Hello Everyone,

Well January and the beginning of February have been quite the cold months. Not as much flying to be done but the perfect time for building, or in my case repairing. The field has been covered in ice and snow most all of January and for the first week in February. But some warm weather rolled in and as the ice melted, the green, or shall I say the brown grass has again taken over. The second week in February warmed up quite a bit and even reached 60 degrees one day. But don't get too excited. As you know we live in New England and more snow is already in the forecast. So keep building and repairing because soon it will all be gone and the fragrance of glow fuel will permeate your senses and the sounds of screaming engines will fill the air.

But until that happens, the board has scheduled quite the lineup of exciting speakers and demonstrations for upcoming club meetings. The board has also sat down and created some great new programs and hashed out a very exciting lineup of picnics and events to fill this years flying season. Further along in this newsletter, I will discuss in more detail all the different things we have planned. We also have our first aircraft review at the end of the newsletter which has been written by our Webmaster and club member Patrick Tuxbury. This review is chocked full of information, pictures, and is the first of two parts. The article even has video, which can be seen on our website www.swampflyers.org under the article/reviews section.

News from the President:

It was nice to see the large turnout for our new officer's first meeting. Hopefully we can continue to see such large gatherings at our meeting and we will do our best to make it happen.

We had our first monthly 50-50 drawing. The honors of being the first winner of 2009 was Dennis Keegan. If I remember right the pot was 75 dollars. Not to shabby. Way to go Dennis.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Pete Johnson for his donation of a Northstar with an OS 46 in it. It will be raffled off and some lucky member will be receiving a ready to fly aircraft. THANKS PETE!!!!!!!!!

Starting in January we will combine all raffle profits to fund the club house. We will have a chart to show the progress on how we are doing. It should be fun watching it grow.

Ed Olstein and I went to the rc swap and action meet in Vernon Sunday the 8th. The tables were pretty much empty by 1 pm and the action on the auction floor was constant with a lot of planes changing hands. Many ECSF pilots were in attendance and a good time was had by all.

I also had a chance to get by the field a few times the last couple of weeks. Some of our pilots were having a lot of fun taking off with the aid of skis and enjoying some of the warm weather we have been having lately. Most if not all of the snow has now melted and flying activity has picked up.

See you at the next meeting

Joe

Tower: "TWA 2341, for noise abatement turn right 45 Degrees."
TWA 2341: "Center, we are at 35,000 feet. How much noise can we make up here?"
Tower: "Sir, have you ever heard the noise a 747 makes when it hits a 727?"

Minutes from Monthly Meeting:

January 22nd 2009

1. Meeting called to order 7pm with 24 members and 5 Officers present.


2. Sold raffle tickets for the monthly 50/50 raffle. Sold $75.00 worth of tickets.


3. Introduced all the new Officers and Board Members.


4. Thanked all outgoing Officers and discussed their accomplishments.


5. Reviewed minutes from previous meeting.


6. Treasurers Report. Report was accepted.


7. Ed Olstein is heading up our Field Maintenance Crew and is looking for help. Ed will e-mail the Secretary all the issues and requests for maintaining the field.


8. Discussed this year's monthly club meeting programs:
   
   • February 18th - Joe Acosta Owner of "Build Right Fly Right Hobbies" will bring in and discuss some of the new electronics and gadgets of our hobby.
   • March 18th - Jim Feathers will be demonstrating how to cut foam wings.
   • April 15th - Mark Castiglione Owner of "Branford Hobbies" will bring in and demonstrate some amazing building and spray painting techniques that he successfully uses on his own models.
   • May 20th - Builders Contest and Swap Meet. We will discuss the Swap Meet in more detail during the February Club Meeting to determine how we want to run it.
   • June 17th - MRC Manufacturing. We are attempting to get MRC to come out to discuss and demonstrate many of their new products.


9. It is requested that all members when opening the gate, either relock the lock to the gate or bring it to the impound.


10. Discussed the budget with the members.


11. Bridge needs to be assessed to determine if it needs to be repaired.


12. Congratulations to Dennis Keegan for winning the 50/50 Raffle.


13. Watched a DVD that was created by Bill Palmer of all last years picnics.


14. Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm

Monthly Club Meeting: This Wednesday, February 18th

Their has been a change in the activity for this Wednesday's February 18th, 7pm club meeting. At Jim Fethers request we have pushed off the foam cutting demonstration for a later date. But do not fear Joe Acosta of "Build Right Fly Right Hobbies" is here. Joe 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". The tickets will be $1 each, 7 for $5 and 15 for $10. The winner will be chosen at the close of the meeting. We will also be starting a raffle for a great looking plane that has been generously donated by Pete Johnson. The plane is a Northstar RTF and will be raffled off at the Memorial Picnic. Pete will be bringing the plane with him to the meeting. But feel free to check out the plane and all the details of the auction on the club website under the "Raffle" page. Also Patrick Tuxbury "ECSF Webmaster" has been continuing to update the website, so if you get a chance definitely check it out. We will also be unveiling some of this years plans for picnics and activities. It looks to be a very exciting and informative meeting this month. So I hope you all can make it out to support Joe Acosta and the club.

