Stetson Flyers

On Saturday August 24th, Stetson RC Flyers held our Scale event. Traditionally, this event was strictly for giant scale aircraft but this year we opened it up to scale aircraft any size. It had a bit of a confusing name but it seems to have worked, this year. 

 We really couldn’t have asked for a better day weatherwise. Winds were light, the sky was mostly clear and it wasn’t too hot. As CD of the event, I had all my volunteers lined up, On flight line we had Kevin, Greg, Tony, Charlie, Mark and Alain. Hal did an amazing job as usual of photos and this year we had a little something special. All cooked up in my devious little mind. 
 

 The club had a very nice Top Flite Cessna 182 donated to it. This plane was completely built, with LED lights, fibreglass cowl, an Evolution 15 gas engine and all the scale bits and bobs to make this plane a real looker. My idea was, that for every full flight put in, the pilot would get a raffle ticket for said airplane. Therefore, the more flights the pilot flew, the more chances they had to win the 182. Thanks to Robert for taking the task of ticket dispenser.
 

It was an unseasonably cool and blustery morning, although a much better upgrade from the weather a week before. As I arrived at the field with my cup of Timmie’s in hand, I saw our stalwart, ever-present president already at our field and getting things set up.

As we discussed the sub-optimal weather conditions, the wind was blowing steadily from the north, the sky was a solid grey, and the  temperature was around the 13° mark (REALLY glad I brought my Kenora dinner jacket and a windbreaker) and we were wondering what the attendance was going to be like.

As the morning progressed, the parking lot quickly filled up and at 9:00, Pierre led the pilot’s meeting, the usual rules as per MAAC and such. After that we held a brief memorial ceremony for our friends no longer with us, Sue MacDonald, Jim Denyer and Jason Hlaing. A quick word from Mike Lalonde about the spot landing contest and from yours truly and we were on our way. 

Early on New Year’s Day, 20 members gathered at our snowless airfield for our annual first flight of the year.

The temperature was about -6c with light winds. At 9:00 o’clock, 8 electric planes lined up for take-off, and Rick Ramalho “officially” got the honours of being the first one in the air in 2024, earning bragging rights and a small prize, a pair of MLG skis.

A short time later, we had 2 participants for the Glow/IC category. Gary Robertson initially had a quick start-up and was confidently heading for the flight line, while Greg Oliver patiently ran his engine on the bench, but Gary’s engine stopped while in transit, which brought him back to his own bench. Both pilots finally lined up ready to go and Greg’s plane was off the ground seconds before his opponent. Which earned Greg bragging rights for 2024 and a small prize, a tail-wheel ski,
There was lots of fun and cheering.