MEETINGS are at Hasman May to September, and Ogden Spencerport Library September to May,
on the second and fourth Monday of every month around 6:30pm.  Guests are cordially invited.

Meetings consist of a business agenda, committee reports, and task assignments. This is followed by show- and-tell and an informational program featuring, videos, live demos, and invited speakers; on subjects relating to the hobby. The show-and-tell gives the members a chance to show off and discuss their latest projects, and stimulates a lively exchange of facts and tips. Participation in the show-and-tell enters the member in a cash prize drawing at the December annual business meeting.

Explanation of Dues:
New - $35 plus one-time initiation fee of $20 ($55 total for first year)
Renewal - $75 reduced by work credits of $2 per hour, with a maximum reduction of $40
Junior - FREE if under 19 before March 1
(Additional Family Members - FREE for spouse - 
           and dependent children under the age of 21       residing at the same address )
Student - $10 Full-time students 19 and over.
Social  - $35 for members without flying privileges
Guest Pass - $15 for AMA members, who are not RCCR members, and desire to fly at RCCR fields.

QUALIFICATIONS FOR MEMBERSHIP You must have a current Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) license to join and maintain RCCR membership. AMA license application blanks are available at club meetings and most hobby shops. The license provides secondary liability insurance coverage and contest participation privileges throughout the USA. License fees and options are listed on the application form.

ACTIVITIES The RCCR sponsors several AMA sanctioned events each year for both power planes and electrics or sailplanes. The club also sponsors displays of models at shopping malls to stimulate interest and maintain public relations. Social activities also include the annual Banquet and Roast, and several picnics during the year.

FLYING FIELDS The club operates three separate fields, two which the RCCR developed and maintain in conjunction with the Monroe County Parks Department.

The field in Northampton Park is to be used by other clubs and the public. An AMA license is all that's required for use. Rules are posted at all fields and must be observed at all times. New pilots are encouraged to take advantage of several instructor pilots we have available to teach flying. Anyone can learn to fly if trained properly. Contact can be made at the field, especially Tuesdays after 4 PM, and also at the semi-monthly meetings.

The  Hasman Field is located on the West Ridge Road Airport,  on the north side of Ridge Road (Rt.104), approximately 1 mile west of Union St. (Rt.259), across from the Quickfill gasoline station. This field is private and for members only. Visitors are welcome when the gate is open.

Additional membership benefits include a monthly newsletter and helpful assistance to novices in building and flying model aircraft.
For further information talk to any RCCR member,
or contact VP Membership :

ED BRITTON
ROCHESTER NY 14559
eplanerc@gmail.com

2023 ended with 85 members and 2024 will end with 90 members. A big thank you to all the members that help keep this club flying along.

 State of the RCCR 2009
Matt Kirsch,  RCCR President

2009 marks the 52^nd year of continuous operation for the Radio Control Club of Rochester, and the new year brought along with it two new club officers. Jim Capuano, who stepped up to fill in for Bob White as interim Membership Director in 2008 was officially appointed as Membership Director at our December 2008 membership meeting. Additionally, after several years in various officers' positions, Ed Britton decided to retire from “public” life, leaving the position of VP/Programs Director open. Bill Gerew stepped up to take the appointment as VP.

Rounding out the leadership of the club, Dick Brook and Jim DeTar each agreed to a marathon fourth term as Treasurer and Secretary, respectively. Our board of directors remains unchanged.

Through the dogged efforts of Jim Capuano bringing in renewals and our easygoing, friendly recruiting style, the club's membership burgeoned to 121, an achievement that former membership director Bob White will not be allowed to forget any time soon, tongue in cheek.

The RCCR once again filed for, and achieved, AMA Gold Leader Club status. This honor has been maintained by the club for most of its existence.

We count ourselves lucky this year in that no active club members were lost to illness or other circumstances during the year. Of course there were the usual injuries and a couple of serious surgeries, but everyone is still here to enjoy the hobby. Former member Ed Dickinson did pass away late in the year, however.

Roast and Third Annual Swap Meet

About 6 weeks after our annual Chilly Chili “Fuhn Fly” where members get in their first flights of the year, and participate in a chili cookoff, the club's busy event schedule began.

Jim DeTar was named Man of the Year at our annual Winter Banquet / Roast for his tireless efforts as club treasurer, while Trevor Ewell, fresh out of the hospital from surgery, received the Trainer Cord award for his tireless efforts on Tuesdays during the summer. Several less serious awards were also handed out, including the Golden Screw received by Scott Miller, and the Busted Prop received by Bill Stauber.

Less than 12 hours after the conclusion of the Roast, members converged on Our Mother of Sorrows Church to set up for the third annual Swap Meet. We had clearly outgrown the limited space at the Rochester Police Locust Club, and the church basement where we hold our meetings gave us the room we needed to take the meet to the next level.

Public Education Programs

Brighton Festival of Ideas, Rochester WINGS, Boy Scouts at NH, Trainer Night

Continuing our tradition of providing educational programs to the public, our first program was in early March at the Brighton High School Festival of Ideas. In previous years, we have focused on the building aspect of the hobby, sending participants home with AMA Cubs or unique paper airplanes. One question always asked about the radio control airplanes is, “can we fly one?” This year, we could actually say, “YES!” The introduction of the E-flite Vapor in 2007 finally provided us with an easy-to-fly airplane that could be flown comfortably inside the Brighton gymnasium, so we were able to hook up buddy boxes and give the kids honest-to-goodness lessons. After some stick time on one of several R/C simulators located around the room, the best flyers were given the chance to get a few minutes on a real R/C airplane. The kids ate it up.

St John Fisher's Science Fair in mid-May gave our free-flighters the chance to show off their building and flying skills, as well as enjoy a nice wine-and-cheese dinner.

Rochester International Airport hosts their annual WINGS open house and general aviation trade show, where the public is welcomed on to the airport grounds to tour the facility. This year the event was hosted at the National Guard hangar on the first weekend of June. Once again, we took the opportunity to promote our comparatively “budget minded” form of aviation.

