Officers Corners 2009
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Presidents Corner           Eugene R/C Aeronauts

Each week thousands of people fly an airplane without ever leaving the ground. The Eugene RC Aeronauts welcome you to the incredible sport of remote control aviation.
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  November 2009

    By the time you guys read this printing, there are 2 benches joined together near the ground level pilot boxes.  These 2 benches serve as temporary Elevated Pilot Box (EPB) for you to try out.  Frank, Wayne, and I have stood on the benches and completed flights from that higher elevation.  You get a full view of both sides and ends of the runway.  You also get better tracking of your plane as it comes in from the west side over the hill/trees.  Wayne made several landings smack down the middle of the runway and is loving it.  Frank made some great landings too.  As for me, the usual perfect warbird landings :)
Frank will install 2x4 wood railings for safety and put in some steps.  We can put up more EPB from unused benches as more pilots use them.  Try it out.  I'm confident you'll like the bird's eye view.
     At the last meeting, we discussed the pit area cover concepts.  It appears Wayne can get a kit of high quality materials to put up 18'x40' sections that withstood snow and rain up in Washington for 8 yrs.  Brad and Wayne will work out the details of ground prepping costs and present it at the next meeting for a vote.  I will contact Mike to get his blessing for our canopy cover.  Winter is fast approaching.  We can make quick use of the canopy to shelter our planes/electrical support equipment from the rain.  We can also put up clear plastic siding once the canopy is up so we can put in our personal propane heater to warm up the pit area.  Wayne has seen this all done in Washington.  It's a great field improvement concept.
    See you at the next meeting.

Regards,  Khoi Tran
ERCA President 2009


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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  October 2009

     The painted shed and trailer look better with the new coat of paint.  Many thanks to the painting party for that improvement.  At the last meeting, we also discussed other field improvement ideas like elevated pilot stations, pit area cover, grass runway treatments.  Please show up at the meeting to voice your support or lend your expertise on how to proceed with these projects.

     At the next meeting, we also will take nominations for next year's officers.  Please show up to put in your nominations.  I will be interested in running for the same seat again next year if you guys think I've done a good job of serving the club this year.  The voting will be at November meeting, which is actually 2 weeks after October meeting.

     Regarding the fundraising raffle, it appears that we're not moving well with the sale of remaining tickets.  We can decide as a group if it makes sense to raffle off the radio at November meeting regardless of how many tickets remain.  Again, this decision will rest on the vote of the membership next week Oct 20th.

Regards,  Khoi Tran
ERCA President 2009


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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  September 2009

   We had a wonderful day for Labor Day Fun Fly.  Light wind and mostly sunny at 74 degrees.  Had a good showing with about 20+ flyers/visitors.  Al did a good job with the burgers and dogs as usual.  We had a few laughs watching Doug trying to end the life of that miserable Old Yeller plane.  But I think the damn thing is still flying, so don't get your hopes up.

   Raffle Update:  I've sold my lot of tickets and Jeff's share of 40 need to be sold.  Frank, Marty, and Brad may have a dozen each so we may be only half way through the tickets.  Need more members to buy tickets to support the club and get a chance to win the Futaba 10C spectrum radio.

   Many thanks to Brad, Marty, and Doug for helping to complete the shed construction while Jeff is held up with personal issues.  We now have the siding and door in place and everything looks great.  I hear that Frank is going to help with getting paint for the shed to give it a nice finish.

   I encourage you guys to get out there and fly while the sun is hanging around.  The rain last weekend is nice reminder of what's coming soon...    


Regards,  Khoi Tran
ERCA President 2009

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  August 2009
 
    At the last meeting, we discussed the idea of a Raffle Fundraiser to help balance our 2009 budget.  We approved for the fine gravel put down in the pits area to reduce risk of injury from tripping over the matting.  This cost would be about $600-700.  We did not budget for this line item.  The idea for the Raffle Fundraiser will be to buy an item that will be on most people's wish list to ensure enough participation.  The goal in return will be $500 revenue to help balance the budget.  We settled on the purchase of Futaba 10C FASST spectrum radio/receiver.  This retails for $650 at Tower.  We plan to get the radio for $500 and sell tickets at $5 each until 200 tickets are sold.  Then, the raffle will occur.  I hope that we can sell enough tickets to trigger the raffle by August meeting at the field.  I encourage all active members to participate.  It's an opportunity to win an awesome radio and help out the club.  A rare win-win situation

We also discussed at the meeting the need for name tags.  We have at least 10 new members a year.  Sometimes, it's a bit awkward to have to ask for people's names repeatedly at the field.  Jim Corbett has graciously agreed to make name tags for active flyers out there.  New members and club officers will automatically receive name tags.  I encourage active flyers to approach Jim individually to request for his name tag.

    Reminder to everyone that August 15th is the annual club Fun Fly event.  There will be a BBQ for everyone as usual.  Come out and hang with your fellow club members.  Summer is almost over so get off that couch.

Regards,
Khoi Tran  

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  July 2009

    Oakridge Big Bird Fly-In was a success.  The event was well organized, and many members pitched in to help out on that day.  The only disappointment was the squirrely weather that came up by 11am and stayed on.  Even my propjet did things I've never seen before in that wind up there.  Other than that, it was a warm and sunny day.  I'd like to give individual thanks to those that helped prepare for the event.  These guys really went out of their way.  Brad and Frank for bringing their canopies, pilot stations, and running the administrative part of the event.  Doug and Chuck for shopping and preparing the food and drinks.  Al for cooking all day long even on his anniversary day.  Jeff Engel for bringing a whole trailer full of supplies for the event.  Jim for loaning his stuff even though he was not even there.  Mark for loaning his aviation radio so we could communicate with these full scale planes that kept trying to land on top of us that morning.  I apologize if I'm missing anyone else that helped out.  Anyway, I counted 25 cars present at the event and about 30+ people.  We did have a few visitors from out of town.  Calvin Keleo even flew in on his Cessna to hang out with us.  I got several compliments from guest flyers about how well we organized this event.  It was fun.

    Let's switch subject and talk about Dexter Lake float flying.  I was at the lake on Sunday morning and flew my Seawind.  Weather was perfect with sunny sky, slightly cool air and water was calm.  Bill, Joe and I had a blast.  I got to fly Bill's Balsa USA Northstar.  Man, that plane can move.  It's super easy to take off and land.  Yet when I poured the coals, it was hitting 90-95 mph on a stock set up with OS46 motor.  I just could not convince Bill to let me slap a Jettstream tuned muffler and an APC pylon prop on that demon to pick up another 15-20mph.  I guess he was nervous enough seeing me fly that Northstar 90mph just above the water and heading straight for our dock on several passes.  Anyway, I liked it so much that I commissioned John to build 2 for me ASAP.  Should have them ready in 2 weekends for Red Bull style flying.  I encourage you guys to come out and see what float flying is like.  Call me to find out when we go out there.  You can putt putt around with a Tower trainer modified with velcro-on floats when it's too hot to be at our field.  Or you can build a Northstar in a week and zip around at triple digit speed!!

    Reminder to everyone that next meeting is at our field at 7pm on Tuesday July 28th.  We will have club BBQ there as usual.  Show up early and hang out with the guys or put in some flying.

Regards,
Khoi Tran   

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  June 2009

     Well guys, summer has finally arrived.  Hope you guys have completed your winter projects in time for great flying weather.  The field is in great shape and that dreaded cross wind has been fairly mild.  The only annoying problem is the allergy season in full bloom.  So don't forget to load up with Claritin, Nasonex, Optivar before heading to the field to fight off the pollens.

