Called to order at 7:00 pm by President Nikolei Zinsli
Members present: 14
Guests present: Matt Werdon and sons
Review of the Minutes of the June meeting – no corrections, additions, or deletions.
Motion to approve by: Mark Schmaltz
Seconded by: Danny Osborn
Vote: carried
Financial Report presented by Nikolei Zinsli.
No questions. Total membership as of 6/30/12 is 76.
Motion to accept by: Mark Schmaltz
Seconded by: Ed Bradley
Vote: carried
New member Matt Werdon and his 2 sons were voted in. He is from Caledonia and has been flying for under 2 years. Please make him feel welcome!
OLD BUSINESS:
Nikolei reported on the Memorial Fly-In which was on June 16th. There were 20 registered pilots and a good number of family members visiting. Several members from the West Michigan R/C club showed up and we were glad to have them! Half a dozen pilot prizes were given away, ranging from CA glue to a prop balancer. A donated WM Park Flyers McFoamy was raffled off to Ed Bradley. $48 was earned from the McFoamy raffle, and $52 from food donations.
Danny Osborn reported on the silent auction of Ron Rickersons donated items during the Memorial Fly-In. Almost everything found a new home and the club earned $180.50.
Nikolei reported that the club resource library is under way. Airagestore.com had a 50% off sale running for the 4th of July holiday, so he got quite a good deal on several items. A total of 9 books and one Model Airplane News online membership was purchased for only $77. The login for the MAN website will be sent via email. A system for checking out the materials hasn’t been developed yet.
George Orphan was not present to report on the progress of a weather station plan, but he had mentioned earlier in the week that it has not been looked into yet.
Dan McLaren was not present, but reported that there had been no reply from the land owners yet, so the flying time change on Sunday is still on hold.
Mark Schmaltz confessed he had not setup a Fun-Fly date yet, but will get with Danny to set one up possibly in August.
Nikolei made plans to have Danny Osborn get the raffle plane to Riders for display.
NEW BUSINESS:
Nikolei asked around for comments on what everyone liked or didn’t like about the Memorial Fly-In and how to encourage more attendance. Tim mentioned that for some reason, there was a lack of flying as there was typically only one pilot up at a time. Someone mentioned that we need to make sure the surrounding clubs are notified of our events with enough notice. Mark said he does email his club leader list with our functions, but will try and send them earlier. Lee noted that he thinks the biggest contribution we could do is make sure KRAM attends the surrounding clubs’ functions as much as possible.
Mark Schmaltz reported on planning for the July 21st Club Picnic. Setup will begin at 8am. While Marks name was on most of the signup sheet that was passed around, he noted that so far the club hasn’t let him down as far as members coming to help in the morning. However, many hands make light work…so please come out early and lend a hand. Mark brought some ideas for games and activities for the kids (and kids at heart) so the picnic would be more of a family function and more fun for the kids. One plan is to buy a box of the cheap balsa gliders and let the kids decorate and then fly them in a distance contest. Other suggestions included some Nerf footballs and a water balloon catch. If you have other ideas, please let Mark know asap. Mark also asked for and was given permission to buy a couple more of the nice light plastic 8′ tables. So, bring your whole family out for a good time. Don’t forget a dish to pass!
Mark then switched gears to discuss the possibility of hosting an IMAC scale aerobatics competition next year. Mark and Nikolei attended a recent one in Jackson and met with the CD and IMAC regional director to find out exactly what it would take. The main requirement is really just making sure we have enough hands on deck to help with setup, scribing for the judges, entering scores on the laptop, running food & concessions, etc. The IMAC crew handles their own judging, so all they need is a place to fly. Most will camp on site starting Friday or find a local hotel. The field would be closed to open flying most of Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday. The contest entry fees and concession income would be an excellent fund-raiser for the club and it could bring some good publicity as well. Mark will table the discussion until this fall when its closer to the time we have to set a date with IMAC.
Tim Power noted that Jim Heist made a couple of plane restraint hollow spikes for his metal plane restraints so we wouldn’t need a sledgehammer to get ours in the ground when it’s dry. There are several sunk into the grass and painted neon green. Slide your restraint spike down into it and you’re good to go! Thanks Jimmy.
The new nametags have arrived. If you are new to the club within the last 2 years and don’t have one, check in the channel pin box for yours.
Lee Frederickson discussed that it’s time the club make a decision on whether we look for a ‘less smelly’ spot on the owners’ property. We’ve had to put aside several club improvement discussions until we make this decision, and he said we’ve waited long enough. Several members noted they haven’t had much issue with the smell and suggested we stay where we are. I’m not aware of the boundaries of his property, but we would likely have trees, swamp and/or slopes to deal with no matter where else we go. A final discussion and vote will happen next month, so PLEASE come out and voice your opinion!
The July meeting attendance winner was Tim Power who walked away with a free 4-stroke glow plug.
Next meeting: August 7, 2012 at 7:00pm at the field
Meeting adjourned.
Motion by: Allen Simpson
Seconded by: Ed Bradley
