============ “From the Pits” Field Activities, Mar.
8, ‘09 =============
…….... All photos and videos by Frits Jetten unless otherwise
indicated …….....
Robert Sanderson is finalizing plans for his upcoming fish fry, combined
with a night fly-in. He is calling it the SPRING BREAK NITE-
FRY, a name Mike McLaughlin had come up with. It’s
scheduled for Saturday, March 14. Anyone wishing to participate is
asked to contribute a dish. Meals can be bought for $3.00 per plate
to offset the cost of the fish for the next night event. Ben McGee
provided the fish for this event. If you want to bring food, e-mail
Frits, who will post periodic updates of the food contributions on
the Forum. Contact him here > fjetten@aol.com..
There was a problem with the locking arrangement on the field entrance
gate a few days ago. The culprit this time was a County worker who
may be new. But club members have done the same in the past. Please
make sure that if you are the last man out and therefore responsible
for locking the gate, you do it so no lock owner is prevented from
entering the landfill.
The County authorizes the following people access to Irvington Field:
the County, Alabama Power Co., the Environmental Protection Agency,
ACMA, the Coca Cola company, the trash dumpster company, and the portable
toilet company.
Jim Quint sent me an e-mail regarding that crack monster I exposed
in the last report.
I reminded Jim that a year or so ago he couldn’t get his airplane
restraining device out of the ground, and that I thought some dark
creature below probably had a hold of it. We actually had to dig that
restraining device out, and it was stuck into an old car engine manifold!
Jim wrote: “The mystery has been solved after all those months.
During a full moon, the crack monster came over to the pit area. He
pulled the spike holding my device with him as he dug down until he
found an exhaust manifold. He then pushed the spike deeply into the
manifold. I also believe that the crack monster is the one that has
been digging those gravity holes that has claimed my planes and many
others. I have been wrong in blaming you or Al Ayler for these crashes.”
Glad all that is cleared up now, Jim.
Jade Taylor was out during the week and flew his Extra-260. That’s
Kevin Adams who used to fly with us and now lives in Nashville…
Billy Toliver brought his Hangar 9 F-22 Raptor, and flew it a couple
of flights…
Terry Brownlee flew his Eagle 2 trainer.
It was scratch-built by his dad, Thomas, who LOVES to build planes
from sticks… A new puppy showed up at the field.
Very friendly. And very annoying. He already chewed on a couple of
planes. We tried to get everyone to take him home, but no takers.
Gary Johnson and family, Rhonda, Thomas, Christy and Mariah, stopped
by the field. Gary has finished the Kwik Fli II kit Frits had given
him. It was a very old kit with big chunks of balsa that needed shaping
and sanding! He and son Thomas showed off the Kwik Fli and a new little
jet. That’s a colorful F/A 18 E Hornet electric ducted fan
jet. Too windy for a test flight. After the Johnson family went home,
the little puppy was gone too…
Tim McLeod brought his lady friend Paula and a HobbyTown
trainer. Paula had expressed a liking toward machines, engines,
power and speed. So Tim suggested she learn to fly RC planes! And
so she will. But the day was spent running the engine in, and a first
flight was put off until the next time…
Frank Madison showed up with his scale F8F Bearcat, the “Rare
Bear”. Jon Koppisch took it up.
It was a very nice flight.
The Bearcat had plenty of power.
Here’s a close-up by Dean’s powerful camera.
Nice landing.
Frank seemed pleased…
Wayne Miller had brought his scale P-51 Mustang and the Pacific Models
Edge-540. He flew the Edge.
And he taxied the Mustang a couple of times.
But that one remained grounded.
Wayne still hasn’t flown the P-51 yet, but Jon has.
Billy Frost attended the Florida Jets event in Lakeland, Florida.
So did Rob Baker and Bill Culberson. Billy mentioned on the Forum
that Rob Baker had crashed his F-18 Super Hornet turbine
jet. Billy said Rob was pretty bummed about
it…
A pile of trash started to accumulate at the south end of the flying
area on Friday.
This is one of two weekends where the County allows residents to dump
trash (not garbage) at the landfill. It’s only for Friday and
Saturday, but sometimes people will sneak in on Sundays, because the
field is open.
Frits talked to the County’s Environmental Control Officer
and she said to let them come in and dump, as people may throw their
stuff anywhere along a road or in the woods if they’re turned
away. The County will haul off and dispose of the pile of junk within
the next week or two… Russell Ward has actually found some “good
stuff” in the pile, he claimed.
All that little trailer needs are a new axle, a couple of tires, the
body repaired, some bearings, and a…
Raymond Murtha brought his Banshee — an old pattern competition
plane — and a very nice Sopwith Pup biplane. The Pup stayed
on the ground.
Because of the wind, perhaps? Ray DID fly the Banshee…
Mike McLaughlin showed up with his Decathlon.
He flew it with smoke
on. And inverted.
He also flew the old Four Star Foh, now rechristened Four
Star 40.
Alvin Reed flew his Escapade.