     Oakridge Big Bird Fly-In update:  I received the permit from the airport manager so we're good to go.  Brad Werneth and Frank Blain volunteered to be CD's for the event.  Please contact them to help out with our following needs:

--Portable aviation-band VHF radio, tuned to the Airport CTAF, 122.90 MHz
--10'x10' folding canopies, need 2 more
--8 foot long folding tables, need 3
--extra large coolers, need 2
--Direction signs for the event
 
      Tip of the month:  I recently learned how to do silver soldering with a mapp gas blow torch.  I needed to make a long extension for my socket head allen wrench to get through that long cowl and reach the socket head screws.  I used a brass coupling and cut off a section from allen wrench to attach to a long screwdriver with its tip cut off.  The next step is to use silver soldering to weld the coupling to the 2 ends.  Key here is to use high temperature solder, having 56% silver that you can buy from Jerry's in tools section for 10 bucks.  It comes in a small coil of solder and tube of flux.  Prepare the 2 ends to be soldered with dremel sanding wheel to remove any coating and coat them with generous amount of flux.  Use mapp gas torch, butane/propane not hot enough, to heat up the metal ends to red hot color, then touch silver solder to the metal and it should flow nicely into the joint and fill up any gaps.  Voila, a strong soldered joint within seconds.  Try it on landing gear struts, etc.

     Remember, next meeting is at the field on Tuesday June 23 at 7pm.  Arrive early to put in some flying time before the meeting.  It's our first meeting/BBQ at the field so show up and hang out with the guys.

Regards,
Khoi Tran

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  May 2009

At the time of this printing, our wood storage shed has been assembled at the field.  We ended up with a 10'x12' shed to accommodate the bigger lawnmower we got from John Bowhan's father.  The shed looks great, just needs a fresh coat of paint.  I want to give Jeff Engel many thanks for putting it together for the club, and also to John Bowhan for getting the big mower up and going.  I saw firsthand how the big mower can cut the grass down to golf course level.  Doug now has the better resources and storage solution for long term field maintenance.  We're grateful to have those 3 dedicated club members. 

Finally, I received the Certificate of Insurance from AMA to provide coverage for our Oakridge Big Bird Fly-In event on July 18th.  We now can move to logistics planning.  At the next meeting, I will present the wishlist of items to have available at the event and appoint a Contest Director.  We hopefully will get membership input to help make this a well presented, fun event.  Please roll up your sleeves and participate at the next meeting.

At the last meeting, we had a guest speaker from the Cottage Grove hobby shop.  His name is Drew.  He asked for membership input for the items he may stock on hand if we will buy in bulk for good discounts.  I advised him that giant scale may be the niche for his consideration in this competitive RC market.  Otherwise, he has to compete with the direct from China distributors and Tower Hobbies for the standard size planes which would make it very difficult.  For instance, I'm willing to drive down to Cottage Grove to pick up an airplane if he does not charge me the $100-150 shipping fee that I otherwise would pay to another distributor like TBM, Chief Aircraft for a giant scale bird.  Several club members also indicated interest in buying glow fuel in bulk.  He will investigate the bulk prices for YS 20/20, standard 15% nitro, and heli blend fuels.  I will get his response and present the info at the next club meeting.

At the last meeting, we assigned field marshall Marty to make the reminder calls to members that have not paid their club dues.  This will be the last reminder.  Our flying season is fast approaching, and club events are coming right around the corner.  We have club BBQ's at the June, July, and August meetings, Big Bird Fly-In July 18th, Club Fun Fly August 15th, Labor Day Fun Fly in September.  There will be fees charged to nonmembers at these events so please remember to pay club dues.

Regards,
Khoi Tran

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  April 2009
 
March meeting at EWEB again had a good turnout.  Thanks again, Gus, for the nice introduction to KMP line of planes that he now is the US rep.  Since he is local, we can get planes directly from KMP without shipping costs.  KMP offers more scale appearing warbirds in the form of ARF.  At the April meeting, we might have another guest speaker, Drew who works at hobby shop in Cottage Grove, present information about the shop and get input from members what types of RC supplies we want to see in his shop.  It's a great way for him to stock what we need and for us to have access to stuff we need right away.
 
Speaking of scale warbirds, I ran into a Ziroli P-40 warhawk hanging up in the ceiling of Tammie's Hobbies last month.  I was shopping with wife and kids at the time in Portland.  Had to run back up there the next day to bring home the beast.  It's 96" ws, weighing in at 36 lbs and has the usual G62 to power it.  It was built by well-known master Bill Ensley in Beaverton.  He spent 8mos, working on it full time, to put it together.  It had won first or second place in all 3 Scale Masters qualifier entries.  I will bring it to the April meeting at EWEB for close up look to see what a Scale Master level warbird looks like.  Even our local master builder Frank was blown away at the scale detail.  Get ready to stand back and be amazed...
 
