Here we go from May into June, and even though we have been stressing- ad nauseam- communication and cooperation between the New Guys on the block (mostly, heli guys) and the Old Guys on the block (mostly, fixed wing guys) we STILL had another bone-head incident over the Memorial Day weekend. As of this writing, the principals involved have been spoken to, either directly or indirectly. Additional action / steps are being considered by the Executive and the Board. We will announce our decision(s) at the June 17th meeting (which will be at the field, weather permitting) as to how we plan to proceed. All I can promise you is we WILL have everyone’s cooperation going forward- period.

What we ARE going ahead with- effective immediately- is the creation of a Helicopter Directorate on the Board. Steve Lesnick has volunteered to be our first Director For Helicopter Operations, assisted by Peter Peale. Steve has been kind enough to step in and act as an additional source of input (both ways) which we hope will help bring an end, once and for all, to the ongoing back-and
-forth nonsense between clueless individuals on BOTH sides of the model aircraft coin.

The vulnerability of our little venue came into sharp focus on Saturday, May 24th as a result of a great invitation by a fellow modeler and full scale pilot / instructor. We should all have his problems. He says he’s not flying his 1:1 scale Cirrus SR22 often enough, and so certain components are giving him trouble (and I’m not talking about his NiCads, either). For those of you not familiar with the SR22, it’s one of the “planes with a parachute” whose manufacturer is famous (or infamous) as the maker of the airplane that Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle died in while flying over lower Manhattan in 2006.

I gladly accepted his invite for a hop from Danbury airport “…for an hour or so…” just to get a component in his prop system back in synch (no, funny guys- it wasn’t a woodruff key or prop nut) and we had a great time cruising all over the lower Hudson Valley, including a stop and go at Poughkeepsie “International” (who knew?) airport, with Yours Truly being PIC all the way back to Final Approach at Danbury. The SR22 is a beautiful machine- full glass cockpit, sleek lines and fast for its type. I could go on and on, but… It’s for sale, by the way, if anyone’s interested.

While up there, we flew over our field. While we all are familiar with Lyle A’s and Fred F’s pix of the runway on and in our website, being up at 2500 feet looking down gives a REAL perspective as to how tiny our little RC world really is- lots of “stuff” crowding all around our small, green area. As we turned away back to Danbury I wished with all my heart that everyone in the club could experience the reality I had just been a part of, so that the next time you want to “get away” with something while you fly your models that may endanger the club, you’ll think twice about it.

Time for True Confessions- I did my part last month to help the Economy, as in Big Time. Out of nowhere, I suddenly HAD to have BOTH the new 55 & 75 OS 2S engines, and I HAD to have the Hangar 9 Thunderbolt ARF (gee, they MAY be discontinuing it…maybe) and yes- I just HAD to make sure I got into 2.4 SS with my brand- Airtronics- before the prices went (?) up. Went out and picked up a new Spread Spectrum TX and not one, not two, but THREE receivers, just in case Global Warming speeds up, or there’s an earthquake, etc. etc. Like I had more space for these goodies… NOT! I’m on hot dogs and Tang (am I dating myself with THAT one) until further notice.

ATTENTION! We need volunteers for June 21st-22nd, the Clearwater Festival, to man our table, location, etc. We will have more info at the June meeting. Also, take a moment and look at the Swap Shop bullet on the web site. Jon Lerner has hit the ground running, and the preliminary info is in place. It’s not too early to clear your calendar and reserve the date- we’ll need a ton of volunteers to make it a great event. I wish I could report substantial progress on getting more planes ready to fly, but every time I get ready to clear the workbench, whammo! Something else interferes. It seems like a monthly lament lately- I have to gripe to someone, and it might as well be you sympathetic (yeah- right!) guys. Don’t forget Training Tuesdays have started again. Please use the new Blog if you interested.

Until we next meet at the field…Fly safely, but FLY!