Aloha members! Just returned from a trip to Hawaii, missed one BOD meeting, one T-28 Race and a UCSD student competition. Amazing how out of touch one can become in missing just a little over a week! I could have, but chose not to bring a model there. I managed to make contact with (2) different Big Island Hawaii groups whom otherwise would have been happy to fly with me except that some are “part-timers” whom wouldn’t be in Hawaii while I was and another whom only fly weekends, the nerve! I did get a look at their fixed wing field; ground up lava rock, made our dirt look velvety smooth! Also drove by a large mound in the middle of a coastal lava field they call “Cinder Cones” which would have been slope flyable with wind from any direction. I decided just the drive in looked a bit sketchy and since I didn’t even have an airplane…well, maybe next time.
Next, I believe we have the mechanism to begin procuring fashion items with our new logo! At the time I saw the Website, there were pictures of many types of garments with our logo and admonition to call for prices. So who’s done it? I eagerly await my chance to get a new sun-shield hat with the logo. Want to publicly recognize Felix, Larry’s professional graphics designer for our new logo. By now, we should also have the funds to replace the chairs that disappeared during the May Triathlon thanks to Jim Bonnardel for hitting up the triathlon organizers.
The next event I missed was the UCSD’s Intramural Design/Fly Cargo/Speed Contest which scheduled for June 10th. Just prior to my trip, I made contact with a UCSD student scouting the flying field. I was informed that the students were forbidden from test flying their models before the contest! Also, that few if any students had any R/C modeling experience and were relying on their academic curriculum as their design guidance. Based on my experience with Aerospace Engineering students in the Design/Build/Fly competition, in no way, shape or form does an undergraduate engineering curriculum provide adequate background to design and build an R/C model aircraft from scratch. I hope the Professor’s goals were met by the event and hopefully not too hard of lessons were learned. I believe Dennis LaBerge was to be our proctor for the event; perhaps he has a story to tell? At least the field was intact and presume the trash cans were emptied between then and last Sunday when I last flew.
I believe next year’s Holiday banquet is still up in the air but our upcoming Independence Day celebration isn’t : Saturday, July 2nd starting at 10:00 A.M., we’ll have our usual monthly funfly a week later than usual, a brief talk by your’s truly and then a Tri-Tip Slider BBQ by a professional caterer arranged by Larry Kosta. The BOD decided that food was more important than raffle prizes so there you go. Hot dogs are good, tri tip is better! This “month’s” week delayed fun flying event will be “Don’t Spill the Beans” to be administrated by a BOD member that doesn’t know what he’s doing. This should make it all the more fun! Seriously, It’s all about a smooth takeoff, a smooth landing and a positive G’s loop, how hard could that be? Right…. Strap a condiment cup (size TBD) to your aircraft, pour in 20 dry beans (type and size of beans TBD) and go fly. When you land, get a dollar bill for each bean remaining! My strategy is to signup early to ensure there is some money left for my planned perfect flight (yeah, right). I’m told the “good guys” will save most of their beans and there may not be any $ left for those at the end of the rotation. We’re budgeting an extra $50 for the event ($200 vs $150) so there will be more chances to profit, but if you plan to fly lousy, sign up at the end of the rotation!
The last fun contest, the bomb drop was the most fun I’ve had flying in awhile. Though I did terrible, not being able to get a streamer equipped nut even on the field much less near the bulls-eye, watching and “coaching” the other pilots to their perfect drops (yeah, right) and listening to the “helpful coaching” provided by the peanut gallery had me mostly in stiches the entire time. And that’s what it’s all about right? A day in the sun with people you want to hang out with, some good chow and a silly distraction of a R/C model contest. We’ll see you next month.
Steve Manganelli
