The real world interfered with me getting there early enough to get some airplane flight shots, but apparently there were three planes in the air at the same time, attesting to good conditions before the wind picked up. Attached are some shots of the boating activities, highlighted by Paul joining the sailboat brigade. Also are shots of Ron’s great tug, my new Rio Off Shore boat, Clem’s two airboats, Dan’s swamp buggy, and Dan’s “Skipper” heading to the dock after experiencing a quirky aileron during flight.... Read More

They just don’t get much better than this as far as light winds and no surface chop at the VA Center lake. This is the first time we’ve been able to put up over a dozen flights (sometimes as many as three “Tidewaters” in the air at the same time!) with great take-offs and landings and no real retrieval issues that cropped up. Dan flew his “Skipper” (sorry, I got there after it flew), Don his “Apprentice”, and Steve, Tom and I our “Tidewaters”. Ron ran his airboat, Dan his swamp buggy, and I floated my Chris-Craft look-alike several times during the morning. Steve is sneaking up on the motor problems that he is having with his glow-powered boat, but it seems to be getting closer to a fix.... Read More

The chop on the lake was a bit heavier than it was for our first session at the VA Center back in late July. Nonetheless, intrepid flyers and floaters took to the lake to test the waters.

Dan tried out his new swamp-buggy airboat, manned by an armed GI Joe, and managed to overcome some “dead-in-the-water” issues that proved troublesome early on. Steve’s new PVC/pool noodle rescue craft came to the rescue the first time and then ran out of juice and had to be rescued itself the second time.
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Today we worked some more on the VA Lake facility. It’s almost finished with only some more reed clearing to do and anti-skid put on the dock. Steve, Tom, Don, and I worked for several hours today and built a gate so we can easily access the launch area. We also cleared some more reeds and prepared the area for launching airplanes and boats. This will be an outstanding RC area for us.

I will send out a map and instructions for getting into the area. Steve will have some keys made to unlock our gate. (no, combination locks are not allowed because of difficulty opening them in an emergency or in the dark).
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The winds in Norman, OK were forecast to be 14 mph at 10am just about the time we planned to arrive. What’s more, they were supposed to increase each hour to 24 mph. But we went anyway, five of us driving to Norman. Ken and Clem, Steve J and Don H, and Larry going solo.  Ken and I were fueled by Ken’s excitement to finally get his newly acquired Seawind in the water, damn the wind—full speed ahead!  When we got there not only was the wind blowing, but it was also drizzling , overcast, and chilly. The Norman club was nice enough to open the field earlier in the morning than usual to accommodate our visit hoping to get the Seawind’s maiden flight done before the wind got too crazy.... Read More