The Chairman’s Corner will take a short hiatus for August and September. It will be back in October.
Hey Guys, only a couple of quick things from me this month.
One of the best things about our club is the lack of DRAMA on site. For the most part everyone respects each other, and treats each other with the dignity and respect they would like to have for themselves. Periodically, we get a pilot come to us from another club that is used to drama and blatantly disrespecting others. It has become a habit for them to continuously fly in an aggressive manner that is flat out dangerous to other members and their aircraft, to the point where it begins to degrade the experience for everyone.
Sadly, since this has been their main flying experience to date – they don’t feel they are doing anything wrong, and get upset if anyone says anything to them or about them. There are a few new members that have come from the Chollas and Chula Vista clubs recently that are in this category. I have personally spoken to them on numerous occasions, but need some help from members. If it’s only me doing the talking, they tend to blow me off with the idea that “ Brad just doesn’t like me”. Couldn’t be further from the truth – I want EVERYONE to have a great experience at our site! A little peer pressure can go a long way if you are trying to get someone to be a better citizen at our field. You don’t have to be mean, or angry – just mention ( often if necessary ) to them that they are being unsafe and it affects you in a negative manner. Hopefully the aggressive attitudes will relax and stop shortly. I have brought this issue to the Board of Directors. We are in agreement that since I have given verbal warning to the aggressors, My next step will be a written warning – followed by expulsion from our club. Having a dozen members tell me “ I HATE THAT GUY!”, or “ I stopped flying because of him” is not the way to move forward.
We are at the point in the year where we start to solicit new blood for the BOD for next year. I have heard some amazing ideas from many of you. You should consider joining the Board next year and show us what you have. If you would like to sit in at the September meeting on the 6th, let a BOD member know – you are invited!
I am still collecting monies through the 50/50 fundraiser conducted on every event day. So far club members have won over $2,500 dollars – CASH MONEY! That means I have also collected over $2,500 towards reducing the ticket costs per guest at the banquet – and an additional raffle prize or two. You can’t win if you don’t play!
The tropical storm did a great job in smoothing out some of the rougher spots of the runway, no excuses – Let’s Fly!
Brad
Addendum to Brad’s article
Team,
There was an incident at the field this week that needs a quick discussion.
An out of control plane went into the field area at the west end of the runway on Thursday, and the batteries let the flames out in a manner we haven’t seen in the last few years. Club members rushed to the site with an extinguisher and when the pin was pulled, and handle squeezed, it failed to light off. Members started stamping the flames down with their feet while another ran to his truck for a couple gallons of drinking water he had, and they were able to extinguish the flames.
A couple of notes:
While battery technology has been getting better over the last few years, it is still something we have to respect at all times- while using, and while charging.
Years ago the BOD gave out approximately 250 Fire extinguisher to members with the words to bring them when you fly – and if you use it, replace it so you still have one for the field. Where are they now?
If you have one of these, when was the last time you looked at the charge indicator and verified the needle was in the green area?
If you are fairly new to the hobby – I highly recommend purchasing a small extinguisher and mounting it in your vehicle for onsite use ( does no good in your shed at home).
If you have one of the small extinguishers manufactured by KIDDE with a plastic nozzle, they have been known to fail because the handle can break when squeezed too hard. There is a 800 number on the label that you can call for a free replacement.
Finally, We are the first line of defense for a fire at our site. Do everything possible to extinguish the flames without putting your personal safety at risk. If a fire does get out of control in our area, members need to evacuate the immediate danger area and call 911. Report the area as South Shores PKWY .
Be Safe!
Brad
Click below for their latest video.
The following is from an email sent by Tom Svircev (CVMRCC President) on 8/21.
“CVMRCC members & Board,
Well, unfortunately the field has flooded again. Kaile sent a photo at 1:30 where the water was just to the edge of the runway, then Robert checked at 6 and it was a lake again. In Robert’s photo, you can just see a couple of inches of the pilots fence above water. Walter texted me a half hour later and the water was over the fence.
So again we wait for it to dry up and the cleanup begins again. The only good thing here is unlike last time, it will have been just a one-time event, where last time we had months of repeated flooding. So I hope it won’t be much to clean. I think these are both unprecedented.
Thanks to the guys who prepped things, and for the condition reports & photos. Now we wait for things to dry up again.
Tom Svircev”
Update: The water had receded somewhat by 8/24.
As before, the CVMRCC members are always welcome at SEFSD.
Need help with your FAA Renewal?
The August SEFSD T28 races gave come and gone with some of the closest racing of the year. We had 9 pilots signed up by 10am and started racing shortly afterwards. How did it go you ask? Well with many very competitive wing tip to wing tip races the makeup of the preliminary rankings as well as the finals all came down to the number of cuts the leaders in each heat made—resulting in Dennis and Randy having to give Jovi the “bad news walk” many time more than usual. Surprisingly the third place finishing pilots for the silver and gold races ended up taking the wins as the first and second across the finish had collected between 1 and 4 cuts resulting in the upside down results. Just goes to show that flying safely and staying out of trouble can be rewarding. On the flip side I can personally say nose to tail and wing tip to wing tip racing is well worth a few cut penalty points against the score. Brad’s saying applies—“if it ain’t rubbing it’s not racing”! I recall that Jeff had part of one wing tip eaten away by Brad’s hungry prop! Both completed their races successfully—I am happy to report that all the planes that started were flyable at the end.
