Officers Corners 2012   
From the archives -  ocorner2011   ocorner2010 ocorner2009 ocorner1998-2008


ERCA Officers 2012
Office     -    Name Phone Number Cell Phone Number
Email Address
 President  - Brad Werneth
 541-285-5935
  brad@werneth.com
 Vice-President - Mike  Farr
 541-689-4564
  541-579-0260
  far-owt@comcast.net
 Sec-Treasurer - Al Barrington  541-935-4960
  albarrington@msn.com
 Safety Coordinator - Mike Winklepleck  541-968-0504

  heidisman1@gmail.com



ERCA Officers 2013
Office     -    Name Phone Number Cell Phone Number
Email Address
 President - Mickey Cohen
  541-  541-953-9902    mcaviation@comcast.net
 Vice-President - Mike Winklepleck  
  541-968-0504
   heidisman1@gmail.com
 Sec-Treasurer - Al Barrington  541-935-4960
   albarrington@msn.com
 Safety Coordinator - Roger Dahl  
 541- 579- 5959
   roger@artistry-in-motion.com


Appointed by the President
 Grounds Keeper - Doug McWha  541-741-3326  541-543-0046   flyduke@comcast.net
 Newsletter Editor -  Jim Corbett
 541-344-5022
  james.corbett@comcast.net


Presidents Corner
Vice Presidents Corner Tresurers Corner Safety Coordinator

Presidents Corner           Eugene RC 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.
_________

---
PRESIDENT Elects CORNER, December 15,  2012

Now that the building season is upon us we can look back at the great days we had this year for flying. I would suspect for most of us the flying season came and went way too quickly. As the holiday season passes,  we will start thinking about and planning for the New Year. Some of us will build additions to our fleet, others will be checking their airplanes over and preparing for another great year.

I am looking forward to serving as your president in 2013. I have several goals that I will work on this year which include growing our membership, increasing attendance at our meetings, developing more youth involvement and field maintenance and improvements. I am certain that most of you have some great ideas as well.  I would like to hear about your thoughts and idea's so that we can discuss and evaluate them at the meetings. If you would like to send your suggestions to me prior to the meetings I can add them to the agenda. My email address is mcaviation@comcast.net and my phone number is 541-953-9902.  I look forward to hearing  about your thoughts and suggestions. 

My responsibility as the president is simply to be a resource for you to make all of our club and flying experience's as enjoyable and satisfying as possible.

Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday season & a healthy New Year!

Mickey Cohen
541-953-9902
mcaviation@comcast.net

---
PRESIDENTS CORNER, May 21,  2012

   Wow, the weather has been great, I hope everyone has had a chance to get to the field and get some flights in. I have been out almost every weekend this month and it’s been some of the best flying for me in years. This last Saturday there was no wind from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. when I left the field.

   We have a Fun Fly this coming Monday, Memorial Day Fun Fly. It was added last month because we didn’t want to wait until July for our first Fly-in. There will be no landing fee and no prizes but there will be food. I have invited the Salem and Corvallis clubs to come and join us for a fun day of flying and conversation.  Let everyone know about the event and come out for the fun.

   Jim Corbett is really making progress on the electric charge station. Take a look at the web site under projects for a look. We will need to decide where to place the station and form a work party to dig a trench from the generator to the bench to place the conduit with the wiring. Contact Jim if you would like to help out with the project, this is an all donations based project with no club funds. Jim has a list of items needed to finish the bench and work that needs to be done to get it installed. For now we are using a gas generator that is on loan, but if the bench gets a lot of use we will be talking about the club buying and installing some solar panels to power it.

   Come and buy some tickets for the $200.00 gift certificate to TRUMP’S HOBBIES. I want to draw for the certificate at the Memorial Day Fun Fly. You don’t need to be present to win. We will also have a 50/50 pot at the club meeting on Thursday and a 50/50 pot at the Fun Fly on Monday.

   Hope to see you all at the field and at the May club meeting.

 Regards, Brad S. Werneth ERCA President 2012

PS. The Embroidery Logo on my polo shirt was done at NeedleWorks, here is a link to their web site http://needleworksforyou.com/. The owner is Mindy and she has the logo on file.

---

PRESIDENTS CORNER, February 21,  2012

   For those of you that weren’t at the January meeting I will be bringing my laptop computer to show off the Real Flight Simulator 6 and our field. When you pull up the main menu of the sim. our field is in the background for the whole world to see. We need to discuss at this next meeting how we want to give away the sim. that Real Flight gave us.

   We had some great club members step forward at the last meeting to volunteer as committee chairman. Thank you to Chuck Jenkins, Wayne Wahrmund, and Jeff Engel. We will need more members to volunteer to both help out as committee members and as chairman of other committees. We had some great flying events last year and I know that with the help of all the club members this year that the events will be even better. So come and volunteer for a committee and make this an outstanding event year.

   Remember the February meeting is at Roaring Rapids Pizza and there will be a 50/50 pot at the meeting. You can buy a ticket for $1.00 and at the end of the meeting the winner will get half of the pot and the club will get the other half. So bring money and join in on the fun while helping the club. Also if anyone wants to help out with the cost of food, you can buy a pizza as a donation. I will be buying one large pizza for the meeting. Let Al know if you plan on buying a pizza for the meeting.

  Hope to see you all at the field and at the February club meeting.

Regards, Brad S. Werneth
ERCA President 2011

---

PRESIDENTS CORNER, January 3,  2012

   Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all Eugene R/C Aeronauts, and also GO DUCKS, that was a great Rose Bowl.

   I don’t have much, but I do have some news to pass on.  It’s that time of year that most of us normal flyers stay home and fly our simulators. For those of you that have the Realflight RC simulator I have some good news. Starting with the newest version of the simulator the Eugene R/C Aeronauts flying field will be part of the program. You can stay home like me and still fly at our field as much as you want.

   I also got Great Planes to donate a new simulator to the club that I was thinking we could raffle off at the February pizza meeting. I was thinking it could be a door prize just for coming to the meeting but we can talk about it Thursday night at the club meeting.

   That’s all for now, hope to see you at the meeting or at the field.

Regards, Brad S. Werneth
ERCA President 2011

---



Presidents Corner
Vice Presidents Corner Tresurers Corner Safety Coordinator

Vice Presidents Corner           Eugene RC Aeronauts

_________

---

VICE PRESIDENTS CORNER,  August 15, 2012

Beautiful Evening Flying

   Summer flying days are slipping away again.  Just wanted to give you a heads-up on some great flying opportunity.  Monday evening, I arrive at the field at 6:30 PM.  Wind was blowing 14 mph - a bit beyond my courage.  I needed to finish breaking in a new Saito 100 so I started up the engine just to run a tank through the new piston and rings.  7 PM the wind dropped to 6 mph and I had the field to myself for a beautiful hour and a half of near perfect conditions.  I flew my plane from the middle of the field to the east and the setting sun provide ample brightness to see my plane clearly.  Fly directly to west off the runway is blinding because of the setting sun and will cause a rise in your blood pressure when your plane disappears for a few seconds.  Just fly to the east!

   The wind diminishes as the sun begins to set on these hot windy summer days.  You can pretty much count on it!  Have fun and be safe!

   See you at the field!

Mike Farr

---

VICE PRESIDENTS CORNERFebruary 21, 2012

   The new Real Flight Simulator 6.0 is sponsoring our field, Carl Henson Field, as it new main flying site addition.  Real Flight has given a new Real Flight Simulator to our club.  Pres. Brad gave a short demonstration at the last club meeting.  This is worth checking out!  It is way cool!

   Committees were discussed at the last club meeting.  We are hoping all club members will respond to helping and serving on the various club committees.  Chuck Jenkins in the chairman of the Flight Instructor Committee, Wayne is committee chair over Pylon Racing, and Jeff Engel is chair of the Construction Committee.  We still need Committee chairs for the Awards Committee, Events Committee, and Refreshment Committee.  The more we all get involved the greater success and enjoyment we will experience at the field.

Note of concern!  I was recently approached by a club member who had a bad experience with his family at the field.  He had brought his wife and children to field, after a very short time his wife loaded up the children and left because of the foul vulgar language used by a club member.  Some of us do not appreciate this type of language anytime but when women and children are present this is totally unacceptable.  We all need to police this type of behavior!

 
Mike Farr

---

VICE PRESIDENTS CORNER,  January 4, 2012

   The 2011 year was a great year for our club!  The events we sponsored were well attended and everyone seems to have a great time.  The new signage increased the number of spectators dramatically over past years.  Our field was in great shape all year and I express my appreciation to all those who worked to keep it green, mowed and well maintained.  Great Job!
 
   The club officers are working on the 2012 proposed budget to present at the club monthly meeting.  It is always a bit concerning, this time of year, with the number of members who have paid their 2012 dues.  A strong membership number is key to continued operation and improvement of our facility. 
 
