If you're faced with a forced landing, fly the thing as far into the crash as possible.

- Bob Hoover

February, 2005

January Meeting Notes

Figure 1:

The January meeting of the Monroe County R/C Club got a late start (7:11:40) because many of the twenty-four members in attendance, arrived a little early, to pay their dues to club secretary/treasurer Brent Hoover.

Bob Haley of Martinsville was unable to attend but was voted in as a new member of the club for 2005.

It was announced that $807.60 was donated to “Jill’s House” by the club. Proceeds from the air show & several holiday fund raisers created that total. Dennis Friesel thanked the club on behalf of “Jill’s House” & said a formal thank-you letter would arrive by mail soon. Dennis also said construction on the project should begin this year.

Mr. Hoover gave a report on the New Year’s Day Glider Contest. It will appear later in this newsletter.

Plans for the club swap meet were finalized. V.P. Bruce Hoffman will man the door. Bob Watson & Brent Hoover are taking the advance table reservations & Mark Sexton will gather some help to run the food table. If you are so inclined, the fat boys are meeting for breakfast at the Cracker Barrel on 3rd Street in Bloomington at 6:00 A.M. (EST). They plan to be at the fairgrounds around 7:00 to set up tables. The vendors will be allowed to set up their tables at 8:00. Doors open at 9:00 for shoppers & swappers.

Figure 2:

Rich Davis reported that cattle have been on the runway again. The recent heavy snow & following flooding have probably kept them closer to home for a while but we may have to organize another fence fixin party when the weather gets better.

Intro pilots were selected for the 2005 flying season. Bob Shireman, Dennis Friesel, & Brian Elliott will be insured to take up non AMA member trainees.

There was some discussion about other swap meets. It seems that Vincinnes & Charlestown have scheduled one on the same day (Jan. 22). We like to attend both but it’s gonna be rough to do em both on the same day. They’re kinda like on opposite sides of the state.

The annual bulk fuel order was brought up & will be discussed again in the next couple of months. We usually try to do it in March. Stay tuned & start saving your pennies.

The meeting was closed at 7:42.

Glider Contest Report

Figure 3:

by Brent Hoover

Here are the overall results from the contest. We flew three rounds of Precision and two rounds of International Duration. Gordy Stahl won first place with a total score of 811.1. Johnny Berlin won second place with a score of 794.8. Tim Sparks won third place with his score of 732.7. Other pilots participating were: Ken Marks, Julian Robertson, Ed Wilson, Tony Utley, Henry Gullett, Brent Hoover, Brian Elliott, & Ron Allen. Two meter-Two channel award went to Tim Sparks. Way to go Tim! (Third overall by the way). First Crash of the Year went to Tim Sparks (current Dork award holder). Longest Flight of the Year award went to Gordy Stahl. Six of the flyers were from the Lexington/Louisville area. I would like to thank everyone who participated. Special thanks to Steve Jackson for securing and bringing a golf cart for us to retrieve the winch line all day. The cart was loaned to us by the Ellettville Senior Citizens Center. Also thanks to Tim Sparks for again bringing the generator and charger to keep the winch battery hot.

Interesting Bits

Several members have been enjoying the increased lift from the cold Winter air. If you haven’t tried flying off the snow, you don’t know what you’re missing. Trade those wheels for skis & come out & give it a try!

The following photos were provided by Tim Sparks, Mark Sexton, & Brian Elliott.

Event Calendar

Figure 4:

Figure 5:

Figure 6:

Figure 7: