From: Alan Hieger

Date: Mon, Apr 18, 2016 at 6:47 AM

Subject: VCB Weekly Nag 4-18-16

Today is Monday, and if you haven't filed your income taxes yet, the day promises to be busy, but not much fun.

To take your mind off the whole unpleasant business, let's talk airplanes.

Official VCB Club Business

Angelfest

Nothing new to report.  Still awaiting the release of the environmental assessment.  Stay tuned.

Bylaws

Oddly enough, the prevailing concensus among those responding to the quest to locate our historical bylaws is that they do not exist now, nor have they ever existed.  This is not factually possible, given that the AMA requires a club to have its bylaws on file in Muncie to establish or renew its charter.  Clearly, HQ has something on file.  To answer the question of what that might be, contact with HQ will be required.  Whether it is Ray Firkins or myself who ultimately takes this action would seem to depend entirely on which one of us is the better procrastinator, since it is impossible in the absence of the bylaws to know for certain in which officer the responsibility resides.  Stay tuned for continued humor and dithering. . .unless, of course, someone else preempts both of us.  Without bylaws in hand we can't know that such an action would be forbidden.

2016 Bob Palmer Memorial Contest

This is it: the contest will take place this weekend, April 23-24.  I know that OTS is being flown on Saturday, and strongly suspect Classic will be as well.  Similarly, I know that Expert and Intermediate are being flown Sunday, and predict Advanced and Beginner should be as well.  As to when/whether profile and 1/2A-1cc-Leprechaun are taking place, consult John Wright.  By virtue of dual memberships, VCB will automatically be decently represented at this affair, and several of us "northerners" are headed down to Whittier Narrows to round out our showing.

It was noted in last week's Nag the the KOTRC had spruced up the circles in anticipation of this event.  Larry Renger reports that the improvements are not merely cosmetic, and that with the exception of the Speed cage (which has its own renovation pending) the asphalt surfaces are better than they've been in years.  Paul Wescott confirms this, and included the following photos:

 

Paul says:

The vehicle access gate was removed (below) to keep people from driving through the gate and over the asphalt circles to get all the way over there to the speed circle.  So now I have seen the tether car guys driving in the other gate way over there by the bathroom and driving across the LAWN to get to their playground.  I do not know yet if they drive on the asphalt if we CL-ers are not there to keep an eye on things.

As Kurt Vonnegut was wont to say, so it goes.  Paul found himself Shanghaid into breaking into judging Intermediate on Sunday, which will mark his first turn at the clipboard.  It could be worse: I originally broke in at VSC in 1999.

Look for a report on the contest in next week's Nag.  Given that I'm judging on Sunday, I might miss my self-imposed Monday a.m. publication deadline, but something will get to you.

May Meet

Still scheduled for Saturday, 5/21.  Still planned as a fun-fly and swap meet, with the possibility of an unofficial competition ("unsanctioned" and as yet undefined) in the offing.  Still nothing else to say.

Summer Picnic

According to notes made at a club meeting last year, the 2016 Summer Picnic was scheduled for Sunday June 12, which would technically make it a late Spring Picnic.  As of this date, I cannot confirm that this date still holds or whether any activities are planned beyond fun flying and the consumption of traditional (or not) picnic food.

Here are various ideas which may or may not pan out, pursuant to membership comments in these "pages."  Foodstuffs might be arranged via the potluck method.  Alternatively, VP Steve Schiff has in the past brought his motor home to various club events and provided hot dog (and burger?) based meals at reasonable prices and donated any profits to the club treasury.  In addition, prospective member Chuck Nelson has indicated interest in doing something as well.

It is possible, but by no means certain, that there might be additional activities.  Possible candidates might include a club meeting or a judging clinic.  Get your ideas into the Nag, and after discussion, Ray Firkins (or somebody. . .bylaws) will decide.  Here's an idea designed to make club Safety Officer Jerry Silver cringe.  In order to help dispose of "surplus" airframes and engines, let's fly an event. . .call it Dive Bombing.  Set up a 55 gallon drum on the downwind circumference of the circle.  Contestants pull a wingover and try to "land" in the can.  Nearest spinner impact wins.  In the case of multiple successful "insertions," the winner will be picked on the basis of style points awarded by the spectators.  Am I serious?  Am I sane?  Only you can decide.  I look forward to your responses.