   I made an attempt recently to clean off my desk and office.  I was about to discard a handful of old RC magazines when I remembered a recent discussion at one of our monthly meetings about increasing RC exposure.  What a great idea it is to drop a few used RC magazines at your work place break room, doctors and dentist office, or other public locations.  Last year, I gave a work friend a couple of magazines and he has just purchased his first RC helicopter and is a member of a neighboring club.  If we all do a little something to introduce this great hobby, it will keep our club and this sport strong and healthy in the future.
 
   I am anticipating an even better year in 2012.  Can’t wait for dryer warmer days ahead!  See you at the club meet or at the field – soon I hope!
 
Mike Farr


---

Presidents Corner
Vice Presidents Corner Tresurers Corner Safety Coordinator

Treasurers Corner           Eugene RC 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.

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

_________

---
December 14, 2012

2012 has been a great year for ERCA.  We will end the year with 84 members and over $5000 in the bank to kick off 2013.  I want to thank all who helped make it such a success.  In short review, we accomplished the pits area re-gravel project, the field solar power station, a Memorial Day Fun Fly, the Big Bird Fly In, the August Fun Fly, the Labor Day Fun Fly, the Eugene Air Museum display, the Briggs School display and demo, a Scout Day Camp display and demo and a Retirement Center display and demo.  Whew!
 
In addition to all the above achievements, ERCA acquired official status as a 501c(7) not for profit corporation.  I just received a response back from AMA regarding our application for the 2012 Gold Leader Club award.  The AMA sent ERCA congratulations on our qualification for the award.  They have forwarded the notice to the District X Vice President, Lawrence Tougas to make it official.  All ERCA members should be proud.  I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
 
Many thanks to those members who have avoided the rush and already renewed their AMA and ERCA memberships.  If you have not already done so, please renew your AMA membership to continue your AMA benefits.  Then send your $60 dues (still a bargain) to: ERCA, PO Box 26344, Eugene, OR  97402.  I will process your renewal and mail your temporary member card as a receipt.  If I have your photo on file, a photo ID badge will be made and clipped to the radio rack in the field club house for you to pick up on your next fly day.
 
All members are advised to read and understand the current ERCA Constitution and By-Laws available free on request or on the ERCA web site:  Constitution
According to By-Laws Article III Section 5, members not renewed by the February meeting will be charged a $10.00 late fee.  After the March meeting, members not renewed will be dropped from the active roster and subject to the $25 initiation (reinstatement) fee.
 
Instructor Pilots needed:    If you think you have what it takes to teach new pilots to fly model aircraft, we need you.  Please read about the Intro Pilot Program on the AMA web site:  Introductory Pilot Program - Academy of Model Aeronautics
I have commitments to continue or enter the program from Wayne Wahrmund,  Marty Wittman, and Jeff Engle.  Please contact me if you want to continue or start in the program.  Thank you for your dedication and your positive contribution to the club and the sport of aero modeling.
 
Member of the Year:   I still need recommendations for the 2012 ERCA Member of the Year Award.  The Executive Board will decide the award winner before the coming January meeting.  I would like to be able to present the award at the January meeting.  Please email me or write on your renewal form, your recommendation.
 
Thanks again to everyone for your dedication and contributions toward making a successful 2012.  Here’s looking forward to an equal or better 2013.
 
Happy landings.
 
AL Barrington
Sec/Treas, ERCA


---

November 19, 2012

We are at 84 members with the addition of Andrew Greer who joined us at our last meeting.  2013 renewals are trickling in.  Check your status with AMA and once you are current for 2013 send your renewal to PO Box 26344 Eugene, OR 97402 or bring it to the next meeting.

The treasury balance stands at $4,847.24.

Officer Election:  The office of ERCA President will be passed to Mickey Cohen who runs as the lone nominee and with Brad Werneth stepping down.
The office of ERCA Vice President will be passed to Mike Winklepleck as the lone nominee and with Mike Farr stepping down.
The office of ERCA Secretary and Treasurer will continue with yours truly, AL Barrington running unopposed.
The office of ERCA Safety Coordinator will be held by Roger Dahl with others named to run in alternate capacity.
We still need nominations for member of the year and other recognition awards to be presented at the January meeting.