Despite the second wet summer in a row, where it seemed to rain only on days ending in “Y”, and twice as hard on days starting with “S”, only a couple Tuesday Trainer Nights were missed. Whether it was because Tuesdays were the only sunny days, or the hobby is seeing an upswing in popularity, trainer nights were significantly busier than in 2008.

Late in the season a request came in from club member Phil Evans to put on a program for his the Boy Scout troop his daughter and son-in-law lead, and several members were happy to oblige. On October 3^rd, several members converged on Northampton to put on one final trainer session. Over 30 Scouts and several of their parents got a taste of radio control flight on the club trainers even as rain clouds threatened overhead. The weather held off and everyone who wanted to fly got a shot.

June Fun Fly

Late in 2008, the club brought a proposal to the Monroe County Parks department to double the size of the Northampton parking lot. Early in the year, we rented a Bobcat and Brush Hog from Davey Tree Service, along with Davey employee and club member Jim Bloechl to operate it, and cleared the brush from our proposed parking lot area in a massive work party. Unfortunately, and we didn't know how unfortunately, the grading and gravel wasn't completed by the parks department in time for our June meet.

It rained on and off during the week prior to the meet, but the North side of the field was passable and the weather forecast was encouraging, so we proceeded to set up as usual. A brief shower in the morning prompted the campers to set up on the high ground instead of their normal area, which turned out to be a good idea, as storm clouds were starting to build.

Shortly after lunch, a red spot appeared on the weather radar and passed just to the South of our location. We exhaled a sigh of relief, and inhaled a mouthful of rain water as that red spot suddenly grew and the skies over Northampton opened up. By the time all was said and done, the entire runway was under inches of water, and it flowed like a river for hours afterward.

After the rain, the parks department dropped off the picnic tables with their 4x4 pickup, giving us a false sense of security. The arrival of Dan and Rich Landis heralded the beginning of the first, and hopefully last, RCCR MUD FEST. Dan's mother's 4x4 Suburban dropped in to the axles where the parks department had driven just 20 minutes before without leaving a mark, and we spent the better part of two hours getting them unstuck.

We smartly made the decision to ban vehicle traffic on the North side of the field and park the participants and spectators out on the park loop road. Saturday was a beautiful sunny day, and the turnout was spectacular despite the parking issues, but the threat of rain on Sunday prompted the campers to bug out early. Vince Mancuso had a literal “freedom train” of three 4x4 trucks pulling his enormous trailer out to solid ground. All through the weekend, Ron McGrath and his trusty Tundra redeemed themselves by towing many of the stuck vehicles to safety. Of course you recall that Ron got mired in the sticky mud at Bolling in early 2007...

Overall the 2009 Ray Edmunds Fun Fly was a minor financial loss for the club, but our first self-catered pilot's dinner was a resounding success, and actually turned up a little profit.

Electric Fun Fly

Just when we were convinced the entire summer was a washout, mid-August brought a break in the weather. Quite literally, the weekend of our Electric Fun Fly was the only completely dry weekend of the summer months. Our electric meet was unusually well-attended, no doubt due to the great weather and dry conditions. We held the meet on the South side of the field for the second year in a row, and even accommodated several campers this time around. Alas, the parking lot was still not complete, but building on lessons learned in 2008, we were able to get everyone parked without incident.

This year's Great Electric Fun Fly was easily the most successful ever, and more than made up for our bad luck in June.

Days prior to the annual membership meeting, Dave Rainaldo of the Monroe County Parks Department has announced that the parking lot extension will be completed in early December. With any luck we will have it available for our meets in 2010.

Conclusion

2009 once again proved that it's never a boring year at the Radio Control Club of Rochester. Year after year, we continue to prove what can be accomplished when a group with a common interest puts aside petty and insignificant differences to work toward that goal.

State of the R.C.C.R. 2008
Matt Kirsch,  RCCR President

The Radio Control Club of Rochester had to say goodbye to an old friend in 2008. For 20 years, Bolling field served the club as primary flying site, as home to every club event at one time or another and as the source of more than a little controversy. Owner and long time friend of the club Pat Bolling decided the time was right to sell the land to another local farmer. The new owner, Kludt Farms, decided that more money could be made growing corn on the land than leasing it to our club, and decided not to continue with the lease agreement we had with Pat. We thank Pat Bolling for the generous use of her land all these years.

Bolling field did not go down with a fight, however. When the day finally arrived to remove the last of our items from the field, spring rains had turned the area into a sticky muddy mess. Most of the vehicles that drove into the field ended up getting stuck, even the four wheel drive.

Unfortunately, Bolling was not the only friend we lost in 2008. Long time honorary, and ever enthusiastic club member Len Cataldi passed away in February. Another long time club member and father of RCCR staple Greg Kesel, Bob Kesel passed away in January. Club friends Chris Snelling, Tony Mangus, and Jim Messer also passed during 2008.

Losing a flying field is never pleasant, but as the old cliché goes, every cloud has a silver lining. The summer of 2008 also saw gas exceed $4.00 a gallon, and Bolling easily used between 1/3 and half of the club’s gas budget each year. Moving the container to Northampton allowed us to relocate the former RAFC shed and tear down the old metal shed, opening up the parking and spectator area tremendously.

While we were in the mode of making improvements at Northampton, the grounds crew planned and executed Phase II of the Northampton drainage project, installing several hundred additional feet of drainage tile and crushed stone in the pit and spectator areas. It took about an hour.

Hasman field received its share of improvements. There were a few hours left on the trencher, so Hasman got a stretch of drainage tile of its own. Later in the fall, a large stretch of the hedge row along the north-south runway was cleared to allow for better visibility of full-scale traffic. That took about an hour, too.

