All, As we move into May, we will still be working under modified field rules. Hopefully, by June we will be back to normal. Once we return to our normal operations, we will establish dates for the Heli Fly and the Electric Fly. Our May club meeting will again be canceled for the safety of Social Distancing and be limited to the Board of Directors as a remote meeting. However, with 2 meetings now missed as a full club, if you have a topic that needs discussion or you would like to present to the club, please reply to this email or email me directly.
Over the last month or so we have gained new members as John mentioned in his previous email. Also, we have had some good weather at the field, and some have taken advantage of it. Please continue to keep the gate closed, use lots of hand sanitizer, and continue “social distancing” guidelines.
Previously we talked about being good neighbors. Please remember to pick up all trash from sudden, unplanned impacts with the ground. Next time you are at the field take a look at the houses on each side of our field and when you return home take a look at those same houses on Google Maps, Bing, or even better on Google Earth. To fly over any of the adjacent houses would push the guidelines within which we operate, especially the ones to the east or south. If you do happen to look at the field on Google Earth, take a few moments to measure the distance from our field to each of the surrounding houses and note those distances. Correlate them to the typical flight box or pattern and you will see that in most circumstances will not need to fly over any of them.
Doug has added some pictures from the mid-eighties to the website. Over the next few weeks, we will be adding more. Please, if you have some older pictures for consideration to add to the website, email them to Doug or me and we will review.
In the April 2020 Model Aviation Magazine there was an excellent article on landing. I would encourage everyone to read this article. One of the items it pointed out was how important a solid approach procedure is to a great landing. Doing the same thing the same way on every landing leads to consistency and good landings each time. Loops, rolls, snap-rolls, inverted flying, spins, hammerheads, and even take-offs are optional, but landing is not. Practicing landing will make you a better all-around pilot and will impress your friends when you place it on the runway time after time.
A safety concern that I have noticed lately at the field is folks leaning on the east side of the fence or standing between the fence and the runway while flying. While both seem to be harmless, they lead to a bad habit that can lead to unexpected injury, not to mention that others may not be comfortable flying with you east of the fence. It also blocks your escape route if someone does fly between the runway and the safety fence. If you feel you need to stand on the runway to take-off or near the runway to land, please ask one of the instructors for help. We should never be too prideful to ask for help. Even after 35 years of flying, there are still many things that I do not know. Asking for help shows wisdom and may keep you from crashing a plane or worse receiving or giving a serious injury. That is all for now. David T [email protected]
April 2020 Update
All,
In the past we have faced challenges as a nation, the current COVID-19 virus is another challenge in that long list. Historically, challenges have made us stronger and I believe this one will also. The board of directors met via an online meeting last night and are setting some additional field usage rules in place for the month. We will re-evaluate these before the first of May.
1. The field will be open to members only. No visitors (even from other clubs) or spectators. 2. The gate will be closed, not locked, even when the field is in use. 3. The CDC guidelines for social distancing will be posted and followed. 4. Each member will provide a means to keep their hands sanitized while at the field, especially after using the restroom or using any other facility that could result in the physical transfer of the virus. 5. While at the field each member will observe the CDC, state, and local guidelines for social distancing. 6. If you are sick or running a fever, do not come to the field. 7. All events will be canceled or postponed through the end of May.
I know some of these measures may seem extreme, however, we do not want to be the reason the virus spreads among our members, neighbors or families. Most of our members fall into the "high risk" category so we need to approach this with prudence. This is about taking care of each other and not falling into the trap of it won't happen to me or my friends. Many activities have changed and many businesses have closed, but life will go on and we will move forward in a prudent responsible way keeping the safety and health of those around us in mind. The extreme measure for us as a club will be to close the field completely. We will only do that if guidelines form the CDC, state, or county change or if the above rules are not adhered to. We want to keep the field open, but as I said before, we must act prudently.
Financially, the club is in great shape and we have 44 paid members.
Please be safe and take care of yourself and your families.
