VOLUME 37, NUMBER 12 December 2012 Latest Tailwinds Derek Abramson, Editor Robert Sumoski getting his LT-40 Ready for Flight Merry Christmas Fellow AVTI Members. Another year has quickly passed us by and another New Year is about to start. We saw many new members join are great club, we also have seen a larger number at the field spending more time in the air. We also had a couple of new fliers solo and some new maneuvers learned. I am impressed with the amount of flying diversity that is witnessed by many on a daily basis at our fine club. As the New Year approaches, please remember to renew your AMA dues. There is a link on the website to get you there quickly. As everyone knows, you have to maintain a valid AMA membership to fly at AVTI. It was great to see all of the familiar faces and there better halves at the annual AVTI Christmas Get Together. I think it is safe to say that we all had a great time enjoying the company of fellow model enthusiasts. A fist, we had our very own Magical Extravaganza by our very own Jamie Schoolcraft. Very good show indeed! Unfortunately, we lost a longtime Life Member Robert Sumoski on the 25th of November. Bob was key in negotiating our current location and laying the groundwork for our current facility. His effort allowed the addition of the current runway and the majority of the pit area. Bob Sumoski will be missed by all he touched during his great life. At the Christmas Party, it was voted unanimously with a round of applause to re-dedicate the AVTI Flying Field as the Robert Sumoski Memorial Air Park. Coming up is the AMA Convention to be held at the Ontario Convention Center on January 11-13, 2013. Again, I hope every one of you had a Merry Christmas, and I hope everyone have a safe and Happy New Year. I will see you at the field! Page 1
Tony Frackowiak s Nuance (Above) and Mike Greear s Abbra (Below) AVTI SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS AND EVENTS January 3 7:00 pm 11-13 General Meeting WJF AMA Expo, Ontario Convention Center February 7 7:00 pm 9-10 9:00 am AVTI General Meeting WJF AVTI Pattern/Classic Pattern March 7 7:00 pm General Meeting WJF AVTI HISTORY April 4 7:00 pm General Meeting WJF I will be creating the AVTI History page located on the club's website http://www.avti.org/. Any pictures, newspaper or magazine articles, event fliers that you may have would be welcome. Oral history (stories) would also be welcome. Materials would be returned if requested. Please email myself the Newsletter editor or the Webmaster. Page 2
Happy Holidays!! President s Message I had a great time at the yearly Christmas Party at Vince s Pizza and enjoyed talking with all of you, so thanks for coming out and making it a great evening. Besides handing out some gifts, Jaime Schoolcraft entertained us with some magic that was a mind blower, and several people got up and shared some great stories about Bob Sumoski. Mike Johnson donated $200 in gifts, I threw in some stuff to add to it, and Tony Frackowiak did some shopping at the Smith Brothers and Horizon Hobby to ensure we had some nice gifts for us to hand out. This is a time of the year to be thankful for what we have and loan out a helping hand to those who might not be as lucky. Don t forget the AMA show in Ontario coming up in early January and stay tuned in the newsletter for upcoming events at the club. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!! Doug Killebrew VP s Message Hello AVTI members! On November 25 th Bob Sumoski lost his battle with cancer and passed. Bob was a great member of AVTI, having been very instrumental in the formation of the AVTI and also in obtaining our great flying site. Bob served as an officer in every position other then Treasurer. He was one of the original organizers of the Best in the West Jet Rally. Bob s health issues had kept him from the flying field these last years; so many in the club currently may not have known him. I had met Bob several times over the years since moving to the Antelope Valley in 1996. But it is only in the last two years that I had got to know him a bit better. Bob was always very much a gentleman and I always respected his opinions. He was a great asset to AVTI and will be missed. In honor of all that Bob has done for both the AVTI and Aero-Modeling in the Antelope Valley, I made a motion at the last meeting that was passed unanimously to rename our field the Sumoski Model Air Park. We will construct a new sign and conduct a Commemoration Day at the field in the near future. I think this is a very appropriate thing to do considering all that Bob did for us. On February 9 th and 10 th I will be holding a pair of Pattern events. On Saturday the 9 th, it will be a one-day contest for the regular AMA/ F3A classes. Then on Sunday, the 10 th, it will be a one-day event for Classic Pattern. Many of you may know about the AMA/ F3A type of pattern flying, but you may not know about the Classic Pattern events. In the last few years there has been a resurgence of interest in flying the older style of pattern. The AMA/F3A pattern classes fly what is often called Turnaround Pattern. That is because in every Class except for Sportsman, once you begin the flight, your entire flight is judged. In Classic Pattern, what you do to turnaround for the next maneuver is not judged. There is only one maneuver per each pass down the runway and that maneuver is what is judged. Turnaround pattern began in the F3A class in 1984 and then slowly migrated to the AMA classes in later years. As the years went by the model designs developed for turnaround, and also the rules changed to allow larger power-plants. So the models became larger, the cost of these models rose along with their complexity. Page 3
In Classic Pattern, most entrants are flying the model designs that were popular before Turnaround Pattern became the norm. Designs like the Hangar 9 Phoenix 7, the Bridi Dirty Birdy, the Curare, and the Tiporare are being revived. I ve been flying my Phoenix 7 quite a bit lately and I ve really been enjoying it. But for those who might be interested in giving the Classic Pattern a try, a vintage model is not required. At every Classic Pattern meet I ve either held or attended, a modern model that is at least in the size and style of a Classic model has been allowed. Using a modern 2-meter size pattern model would be discouraged, but any model that is fits the style would be allowed. At my contest on the 10 th, if you would like to give Classic Pattern a try, there is a class called Pre-Novice. The pattern is made so that any sport model could compete fairly. Here is the list of maneuvers: 1. Take-off 2. Straight Flight Out 3. Procedure Turn 4. Straight Flight Back 5. Stall Turn 6. Immelman Turn 7. 3 Inside Loops 8. Traffic Pattern 9. Landing For more info on Classic Pattern you can go to the Classic Pattern Association website at http://www.classicpatternassociation.com/ There are more details on that website. If you d like to give it a try at the contest and need some help, feel free to contact me and we ll get you going. I think you might find that it s a lot of fun and will make you a better pilot! Here s wishing everyone a very Happy Holidays! Hope to see you at the events and at the field! Tony Frackowiak Frackowiak@sbcglobal.net 661-992-1529 Treasurer s Report of 12/22/2012 Compiled by Tony Frackowiak Checking Account Balance $ 7,041.59 AVTI Flying Field Reserve $ 19,021.98 Financial Assets $ 26,063.57 Income since last Report $ 150.00 Expenses since last report $774.97 Total dues collected for 2012/2013, as of 8/2/2012 $6,1400.00 Current Membership Total - 80 Members New Members for 2012/2013-13 Members Members not Renewed for 2012/2013-32 Members At the last Board meeting there was a motion made to transfer back to the Field Reserve Fund an amount of $3,000. This was approved by the BOD and done by the Treasurer on November 21 st. AMA Membership dues need to be renewed for 2013. This can be done by mail or go to the AMA s website. It is very easy to renew online. Remember, a current AMA membership is required to be a current member of AVTI. This includes flying privileges at the field. Thanks! Tony Frackowiak Page 4
General Meeting Minutes 06November2012 Compiled by Derek Abramson Limited Business was conducted due to Christmas Party. Motion was made to re-dedicate the AVTI Field to Sumoski Model Air Park. Voted and Passed Page 5
Barkley s Safety Tip Hey guys! I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I can t wait to see what I get for Christmas. I could sure use a few new Tennis Balls! Or maybe a big chew bone! This isn t really a Safety issue but I thought I would pass this along. The boss has been busy getting the garage back together again. One thing that he found that has really helped restore a lot of the items that got damaged from the fire was product called Evapo-Rust. It s available at Harbor Freight and a few other places. He first saw it on a TV show Called American Restoration. The star of the show, Rick Dale, does all kind of restorations of old items, so rust is often a big problem. To use Evapo-Rust, you pour it into a container, then immerse the rusty item in the liquid and let it sit. It might take 1 to 12 hours for the rest to come off. You then rinse it with cold water and wipe it down. The Boss has been amazed at how stuff can be cleaned up. It has really helped to cut the cost of replacing what was damaged. I hope to see you all at the field soon! Maybe I ll have a new Ball to chase! Page 6
Antelope Valley Tailwinds Inc. AMA Charter #114 P.O. Box 302, Lancaster, CA 93584 A.V.T.I. Roster of Current Officers (2011/2012) President: Douglas Killebrew; 400-5636; douglaskillebrew@att.net Vice-President: Tony Frackowiak; 992-1529; frackowiak@sbcglobal.net Treasurer: Tony Frackowiak; 992-1529; frackowiak@sbcglobal.net Secretary: Derek Abramson Board Members: Cliff Keeling: cmkeeing@roadrunner.com Bob Childress: ynono.rr@verizon.net Preston Knepper; 886-0272; tecknepp@aol.com Field Marshal: Preston Knepper; 886-0272; tecknepp@aol.com Safety Officer: Tony Frackowiak; 992-1529; frackowiak@sbcglobal.net Webmaster: Derek Abramson; 917-9863; abramson.derek@gmail.com Newsletter Editor: Derek Abramson; 917-9863; abramson.derek@gmail.com Flight Instructors: Tony Frackowiak 992-1529 * Membership Meeting * AVTI Christmas Party 6:00 PM Vince s Pasta and Pizza * Board of Directors Meeting * See Website 6:30 PM AV Ford Conference Room A.V.T.I. Airpark 47500 Challenger Way (10 th Street East) between Avenues F and G Lancaster, CA 93535 Visit our website for more photos and up to the date information http://www.avti.org Tailwinds Tails is a monthly newsletter of the Antelope Valley Tailwinds Inc., R/C Model Aircraft Club. Visit our web page at www.avti.org. Join us on Facebook Send submissions for the Tailwinds Tails by the 20 th of each month to the Newsletter Editor, c/o A.V.Tailwinds Inc., P.O. Box 302, Lancaster, CA 93584 or by email to abramson.derek@gmail.com Peter Carbin; 723-4830 Daniel Garrabrant; 945-3789 Page 7
AVTI Christmas Party Page 8
~~~~ Special Thanks ~~~~ Our Thanks to the following businesses that made generous donations to A.V.T.I. Please support them when you can. A Very Special Thanks Waste Management Company 600 East Avenue F Lancaster, CA 93535 Smith Brothers Hobbies 1223 West Avenue I Lancaster, CA 93534 Phone: 661-942-6984 Support Your Local Hobby Shops Dr. J s Helicopters and JR Radios Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Phone: 661-949-3586, ext. 205 Ask for Doug. Distributor for Horizon Hobbies 44116 10th Street West Unit # 105 Lancaster CA. 93534 www.skyhunterhobbys.com REMINDER A current AMA membership is a requirement for membership in A.V.T.I. Please make sure your AMA membership is current. A.V.Tailwinds, Inc. P.O. Box 302 Lancaster, CA 93584 Page 9