New President Elected
New Officers for 1998
New Editor Named
From the President
Pilot Profile
B.O.G. Review
Editors Cockpit
by Al Campana
Being retired means never having to say you're too busy to volunteer. With that in mind I agreed to take over as editor of this fine Newsletter Sam Andreas has done a truly remarkable job, not only as Hear-Ye editor, but as our Club Secretary. But when you flnd you don't even have time to fly, then it's time to pull some irons out of the fire. Personally, I hope to see more of Sammy out at the field during the 1998 flying season.
OK, so what do I have in mind for this newsletter? The way I see it, a newsletter should be interesting to read, with various articles about modelers, technical subjects, club activities, field safety info, related aviation news, and maybe a photo or two. Where will we get these articles? Hopefully we will have some articles submitted by Club members. And there are other sources of R/C or aviation-related information which can be obtained including; R/C Web sites, magazines such as Air & Space(Smithsonian) and Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) and other club newsletters.
I know it sounds ambitious but I'm looking forward to the task. Heck, if I can't fly in cold weather I might as well write about it.
From the President
By Warren Barrick
CongratuIations to our newly elected officers for 1998! President: Al Campana, V.P.: Ron Gallo, Secretary: Dee Messina, and Treasurer: Alex Primas. I'm sure they will all do a great job for us and make sure that we all can continue to enjoy the greatest hobby in the world at the best flying venue in the U.S., Valley Forge National Historical Park.
Good luck to the nominees for the Doug Davidson and Technical Achievement Awards.
Nominated for the Doug Davidson Award were: Sam Andreas, Warren Barrick, Rom Boutin, and Al Campana.
Nominees for the Technical Achievement Award were: Mike Estock, Frankie Morris, Tony Szczur, and Joe Weizer
Voting for these nominees will take place at our January general membership meeting at the church. Come out and vote! Winners and other awards will be presented at our Annual Awards Banquet in February. The Banquet will be held on February 9th, 1998. Club members will be allowed to bring one guest to this gala affair. We must know how many people to prepare for by February 2nd. Please plan to affend and if you do please give your name and number of people in your party to Warren Barrick or one of the newly elected officers by February 2nd. No reservations will be accepted after that date.
This "From the President" is my last as an officer of V.F.S.S. I am not leaving the club
but as many of you already know my newly retired wife and I have purchased a new home in lower Delaware County. This we expect to take up a considerable amount of our time.
Being President of the Signal Seekers has been a real blast. I have enjoyed every minute of my tenure. It has been a wonderful experience. I thank you all for electing me and for giving me the pleasure of leading the finest model aviation club, the Valley Forge Signal Seekers. See you at the field.
Club Notes
General meeting will be held on January 13, 1998 at the church. Members are reminded to renew their AMA license for 1998. You must show your AMA card when paying your VFSS dues Dues are tha same as last year.
There will be a meeting of the Board of Governors on Tuesday, January 20, 1998. This is a very important meeting. The new officers will be meeting with new B.O.G. members and the 1998 operating budget will be discussed. I would like to suggest that all B.O.G. members come prepared with a note pad and pencil to take notes.
VFSS Club Banquet - February 9,1998 (See details in "From the President column")
WRAM Show - February 28,1998. Cost $30 A few seats still open. Call Joe Weizer.
Raffle News
Joe Pasquini has agreed to run the Raffle one more time in January. Joe has done a super job running this important club activity He has always provided a wide assortment of R/C supplies to choose from. Thanks Joe, for those 3 years you ran the program.
Austin and a friend, Ed Sabol (of NFL Films) were flying into East Stroudsburg Airport in 1959. At one end of the airfield they saw a group of modelers flying R/C airplanes and they were interested immediately. When they arrived back in Philadelphia they headed straight for a hobby shop. His first kit was a Sterling Tri-Pacer which featured rudder and elevator control using rubberband powered escapements. A member of the VFSS Club taught Austin to fly his model, which went on to survive 3 different radio installations
Austin served as President of VFSS for one year, was Editor of Hear-Ye, and was also appointed to serve on the first Board of Governors. In those days the club met in the
lan Wood plant in Conshohocken. Austin feels his greatest contribution was opening the
club to more members. Previous to that decision, the club had a cap of 30 members. He also served as an instructor, teaching many members to fly, including Joe Weizer.
Around 1979, Austin attended the first KRC Electric Fly. He was 1 of 3 contestants at the meet. In 1982 he built a Porterfield and flew it in the 3rd KRC contest. Austin is a ham radio operator and flys his R/C models on the 6 meter radio band.
Congratulations, Austin on your long and successful association with the VFSS Club.
Training
By Jim Campana
First off, I wouId like to thank Rom Boutin for he past two years he has put in as Chief Instructor. Rom will be staying on as an instructor and will be seen at the field most . every day.
The Flight Instruction Program is being slightly altered. We will no longer have Associate Instructors, they are now Full instructors. The difference will be that instructors do not have to have students assigned to them. I will, however, encourage them to carry a student or two. Al1 instructors will be allowed to take the student all the way through the program, EXCEPT they will not be allowed to sign them off. For that l ask, I have assigned 5 long-time instructors as check-out instructors. They are the ones who are ultimately responsible to produce a safe and capable R/C pilot. Following is a current list of instructors:
Sam Andreas, Rom Boutin *, Simon Bush, Jim Campana *, Tris Calket, Mike Estock, Abe Jones, Chuck Karr, Bud Klopp *, Dee Messina, Ed Moore, Joe Pasquini, Joe Pennock, Ron Strobel, Bob Suderman, Charley Swope *, Mike Weiser, and Joe Weizer *
The asterisk (*) indicates the Checkout Instructor.
B.O.G. Review
By Sam Andreas
The last session of the 1997 Board of Governors was called to order on Dec. 16 at 7:00 PM. Both 1997 and 1998 BOG members were present in order to elect next years officers.
1 ) The President turned the meeting over to the Secretary who called for nominations.
2) The elected officers for 1998 are:
President - Al Campana
Vice President - Ron Gallo
Secretary - Dee Messina
Treasurer - Al Primas
3) The menu for the CIub Banquet was discussed and set.
4) The Treasurers report was given and accepted.
5) It was noted that the 1998 operating budget will be finalized at the January B.O.G. meeting.
6) A proposal was made to purchase a TV - VCR combo unit for use at the Club meetings. The purchase was authorized in lieu of the Church allowing us to store it there.
Feedback or comments to:
Al Campana, HearYe editor
Michael Myers, Webmaster
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