Becoming a Circle Burner

I have received several queries as to how one goes about becoming a member of the club.  Prospective member Chuck Nelson has asked if he can join the club.  We should make it clear to anyone who asks that we are not an exclusive club in any sense, nor do we have (as do some private, mostly RC clubs) an upper membership limit.  Anybody sending or giving $15 to Treasurer Stan Kitzes becomes a member and is added to the Nag subscription list as soon as I hear from Stan, unless the prospect has already requested the always-granted free subscription first.  The only requirement we have is that the prospect be an AMA member.  At least I think so. . no bylaws.

Human Resources Inventory

After I insinuated that we might not have sufficient trained manpower to successfully mount a sanctioned contest, people have begun publicly admitting to having skills.  The moral: never waste a crisis.  After all, that's how I got this job.

Our certified and currently available CDs include Terry Thorkildsen and Scott Dinger.  Additionally, Bill Barber and John Wright are certified, but Bill is out of action for an indefinite period of time, and John devotes enormous effort toward putting together contests for the Knights (like this week's Palmer Memorial), so asking him to come up to the Basin and do the same for us is both unfair and threatens to break him completely.  A guy should get to fly once and awhile.  Paul Wescott and Chuck Nelson have indicated interest in taking on the task, but are somewhat daunted by the certification process.

Let longtime CL and FF Contest Director Terry Thorkildsen explain.

"To apply for a CD license is really simple.  Just go on the AMA web site (www.modelaircraft.org--ed.) or call them and they will tell you how to take a test to get it.  It is an open book test (that is right you can read your AMA rule book while taking the test) and I believe you have to have a  couple of signatures on it from fellow flyers that feel you are trust worthy enough to be one. One of the advantages of being a CD is that if you run a contest they will give you 1/2 off on your AMA membership for that year."

Similarly, qualified judges are beginning to admit to expertise and availability.  In addition to Scott Dinger, Stan Kitzes and myself, newly qualified KOTRC dual member Paul Wescott, other KOTRC dual members such as Larry Renger and John Wright are theoretically available.  Again, it is probably not the best idea to rely too heavily on these guys, who frequently have commitments to their home club.  Fortunately, such VCB members as Chris Forbes, Bob Harness, Terry Thorkildsen, and others have expressed an interest in assuming judging chores.  Accordingly, a judging clinic will be scheduled in the not too distant future, at a date yet to be determined.  Thank you to everyone who has volunteered.

VCB Website

I wasn't sure whether to include this item under official business, in that I'm not sure too what extent this site is "official."  For several years now, Paul Wescott has been curating a website devoted to VCB goings-on.  In it you will find publicity for upcoming events, archives of past issues of The Burner, and scads of professional quality photos taken by Paul.  Just in case I have neglected to explicitly do so in the past, I am allowing/suggesting/asking that Paul create an archive of Nag issues as well.  The website address is http://sites.google.com/site/valleycircleburners

One word of warning: the site currently lists an incorrect date for the May meet.  Use the correct date (5/21) listed above.

Basin Flying Activity

The Wednesday sessions have been picking up of late.  I like to think that it's due, at least in part, to the Nag serving its intended purpose, and that a single flyer publicly stating intent is a motivator for others to join in.

Wednesday April 14 had a good turnout.  Ray came down from Bakersfield with what is fast becoming an iconic Heinz 57, and reportedly burned in some nice flights.  Bob Harness came out from the Antelope Valley with two ships, but having left the dedicated lines for his Palmer-designed Thunderbird at home, had to "make do" with his electric-powered Stratos.  Wouldn't you love to know the tech details on that bird (hint, hint, Bobby)?  Jerry Silver exhibited his usual panache with one of the prettiest Trophy Trainers I've ever seen.  Jim Lueken was out with his OTS Viking, still trying to dial the perfect motor run for the Palmer contest.  Despite superlative weather, there were also some who elected not to fly.  Greg Howie and his nephew Chris put in a rare appearence but stayed Earthbound.  Steve Schiff replicated his recent bad habit of doing the hard stuff (packing the equipment, driving to the field, setting up the shade) and then running out of "wanna" when it came time to fly.

Thanks to both Steve and Jim for helping to piece together this field report.

Sunday's action was severely curtailed by wind, with action grinding to a halt not long past Noon.  The day's highlight was courtesy of Bill Barber.  Catching a ride out to the field with Steve Schiff and using a borrowed Ringmaster, Bill was one of the few pilots brave enough to actually get airborne.  Bearing in mind that this was Bill's first attempt to fly since the nasty head-bashing he suffered last year, he was back-stopped in the center of the circle by Dave Hull, short-tanked the ship, and stuck with basic flight regimes.  All things considered, still a gutsy and inspiring performance.  Other pilots braving the Bernoulli Balls included Stan Kitzes with his Cardinal profile, Dave Hull with his Combat Streak, and Alon Yehzkelof with his familiar Super Shameless  variant.  