There was no shortage of club-sponsored events during the year. As always, the year kicked off with the Chilly Chili Fun Fly. February brought our annual Winter Banquet and Roast where Ed Wingate took home the honor of Man of the Year. Our second annual Swap Meet & Auction was a lot more swap meet than auction, but it proved to be a great fundraiser for the club.

Educating the community, especially kids, is one of the primary functions of the RCCR. Each March we put on a program at Brighton High School for their Festival of Ideas, and in May a crew participates in the St. John Fisher Science Fair. Interest in our free Tuesday night training program at Northampton Park was up this year, with several new pilots graduating from our program by completing their first solo flights, and dozens taking their first flights courtesy the club’s two trainers.

Trainer night almost came to an abrupt end early in the season, when the club’s trainer equipment was stolen. A concerned citizen recognized the missing equipment as belonging to the club and secured its return. Unfortunately, the thief or thieves were never positively identified.

Both our big flying events were held at Northampton Park this year. We thought we’d get a chance to try an alternate layout on the North side of the field for the Electric event, but a month of particularly rainy weather forced they layout to be completely alternate. Monroe County Parks, concerned about damage to the North side of the field, asked that we not hold our event there. Our only choice was to host the event from our normal flying facilities, and what we discovered was that the South side of the field makes a great place to host an event. The natural downhill slope of the area between the parking lot and the spectator fence turned into prime festival seating. Setup and teardown were a snap, because all the facilities were already in place. About the only shortcoming of the South side was the lack of parking, though a proposal has been sent to the Monroe County Parks Department to expand the Northampton parking lot.

Wrapping up the flying season was the shortest club picnic on record. In Rochester NY, being able to spend more than forty seconds outside in short sleeves in early October is a true miracle. The weather was so nice on the day of the picnic that people were cleaning up to head to Northampton field a mere 90 minutes after the official start of the picnic.

On the political front, AMA District II interim VP Gary Fitch, who took over for Dave Mathewson when he was elected AMA president, made a bid to become our elected district VP. It’s now official; Gary has become our district VP. Closer to home, long time membership director Bob White has retired from the position after close to 6 years in the office. Our new membership director Jim Caupano has hit the ground running, and it looks like he’ll continue in the tradition of dogged determination that Bob established during his tenure. Between Jim and Bob, 117 members were wrangled for 2008. Many thanks to Bob for his years of service to the club; Jim will be looking for your membership check on January 2^nd.

Without the dedication and efforts of the many volunteers in this club, this club simply would not exist. Literally thousands of man-hours are worked, hundreds of miles are driven, and dozens of bad Greek lunches are consumed to the benefit of the club. Those of us who benefit from their efforts owe these individuals a huge debt of gratitude. Somehow the measly work credit we offer doesn’t seem like enough, but then again, if we let them all get off scott-free, the club treasury would be broke!

State of the R.C.C.R. 2007
Matt Kirsch,  RCCR President

Fields and field improvements were the name of the game for the R.C.C.R. in 2007. After 40 years, the drainage system at Northampton Park desperately needed an overhaul, so an ambitious plan was formulated in late 2006 to remedy the situation. Our success in fund raising this year allowed us to take on the project, so in September, a massive work party descended on Northampton with a Ditch Witch, two truckloads of crushed stone, and a roll of perforated drainage tile. 130 man hours later, the Northampton runway was framed with stone-filled trenches. Reports from the field indicate that the drainage is working very well.

After a two years of excavation by Monroe county, the wetlands expansion project at Black Creek Park was completed in early fall, and a new runway put in place for gliders and electric planes. Unfortunately the location and angle of the new runway is less than ideal, so we have formed a committee to work with the Parks Department to develop a better solution. There is plenty of room to swing the runway to a more useful heading, and the Parks Department has been more than willing to hear our suggestions. While they make no promises, it looks very favorable that we will have a great new fly park flyer field in 2008.

None of this would be possible if not for the tremendous efforts of our field crew. One of the primary reasons for the existence of this club is to provide flying facilities to its members, which makes these guys the backbone of this club. If you’ve run a mower, picked up a shovel, rake, or chain saw, please accept this club’s humble thanks. If you haven’t, make sure to shake the hand of someone who has and express your appreciation.

2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Radio Control Club of Rochester. We chose to celebrate this milestone rather quietly, with a special logo and commemorative shirts (some of which are still available), and the institution of two new traditions. First is the “Lifetime Achievement” award, given out at the February Roast. This “Cracked Crystal” award is given out by the President and recognizes the longest-standing active members of the club for their ability to tune the rest of us out. Second is our 50th Anniversary Swap Meet. Held the day after the February roast at the Rochester Police Locust Club, it was so successful that we decided to make it an annual event.

At this year’s February Roast, Bob Gears passed the Broken Prop award on to Bud Kelly, Greg Kesel reclaimed the coveted Golden Screw, and a very deserving Ed Wingate (eventually) took home the Trainer cord award. Man of the Year went to RCCR president Matt Kirsch, and the inaugural recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award was Don Steeb, an active member of the RCCR for its entire 50-year history.

Seven must be a magic number for the RCCR, because 2007 also marked a major milestone for our annual June Fun Fly. We’ve been holding the event in honor of Rochester model aviation patriarch Ray Edmunds since 1988, making this our 20th annual event. We would be hard-pressed to put on a better event. Those that came to watch left with an eyeful, those that came to fly left with empty fuel jugs, and those that stayed for our traditional Saturday dinner left with a stomach full. The club came out with a pocket full, of cash that is, which was turned around and put straight back into the field this September.

We’re not quite sure how many years we’ve been holding the Electric Fun Fly at Bolling field in August, but it’s been growing little by little year after year, and has turned into an “average” sized fun fly. The weather finally cooperated after years of rain and/or heavy winds, so attendance was way up on both sides of the pit line.

