I am very saddened with the loss of Tom Wilson. All of those who knew him, knew he was one of a kind. Tom loved the hobby and was a fanatic about detail on his airplanes. You will be greatly missed Tom.

The Race Against Drugs show is fast approaching. I want to thank those who have volunteered to help with this special program, this is a great opportunity to reach a large number of young people in a short period of time.

Our club shirts and hats will be ready for purchase at the time of this writing, if you would like to purchase a hat, golf shirt or T shirt, please contact me at 839-5453 or Jim Helkie at 322-0552. Hats $8.00, golf shirts $25.00, T shirts $15.00.

The flying season is fast approaching; I hope everyone has his aircraft ready to go. I for one have had enough snow for one year and am looking forward to a new flying season.

See you at the next meeting, March 10, 2003, 7:30 PM. at the Staples Community Centre. JJ.

This month our featured project is from Vice President Jim Helkie. Jim completed this Delta Vortex in just five weeks. The kit was from Bruce Tharpe Engineering and Jim covered it with MonoKote.

The Delta Vortex has a wingspan of 54" and with the OS-FX .91 installed weighs in at 8 ½ lbs.

Jim has installed Hitec Super Torque Digital servos in the Vortex and with the OS .91 dragging it across the sky it should snap a few necks just watching.

Be sure to be at the March 10th meeting. Jim is bringing the Vortex and this could be your only chance to see it without a severe case of whiplash. Thanks for this preview Jim.

FEBRUARY. 10, 2003

The meeting was called to order at 19:30 hrs. by President Jim Jewell. It was suggested by Jim that the minutes of the Jan. 13 2003 meeting be approved as printed in the Newsletter.

Treasurer's Report:

Treasurer Barry Fegarty reported on the financial information and it was accepted.

Old Business:

It was with great sadness that President Jim Jewell informed the members of the passing of Tom Wilson Feb 01/03. Tom was a valued member of the club and will be missed by all of us. Tom will be especially missed in his work for the RACE AGAINST DRUGS program, one which our club has been involved with for a number of years.

New Business:

The club registration has been sent to MAAC for the 2003 year.

Registration has also been sent to MAAC for the club participation in the RACE AGAINST DRUGS program at the Cleary Centre in Windsor, Mar. 02-06/03 and the Kinsmen Centre in Leamington Mar. 23-25/03. As always volunteers are needed to man the program in Windsor and Leamington.

Two new members were introduced, Don Moore and Herb Thrun.

Jim Jewell proposed the subject of new club shirts. The shirts would be embroidered and cost $25.00 for golf shirts and $15.00 for T shirts. The colour would be red and the sizes large and extra large. Jim Jewell and Jim Helkie will investigate further on sizes etc. and report back.

MAAC insurance is in force for 2003.

Motion to close the meeting was made by Bob Myers and seconded by Ed Gresik. Meeting closed at 20:00 hrs.

The meeting was followed by a SWAP MEET. Members freely swapped goods, services, advice and stories.

Members in attendance:

Bill Bell, Jeff Kuzniak, Jim Jewell, Ron Edwards, Robin Paulton, John McIntosh, Barry Fegarty, Bob Axford, Ed Gresik, Jim Helkie, Joe Gibson, Bob Myers, Len Laporte, Andrew Haggert, Ray Gould, Roger Gould, Jason Gibson.

Secretary Bill Bell.

Once again the Southern R/C Flyers are participating in the Race Against Drugs.

This picture was taken at the Cleary in Windsor On March 3rd, with many hundreds of young people seeking ways to keep out of trouble and avoid drug use.

It takes many hands doing what needs to be done to bring off a successful booth operation. Thanks to the many who offered their planes for display and a special thanks to President JJ and the other presenters who spent their man hours talking to the students and teachers.

The Leamington Race Against Drugs is still ahead of us. It will be held from March 23 set up to March 25th noon take down. Lets get our butts in gear and help out the guys who are giving this club a good reputation with the public.

In an attempt to prove that your newsletter editor isn't always serious here is an item that may brighten your day.

Ron

For all of us who feel only the deepest love and affection for the way computers have enhanced our lives, read on. At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon".

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued a press release stating: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.

2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of the road, close the windows, shut off the car, restart it, and reopen the windows before you could continue. For some reason you would simply accept this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the engine.

5. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as easy to drive - but would run on only five percent of the roads.

6. The oil, water temperature, and alternator warning lights would all be replaced by a single "This Car Has Performed An Illegal Operation" warning light.

7. The airbag system would ask, "Are you sure?" before deploying.

8. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.

9. Every time a new car was introduced car buyers would have to learn how to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.

10. You'd have to press the start button to turn the engine off.

Thanks to JJ.