1FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

The Flypaper is a monthly

publication of:

The Fox Valley Aero Club

P.O. Box 837

St. Charles, IL 60174-0837

www.foxvalleyaero. com

An Illinois not-for-profit Corporation

FlypaperApril 2016

Fox Valley Aero Club

President:

Alvin Colepresident@foxvalleyaero.com

Vice President:

Dave Murrayvicepresident@foxvalleyaero.com

Secretary:

Dale Gathmansecretary@foxvalleyaero.com

Treasurer:

Paul Jacobstreasurer@foxvalleyaero.com

Flypaper Editor:

Jason Boettchernewsletter@foxvalleyaero.com

AMA Gold Leader Club

Academy of Model Aeronautics

Charter Club #252

Dale Gathman Photo

2FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

Alvin Colepresident@foxvalleyaero.com

TREASURER’S REPORT

Paul Jacobstreasurer@foxvalleyaero.com

Another Toledo Expo is

behind us so that means the

flying season is officially

started. Perhaps someone

could tell the weathermen to

get with the program. One

highlight of the show was a

60% clipped wing cub

shown here that would

probably be the largest

thing we could fly at our

field if you could find a way to get it there.

The viewpoints in this newsletter are solely those of the individual authors.

They may not necessarily represent those of the Editor, Officers, Board or

Membership of the Fox Valley Aero Club.

What beautiful weather April has brought us: the trees budding,

flowers starting to grow. April fools!! What’s up with this

weather? Snowing on April 8th wow. I guess we didn't have

such a bad winter. We soon will be enjoying a great afternoon at

FVAC. As we prepare the field lets remember the atmosphere

that we want to continue to believe in.

1. Safety

2. Camaraderie

3. Mentorship

Let's have another great year! See you at the field.

Paul Jacobs Photo

3FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

Editor Photo

Editor Photo

DaleGathman

The show itself was a little smaller with attendance down and

several booths remaining unused. Aeroworks did not come

this year but a new company called AJ Aircraft filled in the

space nicely with some great ARF’s. One surprising new vendor

was the FAA which had a booth directly across for the AMA.

Mark has moved the field work day to our alternate April 16 so

hopefully the weather will cooperate and we can get ready for

2016. The treasury is in good shape and Tony Bahowick has

been sending reminders to members to get their dues paid and

the FAA number sent in so hopefully everyone will be in

compliance soon.

See you on the flightline.

Paul

SECRETARY’S REPORT

Dale Gathmansecretary@foxvalleyaero.com

Fox Valley Aero ClubMember Meeting Minutes

March 10, 2016 @ St. Charles Township HallPhotos by Doug Swanson & Your Editor

President Alvin Cole called the meeting to order at 7:32 pm andwelcomed everyone.

Secretary Dale Gathman asked for any additions orcorrections to the February 11, 2016 Member MeetingMinutes. None were voiced so the minutes were acceptedas presented.

Treasurer Paul Jacobs reported that the checkbookbalance is in great shape. We now have $600.00 in thefield Improvement Fund, and 2016 dues are still beingcollected. We already have more than enough in the

4FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

Doug SwansonPhoto

JeffPeca

Doug SwansonPhoto

MarkKnoppie

Doug SwansonPhoto

JasonBoettcher

Doug Swanson Photo

ToddCulbertson

Doug SwansonPhoto

PaulJacobs

Doug SwansonPhoto

TonyBahowick

treasury to cover the field budget for the year. BrianWituk moved to accept the treasurer’s report aspresented. Sal Perno seconded. Motion passedunanimously.

Safety Chairman Jeff Peca reminded everyone to startchecking their batteries for the newseason. He said that we should at leastcheck the capacity. Jeff also remindedeveryone that we are planning to holdour AMA sanctioned Night Fly inAugust. He reminded everyone to gettheir lighted planes ready for the event, which will also beopen to outside AMA pilots who have night flyer planes.John Fischer reminded everyone to wear safety glasses inthe shop, especially when using any type of cut-off tool(Dremel, etc.). Jeff also suggested that while using acutting wheel, that we keep our body parts away from the

plane of the wheel to avoid a fractured wheel from hitting us.

