SKYWRITER ONLINE

April, 2002
Next Meeting Time:
Presidents Corner
Hello everybody. Hope everyone's enjoying the nice flying weather and getting in lots of "winter flying" if you can call it that.

I'd like to thank Andrew Finley, Don Porter, and Dean Anderson for stepping up and volunteering to be instructors this year. We were a little short in that department. One of the things that I really like about our club is that when we need people to volunteer for projects or positions, someone usually steps right up. Thanks. One thing that I'd like to mention to any of our beginning fliers with regard to instructors is that you need to remember that:

1 - Instructors are strictly volunteers. Keep in mind that you need to work around the instructor's schedule, not the reverse.
2 - If your plane is crashed while you're being instructed, the instructor isn't liable for any of the damages. He'll probably feel worse than you about the crash.

Fortunately, a high percentage of crashes result in a repairable airplane, and if you can't find anyone to help you or answer questions about repairing your airplane, call me. Those who know of my flying capabilities will attest that I've had plenty of experience repairing banged-up airplanes.

We don't have a firmed-up program yet for the April meeting, but I'm sure that we'll come up with something interesting.

Hope to see you there
by Steve Kelley

TREAURER'S REPORT FOR February 2002
Balance as of 2/28/2002 2422.40
 
Deposits:
  2002 membership dues 780.00
  Total 780.00
 
Withdrawals:
  Sprint/Summer 2001 field mowing (reimbursement to board member) 715.00
  FY 2003 auction hall rental 110.00
  March 2002 newsletter printing 110.76
  Account service charge 3.00
Total withdrawals 938.76
 
Balance as of 3/31/2002 2263.64


Minutes of Meeting February 4, 2002
Meeting convened at 7:35 PM.

The Secretary's Report and Treasurer's Report for February were accepted as published in the newsletter.

Field Director's Report: The field and road are both wet and slippery. Dennis called Chris Thurlow of the Boylston Fish-&-Game. Based on his conversations, the metal gate is now being left open to allow cars to park inside off the road. Our lock is now on the wooden gate.

Old business: None.

New business:
The club asked for some volunteers to become flight instructors. Don Porter, Andrew Finley, and Dean Anderson stepped up.
Russell Miller has reserved the Oxford VFW hall again for our auction again this year, on November 17, 2002. Again, Dean is our auctioneer.
Russell informed us that Jack Buckley's Corsair, which he displayed at last month's show-n-tell, took second place at the WRAM show's static display for Military category Also, Ed Omiccioli took third place in Old-Timer's category.

Meeting adjourned at 7:45 PM.

Minutes of Board of Directors Meeting February 4, 2002
Meeting convened at 9:00 PM.

The board member who covered the cost of field mowing last spring and summer at $715 while the treasury was low, has been reimbursed.
The possibility of replacing the wooden gate, on which our lock now sits, was discussed, as a goodwill gesture toward Fish-&-Game. This would be done on the date of our annual Field Clean-up, May 5.
The club needs a volunteer to cook at the annual Club Picnic, scheduled for August 17 (rain date August 18).

Meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.

Upcoming Events
May5:
9:00 AM: Field Clean-up. Refreshments on the club for all who pitch in. Bring rakes, hoes, shears, saws, blowers, etc. Wear long clothing, as the ticks will be out early this year. Also helpful are goggles and leather gloves.
10:30 AM (after field clean-up): The first fun-fly of the year. Come on down with those new winter projects and see what CD's Bob Janak and Steve Kelley have up their sleeves for events.

May 6:
Annual Static Show at the club meeting hall, after the membership meeting. Show off all those winter projects, and tell what you liked, didn't like, modifi-cations you made, how it flies, etc. Low-key judging by the membership.

May 19:
Gremlin Contest at CMRCM club field.
June 23:
Gremlin Contest at Rocky Hill club field in Oxford.
August 25:
Gremlin Contest at CMRCM club field.
September 15:
Gremlin Contest at Rocky Hill club field in Oxford.

(More info on gremlin contests as it is made available)
My father used to play with my brother and me in the yard. Mother would come out and say, "You're tearing up the grass."
"We're not raising grass," Dad would reply, "We're raising boys."
-- Harmon Killebrew

SHOP STUFF and HANGAR HINTS

Compiled by Mike Doucette
Lead Shot
by Fred Harvey
Lead shot is a useful modeling tool. Most aircraft need some weight added to them, usually in the nose, to move the center of gravity (CG) to its proper location. If your aircraft tend to come out as tail-heavy as mine do, it often takes more than just putting on a heavy prop hub to fix the problem.

I use a plastic sandwich bag and slowly pour a bit of shot into it. The bag is usually located in the fuel tank compartment and I can get just the right amount of weight, in just the right spot.
from Vapor Tales
Derby Radio Control Club
Fred Harvey, editor
Derby KS

Re-warp a Wing
Use a hot air popcorn popper! I came across this idea while perusing an old publication. It was timely in that I was tuning up two ships, both of which were heat-shrink covered, and both needed more washout in one wing panel. Being an Orville Redenbacher connoisseur, I happened to have a hot air popper, so away we went. Unlike working with a heat gun, you can just set the base of the popper down, freeing both hands to twist the wing panel. At first it didn't seem as if the popper would get hot enough, but you just work closer to the opening than with a heat gun. And the broader area of coverage lets the whole wing panel heat more uniformly. I'd do it again!
from the Society of Antique Modelers
SAM 26
Robert Angel, editor
Santa Maria CA

Screw Holes and Strong Joints
A good way to line up where the screw holes should go when fastening your cowl to your fuselage is to put a rubber band around the cowl and use it as a guide to keep all of the holes lined up. If you want to beef up the stress points or where two halves of a cowl or wheel pants are glued together, try this. Apply a piece of fiberglass tape over the desired area on the inside of the cowl. Next glue it down using PVC pipe glue. The PVC glue will soften the plastic and allow the fiberglass to permanently bond to the cowl. This process makes a very strong joint and is easy to do. PVC adhesive is cheap, fiberglass parts are not.

Servo Wires
Did you do the best job of covering your new wing you have ever done only to find out you forgot to run the servo wires through the wing? Try tying a piece of string to the connector end of the servo and put the string near the servo hole. Next put the nozzle of your trusty Shop Vac near the exit hole and turn the vacuum on. The vacuum will suck the string right through the wing and out the hole. Now all you have to do is pull the connector end of the wire through the wing and plug it in.
both above from West Jersey Wind
West Jersey Radio Control Club
Tom Voorhis, editor
Gibbsboro NJ

THE LIGHTER SIDE

Airline captain (on a PA explaining a delay): Sorry folks, but our landing has been delayed by a mechanical failure. The automatic machine that beats up and loses your luggage is not functioning properly and we'll have to wait for repairs."
Pilot: "Folks, we have reached our cruising altitude, so I am now going to switch the seat-belt sign off. Feel free to move about as you wish, but please stay inside the airplane until we land. It's a bit cold outside, and if you walk on the wings it affects the flight pattern."
Both from RC Gulls Tale-Spinner
Eastern Maine RC Gulls
Howard Smith, ed.
Bangor ME