The big technology push this year wasn’t with electric-powered aircraft as one would expect. Any advances there were completely eclipsed by 2.4GHz spread spectrum radio technology. It’s been around for a couple of years, but the “wait and see” crowd has finally started to break down and embrace the advantages. Impound traffic at both fun fly events was down by an estimated 50%, though pilot sign-ups were up from previous years. The convenience of not having to worry about being shot down by another radio on the same frequency, among other advantages, has people buying up these radio systems faster than Futaba and Horizon can get them to stores.

A moderate summer with respect to weather didn’t help our training program. Overall, training activity was fair, but not spectacular. Many people gave R/C aviation a try on one of the club’s two Sig Kadet-series trainers, and several people soloed. What was up this year was membership. From appearances, the club gained more members as a direct result of our Northampton training program this year than in a long time. Membership was up to 110 this year from 102 in 2006.

Overall, the summer was great for weekend flying events, with members participating at many area fun flys. Events hosted by other local clubs, including the RAMS, Canandaigua Chiefs, Phelps Sky Rovers, Batavia Club, Lockport Balsa Dusters, Hamburg Flying Knights, to name a few, were mostly held under reasonably quiet skies, a far cry from the near-complete washouts of 2006.

Interest in club combat picked up this year, too. Even though we only had two events, one in July and another in September, both events were dominated in attendance by club members, forcing two heats per round. Two heats per round in a local event is something to brag about, by the way.

Back in the spring, we made our annual appearances at three major events. First, the Brighton High School Festival of Ideas in March: Our AMA Cub building program is always a hit with the kids, and this year we had two simulators available so the kids could try out R/C flying for themselves. Of course, most simulator sessions devolved into contests for who could cause the most spectacular crash, but everyone had a great time, and had an AMA Cub to take home as a souvenir. Second, the Rochester Wings open house at Rochester International Airport: This one mostly turns into a reason for the club members to get together, hang out, eat (of course) and look at the “real” planes. This event devolved into a contest of who could make the most spectacular crash on the simulator too, but hey, it’s a lot cheaper than crashing the real ones… Finally, the St. John Fischer Science Fair: Our more refined club members handle this event, and enjoy a complimentary wine and cheese dinner for their efforts.

On the AMA front, the RCCR applied for, and received the Gold Leader Club status from AMA headquarters in Muncie, IN. We’ve been a long time Leader Club, but various circumstances caused us to miss out on the award for the past couple of years. Regaining Gold Leader Club status is no small achievement.

AMA presidential elections were also held this year. Long-time District II VP and friend of the club Dave Mathewson made his second bid for the presidency, and won the election! Congratulations go out to Dave as we look forward to his administration.

If one were to choose a word to describe the RCCR in 2007 overall, that word would have to be “up.” Many thanks go out to each and every member of the RCCR for everything they’ve done for the club this year, be it simple patronage through dues, participation at meetings, pitching in at club events, or maintaining the fields day in and day out. It’s the members that make the club.
 

2006 Radio Control Club of Rochester Annual Report
 By Matt Kirsch, RCCR President

The 49th year of operation for the Radio Control Club of Rochester started off with a figurative bang as members and guests alike gathered to sample various culinary creations at the January 1st Chilly Chili Fuhn Fly. This was the first time in recent years that there was actual snow to fly off of, and the opportunity wasn’t wasted.

Our annual February Roast, known officially as the RCCR Winter Banquet, was held at a new venue in 2006. Reviews of our first dinner at the Lodge on the Green in Greece were very favorable, and guaranteed that the dinner will be held there again in 2007. Bob White was presented with Man of the Year, while John Floyd took home the Trainer Cord Award, Andre Blanchard the Golden Screw, and Bob Gears the Broken Prop.

After a short break to get caught up on building, several members of the RCCR participated in a plane building and flying program at the Brighton High School Festival of Ideas as has become tradition in recent years. Young children are introduced to the R/C airplane hobby at the Festival of Ideas through demonstrations and hands-on activities. This year, the kids were able to try out R/C flying for “real” with a computer simulator, and took home their own freshly-built AMA Cubs.

Due to an unusually mild winter, several members became regulars at Hasman field, nearly as regular as during the summer months. A collection had been taken up for snow removal at Hasman, but it was never touched, and had to be carried over until the next winter. This is not to say that no indoor flying was going on, because there was still plenty of cold weather, and plenty of reason to stay inside. Thanks the generous efforts of Bill Stauber, local modelers were able to take advantage of the old Main Street Armory, which was in the later stages of renovation. Once a month through the winter, $10 bought 5 hours of flying in a venue easily four times the size of the Clarkson Community Center, where indoor fly-ins had been held in previous years. The centralized Armory location proved to be far more popular as well, bringing in pilots from as far away as Syracuse and Buffalo.

After Rochester Wings and the St John Fisher Science festival in early May, planning and discussion for the 19th Ray Edmunds Air Show got serious. Months earlier, Greg Kesel came to a meeting with a proposal from Tom McCoy. Working through his connections at Great Planes and Horizon, Tom was able to procure the services of Dan Landis, a member of Team Futaba, Great Planes’ factory show and competition group. Some concern was expressed over the inclusion of a special guest pilot at our meet, but a workable compromise came out of those discussions. The only thing left to do was see how things panned out at the actual event.

Monroe County Parks Department generously mowed the North side of the field at Northampton, but the great early spring grass-growing weather left us with a huge mess of long hay to clean up. Modern haying machines had nothing on the crew that arrived that Friday to set up, though. At least a dozen members manned rakes and loaded hay out by the wagon full. Playing the part of an old Massey Ferguson, or team of mules, was a mini-van piloted by event CD Ed Britton.

Saturday morning arrived, and the field was ready for show time. Dan Landis opened and closed the show both days with flights on his 46% Ultimate Biplane, and put on impressive displays during the noon-time shows. It was standing room only for both days. The Fosters and the Petersons sold out the hots stand both days, while White & Evans Ice Cream sold out a whopping three times during the show. Thanks to the efforts of everyone, including the flight line crew of Paul Weigand, Greg Kesel, Mike Rotherforth, and Ed Britton, the show couldn’t have gone much better, and set the bar high for future shows, especially our 20th annual coming up in 2007.

