| Meetings
2007 From the archives Our meetings are held on the fourth Tuesday of each month at the Eugene Water and Electric Board building at 7:00 p.m. We hold meetings at the flying field for the months of June, July and August. |
ERCA_Minutes_2007 --- January 23, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Approximately $1661 in the bank. A $75.00 gift certificate to the Olive Garden was given to the Burgess family (landowner). Old Business: New club officers were introduced. Former club officers were thanked for their service. Winter hours are still in effect until end of February. No flying until twelve noon on Saturdays, Sundays and Wednesdays. Don’t park on grass or muddy areas or you will get stuck. Status of AMA field-improvement grant application was discussed. Club decided to postpone application until youth outreach requirement was achieved. Bill and Doug will plan a weekend event for this summer involving some local Scout troops. Discussion on graveling a larger parking area. New Business: Bill asked the club to please police their own trash at the field. Pat said to try and leave the field cleaner than when you arrived. Steve Harris would look into the AMA Intro Pilot Program that offers a free trainer setup for clubs with intro pilot programs. John and Darrin volunteered to move the trailer to a different location to gain more parking area. The idea was postponed until things dry out a bit at the field. An auction to be held at the field in June was approved after the members present decided more people are at the summer meetings/barbecue. Gary and Rex said they would like to put on a Pattern Flyer / Sportsman Primer. The club decided to conduct the event on Saturday, May 12th because the first date picked would have been on Memorial Day. Show and Tell: Frank Blain showed his Acceleron that had been crashed, splintering the fuselage. He explained how he used a string-line for a reference and painstakingly rebuilt the fuselage by pulling away the broken wood a piece at a time and basically jig-sawing the fuse together, then strengthening it using fiberglass cloth and clear, water-based urethane. It was hard to tell the plane was ever crashed. Kevin Kelm brought his new Funtana .40 which has a Magnum .90 4-stroke for power. Nick Speer brought a .40 size trainer he wanted to sell for $25 to $30 range. 50/50 Raffle: The pot was $54 Pat Willis won $27. Pat bought the trainer plane from Nick Speer with $20 of his raffle winnings. The trainer will be used as a club trainer. --- February 28, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report Al reported that we had $394308 in addition to $540.00 in new membership fees to be deposited, bringing the clubs balance of $4,483.08 Old Business: Parking project is on hold until the property dries out. Frank said we need about a week of dry weather before we can begin the project. The project will cost $460.00 for fabric under-liner and $1680.00 for gravel. Big Bird fly-in will be on March 31St weather permitting. Sportsman Pattern Primer will be May 12th. New Business: Club voted to purchase another load of sand for $200.00 The sand will be spread on the runway. The purchase will wait until after the gravel parking project is completed. New Members: Four new members were present and voted into the club. Show and Tell: John Bowhan brought in a China Models ARF of a Mosquito. John built it for owner and project manager, Khoi Tran. John said the Chinese translation to English was very poor. He also said that the fabric was painted before it was shrunk and he worked hard to shrink the fabric with a heat gun without peeling the paint. The Mosquito has retracts and two OS. .46 engines for power. A new member named Jason brought in an almost completed .40 sized trainer. He is totally new to the hobby and requested help getting his plane together and safety checked. Bill said he would take him under his wing as a student. 50/50 Raffle: The pot was $30.00 Rodger Dahl won $1 5.00 --- March 27, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Al reported that we had $5,223.08. Cost of gravel and mat for parking project was $1602.90 Adjusted balance was $3,620.18 Old Business: Parking project is complete. A round of applause was given by members present in appreciation to the members who “got it done.” Associate membership was discussed. The question was what to charge for members who don’t fly but would still like to have the newsletter sent to them. Club decided that any non-flying member can receive the newsletter by e-mail for free. Khoi brought up that if members of other r/c clubs fly at our field on a semi-regular basis, should a landing fee be charged. Club decided that we would “monitor” the situation and decide according to frequency of use by outside members. Gary and Rex will work on getting AMA sanction for the August Fly-In event. Bill Hastings notified the club that custom exhaust manufacturer Kelvin (owner) will come to the June meeting at the field to showcase his products and construction techniques. New Business: Frequency pins for 2.4 ghz radio transmitters. “Spread spectrum” will eventually replace the 72 Mhz radios. Club needs to make about a dozen new pins. Frank volunteered to make the pins. Pat said we need four more intro pilots. Pat nominated Frank Blain and Khoi Tran. We still need two more intro pilots to bring the total number of intro pilots to ten. Club needs to purchase prizes for August Fly-In. Doug McWha said he would get them at Trump’s. Sportsman Primer will be on May 12th and consist of a “morning workshop ” to familiarize pilots with flying patterns and then a casual three round contest. Expired memberships were discussed. Members present decided to drop non-paid members. A new list of “members in good standing” will be posted in the clubhouse. If your name is not on the list you cannot fly. Members present discussed and decided that landowner Mike Burgess should not be charged for club dues, but he must keep his AMA card current. New Members: Five new members were present and voted into the club: Larry Hanna, Mike Farr, Ivan Walker, Joe Owens, and Gary Parent. Show and Tell: Scott Feldman brought items for sale to clear space for new projects. Pat brought a trainer type plane on floats and a pattern-type plane for sale. 50/50 Raffle: The pot was $38.00 Al Barrington won the pot and donated his winnings to the club! --- April 24, 2007 ERCA April Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Al reported a balance of $4,368.98 Old Business: March meeting minutes were approved as read. Frank Blain could not attend the April meeting so status of “spread spectrum” pins he is making is unknown. Bill said Dale Williams and Larry Nielson have been added to the intro pilot roster. This reaches the club‘s goal of having ten intro pilots since Pat designated Frank Blain and Khoi Tran as intro pilots at the March 27th meeting. Prizes for August 11th-12th Fun-Fly-In still need to be purchased by Doug. Club discussed AMA sanction for event. It was determined that it is too late for an ad in the AMA magazine. New Business: A banner was purchased for $62.50 from Signs Now that says Eugene R/C Aeronauts which was used at the Boy Scout Carnival R/C intro flight booth. The banner will be used at many future events. A canopy was also purchased from Bi-Mart for $79.95 to keep Doug and Bill out of the rain at the Boy Scout event. The canopy will also be used at the club BBQs and many other future club events. Bill discussed the Boy Scout Intro Flight Program. He said that all intro pilots must complete a Scouting Council-supplied background check. The club will also purchase a “participating organization” insurance policy from the Scout council for $20.00 which will protect Scouts in case of injury. Pat’s safety letter was discussed extensively. Bill requested that while the field is being mowed all aircraft shall be grounded. Khoi said he would like to see a box designated to be used for “spare parts” for anyone to use as needed. Khoi said that he has left boxes of balsa wood/ply, spinners, and props in the clubhouse for members who break a prop, etc. to use on an “honors“ basis; they are not there for someone to take the entire lot as a “freebee.” Rochelle said she would supply a box with a label on it for said purpose and put it on the workbench in the clubhouse. A new box has been placed under the radio rack by Jim Corbett to be used for “lost and found” items at the field. A gift certificate from the Village Inn for $75.00 was presented to Doug McWha for recognition and appreciation of his outstanding work keeping the flying field maintained. Pat asked for a volunteer to be a Contest Director at the August 11th-12th Fun Fly-In; Roger Dahl said he would be the CD. Pat made a motion and the club approved to designate the North-South runway at the West end of the pits to be used as a designated helicopter pad so brown spots wont get burned on the grass runway and for safety from cross traffic with fixed-wing aircraft. New Members: Four new members were present and voted into the club: Patrick “Paco” Bryant Jacob “Pedro’ Blewett Jeff Roth Scott Fellman Show and Tell: No-one brought anything for show and tell 50/50 Raffle: The pot was $59.00 Bill Hollingsworth won the pot of $29.50 --- May 22, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Al reported we had $5,304 in the club treasury and that we now have 91 members. Old Business: Minutes for April meeting were approved as read. Pat and Bill thanked all who made the May 12th Sportsman Primer a successful and fun event; esp. Rex Lesher and Gary McClellan. New Business: The club thanked Scott Fellman for donating a low-hours weed-eater for field maintenance. Motion was made by John Bowhan to have more events at the field. Perhaps a “mini-IMAC” event. Bill said if John planned the event, Bill would help run the event. A date of July 7th was discussed. Roger Dahl announced that he could not be the CD for