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HOT AIR!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for December 2004
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Minutes of the November Meeting:
Meeting called to order at 7:07 Nov. 2, 2004, by Vice President Mike Akerman-Simpson
Present were:
Mike Akerman-Simpson, Larry Buerer, Joe Geiger, Ann Geiger, Ron Rantasuo, on Richard, Jess Walls, Greg Deja, Dan Easton, Dave Flemmons, Randy Patrick
Treasurer's Report:
Expenses
$10.00 Web site contest
3.70 Stamps
2.60 Cards
Balance $1719.89
Minutes were approved as published in the Newsletter
Old Business:
1. Ron Rantasuo moved that the club pay for the dinners of Vivian Turner and a guest and Erling Dellabama and a guest at our yearly Christmas dinner. It was seconded by Jess Walls. Motion passed. We will send their invitations out promptly.
2. Jess Walls passed around a menu for OH's. Dinners were between $19 and $26. Joe and Ann Geiger will run a White Elephant gift exchange. A limit or $20 was placed on the gift. Bring something new or something from your shop that you don't use.
3. Payment for our dinners was discussed. Ron Rantasuo moved that we buy our own dinners and that next years membership will be included in the price. Seconded by Larry Buerer, Motion passed
4. Tee-shirt Report: Ron Rantasuo presented his findings as to availability and cost of a run of 36 T-shirts. Much discussion followed. Ron Rantasuo reported that we couldn't proceed without a firm commitment as to order size. Larry Buerer moved that we approve the expenditure of up to $450 for T-shirts. Seconded by Dave Flemmons. Motion passed. Ron Richard moved that we buy light blue T-shirts. Seconded by Dave Flemmons. Motion passed. Joe Geiger moved that we buy the shirts at Sports World. Randy Patrick seconded
it. Motion Passed. It was then suggested that Joe or Ann Geiger take the artwork down to Sports World and make the agreement for the T-shirts. Ron Rantasuo will collect the shirt sizes and give them to Ann. So, in summary, we allocated $450 for club T-shirts. They will be Light Blue with a black logo. We will buy them from Sports World. Contact Ron Rantasuo with your order.
5. Election of 2005 Club Officers.
a. Safety Officer Dan Easton
b. Treasurer Joe Geiger
c. Secretary Larry Buerer
e. Vice President Ron Richard
f. President Dave Flemmons
6. Due to a scheduling problem, it was moved by Dave Flemmons that we move our meetings to Wednesday evenings. at 7:00 PM at Wing Mfg. Seconded by one of the Rons. Motion Passed.
7. We discussed the problem of availability of the club library and property. The item was tabled until out January meeting.
New Business:
1. Joe Geiger brought in a magazine sent to us by former member George
Johnson. There was an article in it about development of a GPS guided model
airplane program. The magazine was placed in our club library.
2. It was suggested that the club set up a committee to update our By-laws.
Will be placed on the agenda for the January meeting.
3. Joe Geiger moved that we spend $25 to obtain either redwoodsoaring.com or
redwoodsoaring.org as domain names for our club web site. Seconded by Dave
Flemmons. Motion passed.
Joe Geiger moved that we adjourn. Seconded by Jess Walls. Meeting adjourned
at 8:30 PM. A swap meet followed for about 45 minutes. Many good deals were
to be found.
Contest Report:
None this month. There was an Indoor Fun Fly at Wing Inflatables November 6th. Joe, Jess, Ron Rantasuo, and previous member Terry Jones all flew something. Randy Patrick, Dave Flemmons, Rony, and George LaFever all observed and assisted in the repairs.
Yes, there were plenty of crashes. This site is not a beginner site and it has numerous obstacles. It is available however. If anyone knows of a better site that is available for free or VERY LOW cost let me know. I'd
love to find a good indoor flying site.
In the past we have held indoor events at the Jacoby Creek School Gymnasium. These events were open to the public and we have had about 25 people from the community play with us. Kids of all ages love to throw folded paper or balsa gliders. We generally stopped play when one of the serious indoor models was ready to fly. Terry Jones amazed us all with the delicate rubber band powered stick and tissue models he makes. He has had 10 minute flights with these free flight models. All accomplished at less than walking speed!
What we need is a basketball size floor with a 20 foot ceiling. Floor and ceiling should both be clear of obstacles. Hanging light fixtures are bad, flush or recessed lighting with no exposed support beams is ideal.
December Event:
End of the year dinner at OH's Town House.
Tuesday, December 7th at 7:00 PM.
Come to the meeting and your dues are considered paid for the next year!
Bring friends or anyone else who is interested in our hobby. Everyone who
likes model airplanes is welcome!
RSA Club Events:
Nothing scheduled yet.
Jess Walls, Editor
1866 Golf Course Rd.
Bayside, CA 95524
Hot Air!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for October/November 2004
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Minutes of the September Meeting:
Meeting called to order 7:07 PM by President Caleb Lesher September 7, 2004
Present were : Caleb Lesher, Larry Buerer, Jess Walls, Ron Rantasuo, Joe Geiger, Ed Wright, Greg Deja, Dan Easton
Treasurer's Report: Balance is 1711.25
Minutes of the August meeting were approved as published in Newsletter
Old Business:
1. Ron Rantasuo gave Larry Buerer an attaboy for the August Electric Sail plane contest.
New Business:
1. Joe Geiger nominated Dan Easton for club Safety Officer and Ron Rantasuo for club Field Marshall. Seconded by Jess Walls. Passed with no dissenting votes.
2. Jess walls announced his cross country contest at Bear River Ridge. Will be October 10 at high noon.
3. Ron Rantasuo brought up the subject of our club dues. He raised the question, has the dues increase done the club any good, and should we suspend dues for a while? Ron moved that we change our bi-laws concerning the amount of our dues. Much discussion followed. Motion dies for lack of a second.
4. A lengthy discussion was held on the subject of how to generate membership and interest in our club. Ron wanted to get Cindy working on getting our schedule of events on the Humboldt County web site. Ron
suggested that we use the next meeting to plan next year's events.
5. We were reminded that the November 2 meeting was the annual swap meet and election of officers.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:10 PM
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Minutes of the October Meeting:
Meeting was called to order at 7:10 by President Caleb Lesher
Present were: Caleb Lesher, Larry Buerer, Jess Walls, Joe Geiger, Ron Rantasuo, Ron Richard, George LaFever
Treasurer's Report: Balance is 1736.25
Secretary's Report: Minutes were read. Moved by Joe Geiger, seconded by George LaFever. Approved as read
Field Marshal's Report: The field is doing well, received much use. Everyone had a good time Sunday.
Old Business:
1. Sunday Oct 11. Contest, a distance task contest. Bring your own lunch.
2. We still need to get the cards and invitations out to Vivian and Ernie for the use of their fields and Cindy for the web site.
3. Inviting people to our club meetings and to events was discussed.
New Business:
1. Web site contest: A picture was posted by Joe Geiger on our web site. Seven people in the picture. The contest is to identify all seven people in the picture. The people in the picture can only answer yes or no if they are or are not in the picture. Moved by Larry Buerer seconded by George LaFever that we have the contest with $10 going to the monthly winner. Passed with one dissenting vote.
2. It was discussed that the Secretary make a list of the videos we have on fine, so that people can check them out.
3. It was discussed that we have a run of T-shirts made. The guy on 4th St has the logo and said he would do them for us. The club wanted blue shirts with black lettering. Ron volunteered to get us the costs.
4. We were reminded that there would be a swap meet next meeting.
5. Jess reserved OH's Townhouse for the Christmas meeting. 7 PM. Jess will get menus for us to look at.
Meeting adjourned at 8:10
*********************************
Contest Report:
Sunday, October 10th Bear River Ridge Cross Country event. The idea was to introduce cross country flying to those members who had not attempted it before. Conditions were good, as usual at this site. 2 events were
planned, a short course event with an easy warm up, then longer courses as the day progressed.
The second event - Open Distance never got started. Only 4 entrants actually attempted the first short course, Dean, Rony, Dave, and Jess.
Because the lift was so good and the turnpoint looked so close we decided to just walk instead of sitting in the back of a pickup truck as was planned.
Jess landed about 1/2 way to the turnpoint (got frisky and did some thermaling inverted). Dave had to land about 3/4 of the way there (he had an electric plane but valiantly refrained from powering up). Rony and Dean
both "probably" made the turnpoint but since no one was at the flag yet we couldn't be sure.
When I finally reached the flag turnpoint both Rony and Dean attempted to make the turn again but were unsuccessful. Rony tried first and came within about 150 feet, Dean followed 30 seconds later and made it 10 feet farther than Rony.
No further attempts were made to complete the "out and return" task so Dean won, Rony was second, Dave was third. Congratulations Dean!
Everyone agreed that:
1) flying cross country is harder than it looks,
2) get high and stay high is the best strategy,
3) great patience is required to wait for the best conditions,
4) riding in a truck would be easier but more disorienting,
5) 1/2 mile is a long way on foot (it didn't LOOK that far).
No attempts were made at free distance, the lift at the launch site was too good and almost everyone had combat wings. Combat is great fun and the participants enjoyed the site. Several people used the Club Trainer and Buddy Box to refresh their skills or experience slope lift for the first time.
No serious damage to airplanes or pilots, spectacular scenery, lots of laughs, a good day.
Jess
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Club Roster
Last First Phone Number Street Town Zip
Ackerman-Simpson Mike 476-8722 1319 Freshwater Eureka 95503
Buerer Larry 825-8701 69 Palmer Bayside 95524
Deja Greg 839-3665 2070 Crystal Way McKinleyville 95519
Coffman Rex 845-3663 2000 Smith #H Fortuna 95537
Flemmons David 444-8044 5433 Noe Eureka 95503
Geiger Joe 445-3525 3213 Ingley Eureka 95503
Konicke Ron 822-0108 370 Garden Bayside 95524
LaFever George 442-3052 3354 Lowell Eureka 95501
Lesher Caleb 839-4743 2993 Springer McKinleyville 95519
Patrick Randall 822-0269 3224 Zelia Ct Arcata 95521
Richard Rony 822-9675 5963 West End Arcata 95521
Rantasuo Ron 443-6541 6076 Nelson Eureka 95503
Walls Jess 826-1601 1866 Golf Course Bayside 95524
Wright Edmund 677-0613 150 Scenic Trinidad 95570
Other News: The T-Shirt project is gathering momentum. Dean has proposed an updated logo and Ron is gathering prices. Final decision likely this coming meeting.
November Event: Swap meet and election of officers for 2005.
Got ideas of what you would like to see happen with RSA? Become an officer of the club and share your vision and enthusiasm with us!
RSA Club Events:
Nov:
Nov 2 Monthly Meeting & Swap Meet 7:00 PM
Nov 6 Indoor Flying Event Jess Walls CD 7:00 PM Wing Inflatables West
building. This will be a sort of pylon / obstacle course / fun fly. Plenty
to run into but no wind or rain! If enough planes and people show up we
could have a race or endurance challenge.
Dec:
Dec 7 Yearly Dinner and Awards Banquet OH's Townhouse. 7:00 PM -
White Elephant gift auction?
Dec 11 Indoor Flying Event ?
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Hot Air!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for August/September 2004
Minutes of the July Meeting
Called to order at 7:10 PM
Present: Caleb Lesher, Joe Geiger, Ronny Richards, Ron Rantasuo, Jess Walls, Larry Buerer, George Lafever.
Treasurer's Report: No changes.
Old Business:
1. Ron reported that the web site was almost done, check it out.
2. Fun Fly at Elk River site Saturday, starts at 10:00 AM
New Business:
1. Next month's Flying contest will be a powered sailplane contest. Will start at 10:00 AM, 8/14/04, at Elk River Flying Field.
2. Ron Rantasuo suggested we send cards to Ernie Dellabama and Vivian Truner for Christmas and invite them to dinner for our Christmas Dinner.
Adjourned at 8:00 PM.
Larry
Minutes of the August Meeting
Called to order at 7:05 August 3, 2004 by President Caleb Lesher
Present: Caleb Lesher, Larry Buerer, Jess Walls, Ron Rantasuo, Ed Wright, Mike Ackerman-Simpson, Joe Geiger
Treasurer's Report: No change Balance is $1711.25
Minutes of the July meeting were approved as read
Old business:
1. Ron reported that we put in 75 man hours at the Elk River site.
2. Contest at Elk River site will be Saturday August 14, 2004. Starts at 10:00 AM The contest will be for electric gliders. Four rounds of thermal duration, limited motor run. Will try to handicap different glider/motor
combinations to keep things fair.
New Business:
1. It was moved by Joe Gieger seconded by Jess Walls to refund Ron Rantasuo's dues for running a fun fly last month. Motion passed. Ron graciously donated the money back to the club.
2. Ron Rantasuo suggested that we place our web site address and our contest schedule on the Humboldt County Visiters Bureau web site. He was given the authority to do so.
3. The September club camp-out was canceled. It was decided to use the time to build indoor planes to fly at the Wing Mfg. site after the meetings. Much discussion on indoor flying occurred. Was agreed that we would try it. Watch for details.
4. We agreed to send Christmas Cards to our site owners as discussed last meeting but we tabled action until November.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:04 PM
Larry
Contest Report:
Saturday, August 14, the Redwood Soaring Association held its first soaring duration contest for electric gliders. Larry Buerer was the contest director. Six intrepid contestants signed up to test their thermal-seeking
skills against the stop watch. Three rounds of 10-minute duration were flown. There were thermals everywhere except where your faithful scribe was flying. After the first round, Jess Walls was in first, with Larry Buerer in second and Ron Richard in third. The second round saw Jess still in first, but Randy Patrick move into second, and Ron Richard still close in third. A motor battery going dead mid-flight moved Larry Buerer into fifth place. The third round saw Randy pull ahead of Jess to take the win by 2 points.
Many different airplanes were entered. Jess, Ron, and Larry all flew speed 400 gliders. Joe Geiger flew a Tipsy. Randy flew an ElectraFly Specra RTF. Ed Wright flew a Wingo. He would have done much better, but battery capacity hampered his quest for a win. The contest rules attempted to equalize all planes entered. There were different motor run times for different plane configurations giving all entrants a somewhat equal chance to win.
A great time was had by all. Thanks to Jeannie Buerer for the great lunch. Hope to see you at the next contest.
Larry
Other News:
Our club website: http://www.geocities.com/rsa95501/
Our webmaster, Cindy, will gladly include any pictures or suitable information any of you might have.
October Contest:
The plan is to have a "Cross Country" contest at Bear River Ridge. The date is either October 9th or 10th to be determined at the next meeting. Start time will be Noon. End time will be 3:00 PM.
This will be an entry level contest and anything you bring will be allowed to fly. If it has a motor the motor can only be used for launching. Glider based airplanes will likely do better than Park Flier types but the early
rounds will allow success with either.
Bear River Ridge has a lot of open space and we should be able to fly at least 1 mile away from our launch site safely.
The launch site will probably be at the Rio Dell end of Bear River Ridge Road. If the wind is from the South we may have to move to another site along the road toward Ferndale. We'll leave a note, or directions, at the
Rio Dell site if we move.
If you have never been to this site, go even if you don't fly. The views are beautiful! It is easy to find this site; just take the Rio Dell exit off 101 southbound, turn right on one of the streets named after trees, turn left on
Monument Road and keep on the main road until the road turns to dirt, stop at the first northerly facing slope with decent parking. There's a map on our "favorite flying locations" page.
The format will probably be several rounds of increasingly difficult distance tasks. If you fly to the "goal" and return without landing you advance to the next round. This could be either a thermal contest or a slope contest depending on the conditions. Goal distances will also depend on the conditions at launch time.
We will also have an "Open" distance event running at the same time. The most distant landing point along the road from the launch site will win. Any flight beginning after the Noon start and landing within 15 minutes of the 3:00 PM finish will be allowed.
The intent of the contest is to introduce everyone to the complexities of cross country flying. It is not as easy as it looks. The flying itself is the same, but when the pilot changes orientation or location, the airplane
appears to move as well! We will have plenty of helpers and we will keep the tasks (goals) easy for the first few rounds.
Come on out, give it a try, at this event we are all novices! It should be fun.
Jess Walls
RSA Club Events
Sept: Sept 7 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
Bring an indoor type plane to the meeting.
Oct: Oct 5 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
Oct 9 Bear River Ridge Distance Event Jess Walls CD
Nov: Nov 2 Monthly Meeting & Swap Meet 7:00 PM
Nov 6 Indoor Flying Event Jess Walls CD
Dec: Dec 7 Yearly Dinner and Awards Banquet
Dec 11 Indoor Flying Event
Jess Walls, Editor
1866 Golf Course Rd.
Bayside, CA 95524
Hot Air!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for July 2004
Minutes of the June Meeting:
Call to order at 7:30 PM
Present: Joe Geiger, Ronny Richards, Ron Rantasuo, Jess Walls
Treasurer reported a balance of $1,711.25 with no outstanding accounts.
Old Business:
King of the Bluff Contest Report; contest was a success and we made a
profit! Raffle prize was won by a Light House Ranch tennant who bought $10
worth of tickets at the last minute.
Raffle prizes and ticket sale strategies were discussed. It was agreed
that this is a risky business deal that needs a well attended contest to be
sucessful.
The need for AMA insurance at competition events was discussed and it was
the concensus of the group present that there is no reasonable alternative
at this time. The liability exposure to us individually and as a group is
unacceptable without insurance. We all agreed that this is a shame and is
probably a major reason for the decline in club membership.
New Business:
June 19th is the date for a swap meet at Murray Field Airport in Eureka,
all day. No charge to display or sell your stuff. Eureka R/C (power club)
is hosting.
Saturday June 5th will be the club event (fun fly/gathering) at Table Bluff
at noon.
Moved, seconded, carried - Caleb Lesher's dues for the year have been
forgiven due to his hosting of a club meeting at his house.
Ron Rantasuo showed a raffle ticket tumbler he has constructed. The tumbler
is available for club events.
Membership issues were addressed as a P.S. to the meeting with no
resolution. Membership participation was noted to be low, historically, at
this time of the year.
Adjourned at 8:10 and 8:30 PM.
Jess (back up secretary)
Notes From Ron Rantasuo:
HI AGAIN,
SO HERE IT IS JUNE, FATHER'S DAY HAS HAPPPENED. THOSE OF US LUCKY ENOUGH TO
GET TO ELK RIVER SITE HAD A GREAT DAY FLYING OUR LITTLE WONDER PLANES.
THE SLOW STICK SQUADRON IS GETTING LARGER, 4 TODAY. 1 SKY SCOOTER AND A
COUPLE OTHER ELECT POWERED TYPES. WEATHER WAS GOOD, FIELDS IN GREAT SHAPE
AND LOOKING BETTER AS THE YEAR GOES ON.
THE BIG SURPRISE WAS LARRY BUERER AND HIS WIFE JEANNIE BROUGHT OUT FRIED
CHICKEN, SALAD, CHOCOLATE PIE AND SODAS FOR ALL THERE. QUITE A SURPISE FOR
SURE. JUST SHOWS WHAT CAN HAPPEN WHEN A FEW PEOPLE GET TOGETHER TO HAVE FUN!
THOSE WHO COULDN'T MAKE IT, NOT TO WORRY THERE WILL BE MORE TO COME THIS
YEAR.
LARRY'S STICK DID WELL WITH HIS NEW AILORON SETUP. GEORGE LAFEVER SOLOED
AGAIN AFTER MANY YEARS IN THE HANGER. DAVID'S STICK IS NOW GOING VERTICAL
WITH LIPO'S AND ROCKET 4OO/4.8V MOTOR.
RON RANTASUO'S STICK IS STILL KINDA STOCK BUT WAS UP IN THE BREEZE LATE IN
THE AFTERNOON WITH SOME NEW ADJUSTMENTS! LARRY'S SON TIM, FROM SACTO ALSO
FLEW HIS SKY SCOOTER, SAID HE WILL BE BACK WITH BIGGER AND BETTER SOON!
NOT MUCH MORE TO TELL. THERE WILL BE TWO OFFICIAL CLUB FUN FLYS IN JULY AND
AUG. AT THE SITE. NO PERIMITERS HAVE BEEN SET AS YET. WE ARE ALL FAIRLY NEW
TO THIS PART BUT ARE SURE WITH YOUR HELP ALL WILL SLOWLY COME TOGETHER. SO
MARK YOUR CALENDERS THE DATES WILL BE IN NEWS LETTER OR BY EMAIL. ALSO
REMEMBER A.M.A. REQUIRED AT SITE TO PROTECT THE OWNERS.