Mock resentment flowed in from other area clubs, as the fourth weekend of June also happened to be the best weekend of the summer. The wet, windy weather limited flying activity for most of the summer, including our annual Great Electric Fun Fly in August. A surprising number of pilots attended the event on Saturday, flying between showers until a steady rain finally set in mid-afternoon. Sunday turned into a complete wash-out.

Tuesday training nights at Northampton were generally a little busier this year than last year, possibly indicating a new upswing in interest due to, or perhaps in spite of, the vast array of small, inexpensive, electric park flyers on the market. The club acquired a new trainer plane in the form of a Sig Kadet Senior courtesy Tom Forsyth, and a 12 Volt electrical system with chargers was installed in the shed out at Northampton to keep the planes charged and ready on a moment’s notice. From its humble beginnings with only a well-beaten Sig Kadet and an old JR 4-channel radio, the club’s try before you buy program has really sprouted into a professional operation. A Kadet LT40, modern radio equipment, buddy boxes, and other sundry field equipment join the Kadet Senior. At least 100 people gave R/C flying a try last summer, and many came back, as a result of this program.

The weather didn’t make for good flying this summer, so some members returned to the “show circuit” in early September. RCCR participated in the 2006 Penfield Community Festival which was held on September 9 with a large display of airplanes, helicopters, and information.

Three combat meets were spaced throughout the summer and early fall this year. While turnout was relatively small, the quality of the competition remained high. Many thanks to Jim Warner, George Hartman, and Pete Durante for hosting the events, and to the regular crew for being there to judge and take care of facilities.

RCCR was the host of the annual inter-club fun fly. As had been typical of most of the summer, the weather was miserable. Our guest list consisted of a solitary flyer from the Batavia club, Bud McDermott, and most of the day was spent under the cover of a dining canopy.

Perhaps the most momentous occasion of the year was the acquisition and installation of a new shed at Bolling. The two old sheds had deteriorated to the point where repair was no longer practical. Our new shed is a reconditioned shipping container purchased from Averdi, which was installed on a bed of crushed stone on the same spot as the old sheds in late September. Made of heavy 14 gauge corrugated steel, it will provide the club with reliable, secure, mobile storage for many years to come.

Other improvements at club fields include a complete cleanup of old junk, a new pin board at Hasman, new crushed stone floors in the sheds at Northampton, and repairs to the driveway at Bolling. The infamous Juilius Tree at Northampton was taken down. Black Creek Park remains under construction as part of Monroe County’s project to recreate the wetlands displaced by the expansion of Rochester International Airport, but the proposed plans promise to provide county residents with a new, and hopefully improved, runway for electrics and gliders. Many thanks go out to the field crews, including George Steger, John Floyd, Bud Kelly, Ed Wingate, Joe Somers, and even one or two non-members who use Northampton and volunteered to help mow.

With all the wet weather during the summer of 2006, surely the annual end-of-season picnic at the Northampton Ski Lodge would be a typical cold, wet affair. Quite the contrary was true. It was probably the best flying day of the entire year, warm, but not too warm, with a slight breeze. For the first time in years, the cooking wasn’t done under the cover of umbrellas, and everyone retired to the Northampton flying field for some late-season flying. What was most surprising was the turnout at the flying field. It was standing room only in the parking lot, and only slightly better than that on the flight line.

Unfortunately, the year did not go by without its losses. Past RCCR president and founding member Art Terenzi died suddenly in late July. Art had a style all his own, and certainly one of the most unique members in RCCR.

2006 was certainly a banner year for the RCCR, with new friends joining old, old friends returning, and lots of flying despite the marginal weather. Thanks to everyone’s membership, along with donated time and equipment, we were able to make some much-needed improvements to the club infrastructure.

2005 Radio Control Club of Rochester Annual Report
 By Matt Kirsch, RCCR President

Membership

In terms of sheer numbers, 2005 was a bit disappointing, with membership peaking out at 91 in the early fall. This is down from last year’s total of 96, but quality is really more important than quantity.

There was a bit of a shake-up in the officer’s ranks this year, with Ed Britton making the move to VP/Program Director, and Bob White generously stepping up to take over for Ed at the Membership Director’s position.

Unfortunately, 2005 was also marked by the loss of two RCCR members. George Pearce passed on in early July, and while not a member of the RCCR in 2005, George was a member of RCCR for many years. More recently was the loss of Bob Stuhlmiller who passed away after a short illness in early November. He was a regular in the Northampton “morning crew,” and his presence is surely missed.
Training

# Training numbers from Dick Foster will go here #
Field Monitoring Committee

In 2004, a committee was formed to monitor flying activities, particularly at Northampton Park. The charge of this committee is to spearhead the effort to reduce the amount of noise produced by our planes. During 2005, the committee evaluated many planes both subjectively and objectively, and was able to successfully quiet down some planes through simple prop changes, and assist a handful of others with objectionably loud planes to reduce the noise. There’s still a long way to go, and it’s important that we don’t forget that we’re all responsible for keeping the noise down and ultimately, keeping our flying fields open.
June Fun Fly

2005 marked the RCCR’s triumphant return to Northampton Park for the annual Ray Edmunds Memorial Fun Fly. Despite 108.5 degree heat, pilot turnout was among the best ever, and spectators came out in droves to witness the spectacle. The concession crew moved record numbers of dogs and drinks and made this one heck of a fund raiser for the club. Moving our event to the 4th week of June certainly appears to have been the correct choice.
Great Electric Fun Fly

Stiff mid-August breezes were the main attraction at this year’s Great Electric Fun Fly, keeping many of the smaller planes and more timid pilots grounded. Fortunately, R/Cers tend to be a social bunch, the weather was nice, and there were plenty of red hots, sodas and ice cream to go around.
Other Events

Once again, the RCCR began the year with its Chilly Chili Fuhn Fly, and perfect flying weather considering the fact it was January 1st. This event is getting bigger each year. In 2005, several members of out-of-town clubs came to fly and compete in the chili cookoff.

February brought the annual RCCR Winter Banquet, more popularly known as “The Roast.” Between being crowded into a small room with no sound system, and being served prime rib that was still practically mooing at the staff’s leisure, we collectively decided to seek out a new location for next year. While the roast beef wasn’t well done, several members left the event a bit charred around the edges after being honored for various dubious distinctions.

March was a busy month, with both the Brighton High School Festival of Ideas, where we mixed it up a little this year by trading AMA Cubs for more flying demos and a paper airplane building contest. April brought a new event, an indoor demonstration with the Town of Hamlin. Our annual participation at St John Fisher’s science fair rounded out the building season in early May.

We just couldn’t let the first week of June go by without an RCCR event, so we had an SSC combat meet. Unfortunately, it was the only organized combat meet we had this year, though Monday Night Fights at Hasman remained popular.

This was the second year we attempted to hold all summer meetings at Hasman Field, and we were much more successful at it. In contrast to last year’s shouting matches inside the rain-pounded kettle drum that was Norm Hasman’s temporary hangar, this year we were able to hold relatively civil meetings out at the flightline. The outdoor meetings continued into September, involuntarily, when the caretaker of Salem Church failed to show up to open the church for us. That issue has been since resolved, and we are still welcome to hold our meetings at the church as we have for the past several years.

Normally, the annual end-of-season picnic, held on October 10 this year, signals the end of club-related activity. This year, the club has been invited to present a brief history of R/C to the Hilton-Parma Historical Society on December 19.

2004 Radio Control Club of Rochester Annual Report
 By Matt Kirsch, RCCR President

  Introduction:

The year 2004 began as usual, with our customary New Years "Chilly Chili Fuhn Fly," but with one major difference. Weary from his years at the helm of the RCCR, Joe Somers stepped down as President of the club, and newly elected President Matt Kirsch took office. As has become the tradition, the chili cook off, and the race to be the first plane in the air on New Year’s Day highlighted the event.

Spring:

Ed Barrows, Al Sertl, and Al Koza, all friends and members of the RCCR, passed away during the late winter and early spring months of the year. Ed Barrows, a long time member of the club, never really did much flying, but he certainly put his time in at the wheel keeping the grass at Bolling Field in check. Al Sertl, a more recent addition to the club, was guaranteed to be at nearly every club meeting and function, always ready to lend a helping hand. Al Koza, a member in years past, was best known for his role behind the counter at the Hobby House in recent years. All three will be missed.

That part of the year where it isn’t quite nasty enough to stay inside and built, but isn’t quite nice enough to be outside flying was once again the perfect time to participate in education programs. RCCR attended both the Brighton High School festival of ideas and the St John Fisher College Science Fair in the spring of 2004, and put on a presentation for the elementary school children of Neil Armstrong School in Gates.

As the weather began to warm in late spring, the rain began to fall, and fall, and fall. This year's was one of the soggiest summers in recent memory, but despite the weather, we managed to hold all our events at their scheduled times, and under reasonably acceptable weather conditions. It seemed as the spring wet season came, but never left.

Training:

Almost unbelievably, the rain seemed to decide to take most Tuesday nights off from May through September. Even if it was raining, you could almost be guaranteed that clouds had parted over Northampton, or someone would be out in the rain looking for flying lessons. The rain seemed to scare many people off, however, as training numbers were down a bit from last year. A total of 31 people came for lessons with their own equipment, and 17 more took test flights on the club trainer. While the total number was down from last year, it’s still significantly higher than the 2001 and 2002 statistics. An unusually high number of students made their first solo flights this summer.

 June Fun Fly:

The first weekend in June brought our annual Ray Edmunds Memorial Fun Fly. For the third year in a row, the event had to be moved to Bolling Field due to excessive rain. While Saturday was a bit of a bumpy ride, Sunday was absolutely perfect for flying, and many participants stayed well beyond our scheduled end time of 3:00PM. Between the tremendous generosity of Ed Barrows' estate, and the overwhelming influx of donations from various manufacturers and vendors, impressive raffle items were given away at regular intervals during the entire event. Both pilot and spectator attendance was phenomenal, considering the sudden change of venue. Hopefully with the move to the 4th weekend in June for 2005, we can hold our June Fun Fly at Northampton and draw an even larger crowd.

 Combat:

SSC combat has become quite popular in the club, and this year, we had four well-attended meets, in June, July, September, and October. This class has proven to be so much more fun and less stressful than other classes of combat that it enticed a few former combat pilots to come out of retirement.

 Summer Meetings:

This year it was decided that the RCCR hold all meetings in June, July, and September at the Hasman field location. This turned out to be a reasonably good idea for half the meetings, and a tremendously dumb idea for the other three. Seemingly ever-present rain drove those meetings inside Norm Hasman's temporary hangar. At some points during the meetings, it became necessary to shout to be heard above the downpour pounding on the canvas overhead.

 Electric Fun Fly:

Late August brought about a rare weekend of good weather, and our annual Great Electric Fun Fly. While not as big a draw as the June Fun Fly as far as participation goes, it has proven to be equally as much fun for those who do participate. Once again, many big-time sponsors came through with great raffle items, and the event even attracted a local vendor, Niagara Frontier Hobbies.

 Town of Hamlin:

To show our gratitude to the Town of Hamlin residents for their support of our activities at Bolling Field, we held an open house on Saturday, September 19. While not nearly as large in scope as our Centennial of Flight event in 2003, this event was more successful. Due to the smaller number of participants, we were able to spend more time with each student. By the time they were finished, many were able to make complete circuits of the field completely on their own, and some were even successfully completing basic aerobatics. To further extend our gratitude, we are planning an indoor event with the Town of Hamlin in the spring of 2005.

 Ebay Connection:

Thanks to the dedicated work of our Ebay Connection team, the generous donations of the estates of Ed Barrows and Al Sertl, and many members' need to rid themselves of excess gear, the RCCR was able to afford some much-needed improvements at both Bolling and Hasman. These included crushed stone and fill to repair the driveways, and the rental of a heavy industrial roller to flatten and smooth the runways. Coupled with the dedicated work of our dedicated grounds crews, these two fields have never looked better. Of course, Northampton was a swamp due to the rain, but two out of three certainly isn't bad. At the end of the season, there were enough funds left to purchase a new lawn tractor to replace the oldest, worn-out unit, along with a new lawn sweeper.

 Membership:

Membership numbers were down slightly from last year, more than likely due to the weather, and possibly due to the economic climate. Numbers peaked at around 96 members by the end of the year, with several new memberships coming in unusually late in the year. Two new Lifetime Honorary Memberships were awarded this year, the first to Ed Grainger, who left for greener pastures and better lift in California, and the other to Shirley Hunter, Al Sertl's wife, who has joined the AMA and become an avid aviator since her induction.

 Field Monitoring Committee:

Past issues at both Northampton and Bolling fields prompted the formation of a field monitoring committee late in 2003. The committee was tasked with forming and executing a plan to make our flying fields quieter and less obtrusive to the neighboring properties. While the excessive precipitation made it a relatively quiet, pun intended, year for flying, the committee was still able to take some noise measurements and try several methods of reducing the noise generated by our airplanes. Coupled with more conscientious flying from club members and non-member Northampton regulars alike, we were able to effect real change in the perception our neighbors have of our activities.

 2004 had its highs and lows, its wets and drys, its ups and downs. Incessant rain kept the ground soggy, but spirits remained high and dry, as did the airplanes.

2003 Radio Control Club of Rochester Annual Report
 By Joe Somers, RCCR President

 We had 102 members down from 111 members last in 2002

We Lost;
Norm Neal, he passed away on January 1st. Norm was a long time member of RCCR.
Jim Warner, he announced that he tied the knot, in Nashville, with his fiancé Carol

We welcomed Jim DeTar, Treasurer, Matt Kirsch, Vice President and Program Manager, Ed Britton, Vice President of Membership, and Dick Brook, Secretary.

EBay Connection: Ed Britton and Matt Kirsch: To date, the EBay connection has earned about $1500 for the club. The latest sale was a turbine-powered jet kit which netted the club $350.

Last fall we discovered that Bolling field was infested with grubs. A work party spent about six hours raking and spreading three truckloads of soil and then seeded and rolled the runway and field.

The Chili Fuhn Fest was a success. We had over twenty members and a couple of spectators at the Hasman hanger on New Years morning. The flying started just before nine when Pete Fiorentino took off with his electric SIG Rascal. There were about 15 planes and only one was damaged due to reversed ailerons. There were nine entries in the Chili Contest and Dick Foster was the winner.

The February Roast was a success again this year with 60 people attending. Randy Meyers was the MC. Pete Durante is The Man of the Year for 2002. Matt Kirsch received the Trainer Cord Award for 2002.

The Bylaws were approved at the February 12 meeting.

The Field rules were reviewed and updated.

Bob White, a new member this year, has made frames for the field rules and field photographs.

Ed Britton obtained Contest Director Status.

Bud Kelly and John Floyd spent a good part of a day moving maintenance equipment into place for the season and they built four new AMA style startup tables for Northampton.

It was a slightly wet spring this year. I think it rained every Saturday from the beginning of May through most of June. We had to cancel the first combat meet on May 24th because of the rain. The June Fun Fly location was change from Northampton to Bolling because Northampton was a swamp for most of the spring.

The Brighton High School Student Fair was a success. This year we decided to have the students build and fly the AMA Cub. Jerry Joseph received a letter from the Brighton Festival of Ideas committee thanking the club for participating in their event. A $100 check to the club was included with the letter.

The Club also participated in the Celebration of Flight event at the Rochester Museum and Science Center, the St John Fischer College Science Fair, EAA static display at the Piedmont hanger at the Rochester Airport, and the Celebration of Flight event at Northampton Park.

The June Fun Fly at Bolling was successful again this year. Even though the weather kept spectators away on Saturday the weather on Sunday was great and we had a good turn out. Thanks to everyone who worked the event.

The Electric Fun Fly was also successful. Thanks to Jerry Joseph and Pete Durante for CDing the event, to Dick and Judy Foster and Dick and Gail Peterson for running the concession stand

The new fence installed last fall at Northampton is working well.

Tom Forsyth donated to the club, among other things, a Bushnell Range Finder, a Sig Cavalier which was auctioned off to Bob White, and a Telemaster which was purchased by Bob Knyrim.

Due to a proposal presented by Al Sertl and the generosity of Ed Granger the club is now owns an altimeter which can be mounted in a plane and transmit the planes elevation to a receiver on the ground.

The club purchased a Global Position System receiver to help find planes lost in the high grass and bushes around our fields. Bob White donated a compass to be used with the GPS system.

Bob White constructed a banner for towing behind Bob McClure’s Sig Kadet Senior. It is made from nylon sail cloth, with large RCCR logo and “RCCR” lettering.

The Club posted a sign at Ledgedale Airport which identifies the location of Northampton flying field to encourage full scale pilots who use the airport, to avoid flying over our flying field, especially when they takeoff to the East. The sign is adjacent to the fuel pumps at the airport. Bob White led the effort to have the sign made and installed.

Dick Foster has received permission from Norm Hasman to use one a tractor to plow the driveway this winter making the hangar area available for flying.

A condensed version of “The Story of a Marine Aircrew Man in WWII” was in four issues of the 2003 newsletter thanks to Editor Judy Foster and the Marine/writer Gerry Merz.

