By Steve Neu
With the weather warming up and the rain threat declining more people are out flying at our field. In the next few weeks the yellow flowers will be in full bloom with a resulting increase of visitors to our flying site to take pictures and walk among the flowers. Please take a few extra seconds and take a look around the field before starting your flight and adjust your flying to stay safely away from our visitors(minimum of 50 feet).
On the subject of taking off—I often see members just set their plane at the nearest gate with the nose pointed across the runway. They may or may not announce takeoff then punch the throttle and head across the runway heading north. While this may be fine when you are at the filed by yourself it is a bad habit with others flying in the pattern. If someone who is landing to the west happens along as the plane heading across the runway blasts off to the north there is a greater possibility of a collision. Please try to make your takeoffs and landings to the west unless there is an east wind. A little bias to the north is fine to help deal with a north cross wind but just blasting across is just not safe.
Lastly a reminder—the last member leaving the field needs to close the gate AND lock it. If there are members of the public there let them know that you are leaving so they don’t get locked in.
Have fun and be safe.
Steve Neu
