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Officers Corners - ERCA
Officers Corners
ERCA Officers
2013
Office
- Name |
Phone Number |
Cell Phone Number
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Email
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Appointed by the
President
Presidents
Corner Eugene
RC Aeronauts
Each
week thousands of people
fly an airplane without
ever leaving the ground.
The Eugene RC
Aeronauts welcome you to
the incredible sport of
remote control aviation.
Mickey
Cohen
|
—
July
The past month has brought some
glorious weather to the
Willamette Valley and has
certainly delivered on one of
the elements we all crave when
we go flying. The sun has been
bright and the temperatures very
nice. Unfortunately the wind has
come up in force in the
afternoons for the past couple
of weeks creating some havoc,
which I personally have
experienced with the total
destruction of my favorite Pulse
125. To be up front I am not
really sure if it was wind, sun
or that common problem of head
up and locked. On the bright
side it looks like we will soon
have some shifts in the wind
making our summer flying great.
Mike, Brad and
Pat have been very busy making
final preparations for the
upcoming Monster Fest. There are
GREAT prizes for the
participating pilots so be
certain to have your aircraft
ready to go. It’s going to be
great fun. As the event has
grown and with guests from other
clubs in state and out we have
to call on our members for some
dedicated help with this event.
In the past we have asked at the
monthly meetings for volunteers
to help make the event a success
and have received good response.
The only problem with that
method is the folks we ask for
help come from a small pool of
folks that attend the monthly
meetings. This event being more
significant in size I must make
a plea to the entire membership
for their help, we have 86
members at this time and need
your help. If you are willing to
help out for part of the weekend
PLEASE email me and someone will
call you to see what time frame
and tasks works best for you.
Remember the event is August
17th and 18th.
I read something
the other day and would like to
share with all of you.
QUESTION: What is the most
important decision any pilot can
make?
ANSWER: When not to
fly ……
EXPLANATION: If the pilot
isn’t ready, if the equipment
isn’t ready, or if the
conditions aren’t right ………. do
not fly!
See you at the
field and don’t forget the
sunscreen.
Mickey
---
June
As most of you know the Memorial
Day fly-in was a no-go due to
the rain. We know that date is
very risky here in Eugene but
it’s always worth a try to have
that as our kick off event of
the year.
Coming up on the
25th is our first meeting at the
field, come early do some flying
and enjoy a burger or dog from
Captain Al’s kitchen. Feel free
to bring a side dish or desert
to share and of course don’t
forget Food for Lane County.
For those of you
that haven’t been to the field
recently there has been some
additional field improvements
completed. Brad was able to
provide a great deal on concrete
as well as some very talented
concrete finishers and now the
field has concrete pads for the
big bird A/C. Our same group of
reliable workers showed up to
help dig out the pads, set the
forms and help spread the wet
concrete. A BIG thanx to all who
stepped in to help once again.
Also Safety Roger has installed
a runway centerline and a line
indicating the edge of the
runway and taxi area. It looks
great, way to go Roger.
We have our next
event coming up on the 29th;
it’s the Swap and Fly. Be
certain to bring out that extra
stuff and try to sell it so you
can convert it into new stuff.
We will have great weather and
this will be a super opportunity
to spend time with our fellow
club members.
Some proposed
changes to the ERCA Constitution
and By-Laws have been presented
at the last two meetings however
because attendance is sparse I
wanted you all to have an
opportunity to vote so JR was
able to post the proposed
changes on the forum and allow
you to vote on the forum. We
will take a vote count at the
meeting as well.
That’s it for
now, fly safe and with someone.
Mickey
---
May
The time has come, the first
five months of 2013 have flown
by and its time for our first
“Fun Fly”. Brad Werneth, Mike
Winklepleck and Pat Willis have
a great event planned for
Memorial Day so lets plan on
participating and kicking off
this year with some great flying
and camaraderie.
The field is looking good, Doug
McWha has the runway in great
shape, the bleachers have been
painted at the expense of Donny
Krenz’s back and as always Jim
Corbett is always doing
something to improve the field.
We held a work party at the
field last month and completed a
lot of spring cleanup. Thanx to
all who came out and pitched in.
I would also like
to give a big thank you to Wayne
Wahrmund who has stepped up to
help promote our club as a
community member. I had received
a call from Willamalane who
needed someone to teach folks
how to fly indoors for a new
program they are offering in the
fall and Wayne jumped right in
to help. I also received a call
from a non-member who during
transport of an airplane that
had sentimental value as it
belonged to his father was
damaged and needed repair, again
Wayne stepped up when asked.
