Presidents Report
And the months keep passing by....October already and Xmas well in sight. Hopefully many of you have managed to spend plenty of time in the workshop over the winter months and now have a shed full of models to attack the coming summer skies with. Daylight saving certainly opens up the possibility for a bit more flying, not only longer flying hours over the weekend days, but also after work now too.
Flying after work is a great idea, especially if you find yourself in high demand for other family duties over the weekend. Thus, as in past years, the committee is promoting Wednesday evening club flying for those who want to get a bit of extra flying in with fellow club members. After all, it's more fun to be at the field when there's a bit of action going on. So keep an eye on the forecast, pack your car with a model before going to work and come on out to the field on a Wednesday evening for a mid week flying session.
Last month's Club night proved to be a valuable night with a mix of modelling and full size topics to provide a very informative evening. Our thanks to Julian Thornton for bringing along his home made Vacuum moulding equipment, demonstrating for us how simple designs can be made to work effectively, giving a very credible and useable end product without a lot of drama. The live demonstration was followed with Julian's talk and photo powerpoint show describing the three full sized aircraft he has built. A great night, thanks Julian.
This month's Club night is our annual "Buy, Sell and Swap" evening. If you haven't done so already, start sifting through those unwanted items kicking round the workshop floor, the old magazines you've read and memorised or the models you are so bored with flying, they need a new pilot. Remember to have some cash in your pocket or a cheque book at hand, as the club will not be handling any money.
On the subject of the swap meet. Last month at the club night, I announced that Roel was leaving us for a job at the university in the deep south (Dunedin). Well, Roel has now departed, but he has left us a parting gift for the swap meet. So on the table to the highest bidder (with no reserve) will be Roels Parkzone P51 Mustang complete with working Navigation lights. Also on the table will be his Parkzone Piper Cub fitted out as a float plane. So even if you do nothing else, take a look at buying one or both of these models, as the proceeds from the sale are going directly to the club as Roels parting gift to us.
This month's Club Fun Fly event on Sunday 16th will be a "Biplane" day. As always, this doesn't mean you have to have a biplane in order to fly on the day, it just means we want to get as many biplanes on the field on the same day as we can. Hopefully, if the weather plays the game and it looks like it will be a nice day, we will crank up the BBQ with a few Sausages and Onions on sale for lunch (and based on the willingness of volunteers too !!!). So drag out the Biplane and get it ready for a great days flying.
We received late notice of a Fun Fly event at Matamata -Piako Model Aero clubs field on Jagger Road, Waharoa this coming weekend (9th Oct) . We have tried to notify as many people as possible, however if you miss the event we apologise. We also have advanced notice from their club of a Scale Rally to be held there, over the weekend of 12-13th November.
Also, the weekend of 14th-15th Oct is the Flair Aviation Expo at Te Kowhai Airfield. If you get a chance, wander out for a look at the commercial side of aviation. Here is the website for the event: http://www.nzflair.com/
The Waikato Champs Pattern Aerobatics competition is scheduled for our field on Saturday 5th November from 9am. If you haven't done so before, come out and have a go in the sportsman class, it's pretty straight forward. There will be experienced pilots available to help if you need it, so think about having a go. More info on the sportsman class is available here http://www.nzrcaa.co.nz/pattern.htm (click sportsman)
The clubs final organised Float Plane event for the year will be held at Lake D (Kainui) on Sunday 5th November. Starting at 9am with access through the new entranceway, here's hoping for another great day.
Finally, for those that may have missed the news, in the last few weeks we saw the passing of Jane Leong, wife of one of our clubs founding members, the late Alf Leong. Jane was warmly referred to as the matriarch of the Leong family and to those that remember her well, the guardian of the Frankton Model Shop. Many of our members turned out for the funeral, whilst our club paid our respects to the Leong family. The club offers our sincerest and warmest condolences to the Leong family.
Well, that's my lot for another bulletin, here's hoping we can all get out and enjoy some extra evening flying this month.
Grant.