Issue #10 Fort Bragg, California April, 2005
Being gone for two months inspecting Death Valley flowers I return to discover I have been selected to be the editor of this rag. Former editor Ron Cowan got promoted to Club Secretary replacing Dick Lucas who wanted a break. That’s what I get for missing a couple meetings. Anyway. Here goes.......
The club's new (used) riding mower is a fine pieced of equipment and doing the job.
Saturday April 30. The combat crowd showed up at our Fog Buster’s field around 10:00~10:30 AM. Even the Kooyer Brothers and their driver arrived from over the hill! Jim Murphy brought his usual groupies. Steve Dunlap brought his wife and kids. Ross Tompkins had his son along. It was nice to have witnesses for what was about to go down.
As in times past I refused to lower my standards to combat level and was, once again, “The Timer”. Ron Cowan got sucked into the combat "Furball" after relentless taunting from Steve Dunlap plus Dunlap’s gift of a used S.P.A.D. Dick Lucas was given a loaner but was successful in not getting it to fly!!
So.... Me, being the timer, here’s the drill. Blow the air horn, two minutes to get started and flying. Blow the horn, four minutes to kill each other. Blow the horn, one minute to get on the ground and extra points for knocking the water bottle off the highway cone out in the middle of the field.
Here's what it looked like before the carnage began. Everyone up and having at it!
Four heats later there were broken props, stripped servos, lacerated wings, busted motor mounts, Ron Kooyer's plane stuck high in a Redwood tree and Jim Murphy’s plane, “Over there somewhere west of the rock quarry". The highlight of the event?... Ron Cowan crashing mid-air into Steve Dunlap with the plane Dunlap gave him! Perfect!
Ross Tompkins ended up point leader for this event. Dunlap will be sending out a combat newsletter for those keeping score! Everyone headed home agreeing the Fog Buster's combat season was off to a good start.
Sunday May 1st Dick Lucas flew his RotoPlane and The Kooyer Brothers returned with a tree climber who successfully retrieved Ron's combat plane. We held a club meeting in the shade at the picnic tables and I won't bore you with the details except to say we are still solvent and most everyone paid up. It was requested that I do the newsletter "on-line" as most folks now have e-mail and a browser. I will snail mail the luddites among us.
Jim Murphy spent an hour thrashing around in the brush and spotted two planes and later retrieved them. One was Steve Dunlap's which had gone missing several years ago!
May 7th Saturday. A pretty good turnout of weekend flyers. Scott Wilhelmi showed up with the smallest flying electric plane I have ever seen. I think he said the wing span is eight inches. I'm sorry I didn't take a photo of it. Next time. Gene Hollaway had his electric Slowstick flying. Ross and Murphy got in a combat round. Ron Cowan flew his Four Star.
And here's the "3D Spirit" ARF I bought, built, and destroyed in a span of three days setting, I believe, a new club record!
Note: Saturdays, weather permitting, seem to be the best turnout day at our field. 8:00 till noon before the winds get fluky. Sunday's are the next best attended. Weekdays are again possible now that the logging show is over in the area of our flying field but be careful driving in and out. Gravel trucks and logging trucks are on the main road. Happy flying!
Your humble editor. Ron Bloomquist (Ron Three)