IN CLOSING THERE WAS THERMAL ACTIVITY AGAIN BUT EARLY. THE BIRDS WERE
WORKING IT BUT IT STOPPED ABOUT 11:AM (SUN). THE CLUB WINCH IS CLOSE TO
USEABLE, NO REAL BUNGEE AS YET, THESE WILL HAPPEN BUT MOTOR GLIDER'S ARE THE
SIMPLE EASY WAY TO GET UP OR AROUND WHAT MAY BE LIFT. COME FIND OUT!
SO KEEP US IN MIND. WE TRY TO FLY WED/THURS. DURING WEEK AND SUN ON
WEEKEND. WE ARE GOING TO TRY FOR AN EVENING FLY SOON TOO, GOT ANY LEDS YOU
CAN INSTALL?
BIG RON, R.S.A.
FOOT NOTE: MS. TURNER JUST CALLED. WE ARE GOOD TO GO IN THE BIG FRONT FIELD AGAIN, BEING CAREFUL OF THE NEW LIVE STOCK. THEY HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE SOUTH END OF BIG FIELD BUT MIGHT COME LOOKING FOR A HAND-OUT. WE SHOULD STOP IF THEY SHOW UP, PLEASE BE CAREFUL O K ?
DAVID , LARRY , GEO, RON WITH WHOM EVER WILL CK IT OUT WED 6-23-04ABOUT
10:30
Other News
Our club website has been moved and updated.
http://www.geocities.com/rsa95501/
Check it out and help fill in the blank pages! Our webmaster, Cindy, will
gladly include any pictures or suitable information any of you might have.
Along the line of suitable information. we usually don't include promos for
power events, but this one looks interesting enough to include this month.
Fresno-Radio Modelers Presents . . .
The Ninth Annual Fresno-Madera Jet Rally
September 17-18-19, 2004
* See electric, ducted fan, and turbine powered jets from all eras of jet
flight.
* Watch jets perform at speeds up to 200 m.p.h.
* Vote for your favorite jet to win People's Choice Award.
* Win prizes from our public raffle.
* Enjoy our snack bar.
* Join us for a Sat. evening BBQ and nightflying.
* LIVE classic rock music by OVERFLOW.
* Bring friends, family, and chairs and enjoy the day!
* Admission is free, donations appreciated.
* Located on the North side of Ave. 12, Madera.
1 mile East of Madera Ranchos, 3 miles West of Highway 41
For more information contact Dave Fusinato, Contest Director
(559) 940-DAVE or [email protected]
Hints and Tips from the AMA National Newsletter:
FREE BUILDI FREE BUILDING MATERIALS
It's election time and soon there will be tons of free building material
available. In most parts of the country, coroplast signs are used by people
running for office. Almost everywhere, the signs have to be down within a
few days of election. If you see a sign up past that date, do your civic
duty and toss it into the trunk of your car. It's great for things like
elevators or even building whole 1/2A airplanes. Last year, I saw a 75 mph
airplane with the wing built out of coroplast. Check out some of the SPAD
Radio Control sites on the Web for some creative uses.
Another thing to keep your eyes open for is new-home construction. Formica
discards are great for making durable templates to cut foam wings. Even
short lengths of two-by-fours can be cut into pine wing spars if you have a
table saw. Scraps of foam bead board are useful to cut foam wings or even
wing tips.
from Great Plains Combat News
Control Line Combat Newsletter
for the Great Plains
Bob Furr, editor
Omaha NE
. . . . .
CUT-OFF WHEEL SETS
from Fred Huber
Sears sells a diamond cut-off wheel set that fits Dremel and Black & Decker
"Wizard" moto-tools. These wheels eliminate the frustration when dealing
with fragile "sand" wheels you buy 20 at a time and break each time you use
them. The package comes with two wheels and the mandrel and is inexpensive.
No more fragments of cut-off wheel flying around the shop (but you should
still wear safety glasses)!
. . . . .
FIXING LONGERONS
from Gerald Sullivan
We have all broken a longeron or small spar on a model from time to time. A
neat way to fix them is to first poke a couple of holes in the tissue to
allow CyA to penetrate. Then, use a needle and thread to poke through the
paper in line with the break and get the thread just behind the break. Have
a helper hold the model and gently pull the thread to bring the break back
in line. A drop of CyA will penetrate and fix the break. A great advantage
is you can pull the thread at an angle and tighten both panels of tissue at
once. On heavier longerons, two threads can be used by actually poking a
small needle through the longeron on each side of the break.
from Brainbuster Newsletter
Brainbuster Free Flight Club
Ambram Van Dover, editor
Newport News VA
RSA Club Events
July: July 6 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM (Wing Inflatables)
July 10 Fun Fly at Elk River Ron Rantasuo CD
Aug: Aug 2 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
Aug 7 Speed 400 soaring contest Larry Buerer CD
Sept: Sept 7 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
? Sept 11&12 Family Campout and Fun Fly ?
