Prez Sez
by Al Campana
So far this has been great flying weather, for both
models and full-scale aircraft. The Sunday Breakfast
Fly-In, hosted by the Pottstown AOPA enjoyed a terrific
day. They had a great turnout of private aircraft
and even had a Warbird (Navy SNJ) come in. In addition
to all the Cessnas and Pipers that arrived, there were
many home-builts and rare older aircraft. One beauty
was a Globe Swift (1948) in polished aluminum. Ted
ferrant, former president of VFSS and now a private
pilot, flew in and gave a ride to Joe Weizer and Joe
Yalove.
Our Club had a very nice static display of some really
beautiful scale models and I'd like to thank all those
members who participated in this event by bringing
their models for display. I would also like to thank
Karl Kuehmuss, Joe Rose, Al Primas, Ed Snead, and Russ
O'Brien for assisting in setting up the canopy and
placing the boundry stakes Saturday afternoon. I spent
most of the day at the Fly-In near the runway watching
the arriving, and later departing, aircraft. We were
treated to two very low level "buzz jobs"
and a Pitts S2A doing a slow roll on takeoff. Couple
all this activity with a breakfast of ham and eggs,
pancakes, juice and coffee and you have the makings
of a very interesting morning.
Sorry to have missed our Fall Fun-Fly. I understand
it went over very well. The reason I missed this event
was that our kids treated Betty and I to a European
vacation for our 45th anniversary. We toured 7 countries
(including Italy) for 2 weeks and really had a great
time. We visited a well-stocked hobby shop in Lucerne,
Switzerland and couldn't believe the high prices.
An example was a 2 channel Futaba radio, which would
sell in the States for under $100, priced at 200 U.S.
dollars. It's a very expensive hobby over there.
Shipping costs make everything expensive too. Anyway
it was a grand trip seeing the ancient sites (and pretty
girls) but it's always nice to get home. I kinda missed
the hobby and the B.S. with the "boys" on
the flight line. Yeah, it's good to be home!
Club Elections
According to our Club Bylaws we were supposed to have
nominations for the Board of Governors at our September
meeting. However, the meeting ran late and we didn't
have time for nominations. Therefore our first order
of business for the October meeting will be nominations
for the Board of Governors. There will be 8 members
going out at the end of 1998 and they will have to
be replaced. The Bylaws state that we can elect up
to 11 members for the term.
Again I urge all members to please consider this vital
service for the Club. The Board is the heart of the
Club and provides direction for our organization.
Board meetings are held only when there is business
to conduct and, as a member, you can help plan events
for all our members.
Training Update
By Jim Campana
With the Autumn breezes blowing in, the trainers have
been coming out less and less. But I was still able
to graduate two students to the rank of pilot at the
Fall Fun Fly.
Dennis DiBonaventura was the first to solo after the
fog cleared. Joe Pasquini began instructing Dennis
in the middle of July and he successfully completed
the program after 19 sessions with his Easy Fly 40.
Carl Sutton began flying with Charlie Swope on June
30. Their only delay was understanding the JR training
system. After 20 morning sessions, Carl was ready
for his solo flight. Since his Hobbico Superstar had
a nose gear linkage problem, he used the club trainer
(Avistar) for his solo and completed the flight without
any difficulty.
For those of you that missed our recent Fun Fly, you
missed one of the nicest days this Fall. Many members
got to fly and enjoy hoagies as well as hamburgers
and hot dogs. Mike Estock and Rom Boutin completed
4 beautiful candy drops and a Boy Scout Troop got some
stick time on a few trainers. I wish to thank everyone
who contributed to making this event such a success.
That said, the Annual Club Auction is only a month
away and we could use some help that day as well.
Contact Ed Snead or myself if you are able to assist.
Club Notes
OCTOBER 13 (Tuesday) - Club Meeting at the
Church 8:00
PM.
OCTOBER 20 (Tuesday) - Board of Governors
Meeting at
the Church at
7:00 PM. Please
be prompt
NOVEMBER 7 (Saturday) - VFSS Club Auction!
Registration
begins 8:00AM
See map for directions
Smithsonian Trip
Joe Weizer advises that he has chartered a bus for the
trip to the Garber Facility at Silver Hill, MD. This
facility is THE place where aircraft restoration takes
shape. This is your chance to see important, historical
being made whole again. All of the aircraft currently
being displayed at the Air & Space Museum have
been restored at the Garber Facility. The work is impeccable
and every piece remade or restored is documented.
The cost for this fantastic trip is $30 and will take
place on October 31. The bus will depart the King
of Prussia Plaza at 9:00 AM. The bus will be located
in the rear entrance of the Plaza, which is the same
location we had for the WRAM Show. Please have your
money ready for Joe at our next meeting or you can
mail him a check at his home.
If you enjoy aviation and famous, historical aircraft,
don't miss this opportunity to see the best restoration
facility in the world!
New Members
Dave Hamilton..........................Bala Cynwood
George Hickey...........................Glen Mills
Bill Higgins...............................Pottstown
Stuart Shapiro............................Bala
Cynwood
Vincent Starahs...........................Paoli
Jason Starke................................Berwyn
Jeff Starke...................................Berwyn
Michael Tarnowski......................Boyertown
Vianis Zouras..............................Newtown
Sq.
Record Flight?
by Elias Zouras
Sunday, August 16, a new Club thermal duration record
was set. My brother Yianis and I arrived at the field
at 11:00 AM that morning. It was mostly a cloudy day
with light (4 mph) wind from the southeast. Twelve
other club members had already gathered with their
planes on the field. The field had just recently been
cut, and as I looked across the beautiful grass runway
with excitement, I yelled to Yianis to hurry up and
stake the high-start line.
I was the first up the line and the flight was short.
I turned to my brother and we both agreed that unless
the sun came out, there might not be many thermals.
My brother launched his Gentle Lady about 300 feet,
gained another 150 feet of altitude, and then started
slowly descending down again to a soft landing.
I was flying a 100 inch original design sailplane.
It was very much like a Gentle Lady but with 22 inches
more of wingspan, a modified airfoil, thinner wing,
and lighter wing loading.
My second launch will be a flight we will never forget.
The sailplane held her stiff wings out straight, launched
into the wind, and very slowly circled overhead.
"Up, up, up" are three words I think best
describe the next 3 hours, 19 minutes, and 43 seconds!
That's right, all one continuous flight of searching
for thermals, flying up in them, losing them, and finding
new lift before getting too low.
I thank my brother Yianis, Charlie Swope, and Charlies'
friend Mark, all who were there supporting me, joking
and making me laugh, and witnessing this wonderful
event. It's days like this that make summer so relaxing
and satisfying!
From the Editor
The last two issues of this Newsletter are somewhat different because I have used 2 pages to promote the Fly-In and the Clubs' Annual Auction. (Adding an extra page increases our postage cost.) Next months' issue will return to the original format. I wish to thank those members who have submitted articles and I will make sure they will appear in future issues.
Feedback or comments to:
Al Campana , HearYe editor
Michael Myers, Webmaster
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