Field Chairman Mark Knoppkie reported that we are going to be addinga third camera at the field this year. This camera willcover the gap mid field so that the entire runway will beable to be viewed. Mark plans to be at the field this weekto check what needs to be done during the workdaycoming up on April 9. A sign-up sheet for the workdaywas passed. We are going to replace all of the flags thisyear, and will replace two of the table tops withcomposite wood for testing during workday. Tom Beanand Mark will be watching the weather and will be readyto seal the pavilion roof as soon as the weather is good.Lawn service bids are still being collected. Mark said thatin order to smooth out our grass field, we will need to roll

it with a Vibra-Pack Roller, which vibrates while it rolls. KarlGriesbaum reminded Mark that while we are rolling the field with sucha roller, we need to be very careful not to roll over the drainage pipes, asthe vibrating roller may crush the pipes. Mark said that Jim Gnutek whowill supply the roller and Steve Baker plan to get together with the fielddrawings that Steve has to assure that the pipes are not broken while thefield is being rolled. Mark said that we will probably have to vibrate roll

the field for a few years, and after that our regular roller should maintainthe smoothness. Mark plans to have weed and feed applied to the fieldtwo times this year.

Membership Chairman Tony Bahowick thanked everyone for attendingthe meeting, and mentioned that the ‘heart and soul’ ofthe club are right here tonight. Tony also remindedeveryone that they should send their FAA sUASregistration number to Paul Jacobs or Tony. He thenreminded everyone that the 2016club membership dues are due andrequested that those who have notpaid their dues yet please do so assoon as possible.

Flypaper Editor Jason Boettcherannounced that we’re doing goodfollowed by another well deserved

round of applause from the crowd showing that theyreally appreciate the work Jason does on the Flypaperevery month.

Government Relations Chairman Todd Culbertson (Rocket Man)announced that he has printed up some posters and 4x6 cards to be usedto promote the 2016 Windy City Warbirds & Classics event. He said thatTom Flint did a really nice job designing the flyers for the event. Theyhave WWI, WWII, Classics and nice field shots. The cards he broughttonight are the pilot cards which can behanded out to perspective pilots. Tom andHillary Bean also will be handing the cardsout at the Weak Signals show in Toledo.Todd said that next month he will makeavailable to us the Pilot and Spectator cards,flyers and posters. Todd then read all of thegreat features offered at our WCWC event,which are listed on the back of the pilotcards. Afterwards, Todd mentioned thatthis is a really great club, and the items heread are some really great sell points for theevent and the club.

5FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

Doug Swanson Photo

Joe Pedone and John Turner

Doug Swanson Photo

John Fischer

Doug SwansonPhoto

AlvinCole

Doug SwansonPhoto

BrianWituk

Doug SwansonPhoto

ToddCulbertson

Parade Chairman Brian Wituk announced that the LoyaltyDay Parade in Batavia will be on May 1st this year. This isthe parade at which we won a second place award last yearfor our float. This parade is long, and they feed theparticipants at the end. Last year we handed out a lot offlyers advertising the WCWC event during the parade.Details will be coming.

Swap Meet – Joe Pedone and John Turner reported onthe swap. Johnstarted bythanking all of the volunteerswho worked at the swap. Thisyear, all the tables were soldout. Joe and JT have improvedthe event over the past fewyears. JT reported that thisyear the club received a netprofit of $2200.00 from theswap, which was responded toby applause from the crowd.

This year, the 50/50 raffle made $206.00, and JT thanked the girls whoworked the raffle for their efforts. He then said that the club table saleshave kind of fallen off the last couple years. JT mentioned that our junkis someone else’s treasure, and reminded us to save our un-neededitems to donate to the club sale table next year. JT said that they plan onimproving the registration process next year, as well as the pre-registration process. Joe closed the report by again thanking thevolunteers from the club. He said that the swap doesn’t happen withoutthose who give of their time and talents. JT said that we are locked in to$2700.00 for the fairground rental for 2017, but heexpects the fee to go up to $3000.00 in 2018. GaryStephens mentioned that the DuPage swap is planningon raising their fees as they are also being hit withincreasing rent fees.