There were some
proposals for changes in the
ERCA constitution and by-laws
presented at the April meeting
and will be reviewed again and
voted on at the May meeting so
be sure to attend the meeting
and participate.
Looking forward to seeing you
all at the field and meetings.
Mickey
---
March
Spring officially moves in this
week and even though we had a
fairly mild winter it will be
welcomed with open arms and
visions of many great flying
days.
Much hard work with great
results has taken place since we
last met. I want to thank JR
Graham for the creation of a
super forum for club members to
share information and
communicate. If you haven’t
signed in and investigated this
site I encourage you to do so. A
big thanks goes out to Mike
Winklepleck and Jim Corbett for
the creation and implementation
of the new look to our club
website. It’s GREAT!
Out at the field changes include
a major cleanup of scrap
material that had accumulated at
the entrance to our field near
the mower shed. A big thanks to
Jim Corbett and Doug McWha for
their work. It’s been hard for
me to imagine but Mike
Winklepleck sold the old trailer
for $300 and it’s gone. Thank
you Mike. Some other changes
include: A set of bleachers that
were built by Jim Corbett with
wood donated by Wayne Wahrmund.
A new flight line table is
currently at the field and six
more were built waiting to be
delivered to the field. Frank
Blain not only donated the
material but also built a table.
Mel Graham and Jim Corbett took
advantage of a damp Saturday and
assembled five more tables made
from material purchased with the
money from the trailer sales.
Once again THANX to all!
There has been a lot of activity
taking place in an effort to
change the language in the
proposed Oregon Senate Bill 71
to eliminate any reference to
model airplane enthusiasts. An
alliance made up of myself,
Retired Senator Bill Fisher, Van
Moore, Bill Fisher Jr., Rich
Dunn, John Stroup of the Salem
R/C Pilots Association, Gregg
Marshall of the Sky Nights R/C
Club and Randy Henry from the
Mt. Silverwood R/C club have
been working on letter writing
campaigns and writing testimony
that will be presented at the
public hearing on the 20th in
Salem in front of the Senate
Judiciary Committee. There has
already been some success as the
bill presently in at revision 4.
I feel confident we will prevail
and will report more at the
meeting on the 21st.
That’s it for now, take
advantage of the good weather
and get the cobwebs off of those
thumbs. FLY SAFE.
Mickey
—
---
February 20
When I look at the calendar I am
in disbelief that the end of
February is already here. The
time for build more fly less
will be coming to an end before
we know it. I like many have
been working on a couple of new
projects in the shop. This is
also a great time to be doing
inspections and maintenance on
our current aircraft in addition
to spiffing them up for a great
year of flying.
If you have had the chance to
look at the website you can see
there are always some brave
souls at the field and in the
sky. But soon the foggy, chilly
and wet weather will yield some
breaks and it will be time to
flight test the new birds,
validate the winter maintenance
we completed, get the cobwebs
off our thumbs and find a cure
for the RC withdrawals.
There has been a lot of activity
regarding the proposed Oregon
Senate Bill 71. Senator Floyd
Prozanski of Eugene drafted the
bill. The language in the bill
could be very damaging to our
hobby and could possibly make a
criminal out of you if it ever
was to become law. I have been
working on the issue and have
written letters to every State
Senator, the Judiciary Committee
as well as the Governor. The
Salem club has been very active
regarding this proposed bill.
There is a link on our website
for the Salem clubs “Model
Aircraft and Oregon State Law”
page where you can see their
efforts. I have also been in
contact with the regional VP and
National AMA who are working on
these proposals with all the
states that are trying to pass
some sort of drone legislation.
We have finally established
dates for our four events this
year. The first event again this
year will be on Memorial Day
followed by a Swap and Fly on
June 29th, then this years Big
Bird on August 10th, closing out
the year with a Club Fly on
Labor Day. This year we are
working hard to make the Big
Bird the marquee event for ERCA.
The club will be doing
considerable planning,
advertising, etc. with Brad
Werneth’s guidance in an effort
to attract many flyers from
other clubs throughout the state
and beyond. It would be great if
our club was known for this
annual event and word of mouth
encouraged its growth every
year. Of course these events
cannot be successful without the
support and help of our
membership. This year will be
different from last in that we
will be looking for more help
from the membership to
accomplish our goals. To be
successful we need YOU to become
more involved in the preparation
and participation in these
events. There will be more
information as the events begin
to take shape.