the August 11-12th Fun-Fly as he would be out of town. Rodger said he had not gotten the AMA sanction for the event. Mark Stafford said he would contact AMA for sanction. Pat announced that the next three (June, July, August) ERCA meetings will be held at the field. Mark said there was an event for the Recreational Aircraft Assn at the Eugene Airport to be held in June. Mark suggested that ERCA have a booth/exhibit set up at the event. Pat suggested that ERCA may have to think about imposing a cap on the number of club members because of lack of room for parking and flying and club resources in general. Pat also mentioned the that the club may want to think about opening up a second field. John Bowhan made a motion to build six more field flight-tables. $350 was approved for the material cost. Pat said he would help John build the tables. John Bowhan suggested that we need to smooth out the heli-pad area with some topsoil, grass seed and then rolled to improve the heli-pad. Doug and Pat said they would inform the club about a proposal for heli-pad improvement at the June meeting. Bill said that fire season starts June 1st. All smoking will be inside vehicles until the end of fire season. Bill informed the club that if cigarette butts continue to be thrown on the ground at the field, that a motion will be made that all smoking will be inside vehicles. Al Peacock suggested that a sign should be made informing smokers of the smoking rules. Al also suggested that a smokers area should be designated. Pat said he would check AMA rules and club by-laws for smoking rules and report back to the club.. New Members: The club welcomed five new members: Mike and Reina Kelly John Byrne Tyler Jones Al Peacock Show and Tell: No show and tell items 50/50 Raffle: The pot was $27.00 Doug McWha won $13.50 --- June 26th, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Al reported that we have 96 members. Al said that all members need to update their email and snail mail addresses in order to receive the newsletter. Al stated that the Club’s bank account balance is $5,215.32. Old Business: Minutes and Treasurer’s Report approved. An air fair will be held at Eugene Airport August 25th and 26th. John Bowhan and Mel Thompson volunteered to set up and staff the booth. Phil Groshong is the volunteer contact for the event. Pat said that the club seems to think that a membership cap was not a good idea. Doug made a motion to revisit the issue when the club reaches 120 members. John Bowhan reported on the flight benches. Cost of materials was $461 for six benches. Club asked John to estimate the cost of AMA-style tables and report back at the July meeting. New Business: Frank made a motion, and club approved, to put two loads of gravel on our part of the road. Mike Burgess requested that if planes go down in grass seed field, the members step over the rows of grass seed. Mike also reminded the club of the severe fire danger and that the grass seed can become tinder dry. After much spirited discussion about flying boundaries, the club agreed that the boundaries are: the south edge of the runway to an easterly direction of infinity. The westerly boundaries are as follows: the south edge of the runway, which then makes a southerly L shape to infinity. The heli pad area and toward the direction of the west end of the runway is forbidden for fly over by glow-powered, fixed-wing aircraft. Bill announced that Solvang Retirement Center will be bringing out ten residents ranging in age from 80 to 100 years old at 10 a.m., Thursday, July 19th. Bill spoke with Mike Stafford who will video the event for the AMA grant. Bill also said that Marcus McCabe of Boy Scout Troup #479 contacted him about bringing out a scout troop to fly. Bill told McCabe to give him 1 day’s notice so he could contact the club’s intro pilots. A motion was made and approved to reimburse Doug McWha to and from field for sprinkler duty. The club approved $26. There will be a Boy Scout Jamboree at Ems Stadium from 10 to 4 on Saturday, Sept. 22nd. Bill and Doug will staff the booth but volunteers are needed to set up the booth. New Members: No new members present. Show and Tell: No Show and Tell. 50/50 Raffle: No 50/50 Raffle due to Bill’s ineptitude. --- July 24, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Al reported that ERCA now has 100 members. Club treasury has $5,155.37 Old Business: John Bowhan reported to the club that he researched the AMA style tables. Material cost for each table is $50.00 Club approved construction of six tables at a cost of $320.00 frank Blain offered the use of his garage workshop for construction of said AMA style tables. New Business: Club approved designating a play area for children at the field. An ad-hoc committee was formed consisting of Frank Blain, Mike Burgess and John Bowhan. The committee will report back at the August meeting with their findings. Club approved the laying down of wood chips in the pit area to ameliorate the mud problems