Chairman’s Corner for Nov – Dec 2023

When the leaves start falling and the shelves are stocked with pumpkin items at Trader Joe’s, that’s when you know that Thanksgiving is right around the corner! Unlike other holidays that are more gift-focused, Thanksgiving is centered on giving thanks for what we have and the special people in our lives. It’s a time to catch up with loved ones, sit around the table and share one of the most delicious meals of the year. Who doesn’t love endless stuffing and slices of pie.

No matter the distance between you and your loved ones this Thanksgiving, remember to share how much you care about them.  So, before you get to carving the turkey or passing the gravy, send a card or text message to those that you are grateful for from my list. I am sharing greetings that are perfect for friends, coworkers and even for families that won’t be seeing each other this year due to the pandemic. However you spend Thanksgiving, be sure to show your gratitude with those you are most grateful for having in your life!

Thanksgiving Wishes for Friends –

  • Thanksgiving is a time of reflection for all our blessings. Your friendship counts for so much. Have a joyous Thanksgiving.
  • Friend, wishing you Thanksgiving moments that are as sweet as pumpkin pie.
  • Sending good wishes to you this Thanksgiving: Good food that fills your table, good health as you work hard and good times with family and friends. May you have all the best airplanes in life. Happy Thanksgiving!
  • Wishing you hope, joy, peace, good health, favor and love on this Thanksgiving Day! Your friendship is indeed a great blessing to me.
  • My friend, Happy Thanksgiving to you! May all your hard work bring color to your life and take you to the highest peak of success.
  • November is the time to be thankful, a time to remember and to embrace those who enrich our lives. I’m thankful for a lot of things, but I’m most thankful for you!
  • Happy Thanksgiving. To my awesome friend, I send warm wishes your way and hope you and your family have a fantastic Thanksgiving Day!
  • Happy Thanksgiving. Thinking of you on this special day and hoping your Thanksgiving is as wonderful as you are.
  • Happy Thanksgiving! Out of everything I am so very thankful for this Thanksgiving season, our friendship is at the top of the list.
  • I hope your Thanksgiving table is full of your favorite food and surrounded by your favorite people.
  • May your Thanksgiving be full of peace, love and joy.
  • Don’t bother counting calories today, just your blessings. Wishing you a very Happy Thanksgiving!
  • May your Thanksgiving Day be full of excitement… except for a couple of hours in there when you want to work on your planes.
  • This Friendsgiving, let’s enjoy the laughter of friends, mouth-watering aromas and cheer that we’ll remember for years to come.
  • Here’s a wish for a happy, joyous and fun-filled Thanksgiving to all SEFSD Club Members.

 

Thanksgiving Poem –

Take a turkey, stuff it fat,
Some of this and some of that.
Get some turnips, peel them well.
Cook a big squash in its shell.
Now potatoes, big and white,
Mash till they are soft and light.
Cranberries, so tart and sweet,
With the turkey we must eat.
Pickles-yes-and then, oh my!
For a dessert a pumpkin pie,
Golden brown and spicy sweet.
What a fine Thanksgiving treat!

                                           Happy Thanksgiving to all SEFSD Members!

 

 

Banquet for January 12, 2024

We are quickly approaching our Banquet, it’s just right around the corner, right after Christmas which is only a few weeks away, hope you all got your letters to Santa……. Starting December 1st, you can renew your membership for 2024 and once you have done that you can get your banquet tickets.  We did in fact lower the cost for the tickets compared to last year’s price. Tickets this year are $40.00 per person.  Here is what you’re going to get for $40.00.  First of all, we are limiting guests to 3 per member to allow members to get their chance to join the engagement instead of potentially being shut out.  If you are thinking of bringing more guests you will have to get approval from Brad and Quan.  No exceptions!  As a reminder, there are only 100 tickets available, and I encourage you to get them soon and not wait till the end of the month, for they will be all gone.  We won’t have any extra tickets, 100 is all we’ll have.

Each ticket will get you into the Air and Space Museum any time during the day and allow you to walk around the museum.  Starting at 6:00 pm is when the doors will open for the banquet and the banquet will last till 9:00pm.   Brad Bender will have the menu which is being provided by his wife Lisa Bender.  This year we have upped the menu and it is going to be a good one!  The main course will be prime rib and chicken picatta.  I hear Brad has tried both and he had a smile on his face, so get ready for a great meal. As always, we will be having a raffle for our guests and club members. Prizes for the members will be announced in the December Peak Charger Newsletter. Also we will have a surprise for the younger members this year.

As my last note, we all know to appreciate each and everyone who flies down at the field, treat all with respect!

Happy Thanksgiving

Jovi

Chairman of the Board of Directors

President’s Corner for Nov – Dec 2023

Hey team!

I hope everybody had a really great Thanksgiving with family and friends. As a group I believe we all have a lot to be thankful for.

I will kick off this month’s letter with a quick discussion on safety. We had a member take some severe cuts from an energized airplane this month. Luckily, he has no permanent damage, even though he still is in pain and will show some scars. It’s always important to remember that any propeller in a powered on airplane can jump and possibly bite you. if you are working on your plane at the field or at home, or working on the plane’s ESC or receiver programming, it is always the safest to remove the propeller before getting into the project. 30 seconds to remove the spinner, and the prop would have been better than weeks of pain. Another member almost gave himself a vasectomy 2 weeks ago as he was carrying his plane to the flight line and bumped the throttle. Throttle cut is an important tool, but will not save you if you don’t use it. Also, you should ensure your model is set up for throttle off while in failsafe mode. One thing to think about if you’re generally flying by yourself is what type of plan you have in case of emergency. I personally don’t like to fly by myself, but if I do, I ensure people know exactly where I’m at and that I stay in contact regularly so that if something happens I’m not experiencing a medical emergency without a chance.

On to Something fun!

Our end of year banquet will be held at the Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park on January 12. Banquet tickets, along with membership renewals, will be available to purchase on December 1, look for the club email with the links to purchase your tickets. This year’s banquet will be bigger, better and stronger than before! For dinner, we will have main dish choices between Prime Rib, and Chicken  Piccata.  There will be appetizers, several sides, and a dessert will be served.

Just like last year, there will be an open bar for patrons over the age of 21. If you arrive early, your names will be at the ticket booth allowing you and your paid guest to tour the museum before dinner.

After dinner we will have a raffle with some great prizes for members and guests. There will be hobby related prizes for the members, and some fun – but not airplane specific prizes for the guests. As mentioned, we are limiting the number of guests to 3 per member to ensure other members have seats available.

Even though the cost of the venue has risen, the cost of the food has risen, and we have spent more on raffle prizes than EVER in the club’s history, we have been able to reduce the cost of banquet tickets to $40.00 each thanks to those that participated in the 50/50 raffles that were held on event days at the field this year. Many members walked away with cash in their pockets, and had fun while helping offset the banquet costs. Thanks again! 

The Board of directors has been set for 2024.

Current members leaving the BOD at the end of December will be: Eric Shapiro, Carl Cox, and Nick Anton. Please thank them for their service when you see them. It is important to bring new blood in periodically to get fresh ideas.

For the 2024 BOD we will have:

Chairman: Jovi Murek

President: Brad Bender

Vice President: Quan Nguyen

Treasurer: Steve Manganelli

Safety Officer: Steve Neu

Secretary: Brian Glensky

Editor: Steve Belknap

Member at Large: Larry Kosta

Member at Large: Jim Bonnardel

Member at Large: Phil Barlow

Please thank them for the service they provide to keep your club a great place!

Along with coming back to the BOD, Jim Bonnardel has again agreed to be the FUN BOSS for next yeat to ensure our monthly fun fly games are enjoyable and something we can all participate in!

ALL 2023 memberships will expire on December 31st, no exceptions. Each year we have a few members swear that they paid for a 2 or 3 year membership – but we only process one year at a time. As I looked at member statuses recently, I saw that over 100 AMA memberships are set to expire next month. Did you forget? Remember that you cannot renew at SEFSD if your membership is about  to expire. Steve Neu has picked a new design for next years membership badge and is working with Peter, our membership coordinator, to ensure it’s just right.

There will not be a club meeting and fun fly for the remainder of the year to allow maximum family time (or flying time) to members.

I hope everyone has a great month, and remembers to purchase their banquet tickets early. 100 seats is the number available. There will not be extra tickets because you forgot…

Brad

No Club Event

There will not be a club event for November and December.

Let’s Give Thanks

I was going through old pics and came across this one of long time SEFSD member Carl, taken in 2011.  It reminded me that we should give thanks, not just for what we have, but for our Veteran’s who have sacrificed so much so that we have a life we can be thankful for. 

Thank you for your service Carl.

The Gallaudet Seaplane Project, Pt. 3

by Allan Flowers

The REAR FUSELAGE:

Because of the unique power system, the rear fuselage must be supported on the central tube that the propeller hub rides on. A fiberglass tube is glued into the wooden structure to engage with the aluminum tube.


A narrow hatch gives access to the rudder and elevator servos and the linkages to two jackshafts that drive pull-pull cables to the control surfaces. It also provides a place for a bolt that prevents the rear fuselage from rotating on the tube.

Continue reading

T28 Racing Report for November 2023

We had a good turnout with 10 pilots signing up to guide their FMS T28s around our race course. We had near perfect sunny and warm weather with calm winds making for some very close flying. We flew our usual 3 qualifying 5 lap races followed by the 10 lap finals. The results of the finals were as follows:
 
Bronze:
1) Artie
2) Larry
3) George
 
Silver:
1) SteveM
2) Carl
3) Fritz
 
Gold:
1) SteveN
2) Glen
3) Brad
 
I notice that many T28 pilots follow the FMS instructions in regards to control throws—which is way too much when you are trying to fly less than 10 feet above the flowers/weeds. Think about the amount of roll and pitch control that you really need to fly a smooth course. The plane moves from wings level on the straights to knife edge —this is a gradual change taking no more than 0.25 inches  of aileron travel—elevator takes even less to get the job done. In my setup I pull full aft stick when rounding the pylon—makes it easier to keep the plane on the right flight path without over controlling. You might want to set the racing travel rates to your flight modes or dual rates to get you enough travel for fun flying and landings. Expo is also useful to tame things down. One last suggestion is  to check and adjust the CG—I have found with the standard 1000mAh battery in the nose it takes some weight on the tail to get the pitch response I want. I usually add a quarter to the bottom of the horizontal stab.
 
Anyone who wants some help with trimming their T28s just ask and I will be happy to help—I am at the field most Sundays from 11:30am to 2:30pm. If there is enough interest we can arrange a “tips and tricks” clinic.
 
For those that want to use the APC 7x6E props let me know and I will give you an CNC machined adapter and washer—I usually have them with me so just ask. They are free.
 
Some pilots are flying without numbers—if you don’t have a race number email me with your  3 favorite numbers between 1 and 99—most of the low(<20) numbers have been taken already. Numbers need to be displayed on the planes to assist in ID at the turns.
 
Our last race of the year will be on December 9th at 10am. 
 
Steve Neu

Alex Has Solo’d the 172

“Great news here!  Alex has solo’d a Cessna 172 this afternoon!  He made three takeoffs and three landings solo!  Of course, we’re very happy for Alex, he’s making his aviation dreams come true and SEFSD has played a large part in making it happen!” – Dad