If you get a chance take a look
at “Club Deals” on our website,
we are starting to get some
vendors to give discounts to
club members. Its just getting
started and limited but will be
growing so if you need something
that is offered try to support
these folks.
I am also looking forward to
larger involvement and
attendance at our meetings this
year.
See you at the meetings or at
the field. Have fun and
FLY SAFE!
Mickey
---
January 22
Now that the
2012 flying season is behind us
I would like to thank everyone
for his or her involvement at
ERCA over the past year. While
our membership level was down a
bit this year we did have many
successes. Our events this year
were very much improved for
those that participated as well
as spectators. We had a higher
number of spectators thanks to
the signage at intersections as
well as the exposure the club
got with the media. The
intro-pilots did a great job and
completed a significant number
of intro flights, which
certainly raised an interest in
our hobby and even generated
some new members. There were
work crews that helped with
field maintenance and as always
Doug McWha kept the runway in
great shape. A special thanks to
Jim Corbett for the construction
of the charging tables, what a
great improvement as electric
flying is expanding.
Al Barrington was successful in
gaining status for our club with
AMA. ERCA is now a GOLD LEADER
CLUB; we are now in the top 15%
of all clubs in the United
States. Be certain to get your
personal pin from Al.
With 2013 here its time to head
into that cave and work on those
new Christmas gifts or just
clean up and make ready the
fleet for a super year of
activities. Remember to check
and inspect all the hardware,
installations and batteries.
Rechecking weight and balance
isn’t a bad idea either. It will
be a good year for us to enjoy
our super hobby and be with
friends and family.
I am looking forward to serving
ERCA as the president and am
looking forward to having
members get more involved in our
club through participation in
committee’s and improved
attendance at our monthly
meetings. I would like to get
your input regarding what’s
important to you, what would
make the club more satisfying
for you, changes you would like
to see or committee’s you would
like to volunteer for.
Remember to fly safe and not
alone.
Mickey
---
PRESIDENT
Elects' CORNER,
December 15, 2012
Now that the
building season is upon us we
can look back at the great days
we had this year for flying. I
would suspect for most of us the
flying season came and went way
too quickly. As the holiday
season passes, we will
start thinking about and
planning for the New Year. Some
of us will build additions to
our fleet, others will be
checking their airplanes over
and preparing for another great
year.
I am looking forward to serving
as your president in 2013. I
have several goals that I will
work on this year which include
growing our membership,
increasing attendance at our
meetings, developing more youth
involvement and field
maintenance and improvements. I
am certain that most of you have
some great ideas as well.
I would like to hear about your
thoughts and idea's so that we
can discuss and evaluate them at
the meetings. If you would like
to send your suggestions to me
prior to the meetings I can add
them to the agenda. My email
address is mcaviation@comcast.net
and my phone number is
541-. I look
forward to hearing about
your thoughts and
suggestions.
My responsibility as the
president is simply to be a
resource for you to make all of
our club and flying experience's
as enjoyable and satisfying as
possible.
Wishing you all a safe and happy
holiday season & a healthy
New Year!
Mickey Cohen
541-
mcaviation@comcast.net
---
---
|
Vice
Presidents Corner
Eugene
RC Aeronauts
Mike Winklepleck
|
---
March
I would like to talk about the
technical side of our club’
First and foremost I would like
to mention that Jim Corbett has
spent countless hours building
and maintaining our website and
I for one would like to thank
him!
As you all are aware if you own
a cell phone, a computer or
anything electronic things
change very quickly.
Website technology changes just
as fast and with that Jim and I
thought it was time for a major
website overhaul. We have
designed and created a new site
that will have replaced the old
site by the time this newsletter
has been published and
mailed. We hope that you
enjoy the new format and it’s
one you can be proud to show
your friends and family as you
talk about this awesome
hobby. We also are hopeful
that it will show the public
that we are an active club and
we are keeping up with the
times. Please take the time to
look at the site and send us
your comments and feedback.
Along with that JR has lead a
major effort to keep the club
connected through the use of the
new ERCA Forum
(http://www.eugenerc.org/forums/).
I have enjoyed using the forum
and look at it every day.
If you have not registered for
the forum yet please do
so. I consider it pure joy
to talk with other members of
the club all week long about RC
topics. Thank you JR for
all the hard work and continued
efforts!
Mike
—
February 22
February
marks the end of the winter
flying hours and the beginning
of one fun flying year!