Training for the Edison Tech RC class began on Wednesday April 30th. Trevor Ewell, Charlie Leichliter and Bob Guay transported the students from the school to the field and back again

Training on Tuesday night did very well again this year. According to Dick Foster’s records, we have had up to fourteen trainees a night this year when the weather was good and eleven trainees have joined the club. The Celebration of Flight event in August helped. The Club Trainer was a popular ice breaker.

The year end picnic, at the Ski Lodge on October 12th, attracted 40 members and guests.

The Interclub Picnic Fun Fly was held at the Skyrovers Ford Field on McBurney Rd, Phelps, NY on August 31st. The Skyrovers did a great job with the field, the food, and the weather. RCCR had about 10 members at the event.

A Committee has been formed to review field procedures.

The election for President will be held at the General Meeting on December 10th.

SAFETY FIRST AND FLY QUIETLY
Joe Somers
RCCR President 2003

2002 Radio Control Club of Rochester Annual Report
 By Joe Somers, RCCR President

The flying season turned out to be pretty nice during the summer after the wet spring start. All four of the flying fields have been in great shape thanks to our great ground crew.

We have 111 members.

We Lost:

Bob Horn passed away on April 26th. A member for approximately 10 years. Left RC equipment to the club that resulted in nearly $1000 donation.

Gerhard Drewel passed away September 7, 2002. A member for many years last active year was ’98 – Donated Stieglitz bipe kit to club – Steve Kruger donated $100 to club for the bipe

Ray Forman moved to Iowa with his wife, Myra.

Dick and Judy Foster became newsletter editors at the beginning of the year.

A new printer was purchased for the club. It is faster than the one that was used before and it will print on both sides of the paper, which is saves time. The printer is in the custody of Ed Britton.

Bob McClure is continuing as master of the WEB.

Paul Weigand CD’d the June Fun Fly.

Jerry Joseph and Pete Durante CD’d the Electric Fun Fly.

Jim Warner and Pete Durante CD’d two combat meets.

Bob McClure recommended that the show and tell award be raised to $100 and then proceeded to win the Show and Tell drawing for 2001.

The February Roast was a great success we had over fifty people in attendance. Thanks to Randy Myers for being Master of Ceremonies for the evening.

Trainer Cord Award was awarded to Bob James.

The Man of the Year for 2001 was given to Joe Somers.

We put on a static display for the Brighton High School on March 16th for their Festival of Ideas program.

We also put on a demonstration at the Science Fair at St John Fisher College on May 15 & 16.

Club members pledged $70 to Al Gundy’s son for the Walk for Special Olympics.

We made the news in the paper. An article was in the “Our Towns” section in the June 12th edition of the Democrat and Chronicle. Shiela Rayam, staff writer for Our Towns, wrote a nice article about the model airplane hobby that was entitled “Just Plane Folk”.

We moved the West End culvert at Northampton to the East End. George Steger painted all the signposts.

Ed Barrows donated the use of his Simplicity lawn tractor for Bolling field.

Tractor was stolen.

Training started on Tuesday, May 7th at Northampton. Training was slow in the beginning because of the weather. Norm Marasco donated a Sig Kadet Mark II plane, complete with an engine and radio, to be used in training. We had approximately 70 people at the field and about fifteen student pilots at training one night this year.

The June Fun Fly finally got off the ground. The weather just didn’t want to cooperate. Northamptom was like a swamp for the first two weekends in June so the event was moved to Bolling field for the 8th and 9th. The Bolling field turned out to be a nice venue. Dick and Judy Foster did a great job in organizing the concession stand.

New signs were made and installed at Black Creek Park.

The Electric Fun Fly at Bolling field was a success. We had over thirty flyers registered on Saturday and Sunday. Thanks to Jerry Joseph and Peter Durante for being the CD’s. Dick Peterson and Al Sertl ran the concession.

The two combat meets were successful. Thanks to Carole, Jim Warner’s bride to be, and Al Sertl and Dick Peterson for running the concessions.

At the June 26th meeting at Hasman field we were fortunate to have Josh Moore, Jon Arney, and Todd Roeder put on a demo of RIT’s Senior Telemaster equipped with a video and data downlink. Ron McGrath demo’d some night flying at the August meeting at Hasman field.

Steve Kruger, VP and Program Director, is going back to college in August. Matt Kirsch agreeded to finish out Steve’s term.

Mike Mance accepted an evening position with Harris Corporation. Dick Brook volunteered to take over as secretary to finish Mike’s year.

Bill Wegman and another man retrieved a sailplane from a tree in Black Creek Park.

We reviewed the field rules and By-laws during the fall meetings.

Monroe County tried to rain on our parade but decided to keep the parks open next year. Thanks to Trevor Ewell for going to the Monroe County Legislature meeting on October 8th to present our position to the County Legislature

The year-end picnic at the ski lodge was another successful event this year. About forty members and guest enjoyed the day. Thanks to Dick Peterson for getting the supplies and doing the cooking.

The Great Northampton Fence Party was a success. The cost of the fence was paid for by the sale of items donated to the club from Bob Horn’s estate.

At the April 24th meeting the Edison Tech RC class attended our meeting to give us an update on their accomplishments. Last year the members of RCCR donated equipment to the Edison program. Terry Miller, the program instructor, attended our meeting on October 23rd, announced that he will be retiring at the end of this school year, explained the state of Edison’s program, and asked for help. Charlie Leichliter answered the call for help and is working with the kids at Edison.

Dave Mathewson, our District II VP from the AMA, sent us a photo of our brick at the AMA Headquarters Walk of Fame. Dave Mathewson also attended our electric fun fly on Aug.11th.

Hasmen and Northampton Park have new startup benches thanks to The John Floyd and Bud Kelly Startup Bench Company.

John Floyd and Ed Barrows put a new roof on the shed at Bolling.

We purchased two new tractors and thanks to Bud Kelly saved $273.

Phil Evans reported Skunk damage to the ground at Bolling field. John will rethink the proper sequence of spreading the grub killer and fertilizer for next year.

SAFETY FIRST AND FLY QUIETLY
Joe Somers