Hello Everyone,

I hope this wonderful season of flying has been good to all of you. My name is Adam Martin and as of September 18th 2008 I have assumed all responsibilities of the position of Secretary as Pete Johnson has decided to step down to let a younger buck take the reigns. I have been a member of this club for approximately 5 years and have most recently fulfilled one of the Board Member Positions. I have been flying for over 15 years and really enjoy being a member of the Swamp Flyers. My Grandfather, who has been flying for over 60 years, got me interested and taught me how to fly when I was 13. He has exposed me to all different aspects of the hobby and last year I was able to return the favor by getting him his first electric plane. As a board member, I have tried to get involved in as many activities as I could. From running this years Raffle to being the contest director for one of the most absolutely amazing Combat Events, I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have also enjoyed sending out e-mails to club members concerning upcoming events and reviews of the picnics.

For my personal life, I am an Army Veteran who completed an eight year career as a Military Police Staff Sergeant, and I have over 8 years of diverse retail management experience. Over a year ago I made a career change, and became a Heating and Air Conditioning Technician. This change has allowed me a much more predictable Monday - Friday schedule, and has allowed me to spend more time with my wife and 3 year old daughter. Not to mention more time with the planes. Throughout my careers in the Army and Retail Management, I have learned that communication is the key to any organizations success. And as the new Secretary of the East Coast Swamp Flyers, I am looking forward to reconnecting our members.

This Newsletter is the first of many. It is the key source of information for many members, and will again become a proud fixture of this organization. The Newsletter will be published nine months out of the year. Those months will be as follows: April, May, June, July, August, September, October, December, and February. I have chosen these months because it allows for a monthly letter during the heart of the flying season, and bi-monthly during the cold months.

I will also be distributing the newsletter in three different ways. They can be accessed through e-mail, the website, and their will be multiple copies available at the field. We will be putting them in a letter box that will be attached to the frequency board. For anyone that does not currently receive the newsletter via e-mail and would like to, please send an e-mail to ecsfsecy@gmail.com or go to the website "Contact Us" page and click on "Secretary".

As far as the website is concerned, I have a lot of ideas. I personally feel that the website should be an extension of the flying field. It should be filled with tons of high resolution pictures and video. I constantly see members out at the field with their cameras. They should have a place to show off those shots. I want to be able to tell someone interested in joining the club to got to our website, and know that they are going to be excited and impressed with what they see. So in order to fulfill these requirements, I am looking into getting a new host that will support more high resolution pictures and videos. The clubs continued success relies on its ability to adapt to the changing times. And I feel an upgrade to our current website will be a great help. So if you have picture, send them to ecsfsecy@gmail.com.

I am trying out an updated format for the newsletter. It will include:

• News from the President
• News from the Officers
• Minutes from monthly meeting
• Discussion of upcoming Events & Event Calendar
• Event Review
• Field Construction & Condition updates
• Building Tip of the Month
• Flying Tip of the Month
• Aircraft of the Month

Now as you can see there is a lot of information that can go into one of these letters. And unfortunately I do not have the expertise to complete a couple of the categories. So I am asking for the memberships help. Now don't worry your not going to have to pick up a shovel or chainsaw and mow down 5 acres of woods. (Even though I must give a whole hearted thanks to all the members that have come out and poured their blood and sweat into making this field and club as great as it is.) But I am going to ask you to do something that you love to do every time you are down at the field. And that is to TALK SHOP!!! Over the years their have been many times that I have spent the entire day at the field and never started up my planes. Instead I pulled up a chair and talked shop all day long. Well its time to put that shop talk into the newsletter.

Each and every month I am going to need to have Building Tips, Flying Tips, and an Aircraft of the Month. And that is where you come into play. Its time to write this stuff down and send it to me. All the tips should be put into paragraph form so I can cut and paste it into the newsletter. And please put your full name at the bottom so you can be given full credit.

Building Tips: Send me any tips you think might be handy to the beginner builder up to expert builders. From kits to ARF's. For example, tell the membership which glues work best with which materials. Do I use 5 minute, 15 minute, or 30 minute epoxy? Should I use CA on foam? And if so what kind? Now yes, many of you may think that these questions are elementary, but I guarantee there are members out there that want learn this stuff. In today's market ARF's are so dominant, the only time I am building is when I crack up an arf and have to rebuild it. Also feel free to recommend products that have worked well for you in the past. And don't think all tips have to be elementary. Send me tips on Warbirds, Pattern, 3D, helicopters, etc.

Flying Tips: This category falls under the same criteria as the building tips, unless you have trained under the expertise of Chris Patricione in the Training Program. In that case I will expect all you graduates to be sending me tips. HEHE! Also feel free to send in tips about Warbirds and how to fly with flaps, or some basic 3D and helicopter maneuvers.

Aircraft of the Month: This category is actually my favorite. Each month I would like to do a review of a member's aircraft. Actually I would like you to do a review of your aircraft and send it to me to put into the newsletter. Tell us all about the plane or helicopter. Start with the basics (Manufacturer / Specifications) and then tell us about the build, any building tips, any modifications, engine selection, and electronics selections. Next discuss the first flight, any good or bad characteristics it had, and then your overall experience of the plane.

