Frits Goes Hollywood - Click For Details

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====== “From the Pits” Field Activities, Feb. 14/15, ‘09 - Combat =======

…….......…. All photos by Frits Jetten unless otherwise indicated …………..….

Before I comment on our weekend activities, first some last-minute news. Jeff Williams, Secretary of the Pine Belt RC club in Hattiesburg, MS, told me that their membership has voted to suspend all events at this time because of runway and lease issues. They are planning to hold the May 9 event at a later date.

Robert Sanderson is firming up plans for his upcoming night fly, combined with a fish fry. He is calling it the SPRING BREAK NITE- FRY, a name Mike McLaughlin came up with. It’s scheduled for March 14. Anyone wishing to participate is asked to contribute a dish and $3.00 to offset the cost of the fish, which is provided by Ben McGee. E-mail Frits, who will post periodic updates of the food contributions. Send to fjetten@aol.com. Don’t send him money for this purpose. (But for any other purposes, Frits welcomes your donations!)
Good news regarding the runway. Frits talked to County officials and it looks as if the County will use a contractor to do the repairs. First they’ll use an asphalt mix to fill the cracks. Then a machine will be used to heat the higher section of runway adjacent to the crack, and then they’ll roll the area to flatten and level it. You are reminded that for safety reasons all flying must cease while workers are present on or around the runway.
The hot dog cooker Rick Koval donated to the club was used for the first time and worked very well. There was plenty of variety on this weekend’s menu: hot dogs, sausage dogs, hamburgers and pork chops. Russell Ward and Robert Sanderson did much of the cooking… Rob and one of his pretty daughters, Audrey, enjoyed the food… Rick showed off his Yamaha motorcycle to Jeff Foster… And Billy Frost showed up with his Russian URAL motorcycle...

Paul Kelly flew one of his planes, but I don’t remember which one. I wonder if he uses his trainer to hunt down pests?... Kevin Spragg showed up with a small electric Corsair. The little plane flew well. Kevin was having a great time. But at one point, while flying inverted, the Corsair went straight down. Kevin had pulled (the elevator stick) when he should have pushed! The plane’s fuse was broken up pretty bad… Terry and Thomas Brownlee showed up with their growing fleet. I think I saw two Four Star 40s and two Eagle 2 trainers. Both Terry and Thomas flew…

Gary and Rhonda Johnson’s daughters Mariah and Christy asked Frits if he wanted to buy one box of Girl Scout cookies. Only $3.50. When Frits asked how big a box he would get for $3.50, this was their answer. It was obvious that one of these girls was stretching it a little. A lot, actually!… The Johnsons also donated some firewood. Thanks!

This was Combat Sunday! Combat Director Andrew Smith got everything under way, accompanied by his lovely assistant and wife Amber. There were several people who signed up: Mike McLaughlin and his Phence Post, Johnny Turner and his Express Combat Cub, Rob and a small flying wing, Russ Green and a Battle Axe (I’m referring to the plane, of course…), Andrew Smith with his Phence Post, Robert Sanderson and the Combat HOR (“Hell On Rails”) and Frits Jetten with Robert’s Fun(tana) Combat Wing.
There was one very audible midair, however both planes continued flying! And there were plenty of cuts. Let’s hope they were all counted correctly. Mike could be seen trailing several streamers. Johnny’s Cub appeared to have snagged one with his tail wheel. There was plenty of action! The Fun Combat Wing died prematurely on every flight, perhaps caused by an overheating engine. Frits, Jon Koppisch, Rob and Robert all took a turn with the HOR, which flew fairly well. I think Mike won again. For Combat General Andrew’s report of the combat battles, select Combat Report from the main menu on the left of this report.

Al Ayler showed up with his new twin-engine P-38 Lightning. It drew a large crowd. Well, two engines, twice the crowd! I wondered if that was the P-38’s air actuated retract Al was checking at our last club meeting? Al taxied the Lightning to and from the runway. This model has pneumatically operated brakes. There were plenty of advisors as is usually the case on the North End. The engines appeared to run great. All well and good, but still no flight today. More checks need to be made…

Mike Callen brought a several planes, only a small part of his ever-growing fleet. He had a Cub, a Fly Baby, a P-19 Navy trainer, and the B-25 twin-engine Mitchell bomber. Jon Koppisch flew a couple of them. One was the Fly Baby. The other was the B-25 bomber. Its flight started out well, but ended with a crash. One of the engines had quit. But the resulting damage only amounted to some bent landing gear! Nice save by Jon…

Roger Geil flew his Yak-54. Unfortunately he had to put it up after he broke the cowl and main gear during a hard landing. Not sure what happened there… Alvin Reed flew his Escapade again. The plane flies very well. He likes it. Well, what else is he going to say?… Johnny Turner also has Escapade, and he made a couple of flights…

Plenty of Cubs today! Henry Waltman, Al, Joe Krebs and even Mike Callen showed up with one. Jon still doesn’t have his big one going. I think three Cubs got up in the air at the same time. Joe’s Cub had a dead-stick and had to make a water landing. When the main gear hit the water, the plane flipped over. Joe tried getting to it from the west. And from the east, but he couldn’t get to it. Andrew finally saved the day by taking his shoes off, wading out there and retrieving the wet Cub. It was not too water-logged and in good shape.

