On Mon, Mar 28, 2016 at 12:03 AM

Alan Hieger wrote:

Subject: VCB Weekly Nag 3-28-16

Today is Monday.  Like the fulfillment of the venerable Chinese curse, we “live in interesting times.”

Official Club Business

Basin Access in Jeopardy

Well, that got your attention, didn’t it?

Although I normally dispose of my daily e-mail before dawn, I went on-line close to midday Thursday to conduct some “business” business, and discovered the following letter from Jerry Silver:

 Dear Ms. Lamb,

I am a long-time member and officer of the “Valley Circle Burners” which is a model airplane club specializing in control-line model aviation activities. Our flying site is adjacent to the “San Fernando Valley R/C Flyers”. I just received the following notification today (Wed., March 23, 2016) and it says that our response must be received by Wed. Does this mean today?

My only response to this proposed closing of our site, for the entire month of Oct., is that this is totally unacceptable. We hold a major contest that month and we have been doing so for approx.  25 consecutive years. Changing our event date would be virtually impossible. Anything that the Core can do to prevent this closing will be most appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter,

Respectfully,

Jerry Silver

Subsequent research by Ray Firkins has uncovered a proposal for a multi-day music festival, to be named Angelfest, which promises to bring 65,000 spectators to the Basin each October for the foreseeable future.  Thanks to Ray, you may view the actual proposal filed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  You will find the text of the proposal as an attachment at the tail end of the Nag, because it is just too long for inclusion in the body of the rag/mag.

Because I received this info at a time that most normal people are working, and because an urgent response was required (if not already too late), I dashed off the following letter to Laurence Tougas, the AMA District X Vice President:

Dear Larry,

I am forwarding for your attention an e-mail I received today from the Valley Circle Burners' Club Safety Officer.  As the club's Secretary, I felt this should be brought to the attention of yourself as AMA's representative for the district.  It appears that plans are pending to shut down the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area for the month of October, beginning this year, and in perpetuity.  As this is the only significant flying site utilized both by the Valley Circle Burners and the Valley Flyers r/c club, and additionally used by non-club sport flyers, park flyers, and multirotor enthusiasts, this action has the potential to significantly disrupt aeromodelling  activities of all kinds throughout the northern L.A. County area.

We apparently have only today to raise any objections.  There has been, to my knowledge, no previous notification of this intent, and we (club officers) feel totally blindsided.

Anything AMA can do to assist us in this matter would of course be greatly appreciated.  I will attempt to follow up with you via phone.

Thank you in advance for your interest.

Alan Hieger

Secretary, Valley Circle Burners

AMA# 69272

Phone: 805-210-2011

Fearing that a full day might pass before the letter got read, I immediately followed up with Laurence by phone.  He agreed to write a brief letter to the Corps supporting our interests.  The text of that letter follows.

Dear Ms. Lamb,

I represent model aircraft enthusiasts in the south western United States for the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA).  The AMA is a nationwide organization that promotes the safe and responsible operation of model aircraft for leisure, competition, and education.

It was brought to my attention that there may be a desire to close the field for the month of October 2016 and future years.  I'd like to confirm if that is correct.  If it is I'd like to arrange for the field's users to be able to submit feedback on any such plans.

There are over 400 AMA members that regularly operate model aircraft from this field.  It is the preeminent public model aircraft field in Southern California, and its loss would be keenly felt.

Please let me know if the information I've been sent is correct.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Lawrence Tougas

At his suggestion, I also drafted and sent a letter in the name of the club, which reads like this:

Dear Ms. Lamb,

I am the Secretary of the Valley Circle Burners, an L.A. area-based aeromodeling club which utilizes the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area as its base of operations.  It has come to my attention that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is considering a plan to close the Basin to modeling activities for the month of October on an annual basis.  My purpose in contacting you is to provide you with information of which you might not currently be aware in hopes of dissuading this action.

The airfield in question, located to the West of Woodley Avenue between Victory and Burbank Boulevards, is home to the Valley Flyers (radio control emphasis) and the Valley Circle Burners (control-line emphasis) clubs.  These clubs are chartered entities of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, which operates under the aegis of the National Aeronautic Administration as the official national representative of American aeromodelers.  In addition, the site is routinely utilized by "park flyers" (radio-controlled aircraft of minimal weight and range) and "drone" enthusiasts from both the AMA membership and the general public.

Closure of the Basin for a full month each year would be massively disruptive to the entire aeromodeling community throughout the northern Los Angeles County and Ventura County areas.  Firstly, there is simply no comparable facility within an hour's drive, and one would expect dispersal of such activities to less well-suited and potentially less controlled areas.  This has potential public safety implications.  There has been considerable concern of late regarding the activities of so-called "drone" operators: so much so that a national registry has been put into place.  Sadly, many "dronists" (my term) operate outside of the AMA's sphere of influence, and are not well-schooled in safety issues.  The availability of the Basin brings them into contact with AMA-trained flyers, who then have the opportunity to educate them regarding appropriate procedures and practices.  Loss of the Basin would essentially put these people out into the general public without such education.

In addition, both chartered clubs conduct multiple annual competitions at the Basin, and have done so according to a schedule which has remained essentially unchanged for decades.  These competitions draw flyers from all around the country, and occasionally from foreign nations.  In addition to the potential disruption of travel and/or vacation plans already established, it must be noted that these competitions are scheduled in coordination with other events occurring nationwide, so that the loss of use of the Basin over this period can be expected to have a cascade effect across multiple states.

Speaking for my club as an officer, we would welcome the opportunity to meet with you or another designated representative of the Corps to present our case and explore ways in which the Corps could achieve its objectives without the major disruption which is currently envisioned.  I would be happy to address any concerns which you might have in the interim.  I can be reached at this e-mail address, or by telephone at 805-210-2011.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Respectfully yours,

Alan Hieger

Secretary, Valley Circle Burners

At this point, all club officers are up to speed on the situation.  Ray will be taking point on this issue going forward.  It is by no means certain that this is a done deal.  There are issues concerning how such a festival might impact the Basin’s dual functions as a flood control facility and a wildlife refuge.  Updates will be provided as information becomes available.  For the moment, you all now know as much about this as me.

Bylaws

To date there has been no response to my quest for a copy of our existing bylaws.  Though I still encourage anyone who might possess one to conduct some home archeology, my search is now officially in Nancy Drew mode.

May Meet

Per Terry Thorkildsen, the sanction (Class C) for our May Fun Fly/Uncontest/Swap Meet is now officially on file, and we are go for liftoff on Saturday, May 21.  As details become available, you’ll see them here.

Basin Activity

On Sunday, March 20, a baker’s half-dozen flyers turned out on an overcast morning to scribe on the sky.  Thanks to Steve Schiff for providing details.

Perry Ohal showed up with his LA .46-powered Brodak P-40.  Apparently the combo acquitted itself well and gave Perry some nice flights.  Dave Hull was out with his Cardinal (profile?) powered by an LA .40 and an OS .30-powered Top Flight Combat Streak.  Apparently he was plagued by inconsistent runs from both engines (“one too lean, the next too rich”).  Terry Thorkildsen apparently “enjoyed” similar “fun” from his Fox .15, a motor known throughout California for its suitability as a paperweight and renowned for its hurlability characteristics.  The identity of the airframe thus “powered” was not specified.  Terry?  Steve himself brought out a Primary Force powered by an Evolution.  Apparently Steve considers its cost ($75) to be more significant than its displacement, which he did not note.  He also brought out his Gordon Delaney-designed Pathfinder profile, with a hybrid (classical Greek word meaning “bastard”) motor comprised of Tower .40 externals and OS .40 (-S or FP?  Certainly not LA?) “guts.”  Kestas Dvarvydis and Alon Yehzkelof were also present, but tech data on their birds is not available.  It’s probably not too much of a reach to guess that Alon was campaigning his Tehila, which is his interpretation of Dave Trible’s Super Shameless design, but he can correct me if I‘ve gotten this wrong.

Chris Forbes had indicated intent early in the week to put in an appearance on Thursday, but I have no information as to whether or not this actually took place, and I’m not quite to the stage of writing fictional field reports. . .yet.

Yesterday’s turnout was light early in the day.  I split very early.  Despite having desnotted my ancient Banshee (unflown since 2004) in advance, my formerly “best” motor, a George Aldrich reworked and chromed OS .35S, exhibited almost no compression whatever and absolutely refused to start.  It did, however, manage to kick back exactly once and wreck another of my rapidly diminishing supply of new Rev-Up 10x6s.  I want to publicly apologize to everyone there for my having vented my frustrations in front of everybody.  I will apparently never grow up.  See, I told you I was temperamentally unsuitable for this job.

Should the Nag Format Change?

My tech guru, without whose assistance the Nag would be a garbled mess (really), has advised me emphatically that the format I’ve been using is “all wrong,” and that “Nobody in his right mind does [things] that way.”  Specifically, he objects to my presenting the Nag as a straight e-mail, and insists that sending it as a Word document attached to an e-mail header is the only sane way to go.

I personally see both advantages and disadvantages intrinsic to each method.  The current pure e-mail format is somewhat harder to edit, but it has the advantages (at least to my so-called mind) of immediate accessibility and, being stored in “the Cloud,” not crapping up all your hard drives.  On the other hand, sending it out as a downloadable attachment under an e-mail header makes it at least potentially easier to edit, and gives the subscribers an opportunity to maintain an archive of “magazines” on their own equipment as opposed to storage in e-mail accounts which are potentially liable to deletion.  Additionally, I am given to understand that certain “mailer” programs really scramble the Nag’s format, but not having received a single complaint to date on this point, this may not be an issue with current subscribers.

Like any good monkey, I am probably capable of eventually being trained to do either, though at this point I’m still largely incompetent at both.  Therefore, let the customers’ preference reign supreme.  Let me know before next Sunday how you want it.  I’m only going to ask this once, and the majority who reply this week will get their way, so don’t kvetch (a Yiddish word which for our purposes shall mean “whine and moan”) if you don’t express your preference.

Upcoming Competition Note

In case you’ve been living under a rock, be aware that the Knights of the Round Circle will be conducting the annual Bob Palmer Memorial contest on April 23-24.  Bob, a pioneer in the stunt world and world-class competitor, was a long-time member of the VCB, and I urge everyone who can to turn out in commemoration of his life and achievements.  I will once again be judging, so I’ll know who shows up. . .

Unofficial Fun Stuff

Playmate of the Week

The title of our weekly photo feature has been changed to face the reality that it is impossible (unless otherwise instructed by the tech guru) to physically fold an e-document.  This week’s contributions come to us once again from the camera work of Chris Forbes.

 

Chris describes this nifty profile ship as a P-51D (although cogniscenti will recognize it as a B/C variant) from a Brodak kit.  The fuselage and empennage (tail feathers, if you’ve never taken French) are finished in Sig butyrate over silkspan, with the wings done up in Coverite iron-on with Monokote trim tape.  Grunt up front is provided by an OS .40FP “reworked and fitted with a button head by Tom” (Muggleton?), fed by a 4 oz. uniflow tank and spinning an APC 10.5x4.5.

The P-51, although far more understated in its appearance than his justly renowned Spiderman Nobler, has to be seen close up to be appreciated.  Check out the detail trim on the nose tripler and spinner.  Also, see if you can pick up any color differential between the sheeted and open areas of covering.  Metallics, particularly silver, are hideously unforgiving of craftsmanship lapses.  Never mind the photos, check out this bird in person and see if you find any flaws.  If you can, you will be the new appearance judge at our next contest.

Chris adds, “And this is how I like to fly it!”

 

I’m not going to even try to intuit what Chris means by this.  Ask him yourself if curious.

Alternative Flying Opportunity

Paul Wescott, one of our more southerly located members, who shares his loyalties with the Knights of the Round Circle, informs the Nag that there exists a quasi-reliable flying session at the Whittier Narrows field every Friday morning.  Flying typically starts around 9 a.m. and continues through 11:30 or noon, after which the group typically retires to Mario’s Tacos or some coffee shop to shoot the shizzle.  Norm Furutani (who, incidentally, I understand publishes some kind of Nag analog on Thursdays) appears to be the primary organizer and carpool leader behind this activity.  Paul notes that the entrance fee to Whittier Narrows which we have come to expect on contest days does not apply to weekday flying.  For those with Fridays available, particularly members living in the southern and eastern reaches of our draw area, might find this to be an attractive addition to our existing flying opportunities, and help further cement bonds between the two clubs.

Wanna Go Flying?

For once, I’m not particularly stoked for a midweek session.  The taxes need to be done, and entropy has assaulted my home and yard with a vengeance while I was in Tucson.  On top of that, since I’m currently too chicken[substance] to fly my Oriental, and everything else seems to have crashed and/or burned, at the moment I’m pretty much down to my Magican (No, not Magician, Magican).  Still, I could probably be coaxed/sweet-talked/subverted into making a Basin run.  State some intent in these pages and avoid the rush.

A Promise Broken

At about this point in last week’s Nag, I promised you a “how-to” articlette on repairing tears in silkspan and tissue coverings using Saran (or similar brand) Wrap.  Due to the length of this week’s Nag, I am electing to postpone the discussion until next week.  If for some reason you absolutely need the information before next week, call me.

I have now exhausted the rush of photos that flooded in when I started doing this.  This means that until fresh content arrives, you will be looking at photos from my personal archives which, although not necessarily related to our club, are probably worth a glance.  I don’t care much.  Do you?

TTFN

Until next time. . .