Click here for directions to the Foxon Recreational Community Center.

Upcoming Events and Meetings:

2009 East Coast Swamp Flyers Picnic Schedule:

May 24th - Memorial Day Picnic Fun Fly:
All members and their families are welcome and encouraged to come. This year, we will be holding a potluck for food. A list of items will be put up on the website.

June TBD - Extreme RC Combat Event, "Battle of Midway II":
RC Pilots will team up (5 pilots each team) and duel each other in the skies above the swamp attempting to cut their opponents streamers. Pilots will also attempt to cut their opponents balloons that are suspended 15 feet in the air and positioned at each end of the field. The balloons represent each team's fleet of ships. But with each fleet comes a barrage of Anti-Aircraft Guns. So each team will also have their own team of 10 paintball gunners protecting their fleet. The Event will consist of 8 rounds of combat, with each round lasting 10 minutes. We are expanding the event this year and allowing members from any club to join in on the fun. Our goal is to have 20 or more pilots so each pilot will fly four rounds. And 40 or more paintball gunners so they as well will participate in four rounds each. As in past events, their will be no scoring, just an insane amount of fun. More information will be communicated as further details are determined.

September 13th - Neighbors' Picnic Fun Fly:
All neighbors, members and their families are welcome and encouraged to come. Food will be supplied by the club and we are hoping to have some great demonstrations.

October 18th - ECSF Annual IMAA Fly In:
This year we will be continuing on last year's successful IMAA event by hosting another one at the swamp. After all the positive comments we received from participants of last year's event, we are hoping to draw in more participants, more amazing aircraft, and more money for the club. Can't wait for this one.

2009 ECSF Club Meetings:

February 18th:
Joe Acosta, owner of "Build Right Fly Right Hobbies", will bring in and discuss some of the new electronics and gadgets of our hobby.

March 18th:
Jim Feathers will be demonstrating how to cut foam wings.

April 15th:
Mark Castiglione Owner of "Branford Hobbies" will bring in and demonstrate some amazing building and spray painting techniques that he successfully uses on his own models.

May 20th:
Builders Contest and Swap Meet. This year we will again be allowing members to enter any model they have as long as it has not been entered in past builders contests. It doesn't matter how old it is or what it is, bring it out and show it off. We just want to make this all about participation and having a good time. The contest will have 4 classes: Sport, Scale, Aerobatic, and Helicopter. Whatever you bring, we will make it fit into one of these classes. Each class will have prizes for first and second place and a grand prize for best in show. For judging, instead of using individual judges that may not all judge the same, we have decided to use the members. The club members will be the judges. Each member will receive a judging form and make their choices for 1st & 2nd for each category, and a best in show. Also during the Builders Contest we will be holding our first ever swap meet. Bring in any and all items you wish to sell or trade. This will be a great way to clear out your shop and maybe find something new you didn't have.

Upcoming Programs:

Training Program:

David Teer has stepped forward and will be heading up the Training Program for this flying season. Chris Petriccione (Safety Officer) after many years of running an extremely successful training program, he has decided to step down as the head instructor, but will continue to help out as a fellow instructor. David Teer is currently working on recruiting more instructors and more importantly new students. So if you are interested in becoming an instructor please contact myself, Adam Martin (ECSF Secretary) at ecsfsecy@gmail.com and I will forward the information to Dave.

Sponsorship Program:

In an effort to increase membership and bring in new students for our growing instructor program, Dennis Keegan (Treasurer) has created the Sponsorship Program. Effective immediately any club member that brings in a total of three new FULL members (non-youth, non-spousal, non-trial, non-Park Pilot) will have his/her 2010 ECSF dues waived. I personally feel this is an excellent program that will help the club, help the current members, and more importantly help the new members learn and prosper in this great hobby.

Club House Fund:

Our President Joe Malec has created a new fund program to help pay for a steel container that will become our new club house. This fund will be tracked on a large poster board chart and will be put on the website. We will be raising funds through member contributions, funds raised from picnics, monthly raffles, and annual raffles including the entire amount raised for Pete Johnson's plane he donated. Our goal is to raise $2,500.

Field Construction & Condition Update:

I was out at the field this past Sunday and the snow is pretty much totally gone. The ride in is a little muddy but no problem. Even with all the moisture, the field is still felt pretty firm. So if you can withstand the cold, enjoy!

Thank you and I hope to see you all at the meeting this Wednesday, February 18th. Now please enjoy the very well written and informative Aircraft Review.

Adam Martin
ECSF Secretary

Aircraft Review:

To see the Stevens AeroModel SOARstik Aerial Photography Plane Review - Part 1, click here.