President’s Corner for Sep – Oct 2026

We have refinished our runway, thanks to John Casilio, Andrew Kaperonis, Panos Kaperonis, Scott Fuller, Phil Barlow, and Dwight Filley. This is John’s last maintenance for the club before he moves to the east coast for work. If you see him, please thank him for putting it together.
Before the end of the year, we will put up a safety/run-up table at the east end of the field, so members who need to do maintenance on their models can safely do so. We will also designate a spectators area, which will be near the entrance of the field, where current spectators park anyways.
One of our members (George S) had an idea to showcase our member’s social media accounts to the club. If you have an interesting Facebook or Instagram account that is model airplane related, send it to editor@sefsd.org and we will share it with the club.  (I will begin posting them next month-Ed)
I also want to give a shout out to George Harper, who has been videotaping and updating our YouTube channel SEFSD1. You missed someone’s maiden of their cool F-35, you can now see it online! – Quan

Panos’ Corner for Sep – Oct 2026

Hello SEFSD, 

We’ve had a great end to August and a great month of September! The Talent Show at the end of August was a lot of fun. There were some very skilled pilots who came out to fly. This is always great to see, and the Talent Show allows our members to demonstrate their skills in a fun way. Overall, the event was a great time, and I’m glad so many people showed up!

This month, we have a much nicer runway. Thanks to John Casilio, we now have a surface that is better for jets and micros to land on, and it looks much nicer overall. Many members are enjoying the new runway, and I would say it has been working out really well.

For T-28 racing this month, it was cool to see the Skyraider in the race. The Skyraider seems to perform really well and gives us a good indication that we will have some great options for racing next year as we see more of the Skynetic planes showing up. I have recommended the Skyraider to several people, and everyone I have talked to about it seems to be loving it. If you want to race and don’t have a plane yet, make sure you grab one of the Skynetic models that we will be using this coming year!

It seems like it will be cooling down pretty soon. The heat has been rough, but hopefully our time at the field will become more enjoyable as we move through the rest of the year! That being said, let’s continue making sure we all bring enough water!

Also, if you have not seen the most recent photo gallery from the Electroglide, go check it out! These are some of the best photos yet!

To finish out the month, we have Warbird Day along with our club meeting! This is a really fun one! Anybody can bring out their warbird and do a demonstration flight. This is one of my favorites! I hope to see everyone there with a warbird!

Panos

Warbird Day

 

Our tribute to warbirds of all types.  

3~4cell battery types.

Participation earns raffle tickets, all raffle tickets are eligible! 

Starts at 10am, 9/26.

Runway Refurbishment

Earlier this month we were treated to a vastly improved runway surface.  You are encouraged to thank one of the hardest working members of the SEFSD BOD.  John Casilio has put in an enormous amount of time and effort coordinating and accomplishing most of the work needed to bring us a smoother and firmer runway surface.  Please thank him if you see him.  Several other Members helped as well.

 

Metal Props are NOT allowed at SEFSD!

A word to the wise—metal props on your RC model are not allowed under any circumstances  at SEFSD’s flying site at Mission Bay. The restriction on metal propellers is a safety measure, as metal blades pose a greater risk of cutting injuries and property damage compared to standard wood or composite materials commonly used in model aircraft.

Regardless of the propeller material basic safety procedures apply—from the AMA safety handbook:

PROPELLERS:

Cracked, nicked, or unbalanced propellers or rotor blades should be replaced and not reused!

Stay clear of the propeller arc while starting or running any engine or motor.

Do not stop engines by throwing rags or other objects in the propeller.

Painting tips of propellers a bright color helps you to better see the propeller arc during rotation.

Check the propeller and spinner for tightness before each operation.

Learn about and check for the proper grain patterns in wooden propellers to ensure strength in high rpm operation.

Exercise extreme caution adjusting needle valve settings on engines. Most adjustments should be performed from behind the model, thus avoiding reaching around a spinning propeller.

Fly Safe!
Steve Neu

Mark’s Got a Gear Issue

George Harper is our club’s new Video Master.  He will be taking care of the SEFSD Youtube Channel.  To all our delight George will be contributing videos of interest to the newsletter.  Below is one such video.

 

Silent Electric Flyers of San Diego YouTube Channel

Please check out the SEFSD YouTube channel.  https://www.youtube.com/@SEFSD1
If you see a video of your plane, please provide a descriptive comment about the model. Comment on video of others planes too. Then like and subscribe. 🙂
When I am recording videos, I will ask if I can post and then ask for your name and plane description.
If you have any video that you would like to share on the channel, send to george.harper@cox.net with a subject of “SEFSD Flying (Plane Description) and your Name”
Please include a link for the video you would like to share, so it can be uploaded to YouTube.
Thank you!
George Harper

Eric’s 3D Printed F16XL

Eric Maglio has this 3D printed jet:

Eric’s 3D printed F-16XL, using ASA Aero. It has a 1m wingspan, is about 1.6m long, and uses a Freewing 90mm EDF on a 6S 5500mAh battery. It is the prototype for a new model that will eventually be released on https://www.loftedaero.com/

“Hey Steve – I fly my various 3D printed designs at the club often so I figured I’d make a discount code for fellow members interested in building any of them. They can use the code “SEFSD50” for 50% off anything here: https://www.loftedaero.com/printable-models”– Eric

New Pics for Sep 2026

The pictures below are all courtesy of Frank Sutton.

 

Electroglide

 

National Aviation Day

 

T28 Racing

 

Celebrate the 250th.

T28 Race Results for Sep 2026

 

The September edition of SEFSD’s long running T28 racing series saw the introduction of the Skynetic A1 Skyrider to the squadron of planes going for the gold. The plane was raced without any of the weapons or fuel tanks on the wing stations—I also elected to change out the stock 4 blade prop for a 2 blade 8×6 APCE prop—either prop is ok for racing with the APC drawing a little less current—speed is about the same. How does it compare to the FMS T28? It is very similar in handling and speed to the FMS T28. There are two other planes by Skynetic in this series which are approve for racing—the Tempest and F4U Corsair. If you can’t find a T28 or want to try something different here you go. Note: that the Tempest and Corsair may need some carving of foam to fit the larger 1200mAh battery packs.

The September edition had a light  summer turnout with several regulars out of town on summer vacation. The smaller field made for a fast a fast paced racing tempo with Jim and Panos handling the running of the races. It is noteworthy that there was not one cut recorded for the entire race! When the dust settled from the preliminary and finals the results were as follows:

Bronze:

1) George
2) John C

Silver:

1) Quan

Gold:

1) SteveN
2) Corey
3) SteveM

The next race is scheduled for October 10th—be sure to mark your calendar! Also be sure to put your racing numbers on your plane—if you don’t have an assigned number send me a email and we will get you one!

Steve Neu

You Are Invited to Indoor Flying

Please come join us for an evening of Indoor Flying at Alliant University Gymnasium, Friday, September 25th, 7:30-9:30pm, 2026.  See the website here.  No charge to come and put in a couple flights.  You may enjoy it.  Bring your little electric stuff like one of the UMX type planes or helis.  The gym is quite spacious so there is plenty of space for several aircraft flying at once.