Alvin Cole next reminded everyone of our three focuspoints this year, which are:

1. SAFETY2. MENTORSHIP3. CAMARADERIE

Windy City Warbirds & Classics – John Fischerasked who was interested in having a couple ofevents this year, to which the crowd responded invarious positive ways. He announced that wecurrently have 41 registered pilots for the WCWC2016 event, including Sam Parfitt coming fromOhio, which is great. John hopes to get between70 and 80 pilots attending the event this year.Sam is active in a lot of the R/C blogs, so if he likesour event, we could get a lot of exposure. TomFlint has been a great help in creating all of ourflyers and coming up with publicity ideas. We are

currently looking into buying an ad in Model Aviation Magazine. Thisyear the Warbird & Classics Alliance is selling Warbird Warrior T-Shirts.These shirts have spots where iron-on patches can be applied for each ofthe WCA events the pilot attends. These shirts are being offered to theclub at a cost of 12 for $204.00, and would sell to individual pilots for$22.00. Linda Crooks will be selling them at the Toledo show as well.John said that he will send an email to our members and ask for thosewanting a Warbird Warrior shirt to let him know so we can orderenough to cover the requests. The shirt is a way that the WCA hopes todraw more participants to all of the WCA events. We are also going tohave our own t-shirts for the WCWC event, which will feature a WWIdesign. Tom, Dale and John will be working on that design and shouldhave details next month. Tom and Hillary Bean will berepresenting our club at the WCA booth in Toledo, andthey will be handing out pilot cards that Todd Culbertsonhas printed out. Gary Stephens is going to send our flyersto all the R/C clubs within a 100 mile radius of our club.Some discussion followed on whether we would have FAAregistration available via computer at the event, and atthis time, consensus was that we most likely will not. JoePedone has added a place to enter pilot FAA numbers onthe RC Flightdeck WCWC 2016 site. The event will be June23-25, 2016.

6FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

Editor Photo

JohnFischer

Editor Photo

Editor Photo

Festival of Flight – John Fischer announced that theFestival of Flight is a one day event being held onAugust 6, 2016. All aircraft are welcome at the Festival.Admission will be $5.00 each for adults and free forkids. There are no pilot fees to register for the Festival.

Reminder to all FVAC pilots – Federal Law nowrequires every pilot to have their FAA sUAS number,clearly legible, on every aircraft that they fly if it weighsmore than 0.55 lbs. and less than 55 lbs. The pilot mustalso have proof of registration either by having a paper copy of theirregistration or an electronic copy that they can produce if asked by lawenforcement personnel.

Show and Tell – Tom Spriet showed his P40 Warhawk, which hepurposely left the propeller off of. The plane is a foamy from Durafly.Tom said that it isthe pilot’s choicewhether to use athree or four cellLiPo battery. Hesaid that the planeis available fromHobby King forabout $150.00.The plane camewith retractablegear and flaps.Tom capped offthe demonstrationby dropping theplanes bomb.

Dale Gathman showed his new E-Flite F4U Corsair in the 1.2mwingspan series. He mentioned that E-Flite now has three 1.2mwingspan planes, the Corsair, a P-51 Mustang, and a T-28 Mentor.

Doug Swanson

Photo

7FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

Editor Photo

Doug Swanson Photo

Doug Swanson Photo

This plane comes with rotating retracts and three section flaps installed.It also has removable drop tanks. This plane is a BNF Basic, so all thepilot needs to add is the battery and transmitter. Dale said the motor is aBL15 brushless which runs very smoothly. He then demonstrated themotor by having Tom Flint restrain the plane while he ran the engine

up. Dale also mentioned that he was very impressed with the markings.They were really well adhered to the plane and do not have the typicalareas over the panel lines that usually are not well adhered. The plane ispowered by a 2200 3S LiPo.

John Turner showed his new Great Planes Sequence 120. JT had his eyeon it for about a year, and finally ‘bought it for his wife for Christmas’. JTinstalled the Rimfire 120 motor and a Castle Creations 100 Amp ESC. JTinstalled Savox servos, after Jeremy recommended them. He also saidthat Dale Gathman and Joe Pedone have used Savox. JT said that so farhe is impressed with the servos. JT installed an arming switch on theplane, which is powered by a 22.2 volt (6S) 5000 mAh LiPo. He saidwhen he plugged in the arming switch, the spark that jumped out of itjust about scared the heck out of him (typical at that voltage). Heexpects the plane to fly great. It has a 17x8 prop. JT said he willprobably fly it on a Saturday morning about 6:00 am when it is calm. Itwill fly this year. JT estimated the weight at less than 10 pounds.

