President's Column

“Pitching in” and helping is a longtime tradition with the Piston Poppers. It’s such an automatic thing that we almost take it for granted with the “chores” getting done as if by magic. I’ve thanked Bob, Keith and all the rest who routinely help out many times and again say “Thanks!” now. Once in a while, though, something happens that just stands out. For several weeks I’ve been trying to remember to bring a garbage bag to empty the trash barrel and finally did remember last Wednesday. To my surprise, as I pulled, in there was a full bag already sitting by the barrel, but the barrel still seemed near full. It turn’s out that Ivars Greizans had noticed a lot of trash along the edges of the field and came up early so he could clean it all up. Take my word: that is not a small or pleasant job and he stuffed a large garbage bag stuffed full. More to the point, no one had even asked or suggested he do it. Ivars simply saw the need and got the job done.  Following that he and Mike Moylan helped empty the barrel and we even got a friendly guard to run the 3 full bags to the dumpster. Thanks guys!

The real point of this is that this club works because you do pitch in and help in whatever way you can!  Not everything is noticed or acknowledged, but it all counts whether big or small. Give yourselves a pat on the back, folks, if age and orthopedics still allow it.

We still have a few weeks of great flying weather left so make the best of it. Wednesdays are getting shorter but they have been fun for those of us able to attend, with several great nights of comfortable temps and light winds. Sundays will be good till the snow flies with those overweight ships flying much better in the cool air.

One quick word of caution to all.  As the leaves fall, we need to pay special attention to our noise monitoring.  Check those mufflers and be sure that any change in the equipment such as prop or fuel gets a noise check before flight.  See me, Wayne Willy or Keith. Don’t risk our site just to get a flight in. We’re there because we keep our word meticulously to the College and the City and have earned their trust. It’s up to each of us to continue that relationship.

At this meeting I’d really like us to try to discuss some of the broad issues we face. This includes our contests, promoting the sport, additional flying or social activities during the winter months and whatever else comes up .

As always, Bob needs articles for Prop Wash. They needn’t be technical. Opinion, reminiscence, and just about anything else is fair game. Also, we need some demonstrations and more show and tell at the meetings.  Planes, pictures, how to do something, or whatever you can conjure up.  Everyone has something to contribute so please think it over then give me a call. 763-537-7182

Last but not least, I’d like to make a club effort to contact previous members of the Piston Poppers and any other area C/L clubs. A number of us (me included) are in that group, commonly called “retreads”, meaning flyers who have quit for an extended time for interruptions like marriage and raising a family, and might now be open to trying C/L again. I’m sure there are many out there and some of them just might try it again with a little encouragement. So, for this upcoming September meeting, I’m asking everyone to sit down and make a list of names of previous C/L modelers from all the clubs in the area that you can remember. If you have more info, great, but at least give us the names. If you have any old lists or newsletters with lists, even better. If we can’t get them flying, maybe we can put together a flyers reunion for the Poppers 45^th anniversary, possibly combined with the Minneapolis Model Aero Club (free flight) since there is a great deal of overlap between us. I’m open to suggestions!

See you at the meeting.

Jeff Welliver

Vice President's Column

Well, friends, this has indeed been an interesting month. Let me get the not-so-good news out of the way first. As I write, Hurricane Rita is bearing down on Houston, Galveston, and the rest of the Texas Gulf Coast. You might hope for a little quiet after Katrina, but no. There are several notable CL flyers in the Houston area, including Bill Rutherford, Frank Williams, Dub Jett, and Richard Oliver. I hope they are all out safely.

A non-CL acquaintance of mine lived in the coastal town of Bay St. Louis, MS. Katrina obliterated the town. We feared for Dick and Nadine’s safety for several days, but they turned up safe at their daughter’s home after a very narrow scrape. They lost their home and a lifetime collection of art, antiques, and models. I say a little prayer for the safety of all the modelers and everyone else down South.