He says it cuts the wind “real
good.” He had a nice
flight. Here he is accompanied by his constant shadow Russell
Ward. While Alvin was flying and unable to defend himself, President
Enzo Finizola used a strong magnet to make sure Alvin was a legitimate
member of the helicopter-oriented Balls Of Steel Society (BOSS)…
Jeff Lee flew his Coroplast combat
plane… Robert Sanderson showed up with two of his planes.
One was the Li’l
HOR. (HOR - Hell on Rails). The other was the Paleo powered
glider. The Paleo got a little abuse from Tony, who snatched it
up into a tight loop. The wings almost folded! The dihedral had much
more of a V-shape after
that.
Robert is getting pretty good at launching the glider himself and
then taking control.
He doesn’t get confused like this cartoon shows.
That cartoon is compliments of the AMA Insider, a newsletter of the
Academy of Model Aeronautics for club Presidents and Newsletter Editors.
You can see this quarterly publication with its many RC articles and
building tips on our Website. Just select AMA Insider
from the main menu to the left of this report.
John Walker brought wife Joyce and his large scale Cub.
There was a lot of adjusting going on. But the twin-cylinder engine
seemed to run okay…
Henry Waltman showed up with his Marquart MC-6 Charger, a nice biplane
he’s had for many
years. He doesn’t fly it very often.
Today he had a great time flying this
plane. Henry insisted having his picture made with a young lady,
Karen. Joe Krebs tried to get into the picture too, but Henry made
him get out.
Jim Quint showed up with a brand-new Great Planes Cub.
Nicely done, Jim! Jim asked Frits to do the first
flight. That went fine. Frits told Jim that the aileron and elevator
controls were a bit sensitive and they should be decreased.
The landing was alright.
The muffler had come loose. That black oil residue is always a tip-off...
Al Ayler finally flew his twin-engine Cessna 310, the one Jon had
flown before.
It’s the one Al was too scared to fly.
But today he bit the bullet and took
it off. The flight was nice but rather brief.
Frits thought Al was going to land the plane, but at the last moment,
Al got cold feet and let Jon have the honors. Frits knew that landing
was just too smooth…
Al’s twin-engine P-38 Lightning is much closer to its first
flight, but not on this
day. There was much checking.
Lots of adjusting.
And there was plenty of moral
support. But it the first flight not to be. The Lightning should
be ready next weekend.
We can always hope…
Roger Geil flew his two Yak-54s. He flew the white one on Saturday.
And the orange and blue one on Sunday.
Both planes appear to fly very nicely…
David Etheredge had brought his U-Can-Do 3D plane and his E-Flite
Blade 400 3D electric
heli. He flew both of them.
Tony Farmer showed up with his latest, a small electric Mini
Ultra Stick. Tony had a couple of nice flights with it, but not
until Jon had checked it out first… Tony’s dad Melvin
brought his small electric white Cub, a park flier, but the gusty
winds made Melvin — on the left, here with Herbert Stewart —
decide to leave it in his car…
I heard from one of my informants that Paul Kelly had just crashed
his Lancair this past week. But “it wasn’t a bad crash”,
Paul was quick to point out. Paul — shown here with daughter
???? — flew his Ugly
Stick. No surprises this time. And they showed off Paul’s
newest plane, a Slow
Poke.
David Conway let Frits fly his Edge-540T, a very nice-flying electric.
Frits is not too much into electrics, but he LOVES to fly this electrified
Edge… David
has RC stuff For Sale! A RealFlight flight simulator; a Pitts electric
biplane; a Piper Pawnee electric plane; a Futaba transmitter; an Accu-Cycle
charger/discharger; and a Garmin GPS system.
And old-timer and newcomer Leslie Stinson wants to sell a biplane
and control system.
He has his Aero-Master 61 up for sale, along with a 6-channel Futaba
transmitter… You can see descriptions of David’s and Leslie’s
For Sale items on the Forum’s Swap Shop. Just
select Swap Shop from the main menu
to the left of this report.
Here’s a nice picture of Dean and Frits. Frits is the hairy
one. Dean has contributed many pictures to my reports and they
are very much appreciated. Here’s one last
one.
I’ll see you at the field. Fly safe!
========= Azalea City Model Aeronautics - Upcoming Flying
Events ====
From now on only ACMA events will be listed in these Pits Reports.
Details about them and other clubs’ events are always available
on our ACMA Website > Events Calendar.
Mar. 14 (Sat) — ACMA’s Spring Break Nite-Fry,
a Fish Fry plus Night Fly.
Mar. 15 (Sun) — ACMA’s Monthly Combat.
Starts promptly at 2:00 PM.
Apr. 25 (Sat) — ACMA’s Spring
Scale Fly-in.
ACMA’s Annual Armageddon Fun Fly will be coming
soon!
If you need a flying field map — either Irvington Field’s
or another club field’s — go to our ACMA Website and select
Field Maps.
========= Advertising Your For Sale Stuff in the Swap Shop
===========
You know you can advertise your For Sale items with photos in the
Mobile Area RC Aviation Forum’s Swap Shop.
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. 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.
Azalea City Model Aeronautics Website > http://www.acma-rc.com/index.html
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