WINDINGBROOK R/C FLYING CLUB NEWSLETTER
To: Club Members / 2008
From: John Perez, President
Topic: Club Newsletter
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all club members who volunteered their time and energy to make this club what it is today. A special thanks to all the Advisory Board members and my Officers, without their guidance and support this job would be impossible.
It is with the deepest sympathy that I report to our membership the passing of the William D. Morgan (Doug) on February 28, 2008. Doug was the owner of the Winding Brook Turf Farm, and allowed us to fly on his property for many years, like his dad did before him. His passing shocked everyone who knew him.
Upon learning of his death, the club sent his family a sympathy card, I wrote a public message to the family which can be read on the Internet and sent $100.00 to the Children’s Medical Center Foundation, which were the families wishes, in lieu of flowers.
This is the second year that we were able to use two flying fields, the North Field, which was recently planted, and the South Field, a portion of which has also been recently planted. I expect this practice to continue this year if we follow the rules of the land owners. The owners have told me, in no uncertain terms that they expect the following from our group:
1) Do not spill any fuel on the grass, period, end of the story!
2) Pick up all your trash, this includes your cigar / cigarette butts, wrappers, paper towels, cans or anything else you bring to the field. Do not throw your trash in the parking lot or street, take it home.
3) You are required to have a return line from your tank vent line to your fueling source, so that excess fuel will not be spilled on the grass. Of course, the same precautions are used when removing fuel from your plane. An officer will designate a "Fueling Area" for that particular field, for any given day. Of course things change as grass is harvested or we move to a different location. Bottom line is use your head and fuel in a DIRT area near the town road.
4) When moving your plane from the fueling area to the flight line, and when returning use a leash to pull it rather then picking it up by the tail and pushing it. When you lift it up fuel will run out the vent line leaving, in time, a line of dead grass everywhere you moved it.
5) These are just a few of the club rules you are expected to know and follow. Please read the complete list carefully. If you have any questions on them or any other concerns please give me a call, I will be happy to answer your questions.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our former webmasters, David Teer and Dick Adamonis for all their hard work in making our web site one of the best R/C sites in the country. When I needed a new webmaster I turned to Greg Zepka. After some arm twisting he accepted this position. He has done an amazing job acclimating to his new position, the software that runs the site and my countless demands on him. He has made many changes to enhance the appearance and easy of operating our site. He is committed to the on going improvements of our web site with new videos, photos, and constant updates to pertinent information about our club. If you haven’t visited our site at www.wbrcflyingclub.org you are missing a great deal. Take a look at it, I am sure you will be very proud and pleased.
Our financial position continues to improve. With the help of late membership fees, initiation fees, selling of club logo items, reduced spending and sound financial moves I was able to hold the cost of 2008 membership dues to the 2007 level. As a matter of fact, we were able to decrease the age for our senior discount from 72 to 65 years of age and reduce the cost of a family membership from $75.00 to $70.00. Our major expenses include the flying field, parking area, portable toilet and the day to day expenses of operating the club. We have been flying at the Meadows in Rocky Hill for a very long time and while I agree that we have been very fortunate in using this land for a relative small cost, we still have nothing tangible to show for our thirty-six years in this location. Through no fault of our own we could be out of there tomorrow. The present owners could decide we are more of a liability than an asset, or the land could be sold by the present owners to another turf farm which would not allow us to fly there.
My plan is very simple, to keep our eyes and ears open for any opportunity to purchase or long term lease a piece of property suitable to our needs. This does not happen instantly, it will take time, but this is my goal. The cost, of course, is astronomical for the purchase of land, the development of a parcel to fit our needs and the maintenance of this land. This is why a strong treasury is needed. Our club account balance as of 12/31/07 was XXXXXXX.
The eighth annual club picnic will be held on Saturday August 16, 2008 with the rain date Sunday August 17, 2008. Joan and Ron Liska, your officers and many volunteers, some not even club members, work very hard to make this event a huge success. Help is needed for set-up at 8:00 AM, flight line supervisors, fueling supervisor, cooks, 50/50 raffle, door prize supervisor and workers for maintenance through out the day. We also need a clean-up crew for 5:00 PM. If you can help with any of these tasks please give me a call. Please feel free to bring your favorite dishes, desserts, or appetizers to share with all attending this grand event. You will receive a separate mailing as a reminder, as this date approaches. Remember, this event is only for club members and their immediate family.
Greg Zepka is our new Webmaster. He is doing a superb job of running our clubs web site. If you have not visited it lately you are missing a great deal. He already has made some big changes and more are in the works. You can get updated with my monthly club report, the President's Cockpit, Jim Cyr's VP updates and a ton of new photographs and videos which are changed on a regular basis. You can also get the latest weather / wind conditions and a check on the river to see if there are any potential problems, the conditions of the flying field, or any changes that you should be aware of and the latest information on events, our picnic or any other club related news. Check it out at www.wbrcflyingclub.org.
Joan Liska has been appointed our Event Coordinator. Our big club event, of course, is our picnic. But I am working with Joan to possibly have more club related events. Joan has a tremendous amount of energy and I know she will make things happen, that we all can enjoy.
I have found that certain areas that we have permission to use in the Meadows are also being used by other non club members, like the North Field parking area. To prevent any damage from occurring, I have secured this area, with the permission of the owner, with a combination lock. The code is XXXX. If any other areas need to be secured the same lock code will be used. Please keep this code confidential.
You are required to wear your Club ID badge when using the clubs fields. This is a requirement by the owner, enforced by the town constable. The fine in Rocky Hill for first offense trespassing is $75.00. I am sure you could think of a better way to spend this money, then paying this fine!
You never know who is reading our web site, the land owners, town officials, or residents of Rocky Hill. I thought it would show our appreciation by acknowledging these people we depend on to continue flying there. On the main page of our web site we put up a statement in which we thank the owners and families of Mr. Morgan, Mrs. Hayes and Mr. Collins, the town officials and the residents for allowing us to use this land in the pursuit of our hobby.
The newly elected officers are: Ron Czikowsky, Art Fressola, Herman Guerette, Mike LaPierre, Ron Liska, Ernie Robert, Andrew Szost. The alternate will be David Teer. Congratulations to these individuals.
The newly elected officers are: Ron Czikowsky, Art Fressola, Herman Guerette, Mike LaPierre, Ron Liska, Ernie Robert, Andrew Szost. The alternate will be David Teer. Congratulations to these individuals.