APRIL. 14, 2003
The meeting was called to order at 1920 hrs. by President Jim Jewell. The minutes of Mar. 10/03 meeting were read by secretary Bill Bell. Motion to accept the minutes as read moved by Lou Deschamps & seconded by Bob Axford. Carried.
Treasurer's Report:
There are (36) paid members to date. Budget for the club is based on (47) members. The bank balance was reported. Motion to accept the Treasure’s Report as read was moved by Ron Edwards and seconded by Bob Myers. Carried.
Old Business:
President Jim thanked the volunteers who were at the Leamington Complex for the “RACE AGAINST DRUGS”. Gerry Shaw and Chuck Smith, visitors from MAAC were impressed with the ‘RACE AGAINST DRUGS PROGRAM” and our club participation. MAAC will donate approximately (70) balsa stick planes to be built and flown in the school program. Jim gave a brief outline of the school program and the need for volunteer s both at the schools and the field trips. Lou Deschamps, Len Laport, Bill Bell and Jim Jewell volunteered to help with the programs.
- May 12/03, 10 AM Mon. Field Trip Volunteers. Bill Bell, Len Laport, Jim Jewell, Ron Edwards, Ray Gould, Bob Myers and Joe Schooley.
- May 19/03, 10 AM – 1:45 PM, Leamington Air Show at Saecliff Beach.
Snowbirds and Skyhawks will be the main feature. The Sun Parlour Club from Windsor will participate with us in the FLOAT-FLY.
- May 26/03, 10 AM, Mon. Field trip volunteers. Bill Bell, Jim Jewell, Len Laport, Ron Edwards, Bob Axford, Joe Schooley, Lou Deschamps, Bob Myers, Barry Fegarty, Roger Taillieu and Jim Helkie. There will be (70) students and (20) adults. Partners Restaurant in Kingsville has kindly offered to cater the event. Hotdogs and drinks will be supplied.
- June16/03, !0 AM,Mon. Field Trip volunteers. Bill Bell, Jack Pepin, Lou Deschemps, Barry Fegarty. There will be (26) students. A digital camera will be used to send pictures via email to schools for student newsletters, papers etc.
NEW BUSINESS:
- As part of President Jim’s remarks Norm Long was introduced as our mewest member and welcomed into the club.
- The Leamington Air Show and the Cottam Horse Show have both been sanctioned by MAAC.
- Heritage Village has offered inside, heated storage and display space for members planes. This will allow the club to display club banners as well and is more good exposure for club programs.
- Motion to close the meeting moved by Bob Axford and seconded by John McIntosh. Carried. Meeting closed at 20:20 hrs.
MEMBERS IN ATTENDANCE:
(Those who signed the sheet) Bill Bell, Jeff Kuzniak, Jim Jewell, Ron Edwards, Herb Thrun, Bob Axford, Robin Paulton, Jack Pepin, Bob Myers, Ken Connick, Lou Deschamps, