Kansas City Radio Control Association AMA Charter No. 390 CONTACTS. The Official Newsletter of KCRC

Transcription

1 Kansas City Radio Control Association AMA Charter No. 390 CONTACTS The Official Newsletter of KCRC February 2016 Volume LXII, Issue II AMA News of Work with the US Congress Dear members, Rep. Bill Shuster, who chairs the H o u s e Tr a n s p o r t a t i o n a n d Infrastructure Committee, introduced a n e w d r a f t o f t h e F A A reauthorization bill, titled the "Aviation Innovation, Reform, and Reauthorization (AIRR) Act." This bill is critical to preserving our v o l u n t a r y, c o m m u n i t y - b a s e d approach to the model aviation community across the country. While we are carefully reviewing the bill's language, it is important to note that the Committee recognized the community-based approach under the "Special Rule for Model Aircraft." The language in that section follows very similarly to Section 336 of the 2012 FAA reauthorization bill. We were also pleased to see that the new language recognizes the important role that model aircraft play in STEM education. However, there are still some changes to the bill that could further strengthen and clarify the Special Rule for Model Aircraft. In the weeks ahead, we will be working closely with C h a i r m a n S h u s t e r a n d t h e Committee on our suggested improvements. Continued on Page 2 IN THIS ISSUE AMA News of Work with Congress Page 1 Officers and 2016 Event Schedule Page 2 Minutes of the January Club Mtg Page 3 Susan s Safety Article Page 4 Appreciation Dinner Photos Page 5 & 6 Sway-N-Shop Photos Page 7 Duane Hulen s Go-Fast-Turn-Left 200 MPH Racing Machine Stan Harrington Contemplating Stick Don t miss the February Club Meeting Wednesday the 17 th at the EAA Hanger Lee s Summit Airport Mike Ryken & Whirlybird

2 CONTACTS PAGE 2 We will keep you updated on this important bill and AMA's ongoing work to protect our hobby. As always, thank you for your support of AMA. Dave Mathewson Executive Director On another note I have received this communication from AMA (Editor): We are pleased to announce that AMA members in the Washington, D.C. metro area can resume model aircraft activities inside the D.C. Special Flights Rule Area (SFRA). After weeks of working closely with the FAA to find a resolution, the 14 AMA-charted clubs in the DC metro area can now return to safe operations starting on February 10. On December 25, the FAA more than doubled the airspace around the D.C. metro area that it considers a 'no fly zone.' This meant that, in addition to the longstanding UAS prohibition in the Flight Restricted Zone (FRZ) around Washington, D.C., model aviation enthusiasts could not fly in several Virginia and Maryland counties as well. For our members who have been flying safely in the area for decades, this was unacceptable and AMA was committed to a finding a solution. Thanks to the efforts of AMA s Government Affairs team and your District IV Government Relations Committee, we successfully worked with the FAA to roll back these unnecessary flying restrictions in the SFRA. Today, the FAA updated the conditions for flying in the SFRA, issuing a permanent Notice to Airmen (NOTAM). It is important to note there is no change to the 15nm Flight Restricted Zone in D.C. The FRZ will continue to be a no-fly zone From AMA Government Affairs Team KCRC 2016 Schedule of Events (Remaining) April 30 May 1 Quickie Race (Club help needed) July 23 3-D Poker Fun Fly August 13 National Model Aviation Day September 10 Warbird Fun Fly Flight Training Nights will again be available every Tuesday evening, beginning May 17 th. Club Meetings are held monthly on the 3 rd Wednesday at the EAA Hanger at the Lee s Summit Airport. From May through August Club Meetings will be held at the flying field. Your 2016 Officers Craig White, President kcrcpilot@gmail.com Duane Hulen, Vice-Pres drhulen@sbcglobal.net Tom Safley, Treasurer (816) tomsharsafley@sbcglobal.net John Midgorden, Secretary (816) jomidgorden@me.com Your Board Members Susan Calvin (816) Scalvin47@earthlink.net Gary Fisher (816) garyfisher@earthlink.net Fleming Park Liaison & AMA District VI Representative Jim Cianciolo kcrcpilot@comcast.net Newsletter editor John Midgorden (816) jomidgorden@me.com 2016 Membership stands at 52

3 CONTACTS PAGE 3 MINUTES OF THE JANUARY CLUB MEETING The January 20 th KCRC club meeting, held in the EAA Hanger at the Lee s Summit Airport, was called to order by President Craig White at 7:00 P.M. The other officers present were Treasurer Tom Safley, Vice-President Duane Hulen and Secretary John Midgorden. There were twenty-seven members present. OFFICER REPORTS President Craig asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the November meeting. Motion accepted and approved. Secretary John Midgorden indicated that, based on renewals during this meeting, the 2016 membership stands at 39. He also shared the latest communication from the AMA regarding the new FAA regulation on registering. Vice-President Duane Hughes mentioned that he has 77 table reservations for the Swap-N-Shop event scheduled for February, but there are still a couple of weeks before the event. Treasurer Tom Safely reported the Club is still solvent and shared the current checking account balance. Parks Jim Cianciolo indicated he has turned in the Club s volunteer hours to Parks. Some volunteer hours submitted were of persons that are not registered as volunteers. It is important for these volunteers to fill out the Park form. Midgorden indicated he received the Park form for recording hours available at the Park Admin office. Jim mentioned that a new sign denoting No Dogs Allowed is now posted at the field, but he hasn t asked the Park about it yet. He has not talked to Parks about the port-a-potty issue either, since he has been concentrating on getting the volunteer hours in to the Park. OLD BUSINESS Craig White mention that the Appreciation Dinner is on Saturday of this week. Duane asked whether the guest may need an overhead projector. Craig will ask him. Duane Hulen shared an update regarding Swap-N- Shop.He is encouraging vendors to set up their tables Friday late afternoon/early evening. Tom brought up the issue about sales tax and the changes in Missouri affective January 1 st. Every seller is supposed to have a MO sales tax ID number before the event. Duane will alert the vendors of the new law. NEW BUSINESS Duane Hulen would like to schedule a Quickie Race for April 30 th May 1 st weekend. He will need workers from the Club. John Midgorden moved and Barb Carey seconded a motion to have the quickie race. The members voted in the affirmative. Duane Hulen asked if the Club would like to have a training night again this coming summer. After discussion it was decide to do it again this year and begin the middle of May. Susan mentioned that at a recent EAA meeting concerned was expressed about someone flying a large RC model off the end of one of the airport s runways. There was some confusion regarding whether this is a new occurrence, or one that happened some time ago. Jesse Casteel shared that a guy was at our field flying his drone without AMA and Park pass. After discussion it was suggested that the Park needs to put up a couple of signs indicated the need for a Park Pass and AMA license in order to use the flying site. Jim Cianciolo will look into this with the park. PROGRAM John Midgorden previewed his 2015 KCRC Activities movie. Respectively submitted, John Midgorden, Secretary FEBRUARY MEETING PROGRAM SELECTED HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2015 OSHKOSH FLY IN

4 CONTACTS PAGE 4 SAFETY BRIEFING Recently, I was fortunate to be invited to an FAA/ National Weather Service seminar whose focus was aviation weather. Various subjects were discussed and were very informative. There were classes on aircraft icing, weather radar, weather briefings, and even how to read various types of weather forecasting charts. All the presentations were very informative and one of them even took me back to my flight school days in the late 60 s. (That concerned something called a Skew T, Log P chart which is used to evaluate vertical sections of the atmosphere in numerous locations all over the planet). The whole time I was attending this all day seminar I couldn t help but consider the meteorological investigations of aircraft accidents. As I mentioned in last month s column, the Operations Team in a major accident investigation includes one or more specialists whose sole focus is the way weather may have contributed to the accident. Such specialists comprise the Meteorology Group of the Operations Team. (In other than major accidents this duty, along with all other duties may fall on one, or perhaps only a few, personnel. A daunting task, to be sure). The thing that makes this special task different from others is that much of the evidence that would be useful to the Meteorology Group investigator may have disappeared by the time the investigator gets to the accident site. For example, airframe icing may have melted, airflow patterns will have changed, and rain may have washed evidence away or contaminated other evidence. Snowfall after an accident may cover critical evidence or alter evidence as it s removed, and precipitation may cause terrain to move thus making evidence misleading. While meteorology investigation seems unglamorous it may be one of the most mentally stimulating endeavors. Like a Sherlock Holmes mystery, it may require both inductive and deductive logic. To complete his tasks the investigator actually has a great deal of resources to draw from. The NTSB Aviation Investigation Manual for Major Team Investigations 1 lists numerous sources of information. Some of the more unusual I noticed are TV & radio stations, utility companies, DOD, witnesses (ground & airborne), and internet sites. Some data types include transmissometer data, rainfall records, low level windshear alert system (LLWAS) data, and pilot reports. In addition to these resources the meteorological group investigator will coordinate with other groups to carry out his duties. Groups assigned to the Airworthiness Team can provide information about the position of cockpit controls such as de-icing switches. Other groups Susan Calvin, Safety Officer assigned to the Operations Team can provide data on ATC communications, witness statements and aircraft performance just prior to the crash. As with other areas of accident investigation meteorological analysis can add to future aviation safety. One accident comes immediately to mind from my college days. On 2 August 1985 a Delta Airlines L-1011 crashed at the Dallas, Texas airport killing 136 passengers and an unfortunate driver of a car 2 3. As a result of the meteorological investigation of this accident increased emphasis was placed on research into low level windshear and a relatively recent discovery, the microburst. There was also a recommendation to improve coordination between on-airport rescue facilities and local crashrescue resources. Other improvements to aviation safety included such things as wind direction sensors placed around many air carrier airports. These sensors can alert air traffic control personnel to the presence of wind shear so they can advise local air traffic. Also, terminal Doppler weather radar (TDWR) was developed and refined and deployed at 45 high risk airports by (This is a special type of radar that can detect windshear). Additionally, in 1988 the FAA mandated that all air carrier turbine aircraft be equipped with airborne windshear warning and guidance systems 4. Finally there were improvements in aircrew training on how to avoid and/or escape windshear and microbursts. The result is greatly improved flight safety among both air carrier, military and civil aviation. While meteorological investigation may not seem glamorous it should be obvious that is vitally important. The people who perform this task operate in an area of science that few of us understand and that changes perhaps more quickly, and more intensely that any other. They are unsung heroes who deserve more respect than they get from folks who fly. 1. NTSB Aviation Investigation Manual, November 2002, Major Team Investigations, Meteorological Group, pp H-29 to H FAA Accident Review, Delta Flight Wikipedia, Delta Air Lines Flight FAA Accident Review, Delta Flight 191, p

5 CONTACTS PAGE 5 Tom Safley Flying Wright Flyer? Oh No! A Dreaded DRONE Wilbur Wright, Our Guest Speaker (Also know as Bill Nicks) Enjoying the Food Enjoying Desert Bob Deskins Gets Jar of Marvin s Jam Barb Carey Wins Gift Certificate

6 CONTACTS PAGE 6 Phil Lucido Gets a Jar of Jam Ed Baucom Gets Jar of Marvin s Jam Richard Strickland Gets Jar of Marvin s Jam Tom Safley Gets His Jam Gary Fisher Gets Jar of Marvin s Jam Bill Steinweg Wins Gift Certificate

7 CONTACTS PAGE 7 A Beautiful Jenny for Sale Jimmy C. w/photos of His Solo Flight (by F. Hulen) Officers Manning the Raffle (by F. Hulen) The Swap-N-Shop Crowd (by F. Hulen) The Annual Swap-N-Shop Event was another successful adventure for KCRC. Come to the next meeting (February 17 th ) to find out just how successful it was in terms of adding to the Club s treasury. A BIG THANKS to all the Club members who helped with the many tasks needed to run the event. And a BIG THANKS to Vice- President Duane Hulen for all his work in bringing this event off with such precision!!! Faithful Workers Bill Steinweg and Barb Carey

8 CONTACTS PAGE 8 Airplanes Galore CLUB MEETING February 17 th 7:00 P.M. Club Meeting in the EAA Hanger at the Lee s Summit Airport Another Successful Swap-N-Shop FEBRUARY CLUB MEETING PROGRAM Highlights of Oshkosh 2015 CONTACTS KCRC E. 29th Street S Independence, MO February 2016 Volume LXII, Issue II MAIL TO: