Hear Ye!

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

An AMA Gold Leader Club

January, 2006
No. 464

FROM THE PRESIDENT
By Bob Sudermann

The Board of Governors (BOG) selected the officers for 2006 at the BOG
meeting held December 06, 2005. For those that did not make the regular
meeting in December here are the results.

Treasurer - Larry Scaggs
Secretary - Steve Kolet
Vice President - Carl Sutton
President - Bob Sudermann
(That's right, you are all stuck with me for another year.)

We had a great turnout and a lot of fun at the general meeting on the 13th
of December. If you missed it - your loss.

Some general items regarding upcoming events:

1. The Banquet will be held on Friday February 10th. Please see the
enclosed form for details
and send your very small fee to Carl Sutton.

2. Joe Weizer is again organizing the bus trip to the WRAM show on February
25th. Please contact Joe for sign-up.

Nominations were taken for the Doug Davidson and Technical Achievement
Awards. All nominees are more than deserving and have contributed to the
club and hobby in many ways. Please see details from Steve Kolet and come
out in January and cast your ballot.

We had a really good turnout for the Show and Tell portion of the meeting
this month despite Alex Prima claiming it was too cold to bring his Waco
Bipe. Last month Andrew Berg won a 3D Foamy as part of the raffle. He has
already completed and flown the craft. He seemed quite impressed with the
hardware package provided. Frank Bakay, along with Tom Greet, has been
building electric motors, and Frank brought in an example. It seemed quite
impressive with the amount of detail and precision in order to make them
work. It also seems to be a great deal, around $9.00 for the example Frank
had. The problem came in when getting the speed controller and extension
plugs. $9.00 for the motor and $9.00 for three plugs? Seems a bit out of
whack. John Coia brought in what he refers to as the world's cheapest ARF,
for around $38.00 (including coupons). John has also fabricated skis made
out of Plexiglas. These are currently untested. I am working on a 31%
Extra with a 3W 75 cc single gas engine with a canister muffler. I am
working on the 'Tunnel' for the canister and will bring it out again in
January to show the progress. Robert Krankel brought out his new 'Jet' Foamy
which is in a pusher configuration. According to Robert, it is very quick
and jet-like in the air. Steve Kolet got hooked up (for the story on how,
talk to Steve) with the cable show 'I Want That.' The producers of the show
provided Steve with two 'Butterfly' electric indoor airplanes. They come
with their own metal case, controller, battery - everything ready to go.
Steve was filmed in his living room flying them around. The 'I Want That'
segment is scheduled for HGTV, January 25, at 8:30 PM. We will try to get a
copy for future viewing.

Thanks to all who brought out their projects. It was a great show, and we
need to continue that level of participation.

Safety Topic

It is Building Season and we are all working on new projects or just getting
ready for the holiday season. This is a good time to thoroughly go over
your aircraft. Check all aspects of the craft as though you were getting
ready for its maiden flight: hinges, control linkages, servo mounts, air
frame joints, etc. Also, make sure to take care of those batteries, both
onboard and transmitter.

Also remember that the adhesives, paint, and solvents we use can be
dangerous. Make sure your work area is well ventilated.

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

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VFSS AWARD NOMINEES

Achievement awards for 2005 will be given at the annual banquet at the
Camelot on Friday, February 10.

Doug Davidson Memorial Award nominees for outstanding service and devotion
to the hobby and to the club are

Vince Judd, nominated by Andrew Berg and seconded by Warren Barrick

John Powell, nominated by Frank Bakay and seconded by Jim Myers

George Ray, nominated by John Powell and seconded by Bob Sudermann

Technical Achievement Award nominees are as follows:

Harold Harrison was nominated by Vince Judd and seconded by Steve Kolet.
Harold scratch-built a gorgeous 29% scale "Weeks Solution" starting from a
small set of 3 view drawings.

Warren Barrick was nominated by Joe Pasquini and seconded by Steve Kolet.
Warren has built several gorgeous scale WWI fighters from kits.

Larry Scaggs and Perry Lawrence were jointly nominated by Steve Kolet and
seconded by Carl Sutton. They have upgraded the club roster in a database,
use the database to send mass emailings about meetings, the raffle, and are
planning to help Mike Myers make the website interactive.

Mike Myers was nominated by Art Rothstein and seconded by Steve Kolet. Mike
created the VFSS website and has maintained it for many years.

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NEW WARBIRD RECOVERY BOOK
Written by Gordon R. Page

I was asked to contact your organization with information about my new
Book - Warbird Recovery, The Hunt for a Rare WWII Plane in Siberia, Russia.
This book is about the true-life adventure of chasing my childhood dream and
what I had to go through to save some aviation history. I call it a "don't
do this at home" story, as I had to deal with the KGB and Mafia and
ultimately melted a historic plane out of a frozen lake in Russia. The book
starts out in my childhood, building models. I am sure your members will
enjoy this award winning story about the efforts to recover, and someday
fly, several Messerschmitt Bf-109s - which will use original DB-601 engines.
Enjoy the story!

(Editor's note: This is informational only, not an endorsement.)

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THE NEW F/A-22
Submitted by Steve Petrokubi

The in-flight photo shows the F/A-22 as the first aircraft delivery was
being made to Langley AFB in Virginia. Langley is to be first operational
AFB for the F/A-22. Langley is a beautiful base, located in a picturesque
location near Norfolk and Hampton, VA.

The Aircraft seen flying along with the F/A-22 is the F-15, which will be
replaced by the F/A-22, which is several times better than the F-15.

In actual in-flight (simulated) combat operations against the F-15, two
F/A-22s were able to operate without detection while they went head to head
against eight F-15's. The F/A-22s scored missile hits (kills) against all
the F-15 aircraft, and the F/A-22s were never detected by either the F-15s
or ground based radar.

Major General Rick Lewis said: "The Raptor operated against all adversaries
with virtual impunity; ground based systems couldn't engage and NO adversary
aircraft survived!"

F/A-22 - America's most advanced fighter aircraft for the 21st Century!!!

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VFSS BOG MEETING
Submitted by Steve Kolet, Secretary

December 6, 2005
Meeting opened at 7:05 PM by President Bob Sudermann.
Present:
2 members from 2005 term,
8 members from 2006 term,
9 members from 2007 term,
secretary

OLD BUSINESS: NONE

NEW BUSINESS:

Elections were held. The elected VFSS Officers for 2006 are
President - Bob Sudermann
Vice President - Carl Sutton
Treasurer - Larry Scaggs
Secretary - Steve Kolet

All business was concluded and the meeting adjourned at 7:30 PM.

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NOTE FROM THE SECRETARY
By Steve Kolet

If you missed the club meeting on December 13th, you really missed a fun
time. It seemed that suddenly it was 10 PM!!

The show and tell was great fun - a "Butterfly" indoor RC model which was
flown, a description of how small electric motors can be made, the "World's
Cheapest ARF," a big gasser, a foamie SU-27, and a previous raffle foamie
model.

The raffle was a blast with wonderful prizes - lots of interest - great work
Larry and Perry!!

We took nominations for the Doug Davidson and Technical Achievement Awards.
The nominees for the Doug Davidson are Vince Judd, John Powell, and George
Ray. The nominees for the Technical Achievement Award are Harold Harrison,
Warren Barrick, Larry Scaggs and Perry Lawrence, and Mike Myers. Voting
will be by secret ballot at the January meeting. Please come out and
support your club members.

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

WRAM SHOW

From the website of the Westchester Radio Aeromodelers, http://www.wram.org/

38th Annual WRAM Show

One of the country's largest hobby trade shows, and the biggest on the East
Coast, is the annual R/C show held by the Westchester Radio Modelers in
White Plains, New York.

Occupying all three floors of the Westchester County Center, the show has
been held continuously since 1968.

In addition to exhibits by some 150 or more manufacturers and organizations,
the show is a magnet for modelers who compete for prizes in a static
competition that is staggering for its size and the beauty of the models on
display.

Modelers (and exhibitors) from all over the country attend the show, and it
is a showcase for all the latest in kits, engines, motors, radio systems,
plans, accessories, and other hardware. You also may get to meet some of the
leading figures in the hobby. Dave Brown, champion pattern flier and
currently President of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, is a regular
attendee.

VFSS is arranging a bus trip to the WRAM Show on Saturday, February 25. The
cost is $45, which includes food and beverages on the bus and admission to
the show. See Joe Weizer for further details.

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CLUB CALENDAR

Tuesday, January 3 -
BOG Meeting at the Church, 7:00 PM.
2006 Budget Proposal / Approval.

Tuesday, January 10 -
General Membership Meeting at the Church, 8:00 PM.
Awards Voting - Doug Davidson / Technical Achievement.
Joe Krush - Indoor Rubber Powered Aircraft.
Raffle - Pay attention to your e-mail for details.

Tuesday February 7 -
BOG Meeting at the Church, 7:00 PM
(if required)

Friday February 10 -
Annual VFSS Banquet - 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM,
Camelot Club, Bridgeport, PA.

Tuesday February 14 -
There is no meeting - Banquet replaces February Meeting.

Saturday February 25 -
WRAM Show. See Joe Weizer.

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FOR SALE

For sale - Best offer takes the lot:
SIG Kadet w/mounted O.S. 40 engine (no muffler).
HB .50 engine w/muffler. Fox .36 engine.
Kraft 4-channel radio w/receiver, antenna, charger, 4 servos (was in a
crash; would need to be fully tested and re-conditioned).
Zinger and TopFlite wood props; several Master Airscrew composite props.
Hardware items (main gear w/wheels, nuts, bolts, wheel collars, main gear
w/wheels, nose gear/wheel, wing bolts, glow plugs, etc.)
SIG Kommander cowling and cockpit/canopy.
Brian Hyde - 610-531-6781

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FOR SALE

World Models Cessna Skylane w/elec. motor & prop $55
World Models P-51 Mustang w/elec. motor & prop $55
GWS De Havilland Beaver w/elec. Motor & Prop $25
All planes and details can be seen at:
http://www.kodakgallery.com/lisa_and_rick
Contact Rick for more information. 610-429-4686.

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BOARD OF GOVERNORS

BOG Term expires end of 2006
Warren Barrick
Andrew Berg
Miles Bowman
Al Campana
Rob Caso
John Matt
John Powell
Alex Primas
Bob Sudermann, President
Bill Sunick
Carl Sutton, Vice President

BOG Term expires end of 2007
Ference (Frank) Bakay
Tris Colket
Mike Estock
Mel Jones, Helicopter Instructor
Vince Judd
Luke Koziol
Phil Leinhauser
Russ O'Brien
Larry Scaggs, Treasurer
Price Stevenson

OTHER CLUB FUNCTIONS
Steve Kolet, Secretary
Michael Myers, Webmaster
Walt Pierzchala, Sunshine Chairman
Marilyn Ayres, Editor, Hear Ye!

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


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