Issue #17 Fort Bragg, California November, 2005
The Fog Busters finally held a meeting at the flying field one week later than the time I announced in the previous newsletter but, oh well, at least the Fog Busters had a meeting! Old Business, new business, treasure's report, blah, blah, etc. etc. It is hard for me to sit there and listen to all that stuff when the flying weather is perfect. I wish we would schedule our meetings on rainy days but, in spite of it all, some things were decided and announced.
We are going to move the parking area for our vehicles back from the pit/assembly area. We will have to carry our stuff a bit farther but we will be in compliance with AMA rules. We also voted to up the club membership dues to fifty dollars per year. When it costs four hundred dollars to get the tall grass around our field mowed, thirty five dollars per year just wasn't "cutting it"!
For a couple of previous weeks we had been ruminating about the upcoming annual club holiday dinner and were shocked at what the various restaurants are charging now days. I came up with the bright idea of doing a potluck for a change. We could get a crew together and clean up Dick Lucas's shop, hang a couple strings of Christmas lights, maybe decorate a tree. Borrow some card tables and chairs. Save us some bucks.
Then the club wives got wind of my idea...
Our
Annual
Holiday Club
Dinner will be December 18th
at The Warf
down on Noyo Harbor
Happy Hour 6PM Dinner 7PM
Fixed price $32 per head. Drinks extra.
Bite the bullet and come on out. It is always a good time
and a great dinner. See you
there!
***
There is a great story going around the club about what happened over at Lake Mendocino recently. I won't mention any names.....
Club President Neil Van der Wende had a plane on floats that had not been flown in a while. Dick Lucas was helping him get it started. There were a few small problems like the on/off switch was intermittent and the engine didn't want to run but finally, after enough fiddling around, they got it fired up and taxiing out onto the lake. Neil's transmitter antenna was shaking badly but Neil said it was "just the wind". Anyway, Neil poured the coal to her and away she went. Lift off, tip stall and spin around back onto the lake. Engine's still running so Neil tries again. Again lift off, tip stall and around back onto the lake. The transmitter antenna is really whipping now but Neil gooses it again! Up, around and down! Suddenly Neil says he has no control!! The plane is doing high speed circles on the lake! It ain't flying but it ain't stopping either. Steve Kooyer's runs to the rescue! He grabs the seat pad out of his canoe, wades out and throws it in the path of the plane as it comes around. Splat! The plane hits the pad, hops right over it..., and keeps on going for another lap!!
Steve wades over to his canoe and grabs his paddle. Nothing left to do but club it!!
Suddenly the plane straightens out and come streaking straight for shore and the spell bound club members! "Run!! Run!"
Off the lake and up the beach it comes and crashes into the backside of Dick Lucas's "Better Best Yet" which is sitting on floats! Neil's engine continues to chew up the tail feathers on Dick's plane and will not quit until the prop finally hits some substantial fuselage parts!! Wow!
Most amazing! Everyone agreed it was worth the price of admission! :-).
Ron and Pearlene Cowan recently bought a camp trailer and a new pick-up to pull it. They decided they wanted to try out what I have been talking about; visiting flying fields and camping.
We took off on a Friday and went to the Tehama County Condor's flying field over in the Central Valley at Corning. We alerted club president, Jim Hand, that we were coming and he alerted the Condor's club members who came out Saturday and Sunday and joined in the fun. They are a great bunch of guys and good flyers.
But there were also times we had the whole place to ourselves and it was wonderful to have a beautiful blacktopped runway and NO trees. Perfect conditions to practice our flying skills. The above photo shows Ron Cowan bringing home his Phaeton II.
Since we were having so much fun and the weather was hanging in we decided to move forty miles up the road to Red Bluff's Ash Creek field Monday and Tuesday!! Tuesday afternoon the weather started changing as you can see in the above photo. All told, during five days of flying I burned almost a gallon of fuel through my OS 46 FX on my Pietenpol Air Camper. Mike Brown and some of the club members showed up both days and we got to see some of the big gassers that club has. The club even has flushing toilets which can be seen just beyond my VW camper. Ash Creek is a very nice field with Mt. Lassen to the East and Shasta straight north up the runway! The battery in my camera ran out so I didn't get any photos of Ron Cowan's new GMC Diesel Pickup and trailer combo!! Next time Ron. Promise.
Closer to home... and back amongst the trees...
Ron Cowan taking the trainer up with Cory on the buddy box. Dennis waiting for his turn. It is really nice to have new members in our club.
And finally, here is Dick Lucas taking Paul Johnson's Cub up for its first flight after Dick repaired it. Next, Dick is going to install a set of floats. Then it goes back to Paul and hopefully Paul will start joining us for some float flying at Lake Mendocino.
That's about all I know.
See ya at our field.
Your humble editor, Ron Bloomquist