Planning is already in full
swing for this years events and
flying site clean
up/maintenance. Your leadership
team spent several hours this
past Sunday surveying the field
and what we can do to make it
better for you. As we
discuss the different projects
we are asking that you set aside
a few hours and work along side
us. In short we need you
the membership to volunteer a
few hour of your time.
Please make an effort to attend
next weeks meeting and sign up
for something.
Special thanks to Brad for
stepping up to lead the events
committee. Brad has done
an amazing job in the past
organizing the events and will
no doubt do a fantastic job
again this year. I have
volunteered to help Brad with
the events and look forward to
serving.
A special note to everyone that
the field is still very
wet. It may look dry but
it's still very soft. I
have first hand experience a few
weeks ago as I performed a
decent landing then turned at
the end of the run way to taxi
back only to have my left wheel
get buried in the mud 6-8 inches
and tear off my landing gear
causing structural damage to the
fuselage and right wing.
It was a sad sight! But
it's all repaired now and I flew
it last Sunday and had a blast.
Also, as you all are dusting off
the planes and getting them
ready for this year take some
extra time to inspect those
planes and radios. You
never know what has happened
from the time you put them all
away to now. Somehow my
trim for my ailerons was moved
all the way right and it made
for a very exciting first
flight. I had not messed
with my trim at all so I had no
reason to think that was the
problem and my mind raced to the
previous flight in which the
gear had come off and gone
through my wing. All I
could think about was something
was seriously wrong and I
seriously doubted I would be
able to land without a fatal
crash. I called Al
Wellington over in a panic only
to discover my trim was
off. Whew, thanks AL!
That's it for now.
See you all at next week's
meeting!
Mike
---
January 22
Wow its 2013! As I get
older I am reminded that life is
short and we have but just a
sliver of time to enjoy life to
the fullest. For me part
of the enjoyment of life is
flying. While I have
always wanted to be a pilot and
had a short stint learning to
fly sailplanes in Arizona and a
brief few minutes behind the
stick of a Piper Cherokee I have
not been able to pursue my
dreams of flying full time due
to being color blind. I
even tried to cheat the flight
physical when I joined the Army
in 1990 but there is no cheating
colored yarn! I learned
later in life that RC Airplanes
can be a great substitute and
quite exciting. That being
said I can’t wait for this
weather to clear up and get in
the skies!
A week or so ago your President
and I met to discuss what 2013
could be for our club. We
have some great goals and will
outline those at this week’s
meeting. As with
anything though we cannot be
successful without your support
and help! We are
desperately in need of people to
step up and lead or volunteer to
be a part of one or a couple
groups we will be forming this
week. We absolutely have
the best club in the Willamette
Valley and possibly all of
Oregon. We also have a
great airfield that has some
huge potential. One of the
goals I will touch on is field
improvements. If we want
to continue to attract new
members and have the same or
higher caliber events this year
we need to have a field that we
can say is the best in all of
Oregon. When you the
members (and your guests) and
visitors come to our field I
want them to feel comfortable
and say wow this field is
amazing!
·
Tables need to be worked on and
weatherized.
·
The club house needs a thorough
cleaning, paint and inside we
need to hang some real boards
for notices etc…
·
We also need to think about how
we can improve our
port-a-john. Last year
when we had the public come out
and enjoy the festivities many
(mostly females) were disgusted
by that part of our field.
·
We need a new sign to greet
people as they enter the great
Carl Henson field.
·
We need to consider a better
place to store the various stuff
next to the lawn mower shed.
·
Some fields paint the runway to
look like a real runway which I
think would be cool. Maybe
this would be done for our
events if a permanent solution
cannot be found.
·
A fire pit has been discussed
which would be great for the
cold chilly days.
·
A flag pole has been discussed
as well which could display our
great Nation’s flag along with a
Eugene RC Aeronauts flag below
it.
·
Continue talks about the
additional North/South runway
·
Bleachers!
·
Expansion of the charging table
I’m sure I missed something so
at the meeting tomorrow please
let me know what you think we
can do to improve our field.
As groups form please join
one! If everyone helps out
it will make it that much easier
for everyone. If you are
unable to donate your time maybe
you have a connection to some of
the supplies we will need for
the improvements. Please
come and talk with Mickey and or
myself and let us know how you
can help.
More to come at Januarys meeting
as this is just a glimpse into
our goals for this year.
