Sincraft:

Actually, we do indeed have it pretty good here.

We're a fairly large club, and successful with our events, so our dues stay low. With all we offer to our membership our dues are still just $20/year. And we're putting up three metal buildings at the Escambia park, their cost is coming out of the general fund, and there will still be a nice balance after they are paid for.

So now you're even more jealous.

Bill.

You have to have people that dontate above the general membership I would think to afford all those things. The land alone with taxes and insurance is probably astronomically expensive. I'd love to know the dirty little details so I would know how much to spend on an airfield. I am seriously thinking of starting something in my area that is nice and doesn't require your first born to join...

Thanks Tom.

S

Sin:

I'll take you roughly through the "Escambia Model Port," where we have "Rae Fritz Field."

The site is what was a badly contaminated land fill, thanks to a bankruptcy of the polluter the ground became Escambia County property. Then came the EPA and the "Superfund," filling in over the nasties, and installing vents here and there. It will be at least 50 years before any building can be done on it.

It is mildly rolling ground, a grassy meadow, sloping down to the river at the south end. About 150 acres. We were given a lease to 50 acres on the north end. The county has put a chain link fence around the entire plot, with a partitioning fence around our area.

Driving into our area you park on a cinder lot, about 150' by 400'. To your left are our metal buuildings in a row, the two on the ends are open walled, with all weather carpet floors, these are the pit areas. The carpet, when oil soaked can be easily replaced, and being relatively soft a dropped part will be less likely to be damaged than it would be hitting the paved slab in the center building. The center building is open walled on three sides, one end is enclosed as our equipment shed. It is our "Outdoor Cafe." All three are wired for 110v power. Withing six months we'll put up two more pit buildings, one at each end.

Going past the buildings there is a barrier fence to keep runaway planes out of the pits and the cafe, then you come to the pilot stations near the runway. At each end on the runway, there is an engine starting area, with a short taxiway entering the runway at the side - the starting pads are at 90 degrees to the runway so traffic is not over them.

If you leave the parking area going in the other way you come to two control line circles, one paved, the other grass.

Not far away is the pond. The water here is clean, not to worry. roughly 150' by 600'. For boats and float fliers.

And there is an area for the model car boys' off road race track.

Finally, the 50 odd acres for model operations has its own chanlink fence.

All in all, it's pretty nice.

And now the cost.

We have a ten year renewable lease, annual cost zero. The county deprtment of parks and recreation has ceded control of the area to our local model clubs organization. And the fences have all been out up at their (county's) expense, and the access roads were also paved by the county P&R department.

One of our members is a paving contractor, the material for paving was overage from other jobs, and cost us nothing. He and some of his workers came out and did the paving as volunteers, again no cost.

Another member, a landscaping contractor, donated the sod to surround the runway. Another freebie. Our members did have to place it, but we didn't charge ourselves for the labor.

Many of our members have put things in as donations to the club, not only for this field, but the others as well. I put six dry chemical fire extinguishers in myself. No cost to the club.

The supply of cinders for the parking area? The local power company was happy for us to haul it away.

We did have to pay out cash bucks for the buildings and footings. The power wiring? Another contractor.

Since we already had insurance coverage for six fields, a simple rider added the new one to the existing policy. And as I mentioned before, we just added another field. We now have eight. Our insurance bill is one of very few continuing expenses we have, and it's not exorbitant.

Our total expenditure of cash for the entire complex has been less than $5000, due mainly to the efforts of Rae Frtiz.

Rae has worked for several years on this project, has had correspondence with not only the county administration, but also the EPA and the state government, all the way to a couple letters to and from Jeb Bush, the governor of Florida.

And we named it "Rae Frtiz Field," at the Escambia County Model Port. I suggested that since fields were supposed to be named in honor of a person's memory we should take Rae out and shoot him, but Rae objected. So we bucked tradition and put his name on it anyway.

Rae did have some assistance from others of us, but he was the driving force, the real spark plug of the project.

Almost any area will have a land fill, lok around and find it, With some work your club can do the same thing we did here.

Bill.

S,

Your project looks well under way and is starting to look like a plane. So far, so good.

