EAST COAST SWAMP FLYERS

North Branford, CT

Latest News

2/7/10:

February 17th, 7pm - Club Meeting:

We will be holding our club meeting at a different location this month due to the Foxon Community Center being closed. This months meeting will be held at 316 Woodhouse Avenue, Wallingford, CT. This club house has been graciously lent to us by Loren Manginelli.

Directions to the club house are as follows:

Directions are 91N from New haven, get off exit 14 (Woodhouse Ave), then turn left and club house will be on the right.

From the North (Meriden Area) 91S to exit 14 (Center St), turn right then a quick left onto Airline Rd, left at light onto Woodhouse Ave, Club house on left.

For a map to the clubhouse at 316 Woodhouse Ave, click here.

*** Important bylaws changes/additions to be discussed at the Feb meeting ***

During the February 17th meeting we will be discussing and voting on two proposed bylaw changes/additions. The proposed changes/additions were discussed and seconded at the January club meeting.

Bylaw proposals are as follows:

First Proposal: 3D Aerobatic 40ft line proposal
3D Helicopter Flying:
Pilots who fly 3D Aerobatics will have a flight line that is 40 ft out from the pilot line.

Second Proposal: (changes and additions are in bold)

Helicopter Fixed Wing Airspace Regulations:

Helicopter Pilots that want to fly their helicopter in the fixed wing airspace must follow the following rules:
1. Helicopter pilots must be capable of the nose-in hover maneuver.
2. Helicopter pilots must stand in the far-RIGHT pilot station.
3. Helicopter pilots must physically place their helicopter on the designated helicopter take-off and landing pad which is located (25' to the RIGHT & 10' forward) of the far-RIGHT pilot station. The Helicopter pilot must then return to the far-RIGHT pilot station, call out "take-off", and enter the pattern of flight.
4. When landing, helicopter pilots must land their helicopters on the same take-off and landing pad.

1/31/10:

The 2010 calendar of events for the East Coast Swamp Flyers was discussed in the January club meeting. The list is as follows:

Calendar of 2010 ECSF Events:
May 19th - Build Contest during club meeting
June 6th - Memorial Picnic
June 26th or 27th - Heli Event (tentative)
July 11th - Combat Competition
September 12th - Neighbors Picnic
October 2nd & 3rd - IMAA Event

11/26/09:

Christmas Party:

The 2009 East Coast Swamp Flyers Christmas Party will be held on December 16th at Bobby's Apizza on Route 80 in North Branford. The Party starts at 6:30pm with pizza and soft drinks being served.

The membership voted to collect $5/head at the door to help cover the cost of the party. The balance will be paid by the funds collected from the 50/50 and prize raffles. David Teer will be collecting money and hands will be stamped when you pay.

Please note: Beer & wine will not be paid for by the club, and are the responsibility of the individual members.

Membership Dues:

All membership renewal notices have been mailed out, and dues are to be postmarked by 12/31/2009 or a late fee of $12 will be charged.

Any member that has not received their notice should download the pdf membership renewal form, print it and mail it to the address on the form.

Please note: There will be an increase in dues of $2/month, from $60/year to $84/year.

If you have any questions regarding membership, please contact the treasurer, Dennis Keegan, at ecsftreasurer@yahoo.com

11/4/09:

Dues change:
There will be an increase in dues of $2/month, from $60/year to $84/year. This change is being made to keep up with the increasing costs required to maintain the club.

New by-law proposal:
There is an important proposed addition to the by-laws that will be voted on at the next meeting. The proposed addition is as follows:
In accordance to Article II of the bylaws, the use of our flying field is for Aircraft only. At no time will it be used as a shooting range. This includes any type of firearm (rifle or hand gun), bow and arrow, or crossbow or any weapon that can launch a projectile that can cause serious personal or fatal injury. Any member who discharges a weapon at the field for any reason will forfeit their membership for a period of one year without exception. During the year period the member will not be allowed on the property in any capacity. Permanent termination of the member's membership may also be put to a vote in accordance with Article XI of these Bylaws.

New Road Re-opened:
The new road has been refinished and is now open for use again. Please start using the new road when entering and exiting the field (right side when entering, left side when exiting).

Meeting reminder:
The next Club Meeting is Wednesday, November 18th at the Foxon Community Center, 7pm. For directions to the Foxon Community Center, please visit our directions page.

10/16/09:

Dear pilots and spectators,

We regret to announce that the IMAA Event scheduled for Saturday and Sunday (October 17 & 18) is officially cancelled due to rain. This event does not have a rain date. We would like to thank each and everyone that had taken part in the preparations for this event, and all the individuals that volunteered to work at the event. We apologize for any inconvenience, but this is the unfortunate Fall weather in New England.

9/9/09:

September 13th - Neighbors' Picnic:

The East Coast Swamp Fliers invites you to join us for a day of food, fun, and flying! Come down to the ECSF Flying Field to see all kinds of action - giant scale warbirds, aerobatic airplanes, helicopters and much more!

Flying starts at 11:00am. There will be a complimentary BBQ at noon. We will also be raffling an Almost Ready-to-Fly airplane kit.

To see a flyer for the event, click here.

The ECSF Flying Field is behind Honeywell off Rt. 22 in Northford. For directions, visit the directions page.

9/5/09:

New Road Closed - Please Use Old Road Until Further Notice

We would like to thank Ed Olstein and volunteers for making an incredible effort to clean the metal and trash off the new road over the Labor Day weekend. Unfortunately there is a chance that more debris lies just beneath the surface waiting for a rainfall to bring it up. Due to this concern, the new road will be indefinitely close. We will follow up with more details at a later date.

8/16/09:

August 19th - ECSF Club Meeting:
The meeting will be held at the ECSF Flying Field. For directions, visit the directions page.

ECSF Summer Picnic a Success:
The rain held off and the ECSF Summer Picnic was a success. Good flying, good food, and good fun were had by all. For pictures, check out the Photo Gallery.

8/1/09:

The East Coast Swamp Flyers will be holding its summer picnic & Fun Fly this Sunday, August 2nd. All members and their families are welcome to come out to the flying field and enjoy a great day of flying and free food. This is a free picnic for all members and their families. The club will be serving lunch and having unlimited flying. Bring out your aircraft and have a great time. We may also have some fun events such as a limbo contest, balloon popping contest, etc.

Flying may begin at 10am for 4-strokes, 11am for 2-strokes, and anytime for electrics.

We look forward to seeing you all there.

7/10/09:

The next club meeting will be held on July 15th at the East Coast Swamp Flyers field (weather permitting).

If anyone has pictures of the Memorial Day Picnic, please send them to the webmaster at ecsfweb@gmail.com

6/19/09:

The Battle of Midway II Extreme Combat Event was held on June 14th. Despite questionable forecasts, the weather held out and the event turned out to be a great success with a team from Oxford, CT squaring up against the East Coast Swamp Flyers team. The Oxford team pulled away in the final rounds and came out the victors. The spectators were "wowed" by Chris Petriccione's jet demonstration at lunch, and great fun was had by all.

More information about the results will follow soon.

To see photos of the event, visit the photo gallery.

5/22/09:

The following new members were voted into the club at the May 20th club meeting:

John Hart
Chris DeConti
Andrew Borrs
Albert Slomba

Congratulations, and welcome to the East Coast Swamp Flyers!

5/22/09:

The annual Builder's Contest and Swap Meet was held on Wednesday, May 20th at the Foxon Community Recreational Center. The contest winners are:

Sport Class:
1st Place: Bill Palmer - Elmers Glue Special
2nd Place: Gary Smeriglio - Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero

Scale Class:
1st Place: Mik Vasmatics - P-61 Black Widow
2nd Place: Bill David - Focke-Achgelis FA-61

Aerobatic:
1st Place: Dan Frankel - Lanier 33% Edge 540
2nd Place: Jeff Giamattei - Great Planes F4U Corsair

Helicopter:
1st Place: Joe Malec - Agusta 109

Kit Build:
1st Place: Ed Berlin - AH-1 Skyraider
2nd Place: Bill David - F4U Corsair

Best in Show: Ed Berlin - AH-1 Skyraider

For pictures of the models, visit the photo gallery.

4/12/09:

The New Clubhouse has been installed. To see how the deck was built and other new pictures, check out the Photo Gallery

2/12/09:

Our monthly Club Meeting will be held at the Foxon Recreational Community Center on February 18th at 7pm. There has been a change in the activity for this meeting. At Jim Fethers' request we have pushed off the foam cutting demonstration for a later date. Joe Acosta of "Build Right Fly Right Hobbies" has been very gracious and accommodating by stepping up. He will be giving an extensive demonstration on all the new impressive electronics flooding today's marketplace. We will also be holding our "Monthly 50/50 Raffle" and unveiling some of this year's plans for picnics and activities. It looks to be a very exciting and informative meeting, so I hope you all can make it.

1/30/09:

Our monthly Club Meeting will be held at the Foxon Recreational Community Center on February 18th at 7pm. Jim Feathers will be demonstrating how to cut foam wings. We will also be holding our "Monthly 50/50 Raffle". The tickets will be $1 each, 7 for $5 and 15 for $10 and the winner, will be chosen at the close of the meeting. We look forward to seeing you there.

We are also starting the raffle for a Northstar RTF. Please visit the "Raffle Item" page for details.

1/15/09:

Our monthly Club Meeting will be held at the Foxon Recreational Community Center January 21, 2009 at 7pm. We will be discussing our agenda for the year, possible events, budget, and holding our new "Monthly 50/50 Raffle". The tickets will be $1.00 each, and the winner will be chosen at the close of each meeting. We will also be treated to an outstanding DVD compilation of the 2008 season. Bill Palmer spent many hours last season taking video and pictures down at the field and put them all together on a great DVD. This looks to be a great start to the new flying season. We look forward to seeing you there.

Click here for older news - 2008.

Thanks to the Innovation Software Group (www.innovationsw.com) for donating the hosting for this site.