Dennis McFarlane showed the fuselage of his WACO YMF. This plane isa stock Great Planes offering. Dennis stripped the registration numbers

8FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

Doug Swanson Photo

Editor Photo

Doug Swanson Photo

off of the side, and Tom Spriet made Dennis some replacement graphicsto install. He powered it with an OS120 2-Stroke engine. Dennis saidthat he is getting back into glow fuel, as he ‘Loves the smell of glow fuelin the morning’.

Dennis McFarlane next announced that he and Cindy have beenmembers of the club since 2002. Dennis said that Al’s Hobby Shop’shelicopter fun fly had been held at Fermi Lab up until the events of9/11/2001. Shortly after, the government restricted the use of theFermi Lab property by the public. Dennis and Cindy started looking for anew place to host the fun fly. They tried Palos in 2002, and it just didn’twork out. Dennis said that Bob Walker and Don Bennish happened tobe in Al’s and recommended that they talk to the board of FVAC abouthosting the helicopter fun fly at our club. At that point, Cindy and Dennisjoined the club. Over the years, they have held many positions in theclub. The helicopter event in the first few years had 200 registeredpilots attend. The peak was in 2006 when they registered 214 pilots.Dennis said that he had a picture he wanted to show us of the event, but

he realized that it has been packed away, and that the ‘packing away’means that this will probably be Dennis and Cindy’s last meeting.

They have sold their house and are moving to Florida. Dennis thankedeverybody for the years that they have had at the club and theopportunity of holding their helicopter event at the field. Cindy then

9FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

Editor Photo

AlvinCole

thanked everyone for being wonderful customers to Al’s Hobby Shop,and through tears expressed that “it has been a fantastic experience andI love all you guys”. Following this announcement, the attendingmembers gave Cindy and Dennis a much extended standing round ofapplause to show our love and appreciation for their friendship and forwhat they have done for the club. Dennis then announced that they willbe living just a few miles from Merlin Graves, and invited everyone tocome down and see them in Florida. Alvin Cole expressedcongratulations to Dennis and Cindy.

John Howe showed some wings that he has been using to experimentwith a few different covering methods. He started by saying that to keepeveryone’s interest, they could try to tear the covering off of the wings atthe end of the meeting. John told the crowd that the other half of thewings he was experimenting with were destroyed due to a suddenimpact with the ground.

John explained that he really likes Solartex, but it is a little on the priceyside. He came across some uncertified aircraft fabric, which could beeither Ceconite or Stits fabric, or coverall. This fabric comes in 6 footwide rolls and is sold by the yard. The price is approximately 20% thatof Solartex. The drawback to these fabrics has been the nasty chemicalsrequired to adhere them. John has been searching for a method to applythese fabrics with a water based solution. The best method he has foundis to sand the whole surface down, and then apply Minwax SandingSealer. He then went over the wing with Mod Podge, which is a craftglue typically used in decoupage. He coated the wing withapproximately 20% Mod Podge, and afterwards he was able to iron thefabric down similar to applying Solartex. He did use full strength ModPodge at the seams. After application, he finished the wing with a coat ofPolycrylic, after which any latex spray paint can be applied. Tony Sokolrecommended and John agreed that he would submit an article on thiscovering experiment for the Flypaper in the near future.

Hearing no further business, President Alvin Cole asked for amotion to adjourn. Sal Perno moved to adjourn. Brian Witukseconded. Motion passed unanimously. The meeting wasadjourned at 8:37 pm.

Respectfully SubmittedDale Gathman – Secretary FVAC

Doug Swanson

Photo

Joe Pedone and John Turner answer questions about the FVAC Swap.

10FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

FROM THE EDITORJason Boettchernewsletter@foxvalleyaero.com

Hopefully the stab I took at humor with the Murphy’s Law comic is notperceived as negative. Personally, I always get squirrelly this time ofyear because flying season is right around the corner and all we reallyneed to do is be patient and wait for the weather to turn.

On another personal note (again), this month brings more life changes. Istarted a new job a couple weeks ago. It is with the same company, butwith a different division in a different building. So please forgive the lackof content that might be observed now and in the near future as I adjustto this change.

Hope to see you at the field in the very near future.

About the Cover

The weather has not been cooperating lately, so I dug into the archivesand found a photo Dale Gathman shot in 2014 during our Warbirdevent.

-JB

11FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

Please Support ourLocal Hobby Shop!

Doug Swanson Photo

12FVAC Flypaper – April 2016

ShoT OF THE MONTH

Pavilion Camera photo

Tom Spriet captured this image during an event in June, 2015.

Dust off your old gear – for a blast from the past!

Fox Valley Aero ClubFox Valley Aero Clubpresents... Retro

night

Bring out that old trainer. Still have your first radio? Maybe there’sa certain kit that you always wanted when you began in the hobby,but never had the chance to build...

Resurrect some old gear or get online and purchase something fromthe past. You may be surprised to see what is available on ebay orother classified ad websites.

“Retro” is a relative term. We’ve allbeen in the hobby for different lengthsof time. As long as it’s retro to you,bring it out and show it off!

Come on out to the field early (2:00 p.m.) on meeting night, July 14, for some old-school flying fun.

A few important safety points:

• Any old radio gear shall be legal for use today. Transmitters and receivers need to be 1991narrow band certified (gold sticker). Remember the frequency board? It will be in use!

• Make sure your radio system batteries are still up to the task. Cycle your TX and RX NiCads tocheck for proper capacity and be sure to load test.

• Old airframes should be inspected andquestionable parts re-built or replaced.

• Please take the time to get any maiden or re-maiden flights in before the day of the event.

Organized by Doug SwansonQuestions? email: photos@foxvalleyaero.com

2016 Fox Valley Aero Club Calendar of Events

January 1 Fun-Fly — Frozen Fingers 10:00 am FVAC Field January 14 FVAC Member Meeting 7:30 Regular at Township Hall February 11 FVAC Member Meeting 6:30 Board, 7:30 Regular at Township Hall February 20 FVAC Annual Swap Meet 9:00-2:00 Kane County Fair Grounds March 10 FVAC Member Meeting 6:30 Board, 7:30 Regular at Township Hall April 14 FVAC Member Meeting 6:30 Board, 7:30 Regular at Township Hall April 16 Field Work Day 9:00 am FVAC Field April 23 Tree Line/Berm Orientation Day 9:00 am – 5:00 pm - FVAC Field May 1 Batavia Loyalty Day Parade Time TBD, Parade Begins at 1:30 May 12 FVAC Member Meeting 6:30 Board, 7:30 Regular at Township Hall May 21 Fun-Fly – 30 Second Climb/Target Land 1:00-3:00 FVAC Field May 30 St. Charles Memorial Day Parade Time TBD June 4 Rocket Fest & Kids Fly FVAC Field June 5 Pig Roast & Fun-Fly FVAC Field June 9 FVAC Member Meeting 6:30 Board, 7:30 Regular at FVAC Field June 23-25 2016 Windy City Warbirds & Classics FVAC Field June 26 Open Fly – Small Scale FVAC Field July 14 Retro Fly and FVAC Member Meeting Retro Fly 2:00; Meetings- 6:30 Board,

7:30 Regular at FVAC Field July 16 Fun-Fly – Bomb Drop 1:00-3:00 FVAC Field August 6 Festival of Flight FVAC Field August 11 Cub Fly and FVAC Member Meeting Cub Fly 2:00; Meetings- 6:30 Board,

7:30 Regular at FVAC Field August 13 Night Fly – AMA Sanctioned - Open 8:00 pm FVAC Field September 8 FVAC Member Meeting 6:30 Board, 7:30 Regular at Township Hall September 17 Night Fly 9:00 pm FVAC Field October 13 FVAC Member Meeting 6:30 Board, 7:30 Regular at Township Hall October 16 Turkey Fry & Fun-Fly - Limbo FVAC Field November 10 FVAC Member Meeting 6:30 Board, 7:30 Regular at Township Hall December 2 Annual Christmas Party 6:00 Hilton Garden Inn-St. Charles December 8 Rookies Christmas Party Rookies Sports Bar & Grill-St. Charles

Home:

FVAC New Membership Form

Dues for Senior Members (18 years and over) ...... $125.00 per Member Dues for Junior Members (17 years and under) ...... $ 25.00 per Member Family Membership ...... $125.00 per Member ($25 for each additional family member with an AMA card, either a spouse or a child under 18 years old.)

$ Total Payment Enclosed:

Make checks payable to: “Fox Valley Aero Club”

Complete and mail this form to: FOX VALLEY AERO CLUB

P.O. BOX 837 ST. CHARLES, IL 60174-0837

New Member Assessment Fee: $300.00

Signature Date

(For new memberships only.)

Your Full Name: AMA Number: Age: (Junior Members only) Dues Amount:

$

Your Complete Mailing Address:

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