme, Jr. THINK SAFE! Don t forget we are all safety officers at our field. Respect the rules, respect each other and BE SAFE! If you don t know the field rules, go to burlington-rc.com/the_field_rules.html for a copy.

5 April February Meeting Photos Some pics from February s meeting. Photos Rob Catalano and Juhan Sonin. Al s first meeting at the helm (as president). Jeff Ward presents the 2006 Auction proceeds check. Mitch Buckley s framed up Carden Yak. WREN representative Katherine Moore discussed issues of the Cumming s trust and the land our field shares. Miguel shows off his RC battleship project - a model of the famous WWII Japanese battleship Yamato. Miguel demonstated the working rc turrets, propellers and lights. Ryan shows off his electric Skeeter 30 fun fly. Jack seems surprised to win the raffle. I don t know why, since it was FIXED! Ryan won the glow driver. Rob C. doesn t seem happy about winning the glue (but he was). Marco won some fuel. See you April 11 th!

6 6 Burlington RC Flyers Newsletter The winter that wasn t The relatively mild weather made for lots of flying this winter. Here are some photos of some of the winter crowd. No skis required. Photos by Juhan Sonin and Rob Catalano.

7 April Mayday Mayday... Sunday, February 19th (a day of infamy). Steve Stylianos was piloting Paul DiFeo s newly acquired Bob Johnson built P-39. The dramatic sequence of events was captured by Juhan Sonin.

8 T h e B u r l i n g t o n R a d i o C o n t r o l l e d F l y e r s N e w s l e t t e r Next club meeting: Tuesday, April 11 Meeting time is 7:30 PM Meeting Location Lexington VFW Hall 2 Hayes Lane (off Woburn Street) Lexington, MA Burlington RC Flyers Newsletter C/O Rob Catalano 33 Merrill Road Watertown, MA FIRST CLASS MAIL

FLYERS. Time for Night Flying! Next Club Meeting Tuesday, February 10th VFW Hall, Lexington AMA CHARTER1752 VOLUME 25 NO.

FLYERS. Time for Night Flying! Next Club Meeting Tuesday, February 10th VFW Hall, Lexington AMA CHARTER1752 VOLUME 25 NO. RC B U R L I N G T O N FLYERS Time for Night Flying! With the days getting shorter Night Flying has become attractive to some Die-Hard Flyers! AMA CHARTER1752 VOLUME 25 NO.6 NOVEMBER 2008 Next Club Meeting