District VII—Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Tim Jesky
Vice President
timjesky@charter.net
2886 E. Country Ln., Monroe MI 48162
Tel.: (734) 384-6085;
www.amadistrict-vii.org
Hello again.
With spring just around the corner, I usually dedicate most of my March column to inspecting models that have been mothballed during the winter to make sure that they’re up to snuff for the upcoming flying season. If you ever experienced an equipment problem on that first nice flying day after a long winter, you understand what I mean.
This year I’d like to focus on our own personal protection and measures we can take. First, let me give you a bit of background.
Late last year, my son, Andrew, was diagnosed with a melanoma on his eye and recently had surgery to remove the tumor. Thankfully, the surgery was successful, and his prognosis is excellent. The surgeon has told us that this type of tumor is extremely rare and usually doesn’t show up until you hit 50 or so. In Andrew’s case, he was in his 20s when it first appeared.
As do many of you out there, we too spent some long hours out at our flying field without paying much attention to the sun or its effects. So, as you get ready for flying season, please remember to pack the hats, protective clothing, and sunscreen as must-have items to bring to the field.
Andrew gave me his permission to share this very personal information in hopes that it serves as a reminder to us all to do all we can to keep our hobby safe and enjoyable.
Before I hand the rest of the column over to Kent Woods, I’d like to put out a quick help-wanted call. It’s come to my attention that we have a shortage of Large Model Aircraft Inspectors in District VII. If you have the qualifications, we sure could use the help.
For more information, please contact Ilona Maine at ilonam@modelaircraft.org, and she’ll help you get started.
Okay Kent, it’s all yours.
The weather at our Des Moines Modelaires (Des Moines, Iowa) annual Penguin Fly on January 1, 2018, was just not conducive to having any exposed skin out for more than 10 minutes. Under the advice of a doctor (who is also a flier), we opted to meet at a nice warm shop, look at projects, talk about projects, tell stories, and most important of all, we managed to devour a large pot of chili, along with other side dishes, and a kettle of hot chocolate, and make plans for warm-weather events.
What do you do in Iowa when it’s just too cold to fly outdoors? You break out the small aircraft and quads and fly indoors. One of our members has access to a large gymnasium with nice, high ceilings and its full-court size. It makes for a nice relaxed place to fly indoors.
Because this event went so well, we have scheduled more of the same in February and March. Some of the favorite aircraft for indoor flying are Vapors in various forms. One member brought some small quadcopters equipped with FPV, and a couple of different goggles to give those new to FPV a chance to see what it’s like.
Another member brought his small new Timber. It’s amazing what all they have managed to put in an aircraft of this size, with all of the lights and even working flaps already installed. The only thing you have to do is bind to your transmitter and install the leading edge slats. Not sure that they make any difference, but they look nice! There was also an assortment of small quads and helicopters.
I am looking forward to the February meeting.