Mike Winklepleck
---
Vice
PRESIDENT Elects' CORNER,
December 17, 2012
First and foremost I want to say
we have been blessed to have had
such a great leadership team
with Brad and Mike at the helm
for so long and I intend to keep
their vision and momentum moving
forward to make our field a must
see/fly destination. I
want to say "Thank You" to both
of these gentlemen for there
hard work, tenacity and a job
well done, your work has not
gone unnoticed! That goes
for Al as well but since he is a
gluten for punishment he gets to
stay and work with us this year.
As
I ponder the past year all I
that comes to mind is that it
has been quite the year for our
club. With all of the
events, visitors and TV exposure
it made for a jammed pack full
of fun 2012. We also had
to call out our local member
fire team twice to take care of
a lawn mower and a electric
plane fire, I am still having
nightmares about that one.
It just goes to show that
without our dedicated club
members, volunteers and
significant others we would not
have the field and fun that we
do today.
I
also would also like to thank
each and every member for there
vote of confidence in me for the
office of Vice President.
I look forward to serving in
this position as Mickey Cohen's
right hand man and your go to
guy for input and ideas.
Please feel free to contact
Mickey or myself for anything as
we are here to serve you.
Well for myself I have been
trying to get out to the field
and do some flying but this
weather is just not cooperating
like last year winter.
Thanks to all of the guys (Pat
Willis, JR, Mel, Brad, Donnie,
Chick Foster and Mike Vaughn) I
moved up to a 50cc Yak 54 this
year that keeps my adrenaline
pumping like crazy. All of
these guys have saved my butt a
few times each with this
plane. And thanks to Frank
it's a beautiful again and just
waiting to be flown. For
those of you that don't know
Frank saved my plane from the
recycle bin in August of this
year, that runway is just not as
long as I thought.
In
closing there is a lot of fun to
be had in 2013. Happy
Holidays!
Mike
Winklepleck
---
---
|
Treasurers
Corner
Eugene
RC Aeronauts
AL Barrington
|
NOTES:
Annual membership dues of $60
per year (plus an initiation fee
of $25 and a one time Field Fee
of $75) apply to each adult.
There is no membership fee for
ages 9 to 16. Active and
drilling military free
membership and initiation.
Furthermore, membership in AMA
($58 per year) is mandatory for
all fliers (no
exceptions!). Please
note that AMA membership for
minors (up to 19) is only one
dollar per year.
Mailing
address: Eugene R/C
Aeronauts • P.O. Box 26344,
Eugene OR 97402
Email
address: albarrington@msn.com
---
July
Our membership is currently at
84 with the addition of
returning member Richard King
and new members, father and son,
David and 13 year old, Conner
Wilson. Welcome to all.
The bank balance is currently
$4611.71. We received a
near $200 boost from a
successful June Fun-Fly.
There have also been a heap of
expenses in maintenance,
operations and preparations for
our August main event.
Our expenses this month include:
$134 for pump and mower gas,
$40 for grass seed,
$45 for Roto-tiller rental,
$157.71 for road gravel,
$86.94 for BBQ Food and drinks,
$50 for Fire extinguisher cart,
$45.75 for Toilet service,
$34.00 for Newsletter costs Jan
– Jun,
$100 for Event prize gift
certificates,
$330 for ERCA hats,
$62.27 Signs.
We look forward to seeing
everyone who can make it to the
July meeting at the field,
Tuesday, the 23rd, at 7pm.
I’ll start the grill about 5:30
to cook up some ERCA burgers and
hotdogs. Members are asked
to bring potluck side dishes,
chips or anything you want to
add.
Our food drive continues
to support Food for Land
County. Please remember to
bring a donation for the barrel
in the clubhouse.
Happy landings.
AL Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERC
---
June
Our membership is at 81 now with
the reinstatement of Todd Goss.
Welcome back. We have not
received any new member
applications this month.
The treasury is at $5,697.38 as
of this report. We are expecting
the bills to start rolling in
from the recent field
improvement projects.
There has been no word from the
IRS regarding our tax exempt
status. We are still in a
holding pattern on that.
Thanks to all the members who
came out to help on the field
projects this past month. Many
hands makes for light work. We
appreciate your support. I’m
extremely proud of our field and
our members who are helping to
make our field a classy place to
fly.
I’m looking forward to seeing
everyone at the field for the
meeting on 25 June, at 7pm. Get
there early because, I’ll be
firing up the grill about 5:30pm
to cook up some club sponsored
burgers and hotdogs before the
meeting. Bring along a favorite
potluck side dish or whatever
special item you might want to
throw on the grill. As always,
the donation jar will be out for
your generous contributions. NOT
tips for the cook but to help
with the food costs so we can
continue to run the grill at all
our field meetings and events.