Ron Rantasuo CD Tentative only
Oct: Oct 5 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
Oct 9 Bear River Ridge Distance Event Jess Walls CD
Nov: Nov 2 Monthly Meeting & Swap Meet 7:00 PM
Nov 6 Indoor Flying Event Jess Walls CD
Dec: Dec 7 Yearly Dinner and Awards Banquet
Dec 11 Indoor Flying Event
Jess Walls, Editor
Hot Air!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for June 2004
Club Roster: (Call someone if you want some flying company!)
Akerman/Simpson Mike RSA 476-8722 V P 1319 Freshwater Road Eureka CA
Buerer Larry RSA 825-8701 SECTY 69 Palmer Bayside CA
Coffman Rex RSA 845-3663 443-2363 2000 Smith # H Fortuna CA
Deja Greg RSA 839-3665 2070 Crystal Way McKinleyville CA
Flemmons Dr. Dave RSA 444-8044 5433 Noe Eureka CA
Geiger Joe RSA 445-3525 TREAS. 3213 Ingley Eureka CA
Konicke Ron RSA 822-0108 SAFETY 370 Garden Ln. Bayside CA
Lafever George RSA 442-3052 3354 Lowell St Eureka CA
Lesher Caleb RSA 839-4743 PRES. 2993 Springer McKinleyville CA
Patrick Randall RSA 822-0269 3224 Zilia Ct. Arcata CA
Rantasuo Ron RSA 443-6541 499-7172c 6076 Nelson Eureka CA
Richard Ron RSA 822-9675 5963 West End Rd. Arcata CA
Walls Jess RSA 826-1601 NEWSLETTER 1866 Golf Course Rd Bayside CA
This year's KING OF THE BLUFF is Andy Schuler!
It was certainly a well deserved win for Andy. Andy is a current AMA record holding RSA former member who now lives in San Luis Obispo, CA and regularly flies with some top notch nationally known contest pilots (Joe Wurts, Gordon Jennings). His airplanes showed us all what can be done without being overly complex or expensive. Andy makes a lot of his planes himself.
Winds were light and lift was spotty. Truly a challenging event. I hope everyone has had a chance to see the great pictures Andy has posted on his club's website. Click here to access his photos of this event.
Remember, our meeting location has changed to Wing Inflatables in Arcata. Wing Inflatables is on the North East corner of 4th and K in Arcata. These streets are also known as Samoa Blvd. and Alliance Rd. If you need more detailed instructions call Jess or one of the club officers.
Schedule of Upcoming Events:
June: June 1 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
June 5 Slope Soaring Fun Fly and Race
July: July 6 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
July 10 Fun Fly at Elk River Ron Rantasuo CD
Aug: Aug 2 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
Aug 7 Speed 400 soaring contest Larry Buerer CD
Sept: Sept 7 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
Sept 11&12 Family Camp-out and Fun Fly Ron Rantasuo CD
Oct: Oct 5 Monthly Meeting 7:00 PM
Oct 9 Bear River Ridge Distance Event
Nov: Nov 2 Monthly Meeting & Swap Meet 7:00 PM
Nov 6 Indoor Flying Event
Dec: Dec 7 Yearly Dinner and Awards Banquet
Dec 11 Indoor Flying Event
I have no records of who it was that offered to host the slope race event for this month. Maybe we will find out at this months meeting on Tuesday.
Bring some ideas about gathering in new members. At the Bluff last Sunday there were 9-10 pilots flying and only two were RSA members. Why is that? Is our club no longer providing what modelers need? What do they want? Do they need a club to provide it? Where is RSA going? Are we just a social group of out of date flyers?
Bring some thoughts and ideas to our meeting this Tuesday at 7 PM.
Jess
Hot Air!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for May 2004
Ron Richards tried to hold the Slope Combat contest but weather and lack of participation cut it short.
Ron Rantasuo has been flying at the Elk River field almost every weekend. Give him a call, or e-mail, and go flying! Bring a high start and show him how they work.
Did everyone get the warning notice about Lithium Batteries? AMA sent it out. Charging these batteries can cause fires if not done properly OR if the battery is defective. Best to charge them in a fire proof container and
monitor the charge closely. Don't put them on a table and charge them overnight!
Don't even think about using a charger that is not specifically designed to charge Lithium batteries!
Redwood Soaring Association Minutes
Meeting called to order at 7:10 PM by President Caleb Lesher May 3, 2004
Present were: Caleb Lesher Larry Buerer Jess Walls Joe Geiger Ron Rantasuo Ron Richards
David Flemmons
Treasurer's Report Balance 1621.14
Old Business:
1. Old T - Shirts were discussed. It was mentioned that the club shirt Jess wore to the Bluff was nice. New ones were hinted at.
2. Ron Richards' contest at the Bluff was sparsely attended but it did occur. It was moved by Jess Walls and seconded by Joe Geiger that we refund Ron's dues as per agreement at the January meeting. The motion passed. Ron graciously donated the dues back to the club.
3. Meeting location was discussed again. Due to the noise and lack of privacy it was decided to move the meetings back to Wing Mfg. And use the mall as a backup meeting place. Next month's meeting will be at Wing Mfg. on Samoa Blvd. in Arcata.