2013 meeting dates:
I have submitted our request to EWEB for the meeting dates for 2013.  They replied that none of the dates were available that we wanted.  After a long conversation with the EWEB contact, the following dates were among those available.  Until we can come up with a more solid meeting place the following is what we have so far.  All are at 7pm.  Watch the web site for possible changes.
January, 23  -  Wed  -  EWEB
February, 26  -  Tue  -  Roaring Rapids Pizza
March, 21  -  Thurs -  EWEB
April,  23  - Mon  -  EWEB
May, 29  -  Wed  -  EWEB
June, 25  -  Tue  -  Field
July, 23  -  Tue  -  Field
August, 27  -  Tue  -  Field
September, 23  -  Mon  -  EWEB
October, 22  -  Tues  -  Roaring Rapids Pizza
November, 25  -  Mon  -  EWEB
December  -  NO MEETING

Thank you for your trust and confidence in allowing me the honor of serving as your Secretary Treasurer since 2007.  With all members working together as we have so well in the past, I look forward to a successful and prosperous 2013.

Happy holidays and happy landings.

AL Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERCA

---
October 18, 2012
Our current membership is at 83 with a couple prospects pending.  Welcome to our most recent member, Ian Berner, who joined us at the last meeting.  I'll be accepting ERCA membership renewals for 2013 for those members who have already renewed their 2013 AMA membership and want to avoid the rush.  You can renew at the next meeting or by mailing your $60 to:  ERCA, PO Box 26344, Eugene, OR 97402.

The next meeting place has been confirmed with Roaring Rapids Pizza in Glenwood at 7pm on Thursday, October 25th.  The club can get a 10% discount by pre-ordering five large pizzas which I will place the day before the meeting.

On a sad note:  I just received word that a former member, Dwight Rose, from Monroe, passed away recently.  He was an ERCA member until 2011 but continued to visit us at the field from time to time.  His friendly smile and presence will be missed and ERCA sends its sympathies and condolences to his family.

The club treasury is currently at $4566.46.

AL Barrington
Sec/Treas, ERCA

---
September 12, 2012
The ERCA is currently at 82 members.  We welcome Michael Guidero from Springfield who joined us during the August meeting.
 
The treasury is currently at $4870.21.
 
The Labor Day Fun Fly was a great event and fund raiser for the club.  We grossed $385.00 from pilot entries, BBQ/pop donations, and T-shirt/hat sales.  After the bills were all paid we cleared $165.00.  Many thanks to everyone who teamed up to help make the event a success.
 
AL Barrington
Sec/Treas, ERCA

---

June 23, 2012

   The current membership is at 80.  Welcome to new members Robert Morris of Junction City and Warren Edwards of Harrisburg.
   Welcome back to renewing members, Rex Lesher and Bill Schneider.
   The current bank balance is $6,282.12.  Our expenses this month have been for Field maintenance, BBQ supplies for Memorial day and upcoming meetings, toilet service and gravel for the pits area.
   Details at the meeting.  Hope to see you all there at the field.

AL Barrington
Sec/Treas, ERCA

---

May 18, 2012

   Our club membership is currently at 75 and growing.  Welcome back to Jed Orme who has renewed with ERCA and will be making another trip from Indio, CA to the Eugene area again for the summer.  He’s looking forward to flying with us again.
   Also, welcome to new member applicants Dave Bennett Sr., Dave Bennett Jr., and Don Hildebrand all from Eugene.  Don has been a member of the Florence club (FARCAA) for the past few years and was referred by one of our members, Doug Devereaux.
   We have a prototype designed for the new member Photo ID badge that was discussed at the April meeting.  The details are being hammered out.  We hope to have something to show the membership at the next meeting.  It will be a challenge getting everyone’s photo.  You can help by allowing us (Jim Corbett) to take your picture at a meeting or the field.  Otherwise, you could attach a .jpg photo file of yourself to an email that you would like us to use.  (No Anthony Weiners please)  Send to: albarrington@msn.com
   The club treasury is at $6989.76 as of 5/18/12.  Our expenses since the April meeting have been for the usual Toilet service and field maintenance.  We bought lawn fertilizer and repair parts for the mowers.
Special Thanks: 
   The club saved a bundle thanks to the volunteered labor of Jim Corbett in repairing the mowers.  Also, thanks to Doug McWha, Wayne Wahrmund, Pat Willis and others for their volunteered time maintaining the field.  Thanks to all members who make the effort to keep our field safe, neat and FOD free by picking up debris in the area.
   I hope everyone has been able to take advantage of the recent blessing of good flying weather.  I’m guilty and will do it again if I get the chance before the rain returns.
   Happy landings.

AL Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERCA

---


April 16, 2012

Our membership is at 71 as of 4/15/2012.  The following 16 members from 2011 that did not renew for unknown reasons and were moved to the inactive roster.
 
