| Meetings
2008 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. |
| Meetings
2008 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. |
--- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the November 2008 Meeting November 25th, 2008, EWEB Meeting Room TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported we have 105 members in good standing as of the end of September. Remember it’s Renewal time!! The ERCA has a current bank balance of $4,313.58 after expenses. OLD BUSINESS; A motion was made to purchase the lawn mowing machine from Jeff Engel for $250 and was passed by majority vote. The giant scale ground run-up anchors have been installed and work very well. NEW BUSINESS; There were21 members and guests at the meeting. New member Matt Meltebeke was welcomed into the club. The February club meeting will be held at Papa’s Pizza on Coburg Road. Please plan to have your membership dues (ERCA & AMA) current before or at this meeting. We voted in 2009 club officers as promised. If you weren’t there, well……here you go! Safety officer- Marty Wittman Secretary/Treasurer – Al Barrington Vice President – Mel Thompson President – Khoi Tran A short meeting, but a lot accomplished. See you next year at EWEB. Happy Holidays to all. Show&Tell; John Farkas showed off a new micro copter he picked up at the mall, IR controlled and great for chasing cats;-) Marty Whittman brought his GIANT Cessna 188 AgWagon builder to show. This is a plane Carl Hensen had started but was unable to finish, Marty is doing a fine job with the finishing detail and hopes to have it ready for flight in the very near future. Pat Willis displayed a NOS K&B .45 Sportster he recently got for CHEAP. Nice classic craftsmanship --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the October 2008 Meeting October 28th, 2008, EWEB Meeting Room TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported we have 105 members in good standing as of the end of October. The ERCA has a current bank balance of $3,915.08 after expenses. A friendly reminder from Treasurer Al……It’s quickly approaching dues renewal time!!!!!!!!! OLD BUSINESS; The X wind runway that has been preempted by those farming the adjacent land was discussed again regarding the benefits of “only” filling in the low area south of the current runway, west of the clubhouse. It was pointed out that any land improvement results in a greater maintenance burden. This issue was tabled until Spring 2009. An economical solution for moving the free dirt will need to be found before that discussion. Doug and crew are still waiting for the weather to sink some pipe at ground level to be used for run-up anchors for extreme scale planes. NEW BUSINESS; There were15 members and guests at the meeting. Jeff Engel advised he has a riding lawnmower for sale, offered to the club for $250. The Port-a-potty service will change to on demand servicing for the winter months. We have begun the Sat/Sun/Wed noon start time restriction at the field. The November meeting will bring us board elections for 2009. Nominations were completed as follows: Safety Officers: Troy Dankenbring, Marty Wittman, Bill Hollingsworth, John Bowhan Sec/Treasurer: Al Barrington Vice President: Mel Thompson, Khoi Tran President: Khoi Tran We raffled off the leftover gift certificates from the Fun Fly by giving each attendee a ticket and then sold additional tickets for the usual one for $1 and 6 for $5. Don Desimone, Steve Harris and Jeff Engel each won a $10 Eugene Toy and Hobby gift certificate. The sale of additional raffle tickets produced $16 in revenue for the club. --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the September 2008 Meeting September 23rd, 2008, EWEB Meeting Room TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported we have 104 members in good standing as of the end of September. The ERCA has a current bank balance of $4,928.77 after expenses. OLD BUSINESS; The proposed north-south’ish runway, to be used in heavy cross wind, experienced a fatal blow. The farmer has denied our request for a “bump out” along the northern edge of the current runway, citing difficulties associated with cultivating around the odd shape. We will shoot for a July date for next year’s ‘Fun Fly’ event. Al B. was awarded a gift certificate in appreciation for his hard work. The mats covering the ground in the pits are shrinking, wrinkled and have rolled edges. A consensus was reached accepting the wrinkling was better/safer than the mud pit of before. NEW BUSINESS; There were14 members and guests at the meeting. A reminder to all……….only two meetings left this year, start thinking about nominations for the elected club offices. Regarding repairing broken propellers. President Pat Willis made it clear to our membership that re-using propellers that had been broken was an unsafe practice and is not permitted. If a by-law needs to be made to that effect, it will, but would hope it is not necessary. The merit of filling in the low area along the south side of the runway, west of the club house, was discussed. A ready supply of fill dirt is available for only the cost of transporting. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that the leveling of the area in question is a good idea. A decision was put off until an economical method of trucking the fill in can be identified. Once we get a little rain and the ground softens Doug and crew are going to sink some pipe at ground level near the east and west end of the pit area. The pipe will accept uprights that can be used for run-up anchors for extreme scale planes. Show&Tell; Jacob B brought his new mid-sized Yak. --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the July 2008 Meeting July 22, 2008, Carl Henson Field TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported we have 102 confirmed members in good standing as of the end of July. The ERCA has a current bank balance of $6,454.35 after expenses. The monthly rate for the clubs sanitation needs (porta-potty) are going up again due to increasing fuel costs. OLD BUSINESS; Our annual FUN Fly is scheduled for August 16th and 17th, 2008. Food will be available both days beginning at approximately 11:00 am. The two day prize theme will be “Poker Fly”. Get a card for each flight you make, best hand at the end of each day will be a winner. Khoi volunteered to approach Eugene Toy & Hobby for gift certificates to be used for Fun Fly prizes. Rules clarification: any AMA member may assist another AMA member with flight instruction (buddy box etc.) but all non AMA members must only be instructed by an AMA Intro Pilot. At the June meeting Dwayne Graville, Delayne Thompson, Gary Brewer and Aaron Bailey were welcomed in to the club. Jeff Engal announced the east Springfield property discussed as a possible backup site will be changing hands soon and will not be available to us. NEW BUSINESS; There were 21 members and guests at the meeting. New member Levi Mosley was welcomed into the club and Jim Sherlock was welcomed back. Our own Al Barrington announced he, and other members of the Lane County Sheriff’s Office, will be walking in the Relay for Life cancer fundraiser at Lane Community College on July 25th and 26th. The club voted to sponsor his efforts to the tune of $100. Several members stepped up with personal donations as well. Good Luck Al!! There was much discussion over improving our flying site by adding a north/south runway, of approximately 300 feet in length, to allow more flying with the strong northerly prevailing winds. The new surface would begin at the road, adjacent to the current “electric” runway and extend to the NNE, crossing the existing runway at just less than 90 degrees. Frank Blain presented a rough estimate of $1800 to fill, grade and seed the needed area to match the condition of the current east/west runway. Discussion included the possibility of deferring the application of sand to the existing runway, a $400 savings, due to the present serviceable condition of the runway and deferring the application of gravel to our driveway, also due to its current good condition offering an additional $400 savings. The consensus of the membership – those present – was the projected outlay of $1000 – accepting that the gravel and sand had already been green lighted by vote - was worth the added benefit of a n/s runway. A motion was made and the vote carried with a stipulation that the project not exceed $1800. Additionally, Mike Burgess must get a buyoff from the farmer leasing the land the construction would impact. More next month, hopefully. On a sad note we received word that our field’s namesake, Carl Henson, is in very poor health and will likely never visit the field again. He is currently in hospice care. Our thoughts and prayers go with the family. Show&Tell; Al Barrington brought his bar-b-que skills to the field and showed them off to us all by superbly cooking burgers and dogs to perfection. Thanks to Al for giving up some flying time to feed us. --- Minutes for June, 2008 ERCA Meeting, recorded by the President in lieu of the Vice President: Roughly 30 members and a few guests present. Doug McW. and Chuck did the shopping and Doug McW. and Al did the cooking. There was plenty of flying before and after the meeting. Treasury Report: Al reported that after expenses totalling $862.53 and deposits of $340.00, our treasury went from $6,986.50 to $6,463.97. Al also provided a budget that predicts a yearly operating cost of about $5800.00. The membership pondered raising the yearly dues but nothing was put into motion. Old Business: (Nothing of note) New Business: Someone has been leaving their trash in the buckets inside the club house that are used for storage. The membership is once again reminded that there is no trash receptacle at the field, period. That means, take your garbage with you. Pat recommended that every member make an effort to leave the field better than they found it by picking up any garbage lying around that may have been inadvertently left by another member. Cigarette butts have once again been found on the ground in the parking lot and pit area and the membership has had enough, once again. The "No pets" rule was reviewed and it was decided that the rule stands as-is. There is no exception to the rule and that includes animals in vehicles. The property owner, Mike Burgess, talked about losing two pups to the parvo virus recently and that was one reason for sticking to the rule. Smoking is allowed only in vehicles, (once again, for those who didn't pay attention the first few times). It was agreed that smoking while seated on a truck's tailgate is considered the same as being inside the vehicle. Some planes have been spotted over and beyond the Burgess home. There is no flying over the Burgess house. The planes were described as one jet-type and one smaller unknown type. The obvious safety concerns were discussed and it was also agreed that the pilots involved may have not even known they were that far out. A non-AMA member came out to fly saying that he had permission from another member. The club reviewed the rules regarding the AMA Intro Pilot program, which requires a non-AMA member to only fly with the club's official/designated Intro pilots, (have to be registered as such through AMA). They also have to be on a buddy box to be in compliance. They can only be taught by the Intro pilot for 60 days, starting on the day of the first flight, and then they have to join AMA. Any AMA member, however, can teach any other current AMA member how to fly via buddy box or without. The club does not have any discretion in this matter, it's the rules. Carl Henson's family stopped by to let us know that Carl's health has taken a turn for the worse and he will likely never be able to come out to his flying field again. They asked if someone would take on Carl's Awagon project, and Marty graciously agreed to do so. Patrick Willis ERCA President 2007-2008 --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the May 2008 Meeting May 27, 2008, EWEB Meeting Room TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported we have 95 members in good standing as of the end of May. Al reminded us to use the new zip code (97402) on all mail correspondence. The ERCA has a current bank balance of $6,986.50 after expenses. OLD BUSINESS; The BigBird Fly is on for Saturday, June 14th , prize drawing and food during the day. Remember we decided on July 19th for a backup date if the weather interferes. The map of the permissible airspace for flying is available at the field. Our annual FUN Fly has been scheduled for August 16th and 17th, 2008. Khoi and Frank are still planning to provide a report on options for providing 12v and 110 ac converted power at the Alvadore field. NEW BUSINESS; A reminder that we are moving into the summer meeting months. June we will be at the field. Rules clarification: any AMA member may assist another AMA member with flight instruction (buddy box etc.) but all non AMA members must only be instructed by an AMA Intro Pilot. There were 24 members and guests at the meeting. Two new members, Wayne Wahrmund and Aaron bailey, were welcomed into the club. There was a discussion regarding the belief that too many club members were being comp’d their membership dues. A motion was made and passed by majority vote limiting free membership for club officers to the positions of president and secretary/treasurer. This will take effect for membership year 2009. Several members reported finding cigarette butts in the pits and parking lot at the field. An informal discussion lead to a suggestion we place a larger sign near the entrance to the fields warning of the fire danger and smoking rules. Show&Tell; Frank brought his new Great Planes SU-31 for show . --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the April 2008 Meeting April 22, 2008, EWEB Meeting Room TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported we have a finalized roster of 92 members as of the end of March. Al reminded us to use the new zip code (97402) on all mail correspondence. The ERCA has a current bank balance of $6,713.99 after expenses, including Charter and insurance fees. OLD BUSINESS; The old business had been beaten to death and we entered into a discussion of summer event scheduling. The map of the permissible airspace for flying is available at the field. NEW BUSINESS; There were 24 members and guests at the meeting. A new member, Dan Leon, was welcomed into the club. The BIG Bird Fly has been rescheduled for June 14th, 2008. July 19th was selected for a backup if the elements intrude. The same format and prizes will be utilized. Our annual FUN Fly has been scheduled for August 16th and 17th, 2008. The new and updated constitution and bylaws were discussed and approved by majority vote. Check the website for details. Jeff Engal announced he will be approaching a landowner, east of Springfield, on the possibility of securing a secondary flying field, more details to come in the not to distant future. Installing a person sized gate in the parking lot fence to allow easier access to the flight line from the parking area during times of congestion was discussed. The feeling was that most of the materials were either available or could be scrounged or donated. The issue was passed on a majority vote. Khoi Tran was selected to explore options for providing 12v and 110 ac converted power at the Alvadore field and report back to the club. Discussion on the suggestion centered on deep cycle 12v storage batteries and a solar panel charger/conditioner system. Show&Tell; Brad Werneth brought his Hirobo EVO helicopter powered by an O.S. .50sx Hyper glow engine. --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the March 2008 Meeting March 25th, 2008, Papa’s Pizza – 1577 Coburg Road TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported a substantial number of 2007 members remain in unknown status, although there has been a flurry of renewals. A finalized roster will be completed in the near future. The ERCA has a current bank balance of $6,281.87. OLD BUSINESS; The ERCA Big Bird Fly-in, scheduled for March 1st, was cancelled due to weather. The gift certificates purchased as prizes for the event will be used for future events. The 2008 club roster was finalized based on member status at the end of the meeting. The extra mat material acquired by Doug McWha has been installed at the field. NEW BUSINESS; There were 39 members and guests at the meeting. Thanks to Papa’s Pizza and the club for the pizza feed. New member Brad Wernath was confirmed and welcomed into the club. President Pat Willis provided copies of the old and newly updated bylaws and charter for member review. The updates will be discussed at the April meeting and submitted for approval or additional modification. The permissible flying space was discussed. Members are reminded to avoid flying over or near the Burgess residence. President Willis advised Jim Corbett is working on a map of the field showing the no fly zones. A lengthy discussion of the use of common courtesy while flying took place. Make sure you communicate your intentions – yell loud enough for everyone to hear - to take off, land, enter the runway area etc. Helicopters - hovering, sharing airspace and the use of green paint to cover the brown spots in the field caused by hot exhaust was covered extensively as well. A review of the AMA general safety rules is recommended to refresh your memory. A reminder to all using multiple radios, please, check out one frequency pin at a time. Items debated and approved by majority vote: -- Smoking at the field is allowed only inside a vehicle. -- Active duty members of the military (defined as full time service or active reserve/national guard member) will be granted free membership and waived initiation fees upon their request. Membership status will be reviewed on a yearly basis for eligibility. Khoi’s Corner; This month was a bit of show and tell around the Byron Originals F-16 ducted fan Khoi and Frank are assembling. Along with the equipment and construction details we were advised of an inexpensive, fuel proof finish for out projects. Khoi and Frank have been using Krylon spray paint and MinWax clear polyurethane finish spray. This is available in gloss, semi-gloss and satin finishes. Show&Tell; Mark Stafford has caught the helicopter sickness and has three electrics he’s been flying at home and he brought two of them to show. Jacob Blewett brought his new T-Rex 600 heli and Spectrum dx7 radio. Alan Peacock shared a tip for precision oiling or gluing by using inexpensive syringes available at feed store etc. --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the February 2008 Meeting February 26th, 2008, EWEB Conference Room TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported of the ERCA’s 105 members 58 had confirmed membership/AMA and 47 are of unknown status. Please get your membership renewals in before the March meeting. The ERCA has a current bank balance of $5,478.04. The field lease has been paid through April 2008. OLD BUSINESS; The ERCA Big Bird Fly will be held on March 1st, 2008. Eugene Toy & Hobby subsidized three gift certificates the club purchased as prizes ($50, $30 & $20) These are scheduled to be awarded, raffle style, to those flying an IMAA legal plane at the event. The March meeting, March 25th, will be held at Papa’s Pizza on Coburg Rd. in Eugene. The club will be providing Pizza for members. Family is welcome. A reminder to all that membership renewals are due by the close of the March meeting. Without prior arrangements, expired members will be dropped from club roster after that deadline! Renewing members are expected to pay their dues in full while new members may pay in thirds if necessary. Just in case you haven’t noticed the recurring theme…………..NO AMA….. NO FLYING AT OUR FIELD! Current AMA membership is required to fly with the exception of discovery flights with an instructor. The first violation of this rule will net you a six month suspension of flying privileges. A second violation will result in expulsion from the field. Doug Mcwha has acquired additional mat material. As noted last month the purchase of fairway sand was authorized to fill in the low spots on the runway. We also agreed this would be a springtime project, as the weather permits. Well, guess what, spring is coming and help will be needed to spread the sand. Hint, hint. NEW BUSINESS; There were 29 members and guests at the meeting. Two new members applied and were voted into the club. Please welcome Don Desimone and Brian Ropchan. For those that fly heli’s, specifically Align machines, President Pat announced DeeTee Enterprises has opened a mail order business, here in Eugene, which sells replacement parts. They should be linked to our web site soon. Pat Willis announced he has been reviewing the bylaws and if he remembers better than this meeting he will have them available for review and discussion at the March meeting. A float fly looks to be a go at Dexter Lake in May. More info as it’s available. We had another installment of Khoi’s Corner LIVE! This month’s presentation covered part two of his two part series on retractable landing gear. This month we got to see the scale applications available. Khoi shared his insight into the customer service philosophy of the better suppliers for this equipment. We had show and tell from the Bowhans’ with their small herd of Axe CP heli’s and Erin showed off a new Futaba 7C 2.4gHz radio. Allen Peacock announced he is going to give fixed wing a shot and presented his all ‘styro’ electric super cub that he intends on using. Allen proposed the establishment of a charter Piper Cub Owners Association (PCOS) within ERCA. He modeled hats, t-shirts and mugs he has designed for those that love, like or merely tolerate one of the greatest machines to ever take flight ;-) --- Eugene R/C Aeronauts Minutes from the January 2008 Meeting January 22, 2008, EWEB Conference Room TREASURER’S REPORT; Al Barrington reported the ERCA had 105 members, 94 adults and 11 youths, in good standing as of the end of calendar year 2007. We are starting over with the new year so here’s a reminder to please get your membership renewals in before the March meeting. The ERCA has a current bank balance of $4292.04. The field lease has been paid through February 2008. OLD BUSINESS; The ERCA Big Bird Fly will be held on March 1st, 2008. The March meeting will be held at Papa’s Pizza on Coburg Rd. in Eugene. The club will be providing Pizza for members. Family is welcome. A reminder to all that membership renewals are due by the close of the March meeting. Without prior arrangements, expired members will be dropped from club roster after that deadline. Renewing members are expected to pay their dues in full while new members may pay in thirds if necessary. A current AMA membership is required to fly with the exception of discovery flights with an instructor. The first violation of this rule will net you a six month suspension of flying privileges. A second violation will result in expulsion from the field. Electric runway extension project: Jeff Engel reported he and Jim Corbett are still working on it and Doug Mcwha advised he is working on getting additional mat material for that project. NEW BUSINESS; Pat Willis thanked Al Barrington and Bill Hollingsworth for their service to the club by serving as officers in 2007. 25 members attended the meeting. A fee of $7.00 was decided on for a “Limited Membership” that allows a person to receive the newsletter but not to fly. Al Peacock announced the indoor gymnasium of the National Guard Armory, on MLK Blvd, may be utilized by electric planes for indoor flight activities Mon – Fri, 7am to 5pm. Mike Wiley is the contact person at the armory. Khoi Tran asked if the club could purchase sand to begin filling low spots on the runway. A discussion followed during which it was decided fairway sand would suit our needs the best. It was estimated this sand would likely cost in the neighborhood of $200 a load. A motion passed authorizing the purchase of two loads and making this a springtime project as the weather permits. Khoi also asked if the club expenses could be broken down and made available to help in the planning of expansion of club services. We had the first installment of Khoi’s Corner LIVE! This month his presentation covered part one of a two part series on retractable landing gear. This month’s edition covered sport plane applications, mechanical and pneumatic. Next month Khoi will delve into scale applications. Show and tell this month……….. Khoi Tran displayed his new 1/5.5 scale CMP Corsair dressed as a an RAF loaner to the Salvadoran Air Force, Pat Willis showed of his new 2.4 GHz conversion on his Futaba radio, Nick Speer had his new Hangar9 Showtime 50, John Farkas showed of his unique electronic control package installed on his Raptor heli. John’s bird has three gyros and an IR eye that allows it to maintain a set position in space with the controls released. ---
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