May/June 2011

May/June 2011
Whoa, Nellie! Where'd the Month Go?
by Andy Kunz, [email protected]
Let me start off this edition by apologizing. This newsletter was supposed to be published a month
ago. Things just got ahead of me. The good news is, I never got around to procrastinating until
today. But I quickly got over it and finished this up after dinner.
Speaking of procrastinating, have you paid your dues yet? Jeff Cash, our Membership Secretary, is
trying to put together both mailing and e-mail addresses for everybody. He has a pretty good handle
on the e-mail addresses, since that's how we send out the newsletters. If you would, please e-mail
him your name and mailing address so we can keep our records up-to-date. Also, you may find it
hard to open the gate in the future... Jeff's e-mail is [email protected]
Field Closures
As you probably know, the Stephens family made Eli Field possible by their generous donations and
support. One of the requests they made was that Horizon Hobby be able to use the field from time to
time for private events. Horizon donates to the club for the use of the facilities. See more on why
that's important at the end of this newsletter.
The next such event will be July 8th from 4:00 PM onward. During that time Eli Field will be closed to
all except those invited by Horizon for this event.
The field will also be closed on July 21st from 4:00 PM onward. During that time Eli Field will be
closed to all except those invited by Horizon for this event. Club members who are available to help
cook/clean should contact Pete Bergstrom [email protected]
Event Reports
Builders Contest/Swap Meet
Since the last newsletter we have had our first club event of the season. On May 21 we worked with
the Monticello Railway Museum to present a “Planes, Trains, and Automobiles” event in conjunction
with the Builders Contest. It was a little different than last year, as we included a Swap Meet as part
of the Builders Contest to hopefully boost attendance (we think it worked).
Unfortunately the weather forecast was for 80% chance of
rain, so most people left their models behind. Aside from a
few drops before we started, the rain never came.
There were 5 entries in the Builders Contest. Bill Brundle
brought back his giant Beech D-18, this time wearing a coat
of primer. Next year he plans to have it finished. Judging
was handled by three spectators who were volunteered to
come up with a set of standards and then use them to rate
the entries. They decided:
1
2
3
Bill Marshall - F-16
Stan Zolodz - Utterly Butterly (Stearman)
Mark Fitzgerald - Sbach
Milton Hendrickson - Flat Foamie
Bill Brundle - D-18
Bill Marshall & his F-16
We also had 5 vendors, including
Randy from Slot & Wing in
Champaign and Stan Zolodz of ZPlanes from Indiana
(219-662-1355). A lot of guys from
Decatur turned out to shop and
some from Champaign, Danville,
and Rantoul. Next year I want to
have our event sanctioned as a
swap meet so we can get it in the
magazine. All the vendors
expressed interest in coming back.
They understand it was a first-year
thing and the bad weather, and the
lack of advertising. Next year I
hope to make it worth their
support.
Mark Fitzgeral & Sbach
Stan Zolodz & Utterly Butterly Stearman
Horizon Hobby donated an RTF Hobbyzone Super Cub for a raffle.
This was Bill's day – he won that too! After we gave him a little grief about having something he could
fly that day (the F-16 wasn't cooperating), he put it together and made sure the little tykes got a little
stick time. Thanks, Bill!
The club made $75 from the raffle and contest entries. Not much, but every little bit helps.
Thanks to all who turned out to make it a success by participating, and a special thanks to those who
helped make it a success.
Monticello AeroTow by John Hammond, [email protected]
On Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 Horizon Hobby sponsored
the annual Aero Tow along with the help of the Monticello
Model Masters club members manning the food stand
along with other areas they might have worked in. There
were also helpers that were family members either of
Horizon or members of Monticello Model Masters. It was
interesting to note that 68 registered pilots came from 21
states in the USA, along with Canada and Australia also
being represented. Registration was on Thursday morning
and the flying later that day. Thursday morning started out
raining and later cleared off and was cloudy with the 5
registered tow
pilots able to get the gliders up in the air. Most of the
time there was a waiting line for the glider pilots to wait
ttheir turn before take off.