New Business:
1. Our King of the Bluff contest is coming up. It will be held May 15 at noon on Table Bluff. There will be a picnic lunch. Cost will be $5 to enter the contest lunch is included. Lunch alone will be available for a $5
donation. There will be a raffle for a "full house" 2 meter sailplane.
Tickets will be $1 for one, $5 for seven, and $10 for twenty. All are invited.
2. Ron Richards announced that there will be a power plane fun fly at Samoa Saturday May 8. 9AM until mid afternoon. There will be a great raffle at the event.
3. Inter club flying with the Slopeiens at Cape Blanco, OR was discussed. They will have a fun fly August 21 and 22. It was agreed to exchange newsletters with them.
4. New member: Dave Flemmons
Meeting was adjourned at 8:15PM.
Do you have any pictures to put on our club website? E-mail them to me. Website is waiting for information.
Our official membership is only about a dozen people. Have you paid your dues yet? Remember, dues are refunded when you put on a club event of some sort. Our standards are quite liberal for qualifying events : )
Do you all know how to get to the Wing Inflatables Factory? Good place to meet, see you there!
Jess
Hot Air!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for April 2004
Meeting called to order at 7:24 by President Caleb Lesher
Present were: Caleb Lesser Jess Walls Rony Richards Ron Rantasuo Steve Briskin
Treasurer's Report: None
Old Business:
1. Our meeting location was discussed because Northern Air at Murray Field has changed policy and no longer allows meetings at their facility. A motion was made and seconded that we change meeting location to the Bayshore Mall Food Court. Motion passed.
2. Ron Rantasuo reported on his investigation of AMA site insurance. The official word from AMA is that for a club our size and our typical models the insurance is not needed.
3. We discussed Sunday's (since the meeting the date has been changed to Sunday the 18th to avoid conflict with Easter Sunday. Ed.) slope combat event at Table Bluff. Noon. Rony Richards is CD.
4. Ron Rantasuo suggested that all club related e-mail contain "RSA" in the subject line so members are more likely to open the message with confidence.
New Business:
1. Ron Rantasuo volunteered to make the club Sport Winch functional. He and Jess will work together on the project.
2. A discussion of flying at the Berry Summit Overlook concluded that flying there is dangerous but good soaring is possible. The club does not recommend using that flying site.
Meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM.
Hot Air!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for March 2004
The news is that Northern Air (Eureka Airport) has changed their policy and no longer allows meetings at their facility. They have had a break-in and took all the keys back. That leaves us without a meeting place.
We have a couple of options... meet at a member's house, or find another place.
Wing Inflatables has offered to let us meet at their shop. We can use that location until we find another. It is in Arcata on the Northwest corner of Samoa Blvd (4th street) and Alliance road (K street).
From the 101 Freeway take Samoa Blvd exit and go toward town. Just past the 3rd stop light is the pair of tan, low, metal buildings on the right, go into the driveway and park.
If you are coming from the Samoa/Manila part of the world at the first stop light you would need to make a U-turn then go into the driveway and park.
Let's use this location for tonight's meeting since it is easy to find and parking is not a problem.
Sorry for the late notice, life gets busy sometimes. Club Meeting Minutes below.
Jess
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Redwood Soaring Association Meeting held Mar 2. 2004
Meeting called to order at 7:12 by President Caleb Lesher
Present were: Caleb Lesser Larry Buerer Mike Ackerman-Simpson Ron Rantasuo
Treasurer's Report: None
Old Business:
1. The location of our club equipment was discussed and the difficulty of knowing who has it, and how we can access it. Caleb suggested that we try to compile an accurate master list for member use.
2. Caleb's indoor event. Obtaining the use of the facilities is a longer and more involved process than anticipated. The use fee is $25 per hour. Will fill out the paperwork in a few days.
New Business:
1. Ron Rantasuo informed the club that he has obtained permission for the club to use the 80 acre field belonging to Vivian Turner on Berta Road in Elk River. We need a combination lock for the gate. See Ron for the combination. It was moved by Larry Buerer seconded by Mike Ackerman that Ron purchase the padlock. Passed with no opposition. Ron stated that all that users of the field must have a current AMA membership card.
Meeting adjourned at 8:10 PM.
Hot Air!
Redwood Soaring Association Newsletter for February 2004
Agenda for March
Call to order
Officer reports
Old business
Events
New business
New flying sites
Remember, RSA encourages all kinds of model airplane flying activities, not just R/C Soaring.
Show and Tell
Adjournment
Meetings 7 PM, Murray Field, Eureka
Inside This Issue
1 Agenda for March, News, Events
2 Table Bluff Weekend by Ron Rantasou
3 Minutes, Internet Sites
4 Renewal Form
Dues Are Due!
Dues are $25 / year for regular members. There is a LIBERAL dues forgiveness policy included in this change. Just put on an event.
The idea is to encourage members to contribute to club activities. The event must be model airplane related and it should be open to all club members. A contest, fun fly, barbeque, shop tour, mall show, grade school classroom activity� be creative! Just get it approved at a club meeting (or tell an officer and he will propose it for you) and announce it to the members.
Try it, it is easier than you probably think and there are plenty of club members willing to help if you ask.
EVENTS:
March 6th is Caleb�s indoor event. The primary location is not available, we may have to reschedule.
