== Are You Still Having Problems Viewing The Pits Report?
========
,
Some of you had to resize your screen resolution to view the Pits
Report so you could read it without having to scroll all over the
place (except to go down…) But then maybe your e-mail text turned
out too small to read. If that happens open your mail program, look
for “Preferences” in its main menu and set your e-mail
letter font size (it may be 10-pt) to a higher number. (Fonts are
usually measured in points. A 72-point letter is 1 inch tall.)
Please let me or Andrew know about ANY problems you are experiencing
with the new ACMA Website and its features!
And I welcome any comments regarding the Pits Report or the new Website
— good or bad. E-mail me > fjetten@aol.com,
or e-mail Andrew > andrew@acma-rc.com.
== Reminder: Upcoming Events ================================
Dec. 31, (Wednesday!) — Azalea City Model Aeronautics
End-of-Year Night Fly. Light up your plane and come join
us!
Feb. 7 (Sat) — NFMI-Rich Herrmann Annual RC Swap &
Shop Meet, Pensacola. For details and a flier describing
this event, go to ACMA Website > main menu > Events
Calendar. Andrew is still working on making the maps available
on our ACMA Website. In the meantime, if you need a field map, go
to Alvin's Website
> main menu > Field Maps.
== “From the Pits” - ACMA Field Activities, Dec.
20 -================
Did you see Jim and Annette Quint’s picture in the paper the
other day? Jim is one of several club members who are World War II
veterans, and whose service and sacrifice to our country is being
honored.
This past weekend was windy and COLD! Thanks to Russell Ward for
bringing that firewood a weekend earlier! There was still enough left.
Russell also cooked the chicken that Robert Sanderson had brought…
Not many people showed up. There was Jon
Koppisch. And so did Lee
Hughes. (That scary close-up was taken by Dean Ritola also.)
JC Day came with three of his planes. He first flew his U-Can-Do
3D 60, but the engine quit and JC had to put it down soon after takeoff.
The plane belly-landed pretty hard and ripped its main gear off, poking
a couple of holes in the bottom of the wing.
With the U-Can-Do grounded, JC assembled his Edge-540.
Not sure if he flew it or the Twist, as I had to leave early…
David Lanzo also had his Twist and he flew it a couple of times.
He spent some time taking pictures with his new camera…
Roger Hagler flew his DeBolt Champ and the EXTRA Little, a small aerobatics
plane powered by a .15
engine… The fireplace got another good workout last weekend.
Nice to gather around to eat or just warm your hands.
Or just tell tall tales.
Robert was ready to do combat with his “DOOMED!” flying
combat wing. And
if that one wasn’t able, then he had his “Combat Glider”,
a plane cobbled together from a glider wing, some channel aluminum,
and lots of tape and cable
ties. He had also brought his Great Planes Lancair ES, but for
all the tinkering and adjusting, he never even flew that one, I don’t
think.
Robert worked at a hyper pace to get the DOOMED! in the air for combat.
Frits did make another test flight on it, but that did not go over
too well. The plane went straight down into the soft
dirt. Oh, I forgot to tell you — Mike McLaughlin had flown
it a day earlier and a servo had failed, requiring Robert to completely
redo everything! The ultra-sensitive throws were badly out of adjustment
again. Nothing ever stays the same on Robert’s planes from one
flight to the next!
The Combat Glider had folded a wing during a previous flight with
Frits on the controls.
In spite of Robert’s fine launch.
It now sported a couple of thick scabs of plywood on the wing halves
to prevent any future buckling. That was the intent! But as the start
of combat drew closer, a couple of test flights did this plane in
also, in spite of Robert’s graceful hand-launch.
The wing buckled again, causing it to spiral into the ground.
This left only Mike and Andrew to do combat.
Mike had his foam wing Irish Axe ready. Andrew was still getting
his John Deere Coroplast plane ready.
He had to spend some time relocating his engine farther aft, as he
thought it was way too nose-heavy. Combat finally got under way. Jeff
Lee launched Andrew’s plane.
Rather ungracefully, if you want my humble opinion.
I think Alvin launched Mike’s plane.
There were plenty of close
calls. Their paths frequently crossed.
Mike was in relentless pursuit of Andrew.
All Andrew could do was just stay airborne.
Andrew’s second flight ended when he was distracted by Mike’s
fancy flying, watched Mike’s Axe, and rolled his own plane into
the dirt. I don’t
think there was a lot of damage, but Andrew was out of the game.
Andrew’s account of the action is on our club’s Website.
To read it, just select Combat Report from the main menu on the left
of this report. Congratulations to Mike, ACMA’s December Combat
winner!
Mike also flew his P-51 Mustang.
It has retractable main gear and is powered by an Enya .80 4-stroke
engine.
The flight went great until something flew
off. The prop nut had come loose and it slung the prop, spinner,
and prop nut off all together. The spinner was a bolt-on type so it
didn't come apart and it kept the prop and prop nut inside of it.
Eagle eyes Ben McGee and TJ Rohyans found it.
Henry Waltman and Al Ayler showed up at the field, but neither flew
anything. Heny
and Frits talked about some problems Henry has getting to the Pits
Report. Hopefully we’ll resolve those soon… Henry and
TJ decided to stop by Al’s hobby sanctuary. It’s a small
portable building in his backyard, and looks quite a bit more cluttered
since the last time I saw it.
There was that twin-engine Cessna 310, hanging from the ceiling.
Al has actually admitted that the reason he’s not flown it is
that he’s scared of it! And there was that P-38 Lightning that
he’s been working on. And the big B-25 bomber hanging overhead.
TJ also took this picture of what appears to be a hair brush, full
of gray hair. Was
that Al’s?... Or his dog’s?… Thanks for sharing
that one, TJ!... TJ wants you to see HIS latest project, a profile
plane that looks like it’s done in chrome
covering. Be sure to wear your dark shades when you fly this one,
TJ!
Reminder: New Year’s Eve Party & Nite Fly
at the field Wednesday, December 31st. If you want to participate
please contribute by bringing something to eat
You can see periodic updates of the menu and who’s bringing
what on the Model Aviation Forum. You can go the Forum from our club's
Website by selecting Forum from the main menu shown
to the left of this report > look for Latest Discussions
> and then click New Year's Eve Party/…
Until next time. Fly safe, always! And have a Happy New Year
!
== Advertising Your For Sale Stuff in the Swap Shop =============
You can advertise your For Sale items and add photos of them in the
Swap Shop yourself. Go to ACMA Website > main
menu > Swap Shop. You must register first. It’s
free. It is very easy, but if you need help with that, let me know
and I will tell you how to do it, step by step. Just e-mail me >
fjetten@aol.com.
Frits Goes Hollywood - Click For Details