in the pits during the rainy season. Doug McWha was approved by the club to be a life member for recognition of his selfless dedication to the field. New Members: Jim Sherlock Show and Tell: No show and tell 50/50 Raffle: No raffle --- August --- September 25, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Al reported we had 104 members and the treasury’s balance was $4,214.52 Old Business: Five AMA style flight benches were constructed by Frank Blaine/ John Bowhan Three more are in the works. Doug McWha procured some conveyor belt material which will be laid down in the pits to help control mud problem during rainy season. Some people are smoking outside of their vehicles; Pat reminded the club that all smoking must be inside of vehicles until the end of October. New Business: Trash; Pat commended the club members for improving the trash situation at the field. Pat thanked John Bowhan and Frank Blaine for volunteering to be safety Officers / Field Marshals for the remainder of the year. Charging of trainer planes situation has also improved. After much discussion regarding designating a play area for children and liability issues for the club and landowner, Frank Blaine volunteered to contact AMA and Mike Burgess for info on liability issue. Frank will report his findings at the October meeting. Randy Sewell volunteered to be an additional member on the play area committee. New Members: Jeff Engel was voted in as a member of ERCA. Show and Tell: Bill Hollingsworth brought an older .40-sized Cherokee that he gave away to the first taker, who was Bradley Bowhan. Nick Speer brought a P-51 that he offered to sell for $65 50/50 Raffle: Scott Fellman won the raffle prize of $30. Scott split the winnings with ERCA treasury. --- October 23, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Al reported that ERCA has 103 members in good standing, and that the treasury has a balance of $3,375.90 Old Business: Play area for children is not going to proceed after Pat Willis consulted with landowner Mike Burgess. New Business: Club approved a $50 gift certificate for Marion Beagley in appreciation for the conveyor-belt material for the pits. Jeff Engel recommended getting together with Jim Corbett to build a longer (50 foot) runway for electrics. Club agreed that club dues must be paid up front in one payment for renewing members. New members can make three separate payments of one-third of the balance due, but must be paid in full by the March ERCA meeting. Doug McWha said he would ask Jim Corbett to make lettering for the big AMA field rules sign on the east side of the clubhouse stating the following: If you do not have current AMA card, you cannot fly-period. Club agreed that a first offense would carry the sanction of loss of field privileges for six months. Second offense is a permanent expulsion from ERCA. Club agreed that the ERCA executive board will have authority over this matter. Sign will also state that if you are a guest flyer, that you must sign in on a clipboard inside the clubhouse in order to provide adequate field management. Club agreed to place said clipboard in the clubhouse. The Speer family will set up the clipboard. Nominations of ERCA officers: President: Pat Willis, Khoi Tran Vice President: Scott Fellman, Mel Thompson, Khoi Tran Secretary/Treasurer: Al Barrington Field Marshalls Frank Blain, John Bowhan, Bill Hollingsworth, Khoi Tran, Jim Corbett 50/50 raffle: The pot was $27.00 Bob Salle won the raffle and donated his half share to the club. --- November 27, 2007 ERCA Meeting Minutes Treasurer’s Report: Al reported we had a balance of $3,489.04 in the ERCA treasury. Old Business: No old business. New Business: Khoi Tran inquired about having a winter club event such as a “Polar Bear Fly-In” or maybe getting together with South Lane flying club for a “Float Fly” at Dexter lake. A date of New Year’s Day or Saturday January 5th, 2008 was discussed for having the Polar Bear Fly. A date of March 1st, 2008 was approved for the Big Bird Fly-In. ERCA will extend an open invitation for the South Lane club to attend the Big Bird Fly-In. Frank Blaine suggested ways we can get more members to attend meetings. Some of the ideas mentioned were: A building tip presented by a different member each meeting. Showing videos. Awarding door prizes. Having two or three meetings a year at Papa’s Pizza on Coburg Road. Club approved having the March 2008 meeting at Papa’s Pizza on Coburg Road. Election Results: ERCA members elected the following members to serve as the ERCA Executive Committee for 2008: President: Pat Willis Vice President: Mel Thompson Secretary/Treasurer: Al Barrington Field Marshals/Safety Officers: Frank Blaine, John Bowhan, Jim Corbett, Bill Hollingsworth, Khoi Tran New Members: No new members Show and Tell: Khoi Tran brought a Carl Goldberg Edge 540 ARF with a 50cc gas engine. Khoi says it will hover at ¼ throttle! 50/50 Raffle: No raffle. --- ---
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