Prez Sez
by Al Campana
One of the things that R/C flyers look forward to is summer with it's warm weather and bright sunshine. We sometimes forget about the hazy, hot, and humid days we usually end up with. The heat and humidity tends to thin the ranks of club members flying at the field. Thank goodness for the umbrellas, they make the heat bearable in the afternoon.
A few weeks ago a club member asked if we could do an R/C model presentation for a group of Cub Scouts. A date was arranged and Joe Weizer agreed to talk to the boys and introduce them to R/C airplanes. After a brief talk Joe, Rom Boutin, and Joe Pasquini got out the trainers and buddy boxes and gave each Cub Scout a few minutes flying time. The kids had a great time!
Later the Club received a very nice letter from the Scouts, thanking us for this introduction to R/C flying.
The feeling was mutual. The group was well behaved and accompanied by family members. Because of this,
it was decided to print the letter for the benefit of all the Club members:
"On Saturday morning, June 20, 1998, the VFSS hosted members of Cub Scout Pack 303 and their families at the model airfield. I have been requested to sincerely thank all the VFSS members who made that Saturday morning such a memorable event for the Cub Scouts and their families. When the Packwas first considering contacting the VFSS they had no idea that they would actually be able to get "air time" and be so close to those magnificent flying machines. I was told that many of the Cubs had a chance to see the planes flying from the road or, if they were lucky, have their parents stop for a few minutes at the field to get a closer look. Never in their wildest dreams did they consider that one day they would try piloting an R/C model. Members of the VFSS's training program were prepared with 3 training models, hooked up to buddy boxes, and allowed every Cub Scout to fly the models. Even the parents got in on the deal. And as Joe Weizer very accurately stated,
"the Moms usually did better than the Dads". The kids were also treated to a private lesson on the various types of model airplanes and how planes fly in general.
This was one of the best introductions to flying and airplanes for Pack 303 and one of 1998's best summer events.
The members of VFSS were fun and very generous with the kids. The kids even received a Polaroid photo to show-off their piloting skills. As always, there were two or three kids and parents that naturally have that gene shaped like an airfoil, called the flying gene, and they were instantly hooked. In fact, there may be some new additions to the VFSS training program because of this event.
In closing, Pack 303 wishes to sincerely thank the VFSS for their generosity and good nature. The kids had a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding time. They also received a great introduction to a wonderful, life-
long, family hobby. Good flying, VFSS".
(signed)
Cub Scout Pack # 303
Members of the Boy Scouts of America.
Joe Pasquini and Bob Sudermann assisting a Cub Scout
1998 CLUB MEMBER DIRECTORIES have been printed and distributed at the last Club meeting. If you have not received your copy, they will be available to all members at the monthly meetings.Club Notes
AUGUST 11 (TUESDAY) - Outdoor Club Meeting at
VFSS Field, 6:30 PM. Bring a chair.
RAIN DATE - THURS., AUG. 13
AUGUST 18 (TUESDAY) - Board of Governors
Meeting, VFSS Field, 6:30 PM.
Subs and sodas provided.
RAIN DATE - THURS. AUG. 20
SEPTEMBER 13 (SUNDAY) - Fly-In Breakfast,
Limerick Airport, 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM
Static Display of VFSS Scale Aircraft.
SEPTEMBER 26 (SATURDAY) - Fun-Fly at VFSS
Field. Last one of the Year. Bring a
plane and enjoy a good time!
Radio Channel Ownership
(from info supplied on membership applic.)
That's a Grand Total of 675 Radio Sets.
Frank Morris
Training Update
By Jim Campana
This month we had only one student receive his wings.
Dwayne Myers was checked out on July 18 after only
7 sessions with Joe Pasquini. Dwayne credits his quick progress to some earlier flight training. Congratulations
Dwayne!! And nice job as usual Joe.
New Members
The following New Members joined the Club in July:
Dennis Dibonaventura .....Newtown Square, PA
Eugene Gifford................Valley Forge, PA
Richard Schwendler.........Valley Forge, PA
Thank you for joining our Club. We wish you success
and enjoyment in this great hobby!
The Pottstown Aircraft Owners and Pilots Assn. will be celebrating their 50th Anniversary
at Pottstown - Limerick Airport on Sunday,
September 13, 1998 with a Breakfast Fly-In.
VFSS will be there with a Static Display of
Scale Models. Don't miss this event!!!
Italian R/C
By Mario P. Chiarolanza
On a recent tour of Italy, one of our points of interest was the Lake Como area outside of Milan. While eating lunch at a lakeside cafe I heard a familiar sound, R/C plane engines. My son, who is a co-pilot for TWA, and I spotted R/C sea planes over the lake about a 1/4 mile away. We finished our lunch and headed to a grove of trees by the side of the lake. Finding the takeoff point, which was a picnic area, we discovered about 10 men and their planes.
After introducing myself by speaking Italian, I explained to them about the Valley Forge Signal Seekers and about Valley Forge. I explained to them the number of members and the variety of planes that our members fly.
They were surprised about the number of members in VFSS since they only have 30 members. Their planes were not as big as the planes we fly here. They resembled sophisticated trainers with floats, however, they flew well.
The president of their club invited us to partake of all the Italian food and wine; the Italians really know how to party.
I spent an hour with them. I would have stayed longer except I had to meet our tour bus. Before leaving, the president gave me a club hatpin and decal of their club. He asked me to write to them and tell them about our club activities and to send pictures.
I hope someday in the near future to visit Italy again. I'll put Lake Como on my tour agenda.
Address of Club President:
Adriano Spina - President
Via Manzoni 11
23900 Lecco, Italia
Assn. Lechesse Aero Modellisti
The Bread Always Lands Jelly Side Down!
What does this have to do with airplanes? Well, it has to do with your transmitter.
If you stand your transmitter on the bottom end (and we all do this, it's a natural thing to do), and it decides to fall over, 99% of the time it will fall on it's front. And that's the side with the sticks on it. When it falls on it's front, it always pushes the throttle wide open!
So follow this scenario: You start your engine, peak it up and head for the flight line carrying your plane and transmitter. When you reach the flight line , you place the plane on the ground. It's nice slow idle gives it no tendency to roll, and because it's a little nippy, you decide to put on your gloves. You put the transmitter on the ground with the antenna up so that it's nice and unstable and proceed to put on your gloves. Nothing can go wrong. You are standing right there (hopefully you didn't go back to your flight box for gloves). A slight breeze comes up, tips the transmitter and suddenly
your engine is at full throttle and you are in the middle of a dandy fire drill!
Another case of Murphy's Law occured on a bright and balmy day when one of our members went to the field to continue his self-training on his helicopter. After starting his engine and carrying the helicopter out to the runway, he discovered his transmitter was still set up for one of his other models and, as such, a couple of the servos were reversed for the helicopter. No matter, the transmitter has servo reversing switches in the back under that little panel. So, with the engine idling and the help of another flyer who just happened to be standing by watching, an attempt was made to correct the polarity of the offending servos.
Guess what? During the process of reversing the switches, the servo controlling the throttle was reversed and the engine went from a docile idle to a wide open whirling dervish! So here you have a helicopter with some controls reversed and an engine at full throttle.
Small pieces of that helicopter can still be found resting among the sagebrush north of the field. Fortunately the only casualty was the helicopter.
From Sierra Signals
Carson City, NV
Frank E. Chase, Editor
John Powell after a great Sunday morning flight
Feedback or comments to:
Al Campana , HearYe editor
Michael Myers, Webmaster
Read another Hear Ye! | Back to Valley Forge Signal Seeker's Page | Back to Radio Control Airplanes