David T
FEBRUARY 2020 Update
As the February meeting nears I wanted to remind everyone of the meeting date and location. The meeting as noted on the website will be Thursday, February 6, at 7:00 pm. We will once again meet at the Central Christian Church on South Travis Street. Lawrence Harville, AMA District 8 Vice-president will be at the meeting to give us an update on the AMA and answer any questions we have. We also still have a few things to hand out to those who flew on January 1, to start the new year off right. A few of the things we will cover at the meeting include:
Remaining board members approved
Safety
Member at Large
Newsletter Editor/Webmaster
Establish a food prep committee
Establish a field committee
Nominate and approve a secretary/treasurer
Change the gate combination and members only section of the website access code
As we move quickly towards the spring flying season we need to all think about flying safety and what our roles are in maintaining a safe flying environment. The field rules will be sent as a separate attachment for review. Operating safely is the responsibility of each and every member. Some of the basics are as follows:
Don’t fly alone, have a buddy
Always start your plane near the access points to the runway
Shut the engine down at the safety fence as you leave the runway area, don’t taxi past this point
Engine run-up should be done at either end of the pit areas, not in the middle sections
Always have someone hold your plane when starting, don’t just rely on a safety post
If you crash your aircraft, be sure to pick up all trash. We have good neighbors and we need to ensure that they remain good neighbors. Anytime we retrieve a downed aircraft we need to leave the area cleaner than we found it. Plastic does not just rot away, it blows away. Even wood takes time to rot, we need to pick up ALL trash.
Many times we look at rules as hindrances to our fun, however, they are not only for our benefit but also for the good of those around us to keep them safe.
Along with safety, as a club we need to be diligent in encouraging membership. Each year we seem to have a few folks who want to skirt around membership and simply get the gate combination from a friend. Please do not share the combination with anyone. We have membership dues to provide funds to maintain the field and make improvements. Anytime we let someone have access without paying dues we are simply giving them a free ride. At the January meeting we voted to increase the dues to a flat rate of $120 dollars per year. For those who have previously paid, we are asking that you pay the balance by the February meeting. Al other members will pay the new rate by February, or as in the past a $10 late fee will be added to the base price.
As we discussed in December and January, we have several events planned for 2020. Most if not all events have been added to the club calendar found on the website. Also, updated membership rosters are available in the members only section of the website. If you have a news article or web link that you would like posted, please email to me and we will review and post if possible.
Thank you for all you do as a member to support Texoma RC. With your help we can remain a strong club for many years to come.
Letter of Thanks
Good Morning Mr. Taylor and Mr. Flanders,
I'd just like to say a quick word of thanks! As a youth services librarian, I'm working with a small group of 9-14 year olds on a fun aviation history and beginner aircraft modeling class, and I thought you both might enjoy hearing that we've been able to get some great use from your club's website and links list! We've even been able to use some of this information for our most recent group project. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
I hope you don't mind, but one of our youngest, Avery, has also asked me if I could share the article which initially sparked his interest in aviation history with you all which he and his father found together, "The Cars, Tanks and Airplanes of World War II" - I've listed it below if you'd like to review!
Initially I was a little hesitant to reach out, but I thought this could actually make for an interesting educational aviation addition for anyone else coming across your information, like Avery! If you find you're able to use this one, would you please let me know? We meet Sunday, and I would absolutely love to surprise Avery if you are able - I think it would make his day to know he was able to 'pay it forward' (we're pretty big on this principle in our children's library group) and maybe even show his father if it ends up being included! texomarc.org/links-of-interest.html
August is almost over and hopefully with it the heat. As we move into September we have numerous activities happening. To start with we will have a the club combat event on August 24. There should be more information on the website about it. After that we have scheduled a club work evening for Friday, August 30, to get the field ready for the Big Bird event on Saturday, September 7. We will begin work around 6:00 pm. Work will include the finishing of the runway sealing and general clean-up. Later in September we will be hosting an IMAC event. I will let Doug Pilcher reply to all and provide more details about it. Our normal September meeting will be held at the field on September 5, at 7:00 pm.
For the Big Bird event we will need folks to help with the registration and cooking. Depending on how many folks show up we may need to provide some flight line safety etc. If you would like to help coo, make announcements, or simply come out to watch let me know what you are interested in doing. Doug will also need help at the IMAC. As I have said before, it takes all of us working together for the club to be successful.