Next, and last, as some of you know, I’ve had some difficulty with my right eye. Long story, but the sight crapped out pretty quickly because of some swelling and bleeding. One of the Mayo docs did an amazing, delicate little surgery that relieved the pressure and stabilized the sight. It’s still fairly bad, but should improve slowly over the next few months. It doesn’t seem to effect my flying any. I was running into the ground all the time anyway.

It was a very good Bentfield Contest this year. I was especially pleased to see the turnout in Beginner! Lots of flyers and some interesting action. Thank you to Keith for running a smooth show, the other judges, Mel for running the concessions and lunch wagon, Bob C for tabulating, Ryan for running, and everyone who pitched in to help. Good Show!

The Top Flite Tutor ARFs have turned out to be very good flyers. Keith, of course, won P-40 with his, powered by a K&B 40. I did learn that they don’t fly well monoline, however. On the second Tutor, I tried the often-advised APC 11.5-4 prop and didn’t have any line tension at all overhead. Like running for cover loose, it was. Digging through the prop box turned up some 12-6 BY&Os. I tried one, thinking that the LA 46 wouldn’t turn it very well. Wrong, puppy breath. It really came alive, with all the line tension you could ask for overhead. I want to try 4 and 5 pitch props before deciding on the best one. I’ve heard about going to a larger prop to improve tension overhead, but this was a dramatic demo that it does work.

I don’t have a lot else to offer. Oh, I did hear that Wayne Willey’s Hellcat volunteered for combat.  It will get a small clown painted under the cockpit with the victory markings. You guys have a great month!

See you at the field!

Kelvin Heath

Members Space

SUMMER 2005 FLYING

It’s been a long time since I’ve written anything for the newsletter, so thought I’d fill you in on how this flying season has gone so far.

The practice season was really short and the Polk City contest arrived way too soon.  My equipment was all proven stuff since I didn’t kill it last year.  As far as practice goes, I was just as ill prepared as everyone else, so my confidence level was right up there until we got the Polk City weather.  Except for the gloom of night, we had everything to make a good postman cry; rain, sleet, snow, and don’t forget wind.  All of the Minneapolis gang did well, and I believe brought back some hardware and all of our planes.  Polk City is a very well run contest, and I recommend going to it.

After waiting a few weeks for summer to arrive and practicing when able, it was time to make the annual trek to Milwaukee.  This year John and Sina drove my truck with all the planes and equipment while Wayne, my wife, and I flew there in the Tiger.  The Milwaukee guys always run a good contest, and I like their site.  Even though it’s a one-day contest, I enjoy myself every year and plan to continue doing so.

Sig was the next contest on the schedule.  Since Kelvin had to work, Ryan came with Sina and me to Sig for the weekend.  We took a different route this year and drove a lot through small towns, but this way shaved more than an hour off of our trip and as a bonus, it was more enjoyable.  Once at Sig, we set up our trailer and awnings quickly and enjoyed a weekend of good flying and great friends.  As always, we stayed pretty busy during the competitions, but Wayne and I managed to build a Flight Streak ARF again - it took about 3½ hours from box opening to being finished.  Next year we’ll do better.  The only thing that disappointed me was that Bob and Jeff couldn’t make it this year, for the first time in many years.  Kelvin also couldn’t avoid working, so he wasn’t there either and that was a bummer for both Ryan and I.

July looked like it would be a busy month.  First up were the annual Kids Kontest and Fun Stunt. Everyone came through again this year...from hobby shops with support and sponsorship…to our members with all the help that it takes to set up and run these events.  We had an abundance of kids and although it was plenty busy, each kid got several flights.  I know that the kids and their families enjoyed themselves guaranteeing that Kids Kontest 2005 was a success and that it will return for 2006.