On Good Friday, I got a pleasant surprise from a local RC guy.  Rick Pepperkorn has quit the hobby due to health issues.  He has a couple boxes of field equipment and misc stuff for small planes that he wanted to donate to our club, even though he's not a club member.  I picked up the stuff from his house and will bring it to the clubhouse.  I plan to retain the Enya 45 motor and the field support equipment for our club planes.  The rest of the stuff will be stored in the shed, to be used for helping out newbies or grounded planes at the field that needed misc parts to get back into the air.  If you guys get in a bind at the field, just ask any of the intro pilots who have keys to the shed to find stuff you can use.
 
On a different note, it was brought to my attention that we have some nonpaying members flying at our field.  I don't need to remind people that there is a significant cost to maintain our nice field.  We presented the budget information for transparency at the Jan meeting.  Field maintenance cost is supported mainly by club dues.  Members have been asked for 4 mos now to pay the dues.  As of last meeting, we still had almost 30 members that have not paid dues.  If that continues, we will have a budget deficit this year.  So again, please pay your club dues so you can avoid awkward encounters with members who may feel strongly against nonpaying flyers.  We're all out there to have fun and fly with good karma.
 
Regards,
Khoi Tran
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  March 2009

     At our March 31st meeting, we will have Gus Phillips come as a guest to present information about KMP line of airplanes.  He will show a DVD of KMP manufacturing process and give us a peek at the new electric retracts on an ME 109.  In case you don't know, Gus is the USA support agent for KMP.  I think his presentation will be quite informative for those warbird addicts in the club.  Please come to show our support of this segment of the hobby.
     Regarding the Oakridge Airport location for our Big Bird Fly-In, I've gotten mixed feedback from club members.  Steve Harris brought up the concern for surrounding trees at that airport.  But I know guys that have flown there for many years without issues.  And to settle any nerves, I plan to go up there on a good weekend day to fly and see for myself.  Frank and a couple members plan to join me for that day.  Let me know if anybody else wants to join us for that test fly day.  We will present information based on our experience at the March 31st meeting at EWEB.
     It appears that about 1/3 of club members still have not paid their 2009 dues.  Please show up at the March 31st meeting to pay dues and show your support.

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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  Februarty 2009

   Good news, members. I've gotten verbal approval from the Oakridge Airport manager to use that airport for our July 18th Big Bird Fly In. I'm just waiting for word from Joanne, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, to meet next Tuesday with the Board to discuss our request and give formal blessing. I will then get written approval from airport manager and we're in.
   It's been quite a process to get access to that airport but I think it's worth the effort. They have a 3600 feet long asphalt runway that is laid down east/west direction but because of the surrounding ridge lines, the wind is always blowing right down the runway one direction or the other. I hope that gets you guys as excited as I am. Please put this winter to good use and build/fix/dress up that big bird you've been hiding in the garage and get her ready for July. This big runway will allow you all to fly your prized bird with confidence. i.e. not have to worry about fighting cross winds like at our field. I plan to advertise this event in the AMA magazine so we can get the word out to folks all over, making it a well attended show. We will discuss details on setting up as the event host at the next few meetings. Please attend and roll up your sleeves to help out.
   At the Feb 24th meeting (Papa's Pizza on Coburg just south of Beltline), I will invite Bill Schneider to talk about float flying at Dexter Lake. He introduced me to this alternative style of flying last summer and let me tell you, it's a blast if you have not done it. It is a great way to do a picnic at the lake complemented by flying RC. Bill has access to the U of O rowing dock so you can stand on the dock to fly and not have to worry about getting dirt/sand on your plane. You will learn how easy it is to outfit even a trainer with floats and be ready for water take off. Or if you're willing to dive right in, get a Great Planes Seawind like me and get ready for Red Bull Air Race style flying right above the water at full speed!!!

