Black Sheep RC Club

From The Workshop (Dec. 2020)

2020-11-11

Summary of Mar - Nov Club Meetings

March » cancelled (Covid 19)
April » cancelled (Covid19)
May » cancelled (Covid19)
June » held (social distancing observed)
July » cancelled (Covid19)
Aug » cancelled (Covid19)
Sep » cancelled (Covid 19)
Oct » held (2021 officer slate nominated)
Nov » held (2021 officer slate elected)

2020 Annual BSRCC Christmas Party / 2020 Dec Club Meeting / 2021 Jan Club Meeting

As was stated in the Oct “From The Workshop” newsletter, an agenda item was included in the Nov. meeting to discuss whether or not to hold the “Annual BSRCC Christmas Party” this year. The argument in favor of having this event was that it is generally a lot of fun! However, The arguments against holding it were:

After some discussion on all these points, the group voted that the club would NOT hold the annual BSRCC Christmas Party this year due to Covid concerns. Additionally, everyone decided that the club would also NOT hold a Dec. club meeting at the field clubhouse for the same reason. Therefore, our next club meeting WILL be held the first Tue. of Jan. 2021, 6PM, at the field clubhouse so be sure to put this on your calendar!

2021 BSRCC Officer Election Results

As you know, club ByLaws call for officers to be nominated at the October meeting and then voted on for election in the November meeting. This process was carried out resulting in the following officers for 2021:

All officers thank you for your vote of confidence, and look forward to serving you over the next year!

Winter Flying

As you know, we fly all year long here in beautiful upstate South Carolina! In fact, some claim the Fall/Winter flying weather is better than the Spring/Summer weather. Although this topic is often debated, the fact remains that the coming months will likely provide some very nice flying opportunities. Therefore, please try to make some time to come out and join the rest of us “die hards” and enjoy the great weather (Tue & Thur are common flying days)!

Invite Your Friends To Come Fly With You

As you know, we have remained at about 40 members for many years now. Although relatively small in numbers, we are a close knit group of modelers who enjoy socializing together, flying together, and working together when required in order to make our club one of the finest flying sites in South Carolina! To the very last person, we take enormous pride in our flying site and we work hard to maintain it in a clean, safe, and orderly manner. We know that many of our members are also members of other flying clubs because it gives them a broader base of friends to share the hobby with (an idea that has long been encouraged by BSRCC). Therefore, we encourage all our members to invite their friends to come fly with them at Black Sheep. Our rationale is that if you like them, then chances are we will too! They can fly as your guests at BSRCC without feeling any particular pressure to join. However, if they should wish to join at a later time, then they are certainly welcome to do that as well! In any case, our general goals at Black Sheep are to promote a relaxed environment where we can enjoy each other’s company, and to fly absolutely as much as the weather permits!

Mowers & More Mowers!

The club has fallen heir to yet another used mower (that makes us the proud owner of 6 total mowers at this time)! This one was obtained by Morgan from one of his neighbors because it had some mechanical problems. Dennis & Morgan are planning to do the repairs over the winter months, thus giving us an additional chance of winning the “grass battle” next year! Someone recently suggested that we ought to re-name our club the “Black Sheep Lawn Mower & Incidental Flying Club”! However, that suggestion was vigorously opposed by several senior members who said that including “lawn mower” in the name would not reveal the “true level of sophistication” of our club. Therefore, after much spirited debate, we will proudly remain the Black Sheep RC Club (although we do have almost as many mowers as we have airplanes)!

A Pitts Description (author unknown)

This humorous “Pitts Description” (author unknown) was found online, and I thought you might enjoy it as well.

The Pitts biplane can best be described as an infinite collection of oddly shaped curves which approximate an airplane, having wings and fuselage of extremely small aspect ratios thus giving rise to its maximal drag and minimal aerodynamic efficiency characteristics. This airplane is also noted for having two wings (when one would have done nicely) and oversized wheel pants (when none at all were needed), thus further decreasing its already dismal engine-out glide ratio (“…similar to a brick, as they say”). This airplane is a favorite among aerobatic pilots suffering from elevated testosterone levels, as well as those who tend to be obsessed with proving that both bumble bees and Pitts biplanes can, if fact, fly! To simply say that a Pitts biplane has a “lot of drag” would be a gross understatement of almost biblical proportions. In fact, one MIT professor who owns a 200 HP Pitts said that if the throttle is chopped rapidly while aloft, the normal Pitts drag is so high that it will actually cause the plane to fly backwards for a short while… before crashing! Notwithstanding any of the technical challenges mentioned above, the Pitts biplane is a treasured airplane to own as it imbues the title holder with almost unlimited bragging rights concerning any and all engineering, mechanical, aerodynamic, aerobatic, & airmanship matters! And that, my friends, in a nutshell, is why I own a Pitts!

Important Reminders

  1. If you are a new BSRCC member, please familiarize yourself with the following documents found on our website at www.bsrcc.com:

    Club Bylaws
    Noise, Overflight, and Flying site map
    No Flying Over Pits and Parking Lot

  2. Please check the status of your FAA registration and renew it if needed.

  3. Please check the status of your AMA membership and renew it if needed.

  4. Please check the status of your BSRCC membership and renew it if needed (i.e., 2021 membership dues may be mailed to Nelson Swords, 228 Ellison Lake Road, Williamston, SC 29697, Tel=864-940-5817, Email=nelsonaswords@gmail.com).

  5. Broken Prop Blades, Trash, Etc - in the interest of both safety and neatness, please help pick up broken prop blades and other debris when you see it at the field.

  6. Tree Climber - this person is generally available to climb trees for you to retrieve downed airplanes (i.e., Mr. Murray Holloway, tel= 864-671-9781). His fee is “negotiable”.

Miscellaneous Videos

Below is a link to an interesting video that I have received over the past month, and I thought you might enjoy it as well. It is entitled “Unconditional Love” and shows the special bond that often develops between animals & humans of all sorts. Enjoy! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaKtI4QfhH0

That’s all I have for now. See you @ the flying field!

-JB