Well, another month of winter is gone. It will soon be flying weather once again. It is a very good time to get the old planes out and give them a thorough examination. Look for loose screws or nuts. Repair any cosmetic damage. Check for stress cracks or poor glue joints. Give the flight pack a hard look. Are the servos operating properly, if not repair or replace them now, not after the crash. Does the receiver show any outward signs of damage, loose pins, worn or frayed antenna wire, especially were it exits the receiver or the plane. Remove the motor and check out the motor mounts and firewall area for signs of separation and/or fuel damage. Replace the fuel tubing inside the tank and it just might be a good time to replace all the tubing in the fuel system. On fixed gear planes, look at the gear mounting plates, do they need attention? Check each control surface for free and easy movement, no binding in the linkages and all hinges should be in good repair. Examine the control horn mountings. Look for excessive movement, which could indicate a break or weakness where the horn is attached to the surface. Check all the nylon components. The servo wheels/arms and the control horns for wear in the holes. This type of wear can cause a lot of slop in a control surface and adversely affect centering. While you are checking the servo wheels, take a minute to check the servo wires leading to the receiver and also make sure the screws holding the output arm/wheels are the correct type and are secure. Look for any broken mounting lugs or missing mounting screws. Now might be a really good time to evaluate how much time you have on the plane’s switch and battery pack. How many times have the batteries been quick-charged, how many flights does that switch have on it, in this plane or in others? It just might be time to replace one or both items. I could go on listing things to check but I imagine you all get the idea. Take some time and look things over. Not so much just to look for things that are okay but look closely for things that are just not right. It’s a great time to fix them and it is very good insurance against that unscheduled or unplanned return to earth. It makes for better flying plane and safer flying for all of us.

Dan

Minutes of the Springfield RC Club Meeting
January 2, 2003
Old Library, 397 E. Central
Ralph Todd, Secretary

Meeting was called to order at 7 PM by President Dan Curtis.
Treasurer's report was give by treasure Kevin Burdock.  A brief rundown on the receipts and expenses incurred during the past year was reviewed.  All appeared satisfactory.  A motion to approve was seconded and passed.
Minutes and highlights of the December Christmas party, as appeared in the latest newsletter, were accepted, voted on and approved.

Old business

There was discussion as to when we should change the combination on the lock at the field.  There was a question whether the 90 day grace period for paying dues should be continued.  Doug Bennett proposed we wait until the last of February to change the combination.  The club agreed to do this as there is not a lot of activity there until March. 

New Business

President Dan presented the preliminary dates and schedules for the upcoming year.

  January 2, 2003, ---------- Successful New Year's Day Chili Fly!
  April 26th  ------ Field maintenance day, with fun fly afterwards.
  May 24th ------ An old fashioned fun fly.  A committee will consider just which activities would be enjoyed by the most members.  It will be limited to members and their families.  Doug Bennett, Sparky Wessels, and Jeff Schmidt volunteered to serve on this committee. 
   June 21st and 22nd -------  AMA sanctioned IMAC contest.
   July 19th --------Novice pattern contest.  Similar to last year.  Contestants cannot have placed in an AMA sanctioned contest. 
    August 16th & 17th --------- Float Fly will probably be at Lake Springfield.  There was discussion about checking into the possibility of using Fellow's Lake.  It was mentioned that previous attempts however, had been unsuccessful.
   September 6th & 7th -----------  AMA Sanctioned Pattern contest.  Doug Bennett, Mike Howard, Jeff Schmidt,  and Dan Curtis, volunteered to serve on this committee.
   October 11th & 12th --------- Heli-Fly Contest.  Dan Curtis, John Clevenger, Don Livermore, and Doug Bennett will make up the committee for preparation.

There was discussion of who we could get for CD of the float fly.  Doc Wessel has done a tremendous job, but his health may not permit full responsibility.  He may assist.  A CD would need to pass a test and be certified. 

The President called for any more new business.  Mike Howard suggested that we use Diazinon to help get rid of the moles.  Harold Carroll said that it should be applied in May, to be the most effective.

The Treasurer, Kevin Murdock reminded us that the 2003 dues are due, but that the AMA dues must be paid first.  Proof of payment can be  found on AMA's website, and forwarded over to Kevin for confirmation of payment.

There was discussion of designating a certain day of each month for giving flying instructions.  Mentioned was the 3rd Wednesday of each month.

Members agreed to ask Bert Turner if he will serve as field marshal again this year.

President recognized new members.  Charlie Lang visited with us this meeting, and is in the process of joining.

The raffle was conducted by Dale Brown, who did a great job, and was enjoyed by all -- even if Charley held most of the winning tickets.

Motion made and seconded to adjourn at 8:15 PM.

With the weather being somewhat uncooperative in the recent weeks, there has not been a large amount of pattern flying on which to report. Not much flying of any kind actually. A few days have been popping up to tease us out to the field and get in a flight or two. This past Saturday, Tim Johnson, Mike Howard, Richard Harris and myself at the field trying to work off some of the rust. I think the rust is still there but it was fun just the same. Richard was sporting his new Venus 40. This is a very nice looking .40 size pattern ARF. After a trim flight, Richard was putting the Venus through it paces. It has a very nice elevator and he wants to increase the roll rate just a bit, otherwise it is set up with recommended control throws. It is really great to see Richard with his new plane. He is very proud of it and seems to really like the way it flies at this early stage of trimming. He has a goal of flying in our contest this year after getting his feet wet last year. I hope some others in our club take some interest and try pattern this year you just might like it.