See you at the meeting.
Khoi Tran
ERCA President 2009
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PRESIDENT'S CORNER,  January 2009

    I'd like to take this opportunity to offer a few words of appreciation for Patrick Willis.  He has done a fantastic job as club president for the last 2 years.  We struggled financially 2 years ago with start up costs for the new field.  I remember being "hit on" by Frank every few months for cash calls to help put the field together.  I believe we had only 65 members at the time.  Pat promised to bring the membership to 100 by the end of the year.  Goal was for the club to gain strength by number, and to have a fresh infusion of capital to recoup the field startup costs.  He has succeeded handsomely.  We now have a solid membership and a decent cash reserve for unexpected expenses.  Thank you Pat.
   In the coming year, the goals I've set are to protect the cash reserve and improve club services.  As everyone knows, cash is king in a sputtering economy.  It is important that the club protects its reserves to allow it to maintain its functions.  It will be tricky to balance this with ability to maintain quality club services/activities.  But I have some ideas that I will present at January meeting with the budget proposal for membership approval.

Khoi Tran
ERCA President 2009

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Presidents Corner
Vice Presidents Corner Tresurers Corner

Vice Presidents Corner           Eugene R/C Aeronauts

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Presidents Corner
Vice Presidents Corner Tresurers Corner

Treasurers Corner           Eugene R/C Aeronauts

NOTES: Annual membership dues of $60 per year apply to each adult. There is no membership fee for ages 9 to 16.  Active and drilling military free membership and initiation. Furthermore, membership in AMA ($58 per year) is mandatory for all fliers (no exceptions!).   Please note that AMA membership for minors (up to 19) is only one dollar per year.

NEW Mailing address: Eugene R/C Aeronauts • P.O. Box 26344, Eugene OR 97402
Email address:   albarrington@msn.com

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Treasury Report

August 25th, 2009

We have 99 members confirmed current with AMA and ERCA.  2 other members are pending verification.  Robert Funk and Tim Roome-Trant
 
Follow-up:  I found the obituary for member Eugene “Gene” Parro who died July 15th of cancer at age 85.  I sent a card to the family on behalf of ERCA.

New, renewing or prospective members this month:
Rick Charles  -  Prospect
Mike Robinson  -  Applied and voted in at last meeting

Fund Raisers:  Raffle for Futaba 10C Transmitter over $500 value, Only $5 a ticket.  Drawing when all tickets are sold.

BBQ donations:  Received $47 at Big Bird Fly-In,  food cost was ~$140. 
Received $11 at the July 15 Fun Fly and July meeting food cost was ~$40.  Not sustainable!

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<>$   $   $

As of the last meeting, July 28th, 2009:



Debits
Credits
Balance
Old Balance:
In Checking Acct. Last Month


$5,878.34





Expenses:
Doug McWha - Field Maintenance
$306.25



Doug McWha - BBQ Food
$174.65



Above All Sanitation - July Svc
$30.75



Brad Werneth - Raffle Radio prize
$500.00



Jim Corbett - Husky Mower repairs
$43.75



Jim Corbett - Member Name Tags
$52.00


Total expenses
This month $1,107.40

$4,770.94










Income
Member Dues & Fees

$640.00


Raffle, BBQ Donations

$83.00

Total Income
This month
$723.00
$5,493.94






Bank Deposits


$723.00
Cash
On Hand

$0.00

Current
Ending Balance as of: 8/25/09


$5,493.94






AL Barrington

ERCA, Sec/Treasurer

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Treasury Report
August 12, 2009 - We're at 96 members now and the treasury is still over $5000.00 strong.  This is about $2000 greater than we had in the treasury at this time last year.  Unlike our government we are doing well at living within our means and are currently operating under a balanced budget.
 
I wish I could write more, I have to pull another double shift tonight and the County takes a dim view of me doing club work on County time.  I need a clone.

 See you and everyone at the Fun-Fly Saturday.
 
Happy Landings
 
AL
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Treasury Report
As of March 8, 2009 we have 73 members on the roster. 69 adults and 5 youth.
New members; John Florent, John Poole,    Carey, Walters

Al Barrington, Treasurer
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Presidents Corner
Vice Presidents Corner Tresurers Corner