Genesee Valley Aero Modelers

Editor: Glenn Crocker
21 Highview Trail
Pittsford, NY 14534

Hobbies are an interesting thing. As members of the Genesee Valley Aero Modelers, we all have at least one. But, I am willing to bet many of us have several hobbies. A hobby we used to do, one we do occasionally, and one we always thought would be neat to try. I bring this up because as I was reading a recent issue of "Model Aviation", there was an editorial that gave a possible explanation about why we see so many people come, join our hobby for a while, and then leave in two or three years. The theory was simply this, with so much information available to us today with television, the Internet and so fourth, it’s easy to find new things we find interesting. With each new interest often come’s a new hobby. We see something new, we learn more about it, we find people, a local group or a club with the same interest and boom, we have a new hobby!

As I was reading, I have to admit I recognized a bit of myself in the editorial. Over the past 25 years I have had three major hobbies. My wife Nancy would probably tell you they have been more like obsessions, and to tell the truth, I would have to agree. The first was music. For several years I played in small local bands, playing bars, parties, dances and weddings. It was a lot of fun, but I always needed that new piece of equipment that would make the band and myself, sound and look so much better. My second major hobby was collecting old outboard motors. I started with two motors that were given to me when I worked at a marina. I learned all about the history of outboard motors, and no, Ole Evinrude did not invent the outboard motor. I joined the Antique Outboard Motor Club of America (yes there is a national organization for that), and even helped start up a local club. I still have 14 motors stored down in my basement. I think you can guess what my current hobby is. I think I’m going to keep this one for awhile.

I think that understanding this can help us keep people interested in the hobby. One of the things I really like about this hobby, is that once you master that up, down, left, right and landing thing, there are all kinds of ways you can go. If you get bored with one type of flying or type of plane, try another. There are more choices now than ever. If someone does leave RC flying, I don’t think they ever could say that they have tried everything and now are bored.

The weather has finally given us a break. We seem to have gone from one extreme to the other (I prefer the other). The field has dried out and is quite presentable. The morning crowd has been out in force. Even Lou Eltscher has been flying between his trips to the "continent".

I have just returned from Olean. This is the first year that I have attended when the wind was under Hurricane force. It was still a crosswind but was very gentle. Everyone flew so much at the beginning of the day they were tired by late afternoon. Around 4 pm anyone that wanted to fly had the field to themselves.

As always the planes were outstanding with the real standout being a B 29. It made several flights during the day and performed flawlessly. The evening activity has changed from flying U Control with light sticks to flying electrics. Eric and Jim flew their electrics and there was a flight of at least 6 Tiger moths flying in formation just about sunset.

We had good representation from the club. We had 9 members for the day and 5 remained overnight. Dave did his usual excellent Chef duties and Eric supplied the wine for the evening wine and cheese snacks.

Olean was a real success and we are looking forward to next year.

Remember the clubs annual family picnic is August 4^th. Include it on your calendar and join us for an enjoyable day.

Enjoy your flying. The way the weather has been, you may wake up to snow tomorrow. Watch the trees (Tom) and land with the wheels on the bottom.

Aug.4 GVAM Family Picnic. GVAM Field.

Aug. 10-11 RCCR Great Electric Fun Fly at Bolling Field.

Aug. 16-17-18 Empire State Free Flight Championships at Historical Aviation Field Geneseo NY

Aug. 17-18 Glenn Curtis Fun Fly Hammondsport NY

Aug. 17-18 Adirondack IMAC Giant Scale Fly In. Johnstown NY

Aug 25 Interclub Picnic. GVAM field.

Aug 31-Sept.1 AMA District II Fly In. Phoenix NY

Plan to join us for our 2002 GVAM Family Picnic.

Date: August 4^th 2002

Location: Coye Field (The Flying Field)

Time: Flying Starts at 9:00AM

Lunch: Serving Starts at 1:30 PM

Bring Table Service a dish to pass and a large appetite. The club will furnish the meat, drinks and condiments.

If you have been flying in the last couple of weeks, you have seen the new table for assembling and starting your plane.

This was assembled by John Woodruff to see how the club members liked it. It is made from the plans and article in the August issue of "Model Aviation". Initial feedback has been very positive. If you have the opportunity try it and let me know how you like it and if you have any suggestions.

Our cable reels are rapidly heading south and we will need something to replace them before too long.

If you see John, thank him for his efforts.

A wad of crumpled wax paper comes in handy when covering your model. When your iron starts to get sticky from the glue, or the colors start to transfer, clean the iron with the wax paper and then wipe the excess wax off with a clean rag. The slick surface will make the job a lot easier.

Stud Threads

You know those threaded metal studs you get with your Ny-Rods? If you use a small electrical wire nut screwed onto one end of the stud, you'll find it a lot easier to screw the other end into the inner pushrod of the Ny-Rod. Saves the stud threads, too.

Need a Bench?

Need an extra bench, yet don't have the space for a permanent one? How about an ironing board? It folds, has a padded top (if you choose), is adjustable for height and you can even sit down while covering or when working on some up-close need. Best of all, you can fold it up and put it away.

When using epoxy for finishing purposes it can be thinned, but no more than 15% to 20%, with isopropyl alcohol which is 90% to 99% pure alcohol. Rubbing alcohol contains only 70% isopropyl and the remaining 30% is water which can become trapped in the cured epoxy

Epoxies can be colored with the various tinting compounds designed for acrylic and latex paints, which are available at many hardware stores. Or you can use hobby paints that are alcohol (acrylic) based. Colored finish cure, thinned with isopropyl alcohol, has actually been applied with a spray gun to form a beautiful finish on several models. Of course, the immediate clean up of the spray equipment is extremely important.

For those of you, who like to keep a clean bird, try a few drops of this in your spray cleaner bottle. It's called Kodak Photo Flo (put out by Kodak). It's a super wetting agent and works like magic, even a little in the bucket when washing the car. It comes in a 4-ounce size bottle. Buy it at any photo supply shop.