Secretary’s Scratchings

The General Membership meeting of the Delaware R/C Club was held on Tuesday, March 2, 2004. President Brian Pasternak called the meeting to order at 7:30

Treasurer’s Report

Dick Stewart gave treasurer’s report

The Treasurer’s Report was accepted as presented.

Membership - 2004    169

Wram Show

The Wram show went well this year with twenty-nine people going.  Everyone had a great time, but it was said that the event is getting smaller.

Field Maintenance

The path maintenance will be done in the middle of April or before the brush starts growing in.  Any volunteers that can help with this are greatly appreciated.

Club events

As most of us know the Hirobo Cub will not be sponsored this year, so therefore it will not be held.  Although, the heli flyers still want to have a fun fly and will be held on July 23-25, and is showing lots of interest.

New Business

There are reports of R/C flyers next to 896 near Summit Bridge.  A few members have seen flying taking place at this location in the past.  If anyone sees them flying, please approach them and kindly invite them to our field to fly instead.  We don’t want anyone’s plane getting shot down.

Safety Minute

There was no safety minute available for this month.

Raffle

The raffle prize was a GWS park flyer and was won by Blayne Finley.

Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 PM.

Respectfully Submitted,

Ryan Jamison, Secretary

Really, Really Giant Scale Building Projects

   At least five Delaware R/C Club members have enjoyed the opportunity to pilot a full scale AT-6 and/or B-25 or Bell 47 in Kissimmee, Florida. Any of them would probably be more than happy to expound upon their adventures and how flight in these aircraft compares with flying their little brothers by remote control.

   Next door, a New Jersey native, Tom Reilly, heads a world-renowned warbird restoration facility that has returned numerous treasured military aircraft to the skies and will soon be rolling out two more historic aircraft for their first post-restoration flights. Those of our members who winter in Florida may wish to take advantage of the opportunity to see some really awesome first flights.

   More than 60,000 man-hours have already been expended in the restoration of a B-17G that will be christened as Liberty Belle. This aircraft arrived at the shop from a museum in New England where it had been so very severely damaged by another aircraft that had been blown on top of it during a hurricane that is was basically valued as scrap metal. For several year another B-17 that had suffered [less severe] hurricane damage in Florida was also housed in the facility and served somewhat as a model for the Liberty Belle restoration. The crew also obtained aircraft plans from the Smithsonian Institution. Parts that could not be obtained from surplus were hand-crafted.

   There is no production line; the aircraft is put together one piece at a time – very similar to scratch-building a model. Compared to modelers, many of the tools are larger but some are not; the builder stands on, in, or under the project instead of over it; and building costs are certainly a bit higher. But the pride of the mechanics and craftsmen who have been working on this project for many years is as evident as that of the modeler who brings his newest project to the field for the first time.

   The second aircraft scheduled to roll out this Spring or Summer is a P-40. The fuse, less wings, was discovered in the Aelutian Islands when a contractor was digging footers for a new building. Wings were located in Russia although one wing was in such bad condition that the restoration crew decided to make a new one using the better original wing as a model. By January of this year the Allison V1710 engine was in place and the wings were nearly ready to be mounted.

   Both aircraft may be ready to roll out of the hangar by April 10 – just before Sun ‘n Fun. Both will find new homes as flying museum displays with the Liberty Foundation in Georgia.

   Any opportunity to visit the Warbird Restoration Museum, or to fly a T-6, should not be passed up. You can find information on the Internet at    www.warbirdmuseum.com

   Information from the latest Museum Society newsletter: On April 10 the museum will host the Florida Pilot’s Association Fly-In at the Kissimmee Gateway Airport. The fly-in will be filled with aircraft of every kind including Warbirds for all over the country as they migrate south for the great aviation gathering at Lakeland (Sun ‘n Fun). . . The Florida Pilot Association and the Warbird Museum are offering a special package to visitors: Museum Admission including behind the scenes tours of the Restoration facilities, Buffet lunch in the hangar and a raffle ticket for a chance to win a FREE flight in a WWII Bomber. All for only $25 – plus great coupons and give-aways from local businesses! If you can get to Florida for this event, don’t miss it! (That’s how two Club members were able to fly a B-25!)

   P.S. The shop’s next restoration project (to flying status) will be a P-38 which currently looks like a pile of junk on the shop floor.

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