While you’re feeling generous,
please don’t forget to bring a
donation for the Food for Lane
County barrel.
Mark your calendars for the 29th
of June for the Swap and Fly.
Happy landings.
AL Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERC
---
May
ERCA is at 80 members as of this
report. We have received no new
member applications this month.
The IRS has confirmed they have
received our application for our
tax exempt status. They told us
we should be notified of the
determination or further action
within 90 days. Given current
events, I am not sure about
that. I’ll keep you posted as
news comes in.
The treasury is currently at
$6,313.59.
I hope to see everyone on
Memorial Day at the field and
then two days later at EWEB for
the May meeting.
AL Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERC
---
March 18
Introductory Pilot Program
Instructor Application
Confirmation (#15043)
AMA Number
Full Name
848510 Doug
Devereaux
885205 Jeff
Engel
239660 ALAN
Wellentin
585735 Roger
Dahl
880863 Scott
Fellman
904088 Wayne
W Wahrmund
3914 Martin
Wittman
664944
Charles H Jenkins
801708 Craig
Canaday
Your application for the
Introductory Pilot Instructor(s)
listed above has been
received. New AMA
membership cards should be
received shortly for each
designee pending verification of
payment. If membership
cards are not received within
noted time frame, applicants
should contact the AMA
membership department and state
all information above.
If you have any questions,
please do not hesitate to
contact the Club Secretary in
the Membership Department at AMA
Headquarters. Call
1-800-435-9262 and select option
1, 2, and then 3. Monday
through Friday between the hours
of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM, Eastern
Standard Time.
Thank you for participating in
AMA’s Introductory Pilot
Program.
—
March
The last of the membership
renewals are trickling in.
As of this report ERCA is at 72
members. We welcome new
youth member Tyler Morris.
He joined us at the February
meeting, sponsored by his dad,
Robert Morris Jr. We
received a new member
application from Kevin
Buss. We hope to see him
at the next meeting to make his
membership official.
Again, welcome to all our new
members. We look forward
to flying with you.
According to our Constitution
and By-Laws, the March meeting
is the deadline for membership
renewals before being moved to
the inactive members
roster. There are 11
members from 2012 who have not
renewed yet. ERCA is
required to make this official
notification to each member of
this pending action. I
have already made contact with
some who have confirmed their
intentions to not renew.
We wish them well and thank them
for their contributions and
support. If any member
wants to give reasons why these
members should be retained as
active and not transferred to
inactive status, please contact
me or the membership at the
March meeting.
Mike Baker - ? (not
confirmed)
Ian Berner - ?
Lucas Broich - ?
Hal Fasig - Not
renewing, moving
Jon “Todd” Goss -
Not renewing
Robert Haley - ?
Jeff Harris - Not
renewing
Bill Hastings - ?
Rod Madison - With
CRCF
Bill Schneider - Not
renewing, with CRCF
Haik Terzyan - ?
Business:
We recently received our Federal
Tax ID number. So, now I
will be able to complete the
process of getting our nonprofit
organization 501c(7) status
determination letter. Then
the fun part begins, the tax
filings and reports.
Arrrgh! Are there any CPAs
in the house?
Treasury:
The Treasury stands at $6,597.59
as of this report. This is
thanks to membership renewals
and generosity. At the
February meeting many members
donated a total of $85 toward
the $161.00 cost of the pizza
meeting. Dave Bennett won
the 50/50 raffle but donated his
half of the $34 pot to the
treasury. Jim Corbett and
his elves took on some spring
cleaning at the field. They
hauled off an eye-sore of scrap
metal by the tool shed to
Schnitzer Steel for a gain of
$23.
Thank you all for the
generosity, dedication,
contributions and support that
really makes the club
work. There are also some
unsung heros working behind the
scenes who deserve a heap of
recognition for their tireless
efforts on our newsletter, web
sites, forum, events, safety,
maintenance, etc. We have
a great core of members that all
of ERCA is proud of.
Seen on a button, “Please
don’t yell at me, I’m a
volunteer.”
Until next time, happy landings.
AL
Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERCA
—
February 18
Our membership is up to 60 as of
this report. There are
still many 2012 members who have
not renewed yet. Deadlines
are rapidly approaching when
late and reinstatement fees will
be applied. I'm in the
annual time crunch to finalize
our member roster to submit to
AMA for our 2013 Charter and
Insurance renewal. ERCA
membership renewals are due on
January 1st. We grant a
grace period until the February
meeting. After the March
meeting non-renewed members will
be moved to the inactive roster
requiring reinstatement.
Enough doom and gloom.
Thanks to the members who have
renewed and are looking forward
to a fun filled 2013.
Check the clubhouse wall for
your 2013 photo ID badge and
Gold Leader Club pin or pick
them up at the meetings.
Wear them proudly to help
members identify each other and
as proof of your good standing
with the club.
Instructors:
The following are being
submitted to AMA for our
Instructor Pilot list. Please
advise me if there should be any
changes. All agree to the
AMA Instructor Pilot program
guidelines.
Roger Dahl, Doug
Devereaux, Jeff
Engel, Chuck Jenkins,
Wayne Wahrmund, Alan Wellentin
and Marty Wittman.
$$$$$$:
The club treasury is at
$5,783.00 as of this
report. This month's bills
include $117.68 for PO Box
rental and postage, $100 to AMA
for 2013 Charter and Insurance,
and $50 to the State of Oregon
for 2013 Corporation filing.
I look forward to seeing
everyone at the meeting 7pm on
Tuesday, February 26th, at the
Roaring Rapids Pizza meeting
room.
AL Barrington
Sec/Treas, ERCA
---
January 22
ERCA ended 2012 with $6,050.68
in the bank and 84
members. As of this
report, only half of the 2012
membership has renewed both
their AMA and ERCA
memberships. Members are
reminded to avoid the late fee
or reinstatement fee by
renewing by the February
meeting (Feb 26th). I
will contact those not renewed
after the January meeting to
make sure of your status and
intentions. That is a
lot of work so please help me
out.
Our current bank balance is
$5,250.68. We are
feeling the hit of all the
usual annual bills such as the
field lease, AMA Charter,
Insurance, etc, which will
rapidly eat away at our
reserve. We welcome
member input for ideas on fund
raisers. The club can
not fly on dues alone.
The ERCA 2012 annual Income
and Expense report shows that
we had $9,039.00 in income for
the year and our expenses
totaled $9,039.97. We
went 97 cents into the red for
2012. Such is life in
the non-profit world.
The detailed report will be
available at the meeting or on
request.
All members are encouraged to
read or re-read the
Constitution and By Laws page
of the web site or contact me
for a copy to be familiar with
its contents and be aware of
changes. We
welcome your input to help
make improvements.
If you have not received your
AMA Gold Leader award pin, see
me at the meeting or please
contact me. I am trying
to catch each 2012 member
possible to congratulate you
in person and present you your
pin. Those I am not able
to reach in person will
receive theirs by snail mail.
We greatly appreciate the
contributions of all members
who step up and take part in
club operations. Your
generous contributions of your
resources to support ERCA are
critical to its success.
Please consider serving on a
committee or volunteering when
help is needed for events or
work parties. Thank you in
advance.
Happy Landings.
AL Barrington
Sec / Treas, ERCA
---
January 18, 2013
It’s official. ERCA has
been given the gold level of the
AMA’s Leader Club award.
Photo of the framed certificate,
the gold (brass) plate,
and the photo of the pin to be
issued to each 2012 ERCA member.
The criteria we had to
meet to get the award are as
follows:
Required Activity
1. ERCA #530 has been a
Chartered club with AMA for more
than five years.
2. ERCA is open to all
members and is not limited to a
certain number.
3. ERCA has posted safety and
operational rules at our flying
site and on our web site -
www.eugenerc.org
4. ERCA has filed a copy
of the safety and operational
rules at AMA HQ.
5. ERCA has a separate
area for fliers and spectators
indicated by signs, seating and
protective fencing.
6. The AMA safety code is
posted and visible along with
the safety and operational
rules.
Leader Club Electives
1. ERCA has implemented
and enforces a frequency control
plan that allows for all RC
channels including 2.4 GHz using
a frequency pin checkout process
and radio impound for
transmitters not in use.
2. ERCA members donate
Model Aviation magazines to
schools, Boy Scouts, Civil Air
Patrol, and the general public
during events.
3. ERCA conducts a review
of the AMA safety code at least
once a year and discusses it and
operational rules with the
membership during each monthly
meeting.
4. ERCA sponsors many
events during the year beginning
with the Memorial Day Fun Fly,
Big Bird Fun Fly July, August
Fun Fly, and Labor Day Fun
Fly. ERCA also
participates in shows for the
Eugene Air Museum, Boy Scout
Jamboree, Schools, and
Retirement / Senior Centers.