At the end of the month our Club made its presence felt at the EAA’s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.  Several of us made the trip to Oshkosh to help out at KidVenture, and in return we were rewarded with new friends and a great show.  I have already made reservations for next year.  One of the things that I’ll remember most is a small girl (5 or 6 years old) that stood in line to fly with me several times.  Each time, she sprinted out to me with arms pumping and great enthusiasm.  She sprinted back when we were finished only to rejoin the waiting line at the rear, so that she could do it again.  At the lunch break she won a Cox Hyper Viper that was raffled and was all smiles.  It occurred to me that all the effort and bitching that I put forth, it took this one little girl to show me why I do it.

The last big event for the 2005 season was our 6^th Annual Bentfield Memorial Contest.  Despite the attendance being somewhat lower than I would have expected, our members pulled together and put on a first rate contest.  Our contest date conflicted with others in the region, and I suspect that is a big reason that some out of town folks didn’t make it.  It was a little breezy during the contest, but all the events were flown and a big surprise was the number of entrants in Beginner (7), which is a marked improvement over past years and other contests.  Another pleasant surprise was that we had no complaints…only a couple of neighbors that showed up to make sure we were playing by all the established rules.

Now it’s September, so the pressure is off and we can resume flying planes that we don’t normally fly at contests…and pay the needed attention to our devoted and supportive wives (especially mine) and families.  I’ve had a really good summer – busy with work, my house, family, and the full-scale planes that I fly – as well as the countless other things that keep popping up.  This is what summer is for though and now that fall is approaching, it’s a good time to start thinking about what planes to build for next year.

Keith Sandberg 

A word about PAMPA

A number of you are members of PAMPA, and most of you have a rough idea of what it is. I’d like to take a few lines to explain a few things about the organization, if you can spare a moment.

PAMPA very simply is an organization of stunt flyers, but open to anyone with an AMA license. It was formed some 30 years ago by competition flyers to assist in running Stunt at the Nats and in the FAI team trials, has become a SIG (Special Interest Group) recognized by AMA to represent the stunt community in matters related to stunt flying and competition. Currently it has about 1,600 members.

Over the years PAMPA has been a major force in giving us the skill classes we now have, promoting Classic and Old Time competition, improving judging to the point that a flyer can go to a contest almost anywhere in the country and be reasonably sure of the rules and some consistency in judging and many other things beneficial to both the competitor and sport flyer.

PAMPA also has a Newsletter called STUNT NEWS. Technically it is a bi-monthly newsletter rather than a magazine, but at over 100 pages and with both covers in gloss color inside and out, it is one heck of a newsletter. Currently, STUNT NEWS is, in my opinion, far and away the best publication not only for serious stunt flyers, but also for anyone flying control line. It abounds with building articles, tips and columns for flyers from the greenest beginner to the world’s best.

PAMPA has no membership qualification aside (technically) from an AMA license and a willingness to pay the dues. Beginners and sport flyers welcome, and most will find the material in STUNT NEWS well worth the cost. In addition, you will be supporting the closest thing to a strong voice that C/L has with AMA.

As most of you know, there has been controversy within the organization this last year. By the time you read this, the election of PAMPA’s 2006 officers will have been completed. While I have been actively involved in these matters, as your club President, I have not felt that it would be proper to take sides here in our newsletter, and I still feel that way. I will simply say this: regardless of the election outcome, PAMPA will continue as a strong and productive organization, and these problems will be worked out in a positive way.

After you have renewed your AMA and Piston Poppers memberships, I’d like to personally invite those of you who are not now PAMPA members to look into joining for 2006. Feel free to ask, call or e-mail me with any questions. I will be glad to answer your questions and I can even copy the application and E-mail or snail mail it to you.

Jeff Welliver

New Products on the market. As most of you know, Steve Wilk a past member has been working as a cottage industry supplying carbon fiber products to the racing and speed fliers of the control-line community.

He now is making inroads to the stunt side with props, gear, and bell-cranks and will custom make parts for you. He donated some of his current products that pertain to stunt to our Aug contest raffle pool. Very nice. In this issue you will find a copy of his products and if you don’t see what you’re looking for give him a call I’m sure he’ll be glad to help you out.

Bob