================= ACMA Irvington Field Activities, Feb. 19
- 21 =================
…………….... All photos and videos by
Frits Jetten unless otherwise indicated. …….…….…
I’m back! In January my father’s condition turned worse,
he went to the hospital for a week, then ended up going back to the
nursing home, where he finally passed away three weeks ago. So that’s
why you haven’t seen me or heard from me lately. But now I’m
back.
Friday, February 19 — A bit of a gloomy day… David Conway
showed up with his electric Extreme Flight Extra 300. He said he flew
it, but I wasn’t there to see it… Newest club member James
Hughes brought his Skydancer and flew it a couple
of times… Katt Connors and Russell Ward were also at the
field, but I don’t think either
one flew…
Jon Koppisch set out his Piper Cub 40, minus engine, and his profile
Yak-55SP plane.
The Cub is for sale. Not sure if the other one is, or whether Jon
flew it today… A new dog showed up at the flying
field. He is an airplane chaser, so watch out! He really was not
a bad dog, and they kept him chained to the fence while people flew
their planes. There was a lot of discussion about what to do with
him.
Saturday, February 20 — Roger Geil flew his Carl Goldberg Yak-54.
He did some 3D stuff with that colorful Yak.
He also showed us his left index
finger. It got chewed on by a prop driven by a Saito
120. The Saito engine was firmly affixed to a test stand, but
the stand was not anchored to anything, and when the rpm got high
enough, well, the engine tried to take off with the stand. And Roger’s
hand got in the way! Yep, the tip of that finger is gone…
Roger Hagler showed up with his Dazzler, one of the largest planes
in his fleet. He flew it close to
the sun… Jonathan Festa flew his electric F/A-18 Hornet
ducted fan jet.
The takeoff was very hairy as you can see here in the video.
Jonathan also brought a new foam jet, en electric Habu.
It is a nice, sleek model that is much faster than the Hornet.
Katt Connors flew her Aeroworks Edge-540.
One takeoff was a bit squirrelly. What was that all about, Katt? The
landings were fine...
David Conway was back with his electric Extreme Flight Extra 300.
He made a couple of flights on it… Sam Guirges showed up with
his Solo Star trainer, but there were some problems with the fuel
system, or engine, or both, so he
didn’t fly…
David Etheredge showed up with a couple of airplanes, but I didn’t
see him fly. David gave Paul Kelly moral
support. But where was David when Paul took off his Funtana S
90? That thing barely got off the ground when it rolled left and cart-wheeled
to a sudden stop.
Not too much damage as far as we could
tell… Russell got in some nappy
time…
Paul Verger flew his blue and white Extra-260 several
times. He loves to fly those smooth, graceful aerobatic maneuvers.
Paul has been doing them for decades.
Paul, along with Katt, also spent some time trying to figure out the
fuel hookup on James Hughes’ new
gas engine. They finally figured it out.
Occasional guest pilot Tony Brown brought three helicopters, all
Align T-Rexes.
He did some awesome things with the T-Rex
700. He also flew the smallest one of the three, the T-Rex 450.
And he also flew his electric foam EF-16 ducted
fan jet. This one really screams. Literally!
Tony entertained the people who were present with his big heli a
couple of times. Here’s another one of his wild routines.
His blades got within a couple of inches of the runway while inverted…
Scott Gayle and his son Chris showed up with Chris’ T-Rex 600
Nitro helicopter. Chris did some hovering at the south end first.
Later Tony talked him into flying it around at the runway. Chris did
very well… I found out later that Kenny Morris had come back
to the field later in the evening and taken the black dog home with
him. Kenny is an experienced pet rescuer…
Sunday, February 21 — I didn’t stay long at all on Sunday.
The weather was nice when I left my house, but it got cloudy by the
time I got to the field. There was not much going on. Jimmy Kennamer
showed up with an Electralite, a powered sailplane more than
31 years old. Jimmy also picked up a Coroplast combat plane for
son-in-law Ramsey
Clevenger.
Roger Geil flew his red and white Cub…
Tony Farmer and Frits Jetten did some cleanup chores in the pavilion,
including sweeping Russell’s “living
room”. Tony scooped up some charred debris outside.
In case you didn’t know, those brooms and shovels fit everyone’s
hands. I’m just saying…
Reminder – Pylon races are starting on Saturday, March 13!
ELEVEN pilots promised they would race, but so far, only FIVE appear
to be serious. We have seen Russ Green — our Pylon Race Coordinator
— and his La
Racer plane. Mike McLaughlin is ready and will fly a similar
racer.
The team of “EltonJohnny” (Elton Sullivan and Johnny
Jones – two pilots, one plane…) showed off their Sky
Raider. Robert Sanderson has finished his
racer. And Frits is working on his. The only evidence we have
of Frits’ progress is a picture of his pilot
figure. C’mon, time is running out! Let me know if you are
going to race with us! E-mail me > fjetten@aol.com..
Florida Jets will be from March 4 through 7 in Lakeland, Florida.
This report was rather short, so here’s a bonus feature —
The Northrop Grumman’s X-47B is a transformational, carrier-capable,
multi-mission, unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAS).
Strike fighter-sized, it is capable of a variety of missions. The
X-47B carries no weapons, but it has a full-sized weapons
bay.
Rollout of the X-47B was at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California
on December 16, 2008. First flight was expected to occur in November
2009, but was delayed. Northrop Grumman is expected to taxi the craft
under its own power in 2010.
It is planned to have a 3-year test program at Edwards AFB in California
and NAS Patuxent River, Maryland, culminating in sea
trials in 2012. You can read more about Northrop Grumman’s
UACS program in the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia.
That’s all for now. I’ll see you at the field. Fly safe!
Watch those fingers!
========== Advertising Your For Sale Stuff in the Swap Shop/Flea
Market===========
You know that you can advertise your For Sale items in the Mobile
Area RC Model Aviation Forum’s Swap Shop/Flea Market. You can
even include photos, which is always helpful when you try to sell
RC stuff.
To use this feature, go to the main menu
shown on the left of this report and select Swap Shop.
First-timers must register with a username and password, but that’s
free and it is very easy.
New rule! - Inactive topics will be pruned when 160 days old. Listings
will be displayed for about five months before being pruned. Please
edit your topic to reflect any changes, if the item(s) sold, or if
they are no longer for sale.
======== 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.
Azalea City Model Aeronautics Website > http://www.acma-rc.com/index.html
Frits Goes Hollywood - Click For Details
