Hear Ye!

The Official Newsletter of the :
Valley Forge Signal Seekers
Radio Controlled Model Airplane Club

An AMA Gold Leader Club

April, 2005
No. 454

FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Bob Sudermann

Despite the bitter cold we were able to get the general club meeting in on
March 8th. Bud Klopp, our guest speaker, was unable to attend but has
rescheduled for April. Steve Kolet, Andrew Berg and Vince Judd filled in
for Bud very nicely. The 'Foamy Bug' has bitten these three. You know,
those small $5.00 to $50.00 foam airplanes (less motor & radio gear). Steve
even got me out a couple of weekends ago to give these things a try. They
are a hoot once you get used to them.

In early March, Steve Kolet and I had our regular meeting with the Park.
The new superintendent was out of the office so we were unable meet him but
are still looking forward to the opportunity. The Master Plan is going
through a change and will most likely not be available for public meetings
until August or September. Things are going well and will remain so as long
as we continue to pay attention.

The main topic for March was the review and vote on the proposed By-Laws
changes. It was a little dry, but we had some good discussion on a couple
of items. The main topic of concern revolved around the definition of a
quorum. Without going into detail, once the discussion was concluded, the
By-Laws were accepted with a 100% "yes" vote. I would like to thank Mel
Jones and Steve Kolet for their efforts in drafting the proposal. And also
thanks to the entire BOG for hashing through the document three times before
a final document was ready for presentation to the club membership.

Safety Topic: Please remember, the best way to learn something and remember
it is by repetition. If you follow the items set out in the Field
Management Guide all the time, it becomes second nature, and simple mistakes
won't happen.

Remember - Fly Safe and I'll see you at the field.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TRACKS IN THE SNOW
email updates from Michael Myers

Field Report 3/5/05

The field today had a beautiful pristine layer of about two inches of snow.
It was enough to cover all the ruts but not enough to cover the ridges from
the vandal's tires, but still quite ok.

I got in one flight with my Cub on skis and it felt good. The ground is
thawed enough to push in the metal hold-down thing, although I should have
checked for that before I started my engine (don't ask).

Anyhow, the weather report doesn't look so good for tomorrow, but on the off
chance the sun comes out, there may be one more day of ski-flying before the
snow melts and the ruts and ridges make the runway an obstacle course.

3/7/05

Steve Kolet and Russ O'Brien repaired the damage to the runway, and it is
now OK to fly there. Thank you, Steve and Russ.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A FLIGHT ATTENDANT I HAVE FLOWN WITH
Submitted by Gene Gifford

Flight Attendant Who Helped Airline Hostages Dies

(Feb. 24) - Uli Derickson, the Trans World Airlines flight attendant honored
for saving passengers' lives in 1985 by both confronting and mollifying
terrorist hijackers, died on Friday at her home in Tucson. She was 60.

Ms. Derickson was still working as a flight attendant for Delta Air Lines
when she received a diagnosis of cancer in 2003, her son, Matthew Derickson,
said in announcing her death.

On June 14, 1985, when a pair of Lebanese gunmen commandeered a TWA flight
from Athens to Rome, Ms. Derickson took the lead in protecting the 152
passengers and crew members.

Though the two hijackers spoke almost no English, Ms. Derickson was able to
speak with one of them in German and occasionally calm him by singing a
German ballad he requested. She won the hijackers' pity for one passenger by
explaining that his daughter had been delivered by a Lebanese doctor.

She also intervened during beatings, often putting herself in harm's way.

"Don't you hit that person," she would shout, a passenger later told The New
York Times. "Why do you have to hit those people?"

When a ground crew in Algiers refused to refuel the plane without payment,
even when faced with the terrorists' threat to kill passengers, it occurred
to Ms. Derickson to offer her Shell credit card. The ground crew charged
about $5,500 for 6,000 gallons of fuel.

The most terrifying moment for her, she later told Glamour Magazine, was
when the crueler of the two hijackers asked her to marry him.

At one point they asked Ms. Derickson to sort through the passengers'
passports to single out people with Jewish-sounding names. Although various
news organizations initially reported that she had followed their orders,
she in fact hid the passports, her son said. "Everybody looked to her for
courage and guidance," Tom Cullins, an architect in Burlington, Vermont, who
was a hostage on the plane, said in an interview yesterday. "She was clearly
in control. She even made demands of the hijackers."
Mr. Cullins added, "We have nothing but the utmost respect for her and a
debt of gratitude for really heroic acts."

After about 36 hours, the terrorists released a second wave of hostages,
including Ms. Derickson and 65 others, in Algiers. They had already killed a
Navy diver, Robert D. Stethem, but his was to be the only death. The
hijackers released other hostages over the next 15 days, with the ordeal
ending for the last 39 on June 30. It ended after Israel's release of 31
Lebanese prisoners, a fraction of the 766 the hijackers had demanded.

Ms. Derickson became the first woman to receive the Silver Cross for Valor,
awarded by the Legion of Valor, a veterans organization. The Taking of
Flight 847: The Uli Derickson Story, a 1988 movie that appeared on NBC and
featured Lindsay Wagner as Ms. Derickson, received five Emmy nominations.

Ulrike Patzelt was born on August 8, 1944, in Aussig an der Elbe,
Czechoslovakia, near the German border, and was raised in Bavaria. She
worked as an au pair in Britain and Switzerland before immigrating to
Connecticut in 1967.

She began working for TWA a few years later and joined Delta in the early
1990's.

Her husband, Russell G. Derickson, a former pilot, died in 2003. She is
survived by her son, of San Diego, and her mother, Marianne Patzelt of
Nuremberg, Germany.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IN SYMPATHY

Ron Strobel (also known as "Crash") is sad to report the death on March 16
of his stepmother Evelyn, wife of Bill ("The Hawk") Strobel. Evelyn was
cremated, and a memorial service will be held in early April. Evelyn was
Bill's wife for 36 years, and he is devastated by her loss. For those who
would like to call and cheer up "The Hawk," his phone number is
610-265-9142.

Both Bill and son Ron are longtime VFSS members who are known to many
through articles appearing in Hear Ye! and videos of numerous Fun Flies.
Ron also served as an instructor for many years. We express our sincere
sympathy to both men.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FUND PROVIDES FLIGHT TRAINING
Submitted by Al Campana

(Note from Al:
I haven't seen Bob Shannon's name in almost 40 years. Bob Shannon Sr. and
Bob Jr. were the two instructors that taught me to fly at Brandywine Airport
in West Chester.
This could be a great opportunity for some young folks who may be interested
in learning to fly "full scale.")

The Bob Shannon Memorial Scholarship fund is offering a $1,000 scholarship
for primary flight training to help encourage and support young men and
women between 16 and 19 years with their dreams of learning to fly.

Applicants between 16 and 19 years must reside in the Greater Delaware
Valley and must utilize the award within one year.
No previous flight experience is necessary.

The deadline for applications is May 15, and interviews will be held Sunday,
June 5.

For application forms, contact Bob Shannon Scholarship trustees, c/o Adelle
M. Bedrossian, 810 Crum Creek Road, Springfield, PA 19064.

Scholarships are also available for advanced flight training through the
Aero Club of Pennsylvania.

These scholarships are also open to residents of the Greater Delaware
Valley, and training may be taken at any certified flight school.

For more information, contact the Aero Club of PA, Box 748, Blue Bell, PA
19422.

(This article appeared in the Norristown Times Herald.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

HINTS & TIPS FROM THE AMA NEWSLETTER

Cyanoacrylate (CY) adhesive is triggered by moisture! Wood that becomes too
dry from being stored too long in low humidity environments may not have
sufficient moisture to activate CY glue. Moisten old balsa wood prior to
bonding.

from the Western New York Free Flight Society,
Fairport NY
"Get a Better Bond" by David Rosenberg
Mark C. Rzadca, editor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CLUB CALENDAR

Tuesday, April 5
BOG Meeting at the Church 7:00 PM
Finalize Fun Fly Dates - June 11 is the first planned date.

Tuesday, April 12
General Membership Meeting at the at the Church, 8:00 PM.
Guest Speaker - Bud Klopp - Home Building His Own Aircraft

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

FOR SALE

Goldberg "Sukhoi" w/Saito 150GK, JR Century VII PCM radio system, fiberglass
cowl & belly pan, covered black & white, needs batteries replaced.
$750.00, OBO

JOS Stick w/Zenoa G23. Foam wing covered, fuse prebuilt. $250.00, OBO

Hanger 9 "Super Stix" .40 size ARF $50.00, OBO

JR radio systems (all need batteries): Century VII PCM $125.00; Max 6 PCM
$125.00; X-347 PCM $225.00, OBO

Used engines: OS .46 SF ABC w/tuned pipe; OS .61 SF ABC w/tuned pipe, OS
.32

Karl Brown
610-286-6732 evenings
610-531-6344 days

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CORRECTION

Mario Chiarolanza's "For Sale" ad in the March newsletter contained an
error.

"Also, electric phone and charger" should read, "Also, electric PLANE and
charger."

If interested, call 610-828-5031.


Feedback or comments to: Marilyn Ayres , HearYe editor
Michael Myers, Webmaster


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