FROM:  The Editor’s Desk:                                                                                             

Greetings and Salutations

I hope that you all had a blessed and safe festive season and had time to take a break. I understand that some had almost a whole month of flying, between IRF and using the White Hills field. On this note, our sincere thanks to the White Hills Flyers Club for their hospitality during the period 24 December 2011 to 3 January 2012 whilst the facilities at ARC were closed over Christmas and New Year. It is this committee’s intention to invite our friends from White Hills and treat them to a Braai sometime during the month of February or March 2012, as a special thanks for their hospitality and friendship. They would not even accept a landing fee from us. Once we agree on a date, we will communicate with you so that we all enjoy a great fun fly day. Perhaps even organise some fun competitions (Egg drop, streamer chopping etc…).

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In the picture above, you may recognise a full scale and fully airworthy B25 Mitchell. During the holidays, my family and I visited the US and as part of a week in Disney Land, we took a trip to Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. On the way there, approx. 7 miles before the Kennedy Space complex, we came across a sign that said, World War 2 War Bird Museum. Needless to say, the car developed an immediate urge to take the off ramp and follow the signs to this museum. Boy I am glad we took the time to visit the place!!!

The B25 is of special significance to me as I am busy putting one together. I have settled on the latest ESM Kit and what a monster it is. Wingspan is 2,46 mtrs with a fuselage length touching 2 mtrs. This Beauty will be ready for maiden flight around the end of Feb / March 2012. Photo of progress so far below:

 

We welcome the following new members who joined IRF towards the end of 2011:

• Liam Collier
• Robert Cooper
• Francois Diedrechsen
• Daniel Du Toit
• Lourens Erasmus
• Chris Jansen Van Vuuren
• Daniel Swanepoel
• Sarel Van Pelser
• Reghardt Webb

It is great to have you on board and we wish you many hours of happy flying at IRF. You are in very good company I can assure you.

We are multiplying and believe in the “the more the merrier” JJJ

As you will note from the above pic., it is “all size welcome” at IRF. Glow, Petrol, Electric, Helis, we all love them. (Even though I still cannot comprehend the principles of electrifying a beautiful airplane. Glow is so much dirtier and fun!!) I am sure our chairman will have something to say about this last comment under his own columnJ.

So from my side, I wish you all a great 2012 and look forward to seeing all of you at the club. Happy Flying.

Francois

 

 

 

Chairman’s Desk/Van die Voorsitter:                                                      

Baie welkom terug aan al die manne na n welverdiende ruskans, en namens die Komitee wens ons aan al ons lede ‘n baie gesonde, gelukkige en voorspoedige 2012, en mag die aantal landings die aantal opstyg pogings ewenaar!

Van landings gepraat, ons is redelik gretig om die skouers van die aanloopbane te verbeter – hopelik deur hulle te teer.  Ongelukkig is die klub se fondse redelik beperk, en ek gaan dalk blikkie skud vir bydraes van die lede.  Om die bal af te skop het ek reeds n donasie van R500 gemaak, en hopelik sal die ander manne ook bydra.  Iemand het voor gestel dat ons ‘n heffing van R10 plaas op elke vliegtuig wat van die aanloopbaan af hardloop (of selfs heeltemal mis met die landing!)  As die ons na die landings die afgelope naweek kyk behoort ons binne ses maande genoeg fondse bymekaar te maak (tensy die manne dalk net uit oefening is na die lang vakansie  ;-)

Baie welkom ook aan al die nuwe manne wat saam met ons kom vlieg.  Hopelik sal hierdie manne ook teen einde Januarie ook by die klub aansluit.  Ons herinner ook graag almal daaraan dat die 2012 ledegelde van R900 voor 31 Januarie betaalbaar is om n verdere heraansluitingsfooi van R500 te vermy.  Onthou asb om vir Carl Brand bewys van betaling deur te stuur, aangesien ons so gou moontlik na die einde van Januarie ons nuwe lidmaatskap kaarte wil druk.

As far as the comments from our esteemed editor are concerned, I hope he is enjoying his dirty fun with glow engines while he still can!  Even some respected names in the glow engine market like OS have seen the light, and are now producing electric motors.  My personal view is that we will be seeing less glow engines at clubs in the near future pilots move to electric and gas power.  Also interesting to note that electrics are now entering the traditional turbine area in terms of power, and some turbine jet pilots are already considering a move to electrics.  It also seems that the “sound barrier” has been broken as the latest multi-blade electric ducted fans sound more like turbines and not whining like supped-up hair dryers! As for the other applications it should be noted that at Oudshoorn Scale 2011 there was an electric powered plane with recordings of a full-scale engine on board.  Just imagine the sound of two full-size Dakota motors running in and out of sync on an electric model...

Lastly a note on our facilities: it seems that vandalism is currently not a big issue (unlike some other clubs) and our intention is to take up the offer of some of our members to repair our fencing with plastic wire mesh.  The barrier mesh that we used last year is a bit tatty, and not really serving a purpose at the moment.  We will also arrange for a contractor to cut the grass at our field, as the club lawn mower will have difficulties in catching up with the backlog.

Lastly, wishing all our members very enjoyable weekends at Irene Radio Flyers!      

 

Safety Officer’s brief:                                                                                                               

Let us ensure that 2012 is as successful as 2011 from a safety angle. Please continue to respect the no fly zones at all times. We now have a strong and active membership. This means that week-end flying will be busy and at its best from a hobby and enjoyment perspective, we must therefore keep remaining considerate towards each other and ensure that we think safety at all times. Here are a couple of reminders which should go a long way in ensuring that our members all enjoy many hours of safe flying.

• Observe Ground Rules.
•  Aircraft pre flight checks
• Peg on board especially if not 2.4GHZ
• Starting of engines, only in the pits area and not anywhere near or in the clubhouse. This also applies to Electric powered aircrafts
• Revving of engines to top revs should be performed on the taxi way or just before the Runway threshold.
• Always stick to the stipulated Flying Rules
• First one up determines the direction of flight. If the wind changes, call a change in direction to be acknowledged by all pilots in the circuit
• As a courtesy for our Helicopter Pilots, please acknowledge their priority to fly for 10 minutes every hour on the hour. If there are no takers for Heli flight on the day, then carry on.
• Strictly no over fly of the no fly zone. This includes over flying the runway over the pilots standing on the yellow pilot boxes. Please friends, we have had a few near misses and have been very lucky so far.

Otherwise, Happy new year and enjoy!!!!

 

Treasury and Finance Update:                                                                     

Voorspoed vir 2012!

Most of you would have by now received a copy of the AGM minutes of 14 November 2011, emailed by Francois shortly after the AGM. Our club is currently in good financial standing and we hope that our members will all join us again in 2012. Thanks to all who have already paid subs for 2012.

A reminder that subs are due by 31 January 2012. The new fees for 2012 are as follows:

Senior Member – R900.00 per annum

Junior member – R450.00 per annum

Once off joining fee R500.00 (New members only)

Our banking details are available under our web site www.irf.co.za.

A detailed report for the first quarter of 2012 will follow with the next newsletter

Training and Instruction (incl. Proficiencies)                                         

Training and assistance to new pilots is ongoing.  The training is free of charge as all club instructors are volunteers.  Should our new members wish to make use of the club trainers, we ask a small donation of approx.R20 per flight in order to assist with running costs and repairs when necessary.

 

A reminder that the club offers testing facilities for the respective SAMAA proficiencies.

Solo Proficiency Ratings will be done at club level and may be granted by the club instructor/s and co-signed by the safety officer and Chairman.  We can accommodate our members any time during week-ends, just give me (Francois De Ravel) a heads up and I will organise this for you.

Bronze Rating – We can also accommodate at club level, provided we have about two weeks’ notice. This is in order to ensure that we will have at least one of our SAMAA Instructor / judges available on the day.  For this proficiency, one of the club instructors and a SAMAA judge may complete the assessment rating, which will also be signed by the club Chairman.

 

Silver, Gold and Instructor ratings, require two SAMAA Instructor/judges to mark the assessment sheet; therefore a bit more advance planning is required here.

In all instances, should you wish to be assessed for higher proficiencies, just drop me a note on fderav@gmail.com and I will make the necessary arrangements.  Perhaps, prior to doing the assessment it may be wise to ask one of the instructors to stand next to you whilst you perform the required manoeuvres and assess whether or not you are ready to take the tests at the chosen level. That is only if you are unsure. I am at the club at least 3 Saturdays a month, please do not hesitate to chat to me should you be interested in taking the higher proficiency ratings.

The following pilots received these proficiencies since the last communiqué:

• Riaan Nel (Jnr) - Solo

The Official club instructors are:

SENIOR INSTRUCTORS: (SAMAA Ratings)

• Andre Beukes (SAMAA Judge fixed wind and Helicopter )
• Frik De Beer (SAMAA – Judge Fixed wing)

 

Club Instructors: (Gold and Silver Ratings)

• Jan Backer (advanced training Students only)
• Leon Cilliers (Helicopters)
• Andre Kilian – Electric aircraft only (Also Club Chairman)
• Dawid Nel – Fixed Wing
• Francois De Ravel  Fixed Wing(Also responsible for club instructor and training portfolios)
• Jan Kooiman – Fixed Wing (Also Club Safety Officer)

Forthcoming Events:                                                                                                        

To be advised as soon as the committee has had the first 2012 committee meeting. The invite to White Hills will be our first club event of 2012, probably followed by a proficiency day the month after that. We will take this opportunity to check all the experienced Pilots who do not yet have their SAMAA Solo proficiency, for whatever reason, since this is a minimum requirement for insurance purposes.  Hopefully we will not rain out again this year if we organize a Warbird day!

A reminder to always check the SAMAA news, which always gives a detailed schedule of planned events nationwide.

 

 

SAMAA:                                                                                                                              

Please ensure that your SAMAA membership is always current.  Both SAMAA and IRF do send reminders to our members.  This is critical as it does have an impact on insurance claims should an accident happen.

A reminder to our membership to support the SAMAA development program for the underprivileged, by way of donating your surplus / unwanted RC equipment to SAMAA.  If you have anything you are willing to part with, please hand same to our chairman or any of the committee members and we will ensure it gets to SAMAA.

Some of the planes we saw at the War Bird Museum Florida USA December 2011. Includes one or two from the Smithsonian Washington DC.

  

Back to IRF Action

 

Sponsors:

IRF wishes to thank the following people / businesses for their generous donations and continued support to the club.

www.huge.co.za

 

 

New Web Site under construction please call 012 6675757 for enquiries. We are located at the Dooringkloof shopping centre, off Botha Avenue.

 

 

 

Classifieds:                                                                                                                                        

None received

C’mon friends, surely you have stuff you wish to sell, swop, donateJ. Please drop me a line and I will include in the newsletter.

 

The following is by no means a free advert. Since the High Flyer shop has always sponsored all our club events with generous donations and prizes, we thought it would be great to show our appreciation by bringing the following to your attention.

In case you were not aware of it, the High Flyer shop is currently running a special on selected kits and items and this will be valid until the items are sold and the selected stocks cleared. The items on special offer between 25 and 40% discount and it is on a first come first served basis.

Some items worth a mention include:

• 4X ESM kits reduced to cost price, which means that you will pay between R2800.00 and 4000.00 for the following kits:
• 2 X ESM Sky Raider. One of the two Kits has scale retracts
• 1X F 4U Corsair with scale retracts (Awesome plane!!!)
• 1X Bearcat with Scale Retracts

Others which caught my attention:

• 1XRaptor Titan 50 size Helicopter (this usually goes for R4399.00 but is now marked to go at R2950.00)
• 2X J Power Alpha Jet (40% discount) and 1 X Habu jet (25% discount) – Electrics of course.

 

General:                                                                                                                                

This is your newsletter.  We would be grateful for any articles of interest you would like to include in future editions.  If you are building a kit and would like to offer us kit reviews with a couple of pics, please let us have this material.  Tips, jokes (clean) etc... are welcome.  Pics of your latest acquisition/project will also add interest to the newsletter.  You may forward these to the editor: Francois De Ravel at fderav@gmail.com.  We will also include in future editions a section for Classifieds / for sale.  You are welcome to send Francois your ads.

Finally:

Deon, Leon and Andre went to a restaurant and enjoyed a good meal. They each chipped in $10.00 for the $30 total bill. Shortly after paying, the waiter hurried back to their table where they were finishing their drinks and advised that he had made a mistake as that night, the meal they ordered was on special and he should have charged only $25.00. Andre who had organised the payment, decided to give a $2 tip to the honest waiter out of the $5.00 they got back. Andre took $1 for himself and gave back $1 to each of the other two friends.

So!! This would imply that they each paid $9.00 for the meal. Therefore 3 X $9 = $27.00, plus the $2 for the waiter = $29.00!!! L What on earth happened to the other $1????

 

Aeroplane HumourJ 

Memos between Pilots and Maintenance

Pilot: VHF Radio sounds funny

Maintenance: Instructed VHF radio to sound more serious

Pilot: UHF radio volume very weak, almost ready for replacement

Maintenance: Almost replaced UHF Radio

Pilot: Strange noise emanating from Co-Pilot’s instrument panel, sounds like a midget striking the panel with a rubber hammer.

Maintenance: Couldn’t find midget. Alerted maintenance department to be on lookout for a midget with a rubber hammer.

(above extracted from the book “Naval Aviator, Cadet Benson” by CMDR Joseph J Reis (jnr) – well worth a read if you can get your hands on one.)

 

 

Best Regards and happy flying

The IRF Committee