5. ERCA has available
sound level measuring equipment
to monitor field activity for
compliance with the 90db at 9
feet requirement.
6. ERCA has an information
brochure we hand out to the
public during events, shows,
demos and hobby shops.
7. ERCA participates in
the annual fund raiser, American
Cancer Society Relay for Life
and donates to the Food for Lane
County program.
8. ERCA has a formal lease
for the land where the flying
site is located and enjoys a
great relationship with the land
owner and surrounding neighbors.
9. ERCA maintains a group
of dedicated members who make
themselves available as flying
instructors for new or
prospective members. They
use the AMA Introductory Pilot
program and follow the students
through solo flight and provide
support following. During
events, the instructors take the
public for Intro Flights using a
"buddy Box" or on a computer RC
flight simulator.
Congratulations to all who made
this award possible.
AL Barrington
Sec/Treas, ERCA
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Safety
Coordinator Corner
Eugene
RC Aeronauts
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July
It's "Really" becoming summer
out there, so I would just like
to reinforce our smoking policy
due to the increased fire
danger.
Smoking is only allowed in
vehicles, which includes
tailgates of pickups. Please
take care of extinguishing in an
ash tray or such, and not on the
ground.
Thank You
Roger Dahl
---
June
New Runway edge markings, and
center line were added to the
runway, today. I was able to
borrow a chalk line machine from
Harrisburg High School.
The purpose of this is to
establish a taxi and aircraft
placement area along the south
side of the runway, and should
minimize the pilots need to walk
onto the runway while other
planes are in the air. In
addition, this establishes the
25 foot distance required by AMA
between the runway edge, and the
pit benches/non flying pilot
area.
Pilots should attempt to remain
on the runway side of the edge
marking when their planes are
taking off, or landing. The
center line was added to aid in
aiming for this location on the
field. Taxi out, or back in can
be done on the runway, and/or
the edge area, but I would like
to encourage the practice of
ending your flight with your
plane's position parallel to the
runway, and avoiding turning
towards the pit area prior to
shutting down. I am open to any
suggestions regarding other
safety measures that we could
include.
Fly Safe,
Roger Dahl
---
March
I’d just like to once again pass
on something that I recently did
that pertains to safety. A
couple of weeks ago, I had
forgotten to turn off my
transmitter after flying a
plane, and it ran the NiCad
batteries down. Upon finding my
mistake, I recharged the
batteries, thinking that
everything was fine. What I did
not realize was apparently when
the battery loses this much
charge, the settings for a
particular plane may, or may not
be affected.A couple days later,
I took one of my small electric
planes out to a park just on the
outskirts of town to fly. I
checked the elevator. I checked
the rudder. I checked the
throttle, and then I wiggled the
ailerons to check them. All
looked great, so I took off only
to immediately realize that my
ailerons were reacting
backwards! I tried to fly using
only rudder, but I knew it was
going to be a matter of time
before I did something really
bad, so I managed to crash in an
open area to avoid any dangers.
The plane is destroyed, but I
learned from it something that I
would like to pass on to others.
When we check the controls on
our planes, it is important that
we not only verify they are
“hooked up, and move”, but that
they are correct! I have thought
of a simple reminder for
ailerons that I will use from
now on. “Roll Right, Left
Lowered”, which means if I put
the stick to the right, I will
look for the left aileron to be
lowered. Simply wagging them
back and forth, as I have
learned, can be dangerous!
Happy Flying!
Roger Dahl—
—
February
|
I
can give you a little
bit of my own lesson
learned the hard
way! I'm including
a photo of the night I
tried to remove my hand
with a model airplane.
Another year is
underway, and I would
like to remind us to
ALWAYS restrain your
model before you attempt
to start it. The benches
at the flying field are
set up to fit many
different types and
sizes of airplanes, with
different landing gear
configurations.
Take the time to
ensure a proper fit for
your plane before
turning over the
engine!
Many times, an extra
piece of 2X4 placed in
the key spot will create
a safer restraint for
your plane.
The larger planes
should be started on the
ground in the provided
pole restraints, as
lifting a large plane is
very dangerous!
Once an engine is
started, do not reach
over the spinning
propeller, but move to
the side to make
adjustments, or to
remove a glow starter.
These simple reminders
will enhance the sport,
and minimize the
likelihood of a trip to
the hospital, as I
managed to do back in
2001! (See photo)
This damage was done
with a .60 size engine.
Safe Flying is
Happy Flying!
Roger Dahl
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