January 2006 Crosswinds

January
2006
Newsletter for the SPring Area Radio Kontrol Society
SPARKS 2005 - 2006 Officers
Duane Neefe
President
936-372-9265
Jim Greer
Vice President
281-370-5615
George Terry
Treasurer
281-356-4315
Diane Marson
281-374-8915
Secretary & Newsletter Editor
SPARKS Flight Instructors
Chief Instructor
281-288-7661
Lee Dillenbeck
Flight Instructors, Airplanes
Bob Allen
281-443-8779
Paul Johnson
281-353-7930
Jack Jones
281-252-3159
Ted Karis
281-970-7786
Richard Lewis
281-351-8540
Bill Murad
281-290-8945
Nick Marson
281-374-8915
Duane Neefe
936-372-9265
Ground Instructors, Airplanes
Vic Baney
281-357-1357
Gabriel Virene
281-830-3208
Helicopters
Charles Jones
832-978-3688
Duane Neefe
936-372-9265
Warren Watkins
281-855-7830
SPARKS WEBSITE
www.sparksrc.com
mail: SPARKS
P.O. Box 1361
Tomball, TX 77377-1361
From the Cockpit by Duane Neefe
Welcome to the
January issue of the SPARKS newsletter-Crosswinds. Thanks to all of you
who have contributed articles. Thanks to Diane Marson for publishing the
newsletter.
Our landlord recently told us that the sale of their property has been called
off by the buyer. This of course is great news for us since we have more
time to find a new field. It does not mean we should stop trying to find and
develop new sites. The Kays still have their property for sale which we need
to understand they probably will sell the property in the near future. Also
the addition of new homes near our flying field could still make it impossible
to fly there in the future.
Therefore the SPARKS club still needs to actively investigate all potential
flying sites. We need to continue with the Bauer Hockley Road site and
work closely with the Simaron management concerning the airport
runway site.
We can support and maintain three or more flying sites. The locations and
quality of these fields can enhance the SPARKS RC club and make it
stronger within the local RC community.
In the near future I will be sending a note to the neighboring RC clubs who
extended guest flying privileges to us. I had previously told them I would
keep them informed of our field status and they need to know we can
currently stay at our field. I will thank them for their generous offer.
Our next business meeting will be held January 4, 2006. We will be
discussing how we will use the Simaron Fish Ranch facility and the status
of the Bauer Hockley site. We will also be discussing AMA membership
and club requirements. Please try to attend this meeting.
Please remember that Safety should be number one for all of us. We should
always try to set a good example for others especially our new members and
younger members. If you have any concerns regarding safety at our flying
field please let Vice President and Safety Officer Jim Greer
[email protected] or myself [email protected] know your concerns.
Remember set a good example fly safely!
Christmas and a happy new year.
Duane A. Neefe
I hope you all have a great
Highlights of the December meeting…….
Glen Watson presented a very informative slide presentation comparing the prospective
new field sites in comparison to existing fields.
These photos are taken from the Google Earth website.
The starting day of January 8, 2006 will be three days after our January meeting. At
this meeting we will need to discuss how the field will be accessed and used. The field
rules should be established before this meeting. It is important that we establish these
rules before flying at the site. Please remember we will open the field for flying starting
January 8, 2006.
Photo left Simaron Fish
Farm - Arrow
shows
runway
Photo to right—
Bauer Hockley
Rd.
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Map above shows possible new Field locations (blue flags) as well as area Flying Clubs (red flags)
and major roads. The push pin markers depict Sparks members residences.
Sparks Field
Don Menk won Model of the Month
with his electric P 51B
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Unbelievable Aerial Photos
submitted by Dean Nistetter
http://www.haute-voltige.com/en/general/news/latest.htm
This is a great one too…..
http://www.airliners.net/
“Breaking the Sound Barrier” is just a
sample
Highlights of the 2005 Oceana Air Show
submitted by Lee Dillenbeck
Here are several websites of the NAS 2005 Oceana Air Show in
Virginia Beach, Virginia. There are lots of awesome photos and the
show featured flights by The US Navy Blue Angels, British Red Devils, Canadian Sky
Hawks and the US Army SOC Black Daggers.
You must check these out and enjoy the great photos and commentary.
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/Oceana2005/Highlights/
http://www.stevesairshow.com/2005shows/oceana05.html
http://www.richard-seaman.com/Aircraft/AirShows/Oceana2005/index.html
Here’s a good one from Mike Rose……
Turn up your speakers…..
http://worteldrie.com/flash/emergency.swf
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Rumors have been circulating that Heli Pilot, Charles Jones had defected over to the
“Dark Side” (a.k.a. Fixed Wing flight) Well, here is the truth in Charles own words…….
My Two New Aircraft
by Charles Jones
After working for a couple of months I finished the two airplanes I have been working on in my
spare time.
The first one is a Carl Goldberg ARF which I found out 2 weeks after I brought it that it had been
discontinued. I put a Thunder Tiger 46 Pro engine in and it flies great with it. The weak point of
the kit is the landing gear, after studying it, I decided to replace the screws with hard Allen
screws and build a back stop so the two piece landing gear would stay put. This is really a great
flying airplane, very smooth.
MATRIX 40 ARF
Kit Number: 12075
Wingspan: 55¼"
Wing Area: 662 Sq."
Flying Weight: 5 -6 lbs.
Fuse Length: 58"
Power:
.40-.50 2-Stroke
.52-.70 4-Stroke
Close up of landing gear mods
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My Two New Aircraft,
con’t
The second ARF kit is a 540T by Vector Flight, built in Canada
(do not go through the trouble of looking them up because two weeks
after I received it they closed)
I installed a Super Tiger 90 which has more than enough power for what I may
want to do.
The two piece wing does not use a tube system but uses plywood. This is an airplane
I will have to slowly grow into. I have the feeling this could get away from me very
quickly if I let it.
Specifications:
Wing Span: 66 inches.
Length: 57 inches.
Engine required: 0.60 - 0.90 2 stroke.
0.90 - 1.00 4 stroke.
Weight: 8-8.5 lbs. approx. with 0.75 2-stroke engine,
5 standard servos and 600 mAH NiCd Rx Pack.
Wing Area: 730 sq. in.
Removable 2 piece wing.
As a side note, Greg Riede who helps me even after I have came over to the
dark side, says he now remembers why he flies helicopters.
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A note from the Editor……
Well another year has come and gone (sort of like some
aircraft) and as we reflect on 2005, as a Club, we have
been faced with the challenge of relocating our Field.
Many special thanks are due to the continued efforts of a
group of members who spent many hours and gallons of
gasoline in the quest so all of us members would have a
flying field in the future.
They included Vic Baney, Kevin Braziel, Homer Davis, Kay Everett,
Chris Ferdona, Melvin Field, Mark Hunt, Charles Jones,
Jack Jones, Len Kingsbury, Don Menk, Ed Menville, Duane Neefe,
Dean Nistetter, Greg Riede, Jim Ridgway, Jim Sheffield,
Tom Shelton, Steve Tavary, George Terry and Glen Watson.
Please excuse me if I omitted anyone’s name….
The Crosswinds is about 1/2 size this month but hopefully next month it will
be back in full form.
It is being posted early this month because we will be out of town over the
holidays.
Many thanks to contributing members….
Lee Dillenbeck…….Charles Jones, Dean Nistetter and Mike Rose
Hope Santa leaves
everyone a new
plane under the
tree!
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