Friday saw a better day for flying weather wise and was
warm with Saturday being even warmer but all in all the
pilots seemed to be enjoy getting to spread there wings
those 3 days! The gliders ranged from a 12 foot
wingspan to 32 feet wingspan (WOW)! On Saturday
evening a banquet was held for the pilots along with a
raffle drawing that made some pilots happy. Missie
Anderson roamed the crowd of pilots selling tickets for 3 days so they may take home one of the nice
prizes donated by Horizon Hobby! To go and be able to see all the different gliders was amazing and
if you have never viewed anything like this next year will be your chance! It'll be the 10th Anniversary
of the event, biggest and best one yet!
o
Not to mention any names for fear of leaving someone out
we will say that a GREAT BIG THANK YOU GOES TO ALL
THOSE WHO HAD ANYTHING TO DO WITH MAKING
THE AERO TOW THE SUCCESS IT WAS THIS YEAR!
Your hard work is appreciated! That goes for everybody!
Y
Thank you
T
See you next year!
S
John
The people who helped out were Pete Goldsmith, John Diniz, Craig Greening, David Payne, Missie
Anderson, Kim Payne, Caroline Goldsmith, John Hammond, Linda Bergstrom, Mary Diniz, Madeline
Diniz, Torrey Diniz - ed.
Two down, three to go. Next up: OPEN HOUSE & FIREWORKS
2011 Club Modeling Events
Eli Field Open House and Fireworks
Illini SuperJets
North Central IMAC Championships
July 3 (Sunday)
Aug 25 – 28
Sept 16 – 18
See the “Last Word” column below for more information on these events.
2011 Nearby Modeling Events
Sangamon Valley Autism benefit http://www.sangamonvalleyrc.org June 25
Pekin World War I Fly-In [email protected]
June 25-26
This list will grow!
2011 Club Meeting Schedule
July
Aug 1
Sept
No meeting!
General Meeting – Club Field
No meeting! (Labor Day – always, a great day at Eli Field!)
2011 Officers
President – Pete Bergstrom - [email protected] – 217-840-3400
Vice-President – Mike Hilderbrandt – [email protected]
Safety Officer – Mike McConville – [email protected]
Treasurer – Lee Anderson – [email protected]
Membership Secretary – Jeff Cash – [email protected]
The Last Word by Pete Bergstrom, President, [email protected]
Time to get down to brass tacks (or reality check?)
Club Operating Expenses
Your board and officers do a really outstanding job of being good stewards of the funds available to us to
operate the field. But this job is a difficult one as we balance the needs of the club and field against available
funds. Below is an example of the annual fixed costs to operate Eli Field.
Expenses
Property Taxes
Property Insurance
on the property)
Grass cutting
Porta-potty
Electricity
Total
$4,400
$750 (this is separate from the AMA fees and is specifically for the building and shelters
$4000
$900
$700
$10,750
Membership Income
Our current membership base is about 60 people and needs to grow – that’s why we developed to multi-choice
Initiation Fee last fall. So far two new people have taken advantage of this that would not have done so before.
This membership number includes 5 lifetime members who invested $1250 each when they joined the club.
Annual dues
Initiation Fees
Total
$6000
$750
$6750
As can be seen from the above simple chart we need to raise an additional $4000 per year just to pay all the club
expenses; more if we want to make continual improvements in the field. This can be done by either raising dues
(Not expected, not desired) or by holding events to raise money. The board and officers have devised a system
where we can hold a series of events over the course of the summer top raise the additional and desired funds
but this takes the effort of everyone in the club who enjoys the use of the field.
So here we are at the beginning of our activity season, and we really need to have the volunteer rosters filled for
our various events. And volunteerism is really not just an option, but a necessity if we are to financially survive
as a club. Please contact the following people to volunteer your time and expertise for each of our events:
Eli Field Open House
Illini SuperJets
NC Regional IMAC Champs
July 3
August 26-28
Sept 17-18
Pete Bergstrom
Chris Huhn
Mike McConville
Mike Hildebrandt
217-840-3400
217-778-2891
217-840-2535
217-621-9528
If you haven’t already volunteered be ready to answer a call for help from these individuals as the dates of their
events approach. I appreciate everyone’s help in advance and expect this to be our best year yet!
You will notice that there is no listing for our Charity event in July. This is intentional because we will not be
ready to hold an event of this stature or nature this year in the way it needs to be done. I am forming a
committee now to start planning for a 2012 event so if you are disappointed because we had to cancel this event
please volunteer now to participate and plan a world class event for next year.
Until then - safe modeling!
Pete