Lastly, hopefully, we will be filling the secretary/treasurer position at the September meeting. Looking beyond that, November will be here quickly at which point we will elect officers for 2020. The positions are as follows: president, vice-president, and the secretary/treasurer (two-year commitment, which should be covered as discussed above). Additionally, the presidents selects a safety officer and a newsletter editor. This group along with one other member selected by the president makes up the club board of directors. All of these roles are important and need to be filled for us to be successful. Outside of the board, we also have an events committee consisting of current CD’s. Their role is to insure that club events dates are planned and then sanctioned with the AMA when needed. Other committees can and should be formed to aid the CD’s with parts of the events such as cooking and public communications. As we close this year out, please consider where you could provide needed help and let one of the officers know. Texoma RC has been around for many years, let’s ensure that it is around for many more.
David T
May 2019
It has been a busy spring for Texoma RC. We have already hosted two events, the Texas Twister Heli Fly and the Texoma Electric Fly. The heli fly had a total of 10 participants, with the farthest journey beginning in Lubbock. The electric fly had eight participants, all of which were club members. At the last club meeting we voted on the 2020 event dates. Joe has already sanctioned the electric fly for May of 2020, and Robert will be sanctioning the heli event for April 2020, shortly.
As we look forward over the next two months, we have three upcoming club fun fly's. The first is on March 26. At this time no one has volunteered to put this one together so there is still time if you are interested. The June fun fly will be held on the evening of the 29th. Dan Powell will host this one. Preliminary plans are to have a family picnic followed with an evening of flying. Bob Starr has agreed to put the July fun fly together. It will be help on July 27. We will be trying something different with this fun fly. This will be a club combat. We will be able to use an existing plane or we can build a combat plane to use. Bob is currently putting together a list of parts needed to build a plane and is willing to help with the building of some. Depending on cost we may build some club combat planes to share at the event. We will discuss that more at the June meeting. If you want more information about the combat planes, use this link to look at the plane Bob is suggesting we use. https://www.flitetest.com/articles/ft-bloody-baron-build
The annual Pete Darter Memorial Fly-in and Swap meet is scheduled for July 13. John Flanders has volunteered to run it this year. We will need folks to help with registration and cooking.
National Model Aviation Day is scheduled for August 17, this year. We will discuss what the club will do on that day at the June meeting.
At the May meeting Dan Eshelman tendered his resignation as club secretary/treasurer. We will be holding an election soon to fill the remainder of the two year term. If you see Dan, please be sure to tell him thank you for all he has done. Along those same lines, we still need a “newsletter” editor for this year. If you are interested, please let me know.
David
MARCH 2019
Well, March has arrived, and spring is just around the corner, although it doesn’t feel like it this weekend. We have had several beautiful flying days already this year. Hopefully many of you took advantage of them and spent some time at the flying field. We have already scheduled many of our club events for 2019 and have received sanctions back for several already. Sanctioned events will start in April as follows:
Texas Twister Heli Fly-in - April 26-28.
Electric Fly-in – May 4
Pete Darter Fly-in & Sap Meet – July 13
National Model Aviation Day – August 17
Big Bird Fly-in – September 7
IMAC Competition – September 21-22
As with all club events we will need help with each of these. Whether you are a long-term member or a new member there are plenty of opportunities to help. Please let the CD for each event know that you are willing to help. In addition to the sanctioned events we have also scheduled club only fun-fly’s. All club members are encouraged to participate in the club fun flies. They are great opportunities to further develop flying skills or to learn new ones. Skill level is not always the winning factor as these events are meant to be fun, just as the name implies. The dates for the club fun flies are as follows:
April 14
May 26
June 29 (evening, bring snacks and fly after dark)
July 27 (evening)
August 31
October 26
David Hudson of Grand Prairie visited with us at the February meeting to discuss the F8 Crusader he built from scratch and competed at Top Gun last May with. For those who did not attend I would encourage you to look his Facebook page. Look for DCModels. David also donated a fun fly plane that he built. It is my suggestion that we finish this plane and raffle off a complete ready to fly plane at the electric fly-in on May 4. We will vote on that at the March meeting. Currently, it is hanging on the wall at D&D Hobby. Lawrence Harvill will be at the March 7, meeting to discuss the UAS rulings and provide an update on the AMA’s role. Don’t forget that the FAA has modified the registration markings rule. All aircraft requiring markings are to be marked on the outside of the aircraft now. It can no longer be inside for any reason. Currently we have 33 members that have renewed from last year. Please encourage anyone that has not renewed their membership to do so.