S,,,,,,, Catch that thing Bill said. He said their event is successful. Ask him more about that.

There are several clubs in my town and most of the members get involved in the local town's yearly festival. I know for a fact that some of the clubs have BIG CD's in the bank drawing interest. NOT a Medonna CD either. ha One club has over $17k and another has $14k. They do it selling burgers & cokes & T-Shirts etc. The festival is in its 20th year and shows no signs of wanning. Many hands make light work and big accounts for spending during the year for whatever the club membership votes to do with the dough.

The trick is getting the other members interested in having something like your dream flying field and getting them to work together for it one weekend out of the year. More weekends if you have several festivals around and enough guys willing to do something.

It works GOOD around here.

elad

Bill,

HA HA HA HA ha ha ha ha ha.

I can't quit laughing about your suggestion to take Rae out and shoot him.

That's gratitude, ha ha ha.

elad

Bill,
I hope you guys take a shower when you get home and wash your clothes seperate from your others. Of course unless it is halloween. You can be a glowing ghost.

Yea, there was a place like that near Pittsburgh, they threw 3 inches of topsoil over it and built over it anyway. It houses offices now.

Glad to see your government did something good with that land and helped you guys out. Nice to also see you have so many volunteers. My club is small and consists of probably 14 active members. We have 40+ on the registry however. Only 3 of which, MAYBE 4 are worth much of anything towards doing anything for the club. Of which two are very old and you won't be seeing them do much labor activities toward helping out with the club. They will bend over backwards to help you otherwise though. The president of the club hasn't been seen flying in over 10 years. He says he never has the time, but for some reason still shows up at the meetings which heeh are at his house and at the airfield. It is mostly just a bunch of old guys that sit around talking about everything other than RC.

I wish I could take that over and have that walking trail moved away from the field. Possibly extend things out further. One lady was giving me a dirty look as I was on my final approach; I look over as I notice her walking past the pavilion and she is looking at me like I am spoiling her peaceful serene walk. Luckily it was windy and I had to abort my landing. Thus I flew over her head at about 20 feet and went throttle up to pull above the trees. The genius that planned that was amazing. I think they thought it would be something to see, and I agree that walkign trail running past certain things for scenery is nice, but I don't see the walking trail going through the outfield of a softball field, or besides the 4 lane highway either.

Welp, back to work on the plane. I put in about 3 hours yesterday, mostly filling cracks and sanding. Doing alot of 1/8 balsa sheeting on the curve part of the fuse now. fun fun fun.


S

Sin:

This is a very old site, and it's actually clean down to three or four feet. Perfectly safe to roll in the grass.

There is still a small area mildly warm, but safe to walk through. And it is enclosed by a separate fence. We do have a gate there for lost plane recovery if needed.

This is one of the sites that has been cleaned successfully.

Bill.

Elad, Get any flying in after work? Too windy here, but I got the retract mounts in the Focke Wulf. Time well spent. Don, his girlfriend Dawn, and I went to a high hill overlooking a river valley to look at the fall colors. WOW!!!. It was worth the time away from the plane. Later

Tom,

I did go out to the field to watch the other guys but didn't take my plane I knew I'd be too tired after working 12 hours.

I think I mentioned that the fly-in for that weekend had been canceled. Well they had it anyway. I missed the e-mail notification that it was back on. At work that morning my supervisor asked for volunteers to take the day off. So I, thikning that the fly-in was canceled, opted to stay at work.

When I got to the airport after work the guys started telling me about the fella who came in with the show stopping Ultimate Bipe. They said one of the maneuvers he did was to fly the plane full speed level, then suddenly pull straight up. Instead of doing a vertical climb though the plane immediately went into a stationary hover. I sure would like to have seen the plane and him flying it. Oh well, maybe next time.

My job is giving me pains in a lot of ways. I spent my working years very unwisely always giving my workplace, first pace. It hasn't paid off as I expected it to. It's pressures and demands have me getting very serious about changing careers and beginning to reclaim what's left of my very small life.

I've started looking at stick kits to build. I'm not sure I want to get into that. I think starting out building a small kit would be the smartest thing to do, but I sorta think I would enjoy having a giant plane to fly. I'll probably wait until next year, if I'm still in the hobby, to start building a kit. I might even get a 4 stroke, finally.

Great news on the retracts, that's a really nice feature to build in. I know you're going to enjoy that.

And good on the time away from the plane. That's sort of like going down to the shopping mall for the express purpose of girl watching.

later dude,

elad

Elad, Sorry you missed the flyin.
You're not the first person I've heard say that about their job. At some places, the more work you do, the more they give you to do. Somehow they forget the compensation part.
If you decide to build a kit, I'll repeat myself about the TigerII. It's a good airplane that flies very well. I wouldn't go any smaller, because, in my opinion, larger planes fly better. The instructions will lead you through the construction process step by step, with a well illustrated manual. The kit has interlocking parts, making assembly easy. Sincraft has taken on a much more difficult project than this will be. If you were to build the Tiger, I'd bet you could frame it up in a couple of weekends. I framed my first kit (Eagle) in three days. The two planes have very similar construction.
I hope you don't leave the hobby. To me, it's one of the most rewarding things I've ever been involved in. The satisfaction derived from building and flying a craft that you built yourself is impossible to describe.
Keep your chin up. Don't let work get you down. Do what I do after a rough day at work. Come home, and do something related to this great hobby!

Hi dale
work is only work - it is a means to an end -and work is the same the world over- I happen to have a job that is satisfing to me and I can use my hand skills every day but you know what- the expectations are high- the crisises never end -and the pay sucks I have been an optician /lab rat for 30+ years and around here there is nowhere else to go- we live in a tourist destination town where the motto is A VIEW OF THE BAY IS WORTH HALF THE PAY and believe you me the people who run this area really keep that close to their heart. Dont get me wrong the country is gorgeous but all the working people say" drain the bay double my pay"- I like what I do but I need frustration relief , so I do wood craft, fly airplanes, build airplanes, design airplanes, fix airplanes, plus all the rest of the stuff that life likes to dump on a guy. Best thing to do is set some goals for -days -weeks and months When I knew my marriage was going to h#ll I set goals to build my garage- get my shop up and running then stand back and decide where and what to do next . So my advise is- go buy that four stroke- then decide which plane- the plane and covering will easily take your mind off work for a month or two- the engine and radio setup will be head scratchers for another month. If your fast like me you can condense all that into a couple weeks but if it is your first build go slow find a buddy just a little ahead of your skills to help and bounce ideas off of- Kick back -open another Coke- pour another coffee and say "a bad day with airplanes is better than any day at work"

always smiling, Don

Tom, Don,

Thanks for the heads up on work and the hobby.

I've had a few jobs I liked a lot. I need to build one of those about now.

A means to an end? Uh hu, I think the one I have now means this is the end. ha

I'm through crying now!!!

This Friday and Saturday I'm looking forward to a training session each day. I hope I can find the landing strip most of the time with the Eagle. It will be good to finally get my wings and won't have to wait for dates with the instructor. Some Fridays there are guys out at the field, and most Saturdays more than just a few people show up and fly.

Oh the fly-in wasn't exactly that, it was actually a fun fly. I think I understand the fly-in is a bigger deal. Anyway, there will be others. There are several clubs within a few hours driving distance.

I was into astronnomy for a while the last couple of years. I built most of the telescopes I used and enjoyed the views enough to crave something with higher quality glass and bigger aperature than I have. I made a few 50mm scopes and a few 70mm scopes of different focal lengths. Views of the Moon were great. I could easily see the rings around Saturn and sometimes see the bands of Jupiter. I could never find Uranus or Neptune, but I did see Venus in its cresent phase, even at around 10:00 AM. My tripod and mounts were all home made and had to be moved by hand almost continuously.

What's that got to do with Eagles and 4 strokes? Nut'n honey.

elad

Dale, We just don't want you to be depressed. This hobby is a wonderful escape from the real world. Use it to your advantage. It gives us all something to look forward to. You know, like flying this weekend.

Tom
I keep reminding you- airplanes are the reality- the JOB is just (fantasy) a nightmare
Don

My fantasy is to spend more time with airplanes than I do at work!!!

Dale trust me I know how you feel. I get paid about 1/3 of the average worker and in what I do I am getting paid about 1/2 of what the national average is. Worse, the area sucks yet I don't know where else I would go. I haven't been around much. I was south a few times, but without sounding like a jerk...I didn't spot many caucassians and I don't want to feel like a minority or move into a GIANT apartment complex just to get a better job. Not to mention, I was once in virginia at the end of summer and the heat was too much for me. I hate humidity. I like it warm but don't want to leave the east coast. I am great with computer technology and the management therein. However, I lost my good job right after sept 11 and never found one to compare. I hear 'you are over qualified' constantly. Right now I am not even in my career line of work but do make ends meet which I a relief at least. Everyone complains about money and their jobs. I watch countless blue collar guys in my area making 15-20 an hour complain about their jobs and money while they get 4 weeks vacation and barely put in an 8 hour day. Not to mention they have off during frivilous holidays like today (columbus day).
While I slave away wondering where my big payoff was for going to college and obtaining 10 years hard learned experience in my field.
Like you guys said, it's an ends to a mean. I work to live, not live to work. I figured out slowly and the hard way, that I take on too much responsibility without compensation and receive no after thought kudos even in thought or words. While 2 year 'computer' guys who went to school 'to make big money in the modern day gold rush' rush in and grab a salary entry level that is almost what I am making.

The moral of this story is, live life while you can. Mine is nothing that is to write about, but at least I am trying. I am searching for a new area to live that will satisfy my needs or at least to try a different area. And hopefully all the pegs will line up for me eventually as I get enough experience in both business and computers to write myself at least some sort of a ticket to prosperity or at the very least security for years to come.

Today, I left work 1/2 hour early to go flying. I am proud of myself (expect I lost the screw in my throttle as I was doing a hammerhead stall and had to deadstick) BUT other than that I completely forgot about work, bills, life and just piddled around with the current obsession of my life. Tomorrow is another day. I get good sleep at night to ensure my days don't feel twice as long, and try to make the best of the time I have while free from the bonds of the modern day sweatshops of Amerika (yes I purposely spelled that with a K)

This has been a public service announcement by: Sincraft.

S

Hey guys,

Thanks for the uplift and the sharing of common frusrations . I'm sure I'm just in a phase that will pass. In case it doesn't just pass, I'm starting to look in the help wanted ads and today I left my name at a place advertising for help. I know I don't stand a snowballs chance in Hawaii of getting it because I don't have the exact experience they're looking for and it seems thay aren't accepting substitutes. A career change would be a nice diversion. If nothing else is gained from looking elsewhere I'll have the sense of "trying to do something else."

Once I applied for a job where the HR manager told me I was over qualified. I knew that what he actually meant was that the job he had for me (glove factory line operator)didn't pay (per hour) what the one I had been doing (construction carpenter) paid.

I told him that any time I was over qualified to feed my family I was in BIG trouble. I showed him that the pay he was starting me at was (in the long run) more than I made working at the higher hourly rate because getting to work enough hours to make a living in the construction trade depended too much on the weather.

I was hired and worked at that company for about 5 1/2 years. When I left the company the HR manager voluntarily and unexpectedly wrote me a good recommendation letter and stressed my contributions while I was there. So much for being overqualified for that job. Although it was a nice gesture on part of my HR manager to give me the recommendation letter, I've never thought I needed to use it to get a job.

S, I'm sure you've tried a similar approach to the "overqualification problem." All I can say if it didn't work for you is that the HR managers you talked to weren't as smart as the one I dealt with.

Mainly, I need to get into something less physically demandng. I can hold up to the job for now, but I can see that I won't be able to last but a few more years at the most. The day to day aggravations of my current job are getting on my nerves more lately because of outside stresses that are simply impossible to ignore. Learning the RC hobby, and doing morse code on ham radio, do help alleviate the sreess because both require your full attention, but I have increasingly less free time in which to use them for escape.

All I really need to learn to do is to just go on doing what's necessary and let the rest just happen. In other words I need to grow duck feathers so the aggravations will just ball up and roll away.

ha

And S. I hear you loud and clear. I experience culture clash regularly. It's hard to be held to a high standard personally and then have to witness that a much different standard is tolerated for others in the same circumstances. But, that's life in this day and time. We just have to live with it until we find a way to not have to live with it.

Roy, of Ziegfreid and Roy, recently had it illustrated very well, and much too graphically, that you can take the Tiger out of the jungle, but you can't take the jungle out of the Tiger. Good luck looking and I hope you'll eventually find your way out of the rat race jungle.

The worst thing about the rat race is no matter how fast you can run, pretty soon they find a faster rat to put you up against.

elad

We need to talk ' bout airplanes. It's a much more pleasant subject.

I sure look forward to flying this weekend. Maybe I'll get enough practice in to learn better landings. I did my first loop last lesson. The Eagle handled it well I think and the loop looked tight and clean. I've seen Ron do rolls with my plane. He hasn't taught me to do that yet.

The weather early this morning was warm and windy. This afternoon it turned a bit cool. Short sleeves were nice, but if there was any wind a long sleeve or a light jacket would have been comfortable.

It's the middle of October so it's time to get a little cool. It will be cool and sunny this weekend too according to the forecast. I hope your weather is nice for flying this weekend too.

elad

Elad, Lately the weekend weather has been good on Saturday and not so on sunday. I've been working saturdays. Don and I got out one evening a week ago. Had fun then. Gonna hang my Sportster up for 'till spring, tho. The OS 70 in it is real tired(like me). I ordered a piston, ring and bearings for it. They should be here in a week. Mite be too late,tho, Rain/snow mix forcast for Thursday. I still have 3 or 4 others that I can fly, so it's not a problem. Worked on the Focke Wulf a little tonite. If the weather is bad this weekend, I hope to make some real progress on it. Happy flying!

Elad, Here's a pic of the FW as it is at this point.

Point taken.

Wow that kit looks complicated!

Nice tv in the background. Is it a mandatory tool for kit building? I know it is for me!

Elad, I went flying on Tuesday evening. My throttle screw popped out after I was doing a hammerhead. Unfortunately I was heading to the field behind the pavilion and our normal flying area. When I pulled out of the dive I was only about 50 feet off the ground watching it want to do a 3 point landing (DEAD STICK AHHH) I had enough E behind it to bring it around and point it somewhat near the airfield area. I landed in the tall grass on a slope and almost flipped it. I was happy I was able to figure out my surroundings quick enough to land. I had to cross the walking trail at about 10 feet high. Hopefully I will be able to go on Friday (my day off) but I hear it's going to be COLD. I hope you get more stick time in soon. I think you will find what I have found, that the first flight is still a bit nerve racking...but after that it is pleasurable.

S

Sincraft After you build a few kits, you won't think that it's complicated. The kit came with no instructions, just the prints. I've had to stop and think (shudder) a few times. But it really hasn't been too bad. The fuse was easy, as it's fiberglass. I had to cut out the formers and glue them in. The fin, stab and wing are sheeted foam. The control surfices are built up, and I had to cut out all those pieces. Not bad really as templates for all the parts are on the plans. So far, the hardest part has been fitting the retracts. Gluing the mounts onto foam, you have to make sure they are sturdy. Don helped me with this critical area.




The TV is a necessary part of the shop, just like the stereo. It also helps to have a band saw and table mounted belt sander. These are things you will purchase as time passes and you see how much time and labor they can save you.






Gotta go. The wife just said the pie is ready to eat!!!

Muahha I put away a pumpkin pie (whole) in less than 24 hours. I love that stuff. MMM

Yea, my kit is seemingly easy enough. Some things are left out of the instructions. If you saw the instructions you would laugh. But it mainly affirms what I feel is the next step. It has been pretty much going along without a hitch. A few times I have had to ponder but nothing great. I haven't touched it in a couple days but will make great strides this weekend starting tomorrow evening.

I should have an update soon.

S

Peanutbutter pie. YUM!!!