Notably, Chris Forbes was doing battle with his profile P-51B.  I don't mean using it in combat, I mean having a nasty domestic spat with it.  Chris had acquired a custom small bore venturi for his OS .40 FP from Jim Lee while in Tucson for VSC to try to tame its runs.  Chris is of the opinion that the combination lacks power, and returning to the larger bore brought back the dreaded runaways.  Does anybody know the magic venturi/prop/fuel combo for this engine?  I need to know.  Lee Strickland gave me one of these engines (with a neat custom machined metal small bore venturi) for my in-progress profile.  Chris also reports that the ship is turning significantly tighter inside than outside.  He is currently trying to address this by means of trim tabs on the movable elevators.  Anybody besides me think this might not be a wise approach?  If so, suggestions would be welcome: at least here, if maybe not at the field.

The Harnesses (Sr. and Jr.) were there early, but departed before my sources asked what and how they flew.  Others at the field exercising wind discretion were Alon (Super Shameless derivative), his friend Israel ( 1/2A electric Baby Ringmaster and PDQ Baby Clown), Perry Ohal (I dunno), and Mike Callas (4-stroke powered Legacy).

Thank you again to Steve Schiff, and to Chris Forbes for the Sunday field reports.

Unofficial Fun Stuff

Playmate of the Week

This week's submission is courtesy of Paul Wescott.

The information on the header represents all I have on this bird.  From this you may accurately surmise that the barrel's bottom has indeed been scraped, and if nothing changes in the next seven days, you will  be looking at photos from my personal archives.  I'm actually okay with that, if you are.

Oh, what the hell.  Here's a bonus bird, also from Paul.

As Sgt. Schultz would say,"I know nothing!  Nothing!"

My guess, however, is that this is a .15 powered Goodyear racer.

Stunt Clinic?

Terry Thorkildsen sent me an e-mail in which he looked forward to attending a "stunt clinic."  Now, I think he really was referring to the judging clinic I'm trying to set up, but in fact, such a thing as a stunt clinic historically exists.  Such events are typically conducted by one or more experts in various areas of our specialty, and can include discussions of building and finishing techniques, flying the maneuvers, trimming the airplanes, power management, and even coaching through the pattern.  I attended one such clinic which materialized seemingly out of nowhere many years ago at the Rodeway Inn in Tucson on one of the rare occasions that the VSC was essentially rained out (I think it was only a three day contest in those days.).

It seems unlikely that we could attract the entire Northern California Stunt Mafia to one of our little fun flys (fun flies?. . .nah!), but we might be able to attract one select expert to cover one topic in a mini clinic, and maybe do several over time.  Any ideas for preferred topics and candidates for presenters?

Burn Dup Fesses Up!

See!  I told you he was for real!  In his own words:

My name is Jason Sogolow, I live in Burbank, and I am in possession of a VCB T-shirt that actually fits me. 

Unfortunately I haven't been down to the basin in a couple of years, despite working a few blocks away. 

I have a couple planes (their names escape me now) unassembled in their boxes, and another dusty box of old engines. 

Flying CL is something I'd definitely like to do, but it just hasn't made it up the list of priorities during my very limited free time. I hope to be able to retire when I'm 90 (just about halfway there) and have time then. ;)

Please keep me on the list, I definitely enjoy seeing the plane pictures, and I try to read the newsletter every week, but you caught me slipping last week's. 

As for the funny-sounding email address, it relates to my first attempt many, many years ago at troubleshooting an automotive electronic fuel injection system, which as you can guess, didn't go so well. Never put it back together without new O-rings!

Thanks,

Jason

So there!

Broken Promise OMT

I know!  I know!  I know!  Look, this week's Nag has already gone on too long, and that's with me leaving some stuff out.  Next week we're covering the Palmer, and I'll be getting home and starting on that late.  I will hereby commit to the "miracle covering repair" featurette in the May 2 Nag.  If it's not in there, that'll be it for the remains of my self-respect.  Deal?

Wanna Go Flying?

You should: the Palmer is this weekend.  Get those last-second trim flights and engine tweaks in.  You know the drill.  If you think you might, post it here and inspire some comradeship.  And here's a novel idea.  When you get home, drop me a quick e-mail detailing what you did and who you flew with.  See your name in print.  After all, don't we all do this for the fame, money, power, and women?

TTFN

I am done.  See you at the Palmer?