Dare County Radio Control Flyers

Ten club members met today for breakfast at the Jolly Roger Restaurant in Kill Devil Hills since the temperature was predicted to drop to a point that flying would be unpleasant. During breakfast we brainstormed and came up with a number of really good ideas relating to improving our field, and marketing our club more effectively. Tentative plans were also made to get together at the field tomorrow to fly since the weather was forecast to improve.

Those attending today were Mike Kirkpatrick, Charlie Doss, Robert Yanacek, Peter Fynn, Philip Garey, Jim Davis, Stephen Yanacek, Skip Wescott, Mike Alexander, and Grant Peacock.

Meanwhile, in southeastern Virginia at about the same time our Pilot's Breakfast event was concluding, Grant Dick was busy trying to figure out how to fit a JU-87 Stuka dive-bomber with a 94-inch wingspan he just purchased at the Newport News Park Radio Control Club's swap meet into his truck to bring home.

Four members of Dare County Radio Control Flyers met with educators from Dare County Schools to discuss how model aviation integrated within a STEM curriculum would be of benefit to their students. The meeting was hosted by Shannon Castillo, CTE Director for Dare County Schools, and included educators from five of the school system's campuses. The other educators attending were Annette O'Neal, Ashley Basnight, Duke Wallin, Kelsey Oglesby, Suzanne Jennette, Tara Wheeler, and Camie Romano.

The club proposed a partnership with the school system, offering to assist the educators in any way they can, from permitting their students to try flying a model aircraft, to hosting workshops and classes, to even assisting teachers in developing a viable STEM curriculum.

Following the meeting, the club's STEM committee, consisting of Peter Fynn, Stephen Yanacek, Philip Garey, and Robert Yanacek, conducted a post-meeting discussion over lunch at the Jolly Roger Restaurant.

What do you do when it's a Saturday and it is too cold and windy to fly? Skip Wescott, Robert Yanacek, Stephen Yanacek, Charlie Doss, Mike Kirkpatrick, Mike Alexander, and Jim Davis solved that dilemma by meeting for breakfast at the Jolly Roger Restaurant to discuss current projects as well as some future club activities.

One of the things we discussed was taking a club field trip to the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach in the near future to see their collection of full-size aircraft.

Temperatures in the mid-50s and very low winds made for an enjoyable day of flying for seven of our members and two guests. The flying conditions were so good that Virgil Kee was even able to fly his ultra-micro aircraft without any of the difficulties normally caused by the wind.

Meanwhile in Durham, our youngest member, Jonathan Alexander, had the same idea and enjoyed equally as good flying conditions with his AeroScout S2.

In addition to Virgil, Jonathan, and our two guests, Peter Fynn, Robert Yanacek, Stephen Yanacek, Skip Wescott, Philip Garey, and Jim Davis also enjoyed being outdoors and performing some leisurely flying with their fellow members.

Club members Peter Fynn and Philip Garey hosted a soldering workshop at our meeting location to teach basic techniques to beginners and provide tips, practice, and assistance to our more seasoned members. The workshop was well-attended, and over the course of the two-hour session our members learned a great deal from their instruction and experience.

Those attending this workshop were: Jim Davis; Jim Shiels; Stephen Yanacek; Matt Yanacek; Viktor Ward; Paul Yanacek; Skip Wescott; Robert Yanacek; Mike Kirkpatrick; Virgil Kee; Guy Marino, and; Mike Alexander.

Temperatures of 40-degrees and winds in excess of 20mph today prevented us from flying. Instead we used the morning to get together for breakfast at the Jolly Roger Restaurant to discuss the club's meeting this past week with Dare County School System officials. Also discussed were upcoming events including a soldering class at the end of the month, and planning for the 2023 Outer Banks Festival of Model Aviation event at the end of September. Those attending also received the club hats they ordered from club member Charlie Doss.

Attendees today included Mike Kirkpatrick, Grant Peacock, Skip Wescott, Robert Yanacek, Stephen Yanacek, Peter Fynn, Philip Garey, and Jim Davis.

Taking advantage of relatively moderate temperatures for a January day, Philip Garey, Stephen Yanacek, Peter Fynn, and Robert Yanacek met at the field today to fly along with Richard Fynn and Guy Marino, who attended as guests.

Winds were light throughout the day and many flights were flown by our club members who were present. One guest, Guy Marino, attended to begin training to become a radio control pilot through the Introductory Pilot Program sponsored by the Academy of Model Aeronautics. Guy performed very well, completing takeoffs, various maneuvers, and landings with both an AeroScout S and a Valiant 480E. Guy will now be permitted to fly with one of our club's instructors at no cost for the next 90-days. At the conclusion of that period, he will have to decide whether he wishes to continue his flying activities by becoming a club member.

Besides flights with our member's usual aircraft, others included a number of First Person View (FPV) drone sorties, and Philip Garey's flight with his very fast AtomRC Dolphin. Peter Fynn ended the day with a flight of his flying wing before we all headed home to warm up and relax with a hot cup of coffee.

Six of our members and two guests met today at our pilot's breakfast at the Jolly Roger Restaurant to discuss current projects and plans to fly on Saturday.

Attending were Guy Marino, Jim Davis, Philip Garey, Robert Yanacek, Stephen Yanacek, Peter Fynn, Richard Fynn, and Mike Kirkpatrick.

With our hopes of flying dashed due to rain, Skip Wescott, Robert Yanacek, Stephen Yanacek, Peter Fynn, Philip Garey, and Jim Davis met for breakfast today at the Jolly Roger Restaurant. We used this opportunity to discuss projects to improve our flying field and plans for events and activities for the upcoming year.

As our year draws to a close, we wish all of our followers, family, and friends many good landings in 2023!

Jonathan, our guest pilot who flew with us Thanksgiving weekend, made out good this Christmas. He received a 1.5m Turbo Timber Evolution, a Spektrum NX8 transmitter, and a UMX F4U Corsair from Santa.

Jonathan has already flown the Turbo Timber at his home field on a windy day and it performed well for him. Congratulations Jonathan!