If you know of a suitable facility, give Caleb a call. 839-4743. Basket ball court size, no hanging lights or places that would snag a model, low cost.
See any blank spaces? We should fill them up with news! Got any?
Hi to all,
I'm sitting here with dinner finished and a nice fire going. It has been a beautiful but cold Feb 8th (Sunday) with 20 plus mph winds at the bluff. There were 8 or 9 hearty souls with dusty combat wings flying. One was lost and Ronnie Richards kept breaking servo arms(too much combat?) David Flemmons had one of his many electrics out, it too flew good in the wind. Ken Kilburn of Eureka R.C. showed with one of his nice gliders. Ken spent as much time inverted as right side-up, looping and gliding around. Ken is a real pleasure to watch. Joe Geiger did some computer radio set-up for Ronnie's friend with a new wing and got his airtime in too.
To all that were there and didn't get mentioned I apologize. I'm not good with names and worse as an article writer but someone needs to do it. We need to make our sport more intreging to the spectators! Two new people did show interest today. Hopefully they will show at a meeting and someone will take an interest in them with guidance and instruction, which at this point, is lacking. I believe we as a club need to get them in the air, solo, and do it reasonably so as not to discourage them. They won't be back if left on their own!
As I write this, August Embry will be going in for surgery next week for a spinal injury. If this makes it in the newsletter he should be home recovering as you read this. E-mail [email protected]. I'm sure Ginger will relay any and all good wishes to him. Keep them in the air!
Respectfully
Ronald Rantasuo
February 3, Minutes of the Redwood Soaring Association
Meeting called to order at 7:15 by President Caleb Lesher.
Present were: Caleb Lesher Larry Buerer Jess Walls Ron Richards Ron Rantasuo Joe Geiger
Treasurer�s Report: Income $ 92.00
Newsletter Expense $ 11.32
Balance $1607.33
Old Business:
1. Meeting Saturday Feb. 7 at 10:00 AM at Mike Ackerman-Simpson�s shop for a foam cutting demonstration.
2. Caleb Lesher�s contest in March was discussed. Suggestions were made to expedite the acquisition of the McKinleyville High Gym for the contest.
3. Larry Buerer brought up the possibility of using the Humboldt Bay Christian School Gym for future meets. He will meet with the Principal to discuss the possibility.
4. Ron Rantasuo brought up the possibility of using the Samoa School Gym. He said that he will investigate that possibility.
5. Jess Walls reported on the suitability of the Elk River flying sites. He reported that they appeared to be good sites for flying electric planes.
New business:
1. The new roster was discussed. Jess Walls stated that it would come out in the April Newsletter.
2. The location of the club�s equipment was discussed Jess Walls reminded us that a list of what and where was in the first newsletter. Larry Buerer brought up that we need to find and catalog what we have.
3. Jess Walls started a preliminary investigation of club jackets with our logo on them. After some discussion: It was moved by Ron Rantasuo that we have club jackets made. The motion was seconded by Jess Walls. Joe Geiger suggested that we buy Tee Shirts instead. After some discussion, Jess Walls withdrew his second to the motion. The motion died for lack of a second. Jess said that he would do further research on the subject.
4. Larry Buerer suggested a one-design contest at our next indoor meet using a foam glider purchased at the Dollar Store. After some discussion, the idea was changed to a slope soaring contest at our June Slope Soaring Fun Fly. Rules and Events for the contest will be included in the Newsletter.
5. Jess brought some magazines to the club meeting. Joe Geiger suggested that the Soaring Digest issues be donated to the club library Jess agreed. They will be cataloged and available for loan by next meeting.
Show and Tell was held:
Larry Buerer showed the foam glider that will be the basis for the contest.
Jess Walls invited everyone to help themselves to the magazines.
Meeting adjourned at 8:52 PM
Respectfully Submitted
Larry Buerer
Mike�s Place Foam Cutting and Vacuum Bagging.
Mike Ackerman-Simpson hosted a demonstration of a computer controlled foam cutting machine at his house and shop on Freshwater Road. There were 5-6 guests from the Redwood Soaring Association present and we all enjoyed the event.
New technologies keep making our planes better and better all the time. This computer airfoil cutting machine is really slick. Mike�s friends Peter and Dave developed it to assist their own powered combat plane design efforts.
This device is perfect for making �one off� or prototype wings for any modeling project. The previous method of making a �test� wing was to build it from balsa or make templates and cut it out of foam by hand. Neither of these methods produces a very accurate airfoil and they both are very time consuming.
All Mike has to do now is tell the computer what airfoil he wants to use (1,000s are available) the chord and span, put a blank piece of foam in the machine, turn it on and wait. The results are beautiful wing sections in minutes instead of hours or days.
Of course then you will need to cover them to complete them. Tape or another of the combat plane styles of cover can be used, but high performance sailplanes require a smoother finish. Fiberglass or carbon fiber are the ultimate. Mike has done vacuum bagging of wings that produce amazingly smooth and tough finished. He showed us that technique also!
If you have a special project that needs custom wings, contact Mike Ackerman.
These demonstration events are a real good opportunity to learn new tricks and techniques. Try to make the next one, you won�t regret it.
Jess
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MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL FORM
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