Hello fellow flyers!
I would like to open this month’s letter with a note on how successful our Independence Day event at the field was. We had a pretty good turn-out of club members and guests. Some came early, left, then returned later for the fireworks, Some stayed all day and watched fireworks. The weather was perfect, and the winds cooperated by coming straight down the runway at less than 10 MPH! I would like to spotlight and thank 3 people that really went out of their way to make it a great event. Rich Bonnardel did an amazing job at controlling access to our site at the gate. He probably covered 8-10 miles walking back and forth to let members without keys in/out while keeping non-members out (not an easy task!). Randy Wynant and Jim Bonnardel also went out of their way to bring in 2 LARGE gas BBQ grills and lit them up for a couple of hours for anyone to use. The late afternoon raffle went well, and the winners that were not present were contacted within the following week and notified that they had won. It was a great day – I would like to thank all that participated.
In the area of field maintenance I would also like to say THANK YOU to Dennis LaBerge for weed whacking the foliage that was creeping over the entire northern border of the runway, and Chief Griffin for his constant efforts with weed killer on the runway and the pit area. Jim had planned to sweep/soak/and roll out the field this past week, but it looks as if the “MONSOON” took care of that for us. We will keep an eye on conditions as we move into August.
Even with the recent rain, the scrub area surrounding our field is getting bone dry. I have noticed quite a few of you grabbing extinguishers before walking out to impact sites (major or minor). I appreciate your vigilance.
One thing I need to mention this month: If you bring guests or children to the site, please make sure they are courteous and follow basic rules: no burning donuts in the parking area, no throwing rocks in the parking lot or pit area, and no running/riding bikes in the pit area, and please do not mess up the porta-potty.
The rangers were accommodating and put up 2 more signs by the foot path intending to warn pedestrians of low flying aircraft if they chose to cross the field at our site. Nice to have them, but it doesn’t seem to slow people down. Please don’t buzz the pedestrians or their pets with your planes/multirotors. Part of the reason we have kept our site at this prime location is the general feeling by the city that we promote goodwill through a family oriented type of hobby – and it would be a shame if we change that perception.
On the safety side of things I need to mention again the need to announce your take-offs, landings, and intentions to cross the field in a voice that carries more than 3 feet. When you announce, it is still YOUR responsibility to turn your head and verify the pattern is clear before doing these actions. There were a few close calls last weekend where a member consistently told his buddy flying with him at the same gate that he was stepping out on the field and just stepped out in front of someone that was taking off – then a few minutes later stepped out in front of a plane landing…
This month’s event is the Bomb drop on the 25th. I encourage all of you to give it a shot. It’s a fun competition and Jim has a few prizes set up those who get the most points. Following the bomb drop will be the monthly club meeting and Lunch brought in by Julie Bonnardel.
Have a great and SAFE month!
Brad