Barckley      Henry
Bates           Jayson
Benson        Brian
Desimone    Donald
Farmer        Robert
Hanna         Larry
Harris         Spencer
Kizer          Joe
Kopriva      Tom
Melville       Kenton
Pilkenton    Chuck
Robinson    Michael
Ropchan     Brian
Stolworthy  Bryan
Watkins       Ed
Wells          Vern

Our current bank balance is $6899.55
 
I look forward to seeing everyone at the next meeting.  Happy landings.

AL Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERCA

---

March 24, 2012

  Our current membership is at 67 and rising.  Keep those renewals coming in.  Again, the deadline to avoid the "late penalty" is the coming March 29th club meeting.
 
  I recently returned from a 10 day trip to the Palm Springs, California area where I went to rescue some computers.  It was raining when I left Eugene and raining when I returned.  I must say that the sunny 80-90 degree days there were a nice break from the gloomy, dreary, soggy stuff that has kept most of us grounded and hangarbound for months here.
 
  I accomplished my missions in Palm Springs with enough time to visit one of the local model flying fields.  I visited the home of the Hemet Model Masters flying club.  It seemed odd trying to find a shady spot to watch from during this time of year.  The desert  and a blacktop runway also makes for a more turbine friendly environment.  Jet aircraft were pretty common.  There were also guys flying planes similar to those seen at our field, from electrics to 3D and pattern ships.  It looked like a serious bunch with those huge trailers labeled with sponsors like Futaba and Horizon etc.  They were a friendly and engaging group to talk with and I enjoyed the time there.
 
  All good things had to come to an end.  Now here I am, still hangarbound after being buried by a 9" blanket of snow, a power outage this week and wishing for drier days to get off the ground again.
 
  I look forward to seeing you at the next meeting.  Until then, happy landings.
 
AL Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERCA

---
February 21
, 2012

  Current ERCA membership is 52.  The deadline for renewals per club bylaw is the March meeting 3/29/2012.  After that date non-current members will be moved to inactive status.  For renewals after 3/29, the $25 re-initiation is required in addition to the full year's dues of $60.  By the 31st of March ERCA must submit to AMA the final club roster of members for the AMA insurance coverage.

  We had no new member applications received since last meeting.

  Welcome to new members: Michael Winklepleck and James Thomas who joined us at our last meeting.

  Expenses:  Along with the usual field operation expenses we had the following annual fixed expenses.  Our club charter with AMA has been renewed for 2012.  The 2012 insurance application has been submitted.  Our land lease has been paid for 2012.  The PO Box rent is paid for the year.  ERCA made its annual donation to the American Cancer Society.  Introductory Pilot Instructor applications have been submitted.  Instructors should be receiving their updated AMA cards soon.   Total expenses since last meeting, $1,813.00.

  Income:  Thanks to the contributions of our new and renewing members ERCA deposited $1,385.00 since last meeting.

  Bank Balance as of 2/21/2012:  $6,078.65.

  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at our next meeting at 7pm, 2/23/2012 at the Roaring Rapids Pizza Parlor.

AL Barrington
Sec/Treas, ERCA

---


Presidents Corner
Vice Presidents Corner Tresurers Corner Safety Coordinator

Safety Coordinator Corner           Eugene RC Aeronauts


_________

---

May 7, 2012
 

Small Fire at Field

I just wanted to let you know the lawn mower caught on fire yesterday.

Pat and his son Theo were helping Doug mow the field when all of a sudden smoke started billowing out from the right side of the mower.  It appears as if the blade pulley bearing got really hot and caught the cut grass that had accumulated inside the blade housing on fire.  We were quick to grab the fire extinguisher and water bucket (although, the water bucket is a 5 gallon gas container marked water! Lol).  We did not want to extinguish the flames with the extinguisher and have to pay for a new one so we tested the “water” by smelling it then doused the flames.  It looked really funny and we were all laughing but it got the job done.  There is no burn mark on the field and the flames were small and contained so there was really no concern. 

I am very proud of our volunteer fire department (Myself, Pat Willis, Chris McVey, Mike Lee and Khoi) had it under control very quickly… approx. 90 seconds.

What did we learn?

         1.      We need to make sure the bearing is ok and gets greased as per maintenance instructions.

         2.      We need to clean out the blade housing from old grass prior or after mowing.

         3.      We need to replace the gas can marked with water with a real water jug. 

Theo was really bummed his mowing experience was cut short but handled it like a champ!

 
Mike Winklepleck
Safety Coordinator



---


Presidents Corner
Vice Presidents Corner Tresurers Corner Safety Coordinator