Robert Sanderson brought the Coroplast 12-ft. wing span Mega-SPAD (yep, he’s renamed it again). It now has a YS .61 engine with rear exhaust and tuned pipe. That should give it more power than the Webra .55 that was on it when Frits flew it on its early flights. Back then the second flight was not very impressive. But the third flight went just fine.

The Mega-SPAD wasn’t going to become airborne today, however. YS engines have an internal diaphragm pump and Robert didn’t have the check-valve hooked up that is supposed to be part of the fuel system. But many helpful people tried to get it started anyway, without success… So Robert flew his glider instead.

Jade Taylor’s Extra-260 has been getting a workout lately. Jade was back with the plane and made several flights with it… Mike McLaughlin flew his Ultra Sport 40… And Wayne Miller showed up with “Neville’s Devil,” a fun fly plane designed by Nick Neville. (Is Wayne already practicing for our club’s upcoming Armageddon Fun Fly? No date has been set yet for that event, but it will come soon after our April 25 Scale Fly-in…)
Dean is responsible for several photos in this report. He was taking some pictures of Andrew and Amber. Amber makes a nice picture if she doesn’t catch you taking it first. She usually snarls at Frits…

Johnny Turner made some excellent limbo passes with Robert’s powered glider. He snagged the ribbon after it was lowered to about two feet or so... Andrew Smith flew his P-51 Mustang "Bunnie", a plane he has been ignoring for some time… Ken Tow took up his Align T-Rex 600 electric helicopter, making a short flight. He also flew a home-brew electric foam 3D plane late into the evening…

That’s all I can remember! I’ll see you at the field.
Fly safe! Always!

=== March 10 Deadline For Paying ACMA Dues Before Being Dropped ===

It’s getting down to the wire. Fir some of you that is. After the March 10 meeting, if you have not paid your 2009 club dues PLUS the $5.00 late charge, you will be dropped from the Azalea City Model Aeronautics membership roster. Restoring your membership after March 10 means that you will have to pay that $50 initiation fee a second time, and you will have to be voted on again.

If you intend to remain an ACMA member in good standing, please renew your AMA license (required before we can accept your club dues) and renew your club dues, OR request to be placed on INACTIVE STATUS. The latter option will save you $50 when you rejoin our club in the future…

If you wish to go on INACTIVE STATUS, simply send me an e-mail message with a brief reason. No gory details necessary… > fjetten@aol.com. Do it before the March 10 meeting.

======== Upcoming Flying Events ===============================

Mar. 6/7 (Fri/Sat) — Swap Meet & Model Show. Perry, Georgia.

Mar. 7 (Sat) — Annual Swap Meet, Capital City Radio Control club, Jackson, MS.

March 14/15 (Sat/Sun) — Spring Fun Fly, West Alabama Aeromodelers. North of Tuscaloosa, AL. Website > http://www.waam.us/
Mar. 14 (Sat) — Fish Fly & Nite Fry-in. ACMA. Irvington Field, Irvington, AL.
Apr. 4/5 (Sat/Sun) — Air Show. This is a FULL-SCALE event. Tuscaloosa, AL.
Apr. 18 (Sat) — 3D Competition Fly-in — Eglin Aero Modellers, Fort Walton Beach, FL. (Not sure of the event’s name.)
April 18/19 (Sat/Sun) — Warbirds over BAMA, West Alabama Aeromodelers. North of Tuscaloosa, AL. Website > http://www.waam.us/
Apr. 25 (Sat) — Spring Scale Fly-in. ACMA. Irvington Field, Irvington, AL.
*Cancelled* May 9 (Sat) — Fly-in. Pine Belt R/C club. Hattiesburg, MS. I got word from Jeff Williams, Secretary of PBRC that the event is suspended until further notice. *Cancelled*
May 16 (Sat) — Warbirds Fly-in, Eglin Aero Modelers, Fort Walton Beach, FL.
You can check for more details about these events by clicking on Events Calendar on the main menu shown on the left of this report.

If you need a flying field map, go to Alvin’s Website > main menu > Field Maps.

======== Advertising Your For Sale Stuff in the Swap Shop ===========

You know you can advertise your For Sale items with photos in the Forum’s Swap Shop. Go to the main menu shown on the left of this report and select Swap Shop. You must register with a username and password first, but that’s free and it is very easy. If you have questions or need help with this just e-mail me > fjetten@aol.com.

======== If You Have Any Comments About These Pits Reports… =====

I welcome any comments regarding these Pits Reports — good or bad.
E-mail me > fjetten@aol.com.