Here were the final results:
Bronze:
1) Jeff
2) George
3) SteveM
Silver:
1) Larry
2) SteveN
3) Alex
Gold:
1) Cory
2) Quan
3) Brad
The next scheduled T28 race is coming up on Saturday Sept 9 at 10am. A couple of things—if you don’t have race numbers yet please contact me and I will get you a number assigned. The assigned numbers are placed on the top and bottom of the wings to help the turn judges identify the planes. Members who want to find out more about our T28 racing can find additional information on the cub web site here: https://www.sefsd.org/club-contests/t28-racing/t28-rules-information/ The planes are the 800mm FMS T28s that come pretty much ready to race out of the box—we use the stock motors and speed controls. They are made with EPP foam and are pretty durable. The planes are available at our local Discount Hobby Warehouse or on line at several outlets. Current prices range between $139 and 169—keep a eye out for specials and discounts.
Steve Neu
We had a pretty fun Electroglide last Saturday. A south wind was blowing at 9 mph at first launch; this did have an effect on our flight times.
First launch had nine aircraft take to the overcast sky, eight radians and one open class glider. Neil Zhu, (Conscendo), had the long flight at 3:44 minutes plus a 30-point landing. Bruce Driver, (Radian), was second at 2:25 minutes with a 10-point landing. No other pilots scored due to off field landings, the wind being the problem.
Second launch had Scott Vance, (Radian), with the long flight at 2:51 minutes with a 10-point landing. Stephen Treger, (Radian), was second at 2:41 minutes and Lewis Dotson, (Radian), was third at 2:30 minutes. Bruce Driver, (Radian), picked up a 10-point landing as well. Again, there were some wind induced off field landings and thus, no time points earned.
Third launch had most of us finding some wind lift to the west end of our field. Flight times improved with the long flight earned by Scott at 5:54 with a 20-point landing. Second place was Stephen at 5:24 and a 20-point landing. Jeff Struthers, (Radian), came in third at 5:05 with a 20-point landing. Bruce picked up a 20-point landing as well.
Fourth and final launch had our wind lift blow away on us. Scott again had the long flight at 3:59 with a 10-point landing. Dennis LaBerge was second at 2:10 and Neil was third at 1:22 with a 30-point landing.
The south wind, played havoc with our on-field landings so congrats to all the pilots who made it back to the runway and the target circles.
Winners for the day:
Open Class, 1st. place Neil Zhu 129 total points
Radian Class, 1st. place Scott Vance 118 points
2nd place Jeff Struthers 98 points
3rd. place Bruce Driver 83 points
Next Electroglide will take place on September 16th. At the usual launch time of 10:00.
See you there,
Jeff Struthers
Secretary note: This was a largely uneventful meeting since everything seems to be running smoothly.
Quorum at 6:44 PM , meeting convened.
In-person participants: Steve N., Brad, Steve M., Quan, Larry, Eric
Online participants: Nick
Not present: Steve B., Carl, Jovi
Meeting held Steve N.’s home.
GENERAL DISCUSSIONS:
Brad: Safety issues rearing their heads.
There is far too much close flying at the pilot fence line.
Brief discussion about banquet menu.
Jovi: Not present
Steve N.: Please continue being a good pilot citizen.
Steve M.: Bank account remains adequately funded.
Membership at 311 currently.
Steve B.: Not present.
Larry K.: Nothing new.
Nick: Nothing new.
Eric: Nothing new.
Carl: Not present
Quan: Water trucks remain unavailable immediately.
FRIA application is heading to the FAA for review.
Facebook page inconsistent.
ITEMS REQUIRING A VOTE:
No items required a vote.
ITEMS OF CONTINUING INTEREST:
Safety issues are everybody’s concern. If you see something then say something. Be kind and be civil.
Park Master Plan to continue being addressed. We are discussing how best to preserve this site into the future.
WEEKEND FIELD EVENTS for September:
T28 racing at 10:00 AM Saturday 9/9/23
Electroglide at 10:00 AM Saturday 9/16/2023
Civilian Scale and Meeting at 10:00 AM Saturday 8/23/2023
F5B Practice at 12:45 to 5:00 PM Sunday 8/24/2023 (event held in Denver, CO)
Organized field events will now include 50/50 raffles to help fund club banquets and other events. The organized events include Electroglide, T-28 racing, Bomb Drop, Don’t Spill the Beans, etc.
BANQUET EVENT DATE: FRIDAY JANUARY 12, 2024
Next BOD meeting 9/6/2023 @ 6:30 PM.
Meeting adjourned at 8:13 PM.
Eric Shapiro
SEFSD Secretary 2023
Catalina Aircraft to revive WWII era flying boat
Maybe some of you have seen my smaller version of this plane flying at our field. This one is really worth watching:
These sent in by Jon Graber:
Zapata’s eVTOL
No hydrogen-powered passenger planes
Northrup Opens Hypersonic Facility
Reminder-
This coming Saturday August 26th, Weedwackers will hold their monthly pylon race series.
Pilots Briefing is at 9:00 am.
After the T-28 heats, we’ll Race What You Brung!
Act now to renew your membership in our great club.