Summer is upon us! The last couple of weeks have seen some strong crosswinds and a heavy marine layer- but that has not deterred many of you from enjoying our great flying site. Even if you are not comfortable to fly in these conditions you can still come down and hang out with a group of like- minded individuals and escape the heat inland!
A safety concern has re-surfaced again. Both Quan and I may have mentioned this, but I would rather have too many safety notes…
There were 8 more reported instances this past month that involved people flying too close to the fence or over the pit/parking area. There were many excuses given – but none were acceptable. We have been a bit lax lately with the verbal statement that low passes/fly-bys need to be North of the runway centerline. This appears to be fostering bad habits, and small mistakes have a higher potential for causing damage. We are going to back up and enforce the field rules as written for our site which state “Flying will be North of the North edge of the runway except for soaring flight in the south East and south West soaring areas and helicopter hovering in the designated area”. Let’s leave the runway for taking off and landing. This will include the plane 3D pilots, jet flyers, and formation groups. The same rules also apply to multirotor craft and helicopters flying from the main runway – stay out over the grass unless taking off or landing. No helicopter 3D from the main runway – it is just an accident waiting to happen. Please take that activity to the heli-pad.
I would like to remind members that we have an open board of directors. Any member can sit in on a board meeting if desired to see how the meetings are conducted, ask questions, or determine if you would like to run for a BOD position in the future. You can approach us or e-mail us your desire to attend. If you would like to voice a complaint, I would prefer it be done by e-mail so it can be passed amongst the board in your exact words for review instead of me trying to remember what was said. We would either respond to your mail, or ask for a meeting with the full BOD to discuss. We are open to your ideas on how you would like to improve our club experience. If you have ideas for a new event, or would like to help run one, feel free to bring it up!!
Let’s talk about the 4th of July. Our field has perfect placement to allow us to view at least 6 of the counties fireworks displays between 9:00 and 10:00 PM. The main Sea World display is launched around 500 yards from our runway. We can expect the beach area to be 10-15 degrees cooler than the rest of San Diego, and the stop light at Sea World drive gives us quick access to the frontage road short-cut to Friars road for a fast getaway. WHAT COULD BE BETTER?!!
We had a very successful day last year and will run this year much the same. This will be a club member/family/guest event. The gate will remain closed and locked all day long with members opening and closing (and locking) the gate behind themselves. The driveway logs have better coverage than last year so we should be able to keep our site private. There will always be somebody that claims it is city property and they have a right to be there. The best answer to them would be that just like Sea World, we rent the property from the city. As renters WE designate who is authorized to enter past the AUTHORIZED VEHICLES ONLY sign at the gate.
The club will be providing some beverages ( soft drinks/water) as we expect some people will come without – but once they are gone they will not be replaced so I encourage you to bring your own. There will also be a couple of grills on site late afternoon so if you would like to bring something for your group and grill it up you are welcome to. Portable shade structures and folding chairs are also recommended for your comfort as the club chairs will go quickly.
There will be a club sponsored raffle. Jim is selecting raffle prizes now. Tickets will be $1 dollar each for prizes worth a total of $500 dollars.
This month’s club event on the 27th is the very popular “ Don’t spill the beans challenge” starting at 10. We had a great time with this one last year and I expect healthy competition this time. If you can take off, pull a loop, and land (on the field )you have a chance at winning! Following the event will be our monthly club meeting , followed up by a tasty beef hotdog lunch. Open flying should resume around 12:30.
Have a safe month!!
Brad
