Tag: Durham

Indoor Flying is Here!

Check the Calendar for the Georgetown, MA and Glastonbury, CT flying dates.

See you in the gym!

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Baby Glider mass launch at the Durham Turkey Fly!
Kash with the Rittmeister’s winning Roland D2
A pretty Guillow’s Piper Supercruiser at the 11/4 Woodsom Farm meet
Bird Dog launch at Spencer-Peirce Little Farm, Newbury, MA
Another Chameleon One Design model. Check the One Design page for Plan & Rules download.

Club Meetings too!

Hey there clubsters, Turkey Day is long passed and we have a lot to catch you up on.  Let’s get on with it!

Club Meetings @ Georgetown MA Library

Yep, we all miss the meetings at Jim F’s Golden Age Repro headquarters.  So we’ve started up a new monthly club meeting at the Georgetown, MA public library.  Check the Coming Events in the sidebar, or the Calendar for the Monday 6-8pm meeting dates. Click the event link for the library address.

Indoor Dates Posted

All indoor flying & contest dates for both the Georgetown, MA and Glastonbury, CT gyms have been posted to the Calendar and will appear in the Coming Events in the sidebar on this site.  The Georgetown Event Flyers will be posted soon.

Better get cracking on your Chameleon as these indoor flying dates are here!

Outdoor Flying Season Closes

The outdoor flying season closed with a rush of activity.  Two excellent meets were held on Nov 4 and Nov 12 at Woodsom Farm (Amesbury, MA) and Whites Farm (Durham, CT).  Memories of fine weather and great flights will help keep clubsters inspired during the winter months.   Check out the pics in the sidebar and the Amesbury Nov 4 results below.

November 4 Meet Results 1

November 4 Meet Results 2

See you in the gym(s), or at the club meetings skyster!

Latecoere Rescue & June 24 Ipswich Meet

Fly at the Pony Express Field in Ipswich, MA on Saturday June 24!

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John K. came with a trunkload of models. The near-finished Howard Ike racer from the Cleveland Plan shows a lot of promise!
Rick P and his Flying Aces Flea rubber sport and duration model. Love that color scheme!
Sam B. with his SuperCapacitor powered Dumas Aeronca Champion
Vance G’s beautiful Latecoere 26-2 before being treed in Durham
Flying Aces Scale and GHQ Peanut Scale results from the Jun 11 Durham meet..
Vance G’s Latecoere teeters at the end of a 50ft retrieval pole. Model was brought down to the ground with minimal damage.

Air/Tree Rescue in Durham!

Free flight model airplanes and trees.  An inevitable combination. 

But first, remember there’s another meet coming up June 24 in beautiful Ipswich, MA.  Check the Flyer HERE for Directions and key contacts.

OK, back to Pinkham Field in Durham on June 11.  The weather in the morning was near-perfect, with light and variable breezes.  Many high and long flights were put up.

The breeze picked up by afternoon, however, and Vance G had only to get one more official flight in on his Latecoere 26 FAC Scale model.  The inverted flight time scoring should give it an edge against higher bonus point models.  Unfortunately, the wind carried the Latecoere off course and it was last seen disappearing into the top of a tree at the edge of the field.   The famed Stott Air-Tree Rescue Service sprang into action. 

The youthful eyes of William S spotted the Latecoere deep in branches and leaves 50 feet up an un-climbable tree.   The outlook for recovery was bleak.

Paul S broke out the old aluminum pole and, aided by Tom N, began bolting the telescoping sections together.  The fully extended pole  was snaked between branches eventually reaching the model.  A superzoom camera was used to guide the hook on the pole tip directly underneath the model.   A gentle arms-length push and incredibly, the model was lifted out the topside of the tree.  Retrieval still looked doubtful.

Vance weighed his options as the model swayed back and forth on the whippy tip of the pole.  He trusted the team.   With Tom holding the base, Paul used both hands and all his strength to pull the pole out of the branches.  Miraculously, the pole came out of the tree and the model mostly held together.  The Latecoere was mercifully released from the tip as the pole was brought to the ground.  An exhale of relief and laughter – the Stott Air-Tree Rescue Service had come through again!

Stuff like this is what makes the Flying Aces Club great.

Check out the sidebar pics for more on the June Durham meet.

See you at the Pony Express Field in Ipswich on June 24!

 

Waywayanda Meet Pics & June Meet Flyers

See you at the Sunday June 11 (Durham, CT) and Saturday June 24 (Ipswich, MA) Contests!

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Contest Director Matt K retrieves his Embryo model on his motorbike
Sam B launches his electric supercapacitor powered ducted fan scale model
Vance G flew his 54in span Nene Viking in the Giant Scale event.
PA-based Tom H scans the field as he works on his new Boeing twin flying wing. This model won the Giant Scale event.
Oliver S. prepares his high-flying Folkerts SK3 Greve Racer for a morning flight.
An idyllic early morning scene at Barron Field in Waywayanda, NY
The lush sod glimmers as the sun comes up over Barron Field in Waywayanda, NY. Eight hardy fliers, including your Stealth Sqdn correspondent, camped out on the field.

Fine Weather, Field & Friends

What more can a Free Flight Model Airplane enthusiast ask for?  Yep, all model meets are fun, but weekends like May 27-28 on Barron Field are what memories are made of. 

Two consecutive days of sunshine and sub-5mph winds enabled spectacular thermal flights and friendly competition between some of the top flyers on the East Coast.  The FAC Scale events created a quandary as competitors had to decide whether to put in official flights on a beautiful Saturday, or wait for the even better forecast weather on Sunday.   Kudos to Contest Directors Matt K and Vic N for setting a tone that encouraged keen competition, lots of fun flying and good ‘ol Flying Aces Club camaraderie. 

Many “max” flights (2 minutes or longer) were to be seen.  Several  models were lost OOS (out of sight), but many max flights stayed on the field due to the light drift.

Eight flyers camped overnight on the field.  Friday night was cold with the temp  dropping to 42 degrees, but the early morning and late evening flying more than compensated.  Michael S’s birthday was celebrated with no fewer than three of Soon’s Orchard best pies.  Delicious!

Check out the Photos Page for more pics in addition to those shared here.

June Meets Coming up!

If you haven’t got your calendars marked yet, hop to it as time is flying!  Don’t miss another opportunity to fly Free Flight with the Stealth Sqdn gang.  No worries if you don’t have a model – we’ll set you up if you show up at the field.

Two meets – click the links below to view the Event Flyers with Directions and Key Contacts.

Sunday June 11 at Whites Farm in Durham, CT

Saturday June 24 at Pony Express Field in Ipswich, MA

September 18 Fall Fly-In Meet – Durham CT

 

join us!

The next local meet is this coming Sunday Sept 18 at Whites Farm in Durham, CT about a 2hr drive from Boston. 

View the full contest flyer which includes the event roster, Contest Director contact info, etc. 

Directions to Whites Farm in Durham

Several Stealth Sqdn members will be attending and competing to represent our club.  Make the drive and join in the fun!