2011 March Newsletter
Green Mountain R/C Club
This month's news: The Indoor Fun Fly's are going well, the new gym at the Miller Center is much larger than the previous one. Come check it out in a couple weeks.
This month's meeting is Wednesday at the Essex Junction Police station.
Don't forget to check the coming events on our web site.
Dues are Due!
Reminder: Club dues have changed. Regular member dues are now $50/yr, Senior member dues are now $35/yr, and Junior and non-flying member dues are now $15/yr.
You can pay at the meeting, or send Fred Towler a check to the address below.
GMRC Officers
Mark Lucia, phone 233-6885
Vice President:
Matt Reed, phone 238-6621
Secretary / Treasurer:
Fred Towler 879-7271
GMRC Club
Box 8038
Essex, VT 05451
Safety Officer:
John Ftzgerald, phone 585-9045
Member At Large & Contest Director:
Tony Hoffman 849-2116
To email the officers: http://greenmountainrc.org/contact
Don't forget our web page at http://www.GreenMountainRC.org
To sign up for our newsletter click here.
Green Mountain R/C Club President's Message
President's Message,
March 2011
Ahhh... sunshine, the smell of fresh cut grass, birds chirping, shorts, flip flops, t-shirts. I woke this morning with these thoughts only to find out I was dreaming.....'sigh'. I suppose the end of winter is near and if you’re anything like me, cabin fever has settled in. Hang in there!
Since last months meeting was low attendance due to the storm I hope to see more people at this months meeting. We will have some discussion on the tractor and hopefully some updates on 2011’s contest plane. On a side note, I will bring along a heli in case anyone wants to chat after the meeting about setup and any general questions they might have.
There has been a lot of talk around the potential new regulations that may place restrictions on our hobby. Please take 5 minutes and visit the link below to voice your opinion by sending Congress a scripted letter from the AMA in your name.
http://www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/voice.aspx
Read more here: http://www.modelaircraft.org/aboutama/gov.aspx
If you have future topics you would like to share please feel free to bring them up at the meeting!
Meeting is Wed March 2nd at 7 PM
81 Main Street, Essex Jct (Same building as the Essex Police department)
-Mark Lucia
Coming Events
GMRC Indoor Fun Fly
Sat, 03/26/2011 - 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Vermont Modelers Club
ALSO:
GMRC Chili Fun Fly
CANCELED - Not rescheduled
Hummingbird R/C for the Military
Check out this video about a hummingbird sized R/C plane that really flaps it's wings and had video surveillance: http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-02-robot-hummingbird-flight-video.html
AMA / FAA information
Here's a copy of a letter I received recently:
On February 17, the US Senate passed S. 223, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act. The Senate bill included an amendment that provides an exemption from regulation for aeromodeling activity “conducted in accordance with a community-based set of safety guidelines within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization.” This was a huge step forward in AMA’s efforts to protect model aviation from unnecessary and potentially debilitating federal regulation.
Although S.223 was a significant accomplishment, we are far from being out of the woods on this issue. A similar amendment needs to be filed and passed by the House of Representatives before going to conference committee. AMA and our political liaison will be working diligently on accomplishing this in the next couple of weeks, with the hopes of having the amendment included in the bill when it leaves Congress.
AMA has initiated a Congressional Awareness Campaign, aimed at educating Congress on the social, cultural and educational attributes of model aviation and making it aware of our concerns. In the suggested letter to Congress on AMA's website is a paragraph advising that “We are pleased the U.S. Senate has adopted an amendment to the FAA reauthorization bill exempting the operation of model airplanes from unnecessary and onerous federal regulations.” And, “We urge you to ensure that this amendment is included in the legislation when it is sent to the Executive branch for signature.”
Model aviation needs your help now! Modelers and friends must contact their elected representatives and encourage them to ensure that the amendment is included in the final legislation when it is sent to the Executive branch for signature. AMA has provided easy to use tools to both look-up and write to your Senators and Congressional Representatives, including a suggested letter. While the AMA website provides functionality to email your representatives, it is highly recommended to send hard-copy letters. Letters carry a great deal more weight than do emails. Either way, email or letter, please write today. The future of model aviation is in your hands!
Thank you for your support of our hobby!
Our new indoor fun fly location: Miller Center, 130 Gosse Court, Burlington. Our next one is Saturday 3/12 from 6 to 9 PM.
Mark and Al practicing Wall Landings