If for any reason these tips and reviews get to be too large for the newsletter we can put them up on the website.

Now for the important stuff!!!

News from the President:

I must say the Neighbor's Picnic was a resounding success. The weather was great, the flying was even better, and the food was perfect. I must give a huge thanks to the cooking staff: Dennis Keegan, Dick Lacy, Bob Gamache, Johny Z., and Tom Petrillo. They had an enormous task to feed all the guests and they never skipped a beat. THANK YOU!!! Our new Secretary, Adam Martin did an excellent job promoting and selling raffle tickets for the Spektrum 2.4 GHz system. As a matter of fact, he raised so much money that we were able to raffle off two more $50 prizes. Yes this raffle is designed to raise money for the club, but it is also more importantly designed to raise participation and enjoyment for all the members. Thank you again to all the club members and I look forward to seeing you at the October 12th East Coast Swamp Flyers "Condor Flight", IMAA Chapter 775 Fly in.

Thank you,
Mark Castiglione
ECSF President

Minutes from Monthly Meeting:

September 17th 2008

1. Meeting called to order at 7:25pm with 20 Members and 4 Officers present.


2. IMAA Event
   • Ron Liska is Contest Director and Chris Petriccione is Safety Officer.
   • Honeywell has been contacted and parking is available at rear of building
   • IMAA Legal sizes are as follows: Biplane 60", Monoplane 80", Jets 140" (wingspan + length)


3. Nominations for Officer Positions and Board Members are as follows:
   • President, Joe Malec
   • Vice President, Ed Berlin
   • Secretary, Adam Martin
   • Treasurer, Dennis Keegan
   • Safety Officer, Chris Petriccione
   • Board, Ed Olstein
   • Board, Charlie Doame
   • Board, Bill David
   
   The elections will be held at the November Meeting. Any other nominations can be presented at the October Meeting.


4. The road is in good shape and the concrete slabs that were to be poured just past the bridge have been postponed until a later date.


5. Motion by Steve Ludwig (Vice President) concerning an addition to the By-Laws for all helicopter movements on and off the flight line was thoroughly discussed. Below is the motion for the By-Law addition and will be voted on at the October 15th 2008 meeting.
   • The designated helicopter flight area, located at the south end of the field is to be used for trimming the helicopter, and for all pilots learning to fly helicopters. Pilots are not allowed to fly the helicopters outside the designated helicopter flight area. No helicopter pilot is ever allowed to fly their helicopter out of the designated helicopter flight area and enter the fixed wing airspace.
   • Helicopter Pilots that want to fly their helicopter in the fixed wing airspace must follow the following rules:
   • Helicopter pilots must be capable of the nose-in hover maneuver
   • No helicopter pilot is ever allowed to fly their helicopter out of the designated helicopter flight area and enter the fixed wing airspace.
   • Helicopter pilots must stand in the far-left pilot station.
   • Helicopter pilots must physically place their helicopter on the designated helicopter take-off and landing pad which is located 50' to the left of the far-left pilot station. The Helicopter pilot must then return to the far-left pilot station, call out "take-off", and enter the pattern of flight.
   • When landing, helicopter pilots must land their helicopters on the same take-off and landing pad.
   
   
6. Meeting was adjourned at 8:45pm

Upcoming Events:

October 12th 2008. The ECSF "Condor Flight", IMAA Chapter 775 Fly in.

Event Review:

What an amazing picnic. The neighbors came out in droves, and got an amazing display of aerobatic expertise from all the members that came to fly. I personally got a chance to speak to many of the neighbors when selling raffle tickets and heard nothing but great comments from each and every one of them. We also had an opportunity to watch something we will probably never see in our lifetime again. Justin Chi, the SIX year old helicopter pilot amazed and put us all to shame with his incredible 3-D routine. No helicopter pilot, not even our most experienced wanted to follow Justin's routine. Just goes to show the immense talent this young pilot has.

I would like to follow up Mark's comments and also thank the wonderful cooking staff: Dennis Keegan, Dick Lacy, Bob Gamache, Johny Z., and Tom Petrillo. These members deserve a pat on the back for literally giving up their day of flying to feed our hungry faces. And hungry we were. So from me and all the members, THANK YOU!!! Also during the picnic, I was able to finally raffle off the awesome Spektrum 2.4 GHz system. If I kept it any longer, the winner would have to pry it out of one of my planes. So I would like to congratulate Al Piscitelli for winning the radio. Also since we were able to raise so much money, we gave away two more prizes worth $50 each. Congratulation goes out to Mik Vasmatics and Vinnie Langella for winning the cash prizes. The day finished with many more wonderful flights and nothing but smiles on the neighbors and members faces.

Field Construction & Condition Update:

The field is in really good shape. The grass has been cut on a regular basis. The corn has been cut down. A couple of flight benches need repair. The far right canopy was blown down a couple of weeks ago and sustained extensive damage. The brush and grass has started to grow in nice on the new area of the field, across the road. The road is in good shape and the concrete slabs that were to be poured just past the bridge have been postponed until a later date.

Building Tips:

Flying Tips:

And this is where you come into play!

Aircraft of the Month: