Hear Ye!

May, 2003
No. 432

FROM THE PREZ
by Bob Sudermann

Based on all the comments I have heard, everyone really enjoyed Eric
Henderson's presentation at the April meeting. As you know, sound reduction
is not only important but also critical in maintaining our flying site. We
all use mufflers, but few have tried some of the extreme examples Eric
presented. We have all experimented (to an extent) with different props.
Some have even soft-mounted their engines. I've seen air filters on the
intake but doubt if the intent was sound reduction. Four areas: mufflers,
props, soft mounts and air filters. If we work a little on each, change
something on our next aircraft, or modify a current favorite, we should be
able to eliminate any notion that the VFSS has any aircraft perceived to be
too loud.
Thanks again, Eric, for the great presentation.

I met with Chief Ranger Scott Kalback on April 18th to drop off our 2003
Insurance Certificate. So far so good; there don't seem to be any issues
between the Park and VFSS, and we need to continue working to keep it that
way. As many of you know, the VFSS operates on a five-year permit with the
park, which expires at the end of 2003. The club officers will begin
discussions shortly and should have a new permit ready by the end of the
year.

Upcoming Events

Limerick Airport is having an 'Airport Appreciation' and 'Adopt an Airport'
Day on May 10th starting at 9:00 AM. They have asked the VFSS to participate
with a fixed wing static display and helicopter demonstration. Alex Primas
will coordinate, and Mel Jones will coordinate the demo flights.

We will have a BOG meeting on May 6th. It should be short and sweet. We just
need to get ready for the June Fun Fly.
The first Fun Fly will be held on June 21st (rain day June 22nd). Mike
Estock is going to chair this event. Remember, it takes a lot to put on a
great day, and Mike needs your help, so please give him a call.

See you at the Field.

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THE ROAD TO BUCK
by Warren Barrick

If you take to heart what the Channel Six "weather gal" called the "nasty
week of April 6th to April 12th" you should understand the actions of The
Breakfast Club on Wednesday, April 9th.

Sickened by cabin fever and besieged with the prospects of rain, rain, and
more rain, six members of VFSS took matters into their own hands and decided
to make the annual pilgrimage to Buck! Buck, PA, is closer to the
Susquehanna River than the Delaware, and Musser's Hobby Shop is the primary
attraction. Getting there is a pleasant trek through southern Chester and
Lancaster counties. The usual stuff: Amish farms, carriages, two-lane
winding roads, Middle America at its best.

We agreed to rendezvous at Bob Dolan's house and go from there as a group in
his mini-van. What a motley crew! Dolan driving, Joe Pasquini navigating in
the front passenger seat, Warren Barrick and Al Campana in the captain's
chairs, and Pat Taggart with Carl Sutton on the rear bench. "Are we there
yet?" was Al Campana's question even before we left Dolan's driveway, and
the foolishness continued from there. Humor went south in more ways than
one.

Everybody marveled at the new development along Route 30 west, and we soon
turned south to find Route 372 west. We all saw familiar landmarks, as we
had "been there" previously. Our peerless navigator soon found that we
should turn onto 472 and proceed to Buck. Wrong! After seven miles and
everyone's "recognition of different places," we stopped in North Oxford at
a roadside restaurant and dispatched the navigator for directions. "Turn
around and go back to 372; turn left," were the instructions given, "and go
to 272."

Are you getting the picture? We only made one more stop, in Quarryville, for
directions again and proceeded west on 372.
By now everyone began to focus their attention on lunch, and the topic
became fried chicken at Musser's Market.
We pulled into the parking lot around noon and descended on the hobby shop,
which still is a large portion of the former market. A grand new food market
is adjacent to the old place.

We picked and pawed our way through all the goodies in the hobby shop,
checked out all the new ARFs and kits, and made many small purchases. Many
of us still had visions of Eric "Evil" Henderson's presentation at Tuesday's
club meeting, which seemed to say that the best way to conquer sound
problems is to throw money at them - money in the form of Y.S. engines, soft
mounts, and carbon fiber three-bladed propellers. Mind you, we took it all
in, and as loyal members of VFSS, the last thing we are going to throw at
anything is money. Frugal lads that we are, we pinched our pennies, and then
it was time for Buck's most famous secondary attraction, Chester Chicken,
fried fresh at Musser's Market.

The stampede began as soon as the cash register "kachinged" the last sale
and the weary sales lady heard the final plea for senior citizen discounts!
We descended on the fried chicken counter, much to the dismay of the counter
girls who looked upon us as "escapees from Bedlam" as we salivated over the
many succulent pieces of freshly fried chicken. Someone asked the deli
manager where the tables to eat lunch were, and she told us they would have
to get a restaurant permit/license if they offered such amenities.

Now with huge, carefully selected boxes of freshly fried chicken, we
gathered in the entryway of this lovely market where we found three benches
to sit upon and enjoy our lunches. The kicker was that these benches were
surrounded by the store's immense arrangement of Easter flowers. We settled
right in and began to pig out on chicken. The place smelled like a flower
show, a garden, or a funeral, but it didn't slow our progression through
legs, breasts, thighs or wings. We put that food away! Many customers were
quite surprised to see a bunch of almost old men gobbling chicken before
they could get into the store to make a purchase. I recall that somebody,
probably Dolan, was quick to tell all that we had escaped from an old folks'
home.

Our trip home was uneventful. The original navigator was relegated to a back
seat, Barrick drove, and Dolan second-guessed.
Model aviation has lofty moments and we all aspire to them, but Musser's
fried chicken is a reasonable attainable goal we all can reach, "Pass the
salt, please."

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MAY RAFFLE
by Joe Yalove

These are the prizes for the May raffle. This will be the last raffle till
September. Future meetings are to be held in the park.

1. Bench top work stand. This will hold a quarter scale. I saw this in
Toledo. Bought one for myself.

2. Plane restrictor. No need to tie your plane down while the engine is
running.

3. Two rolls of ULTRACOTE.

4. Hanger 9 plug wrench and a 30 minute epoxy kit.

5. Hanger 9 deluxe power panel.

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CLUB CALENDAR

Tuesday, May 6th -
BOG Meeting at the church, 7:00 PM, room 207. Topics will include June Fun
Fly, Limerick Airport Appreciation Day, May General Meeting.

Saturday. May 10th -
Limerick Airport Appreciation Day - Starts at 9:00 AM - Fixed Wing Static
Display and Helicopter Demo. Alex Primas is coordinating.

Tuesday, May 13th -
General Membership meeting at the church at 8:00 PM. Jeff Troy will be the
guest speaker.

Tuesday, June 3rd -
BOG Meeting at the church, 7:00 PM. Room 207.

Tuesday, June 10th -
General Membership meeting at the Field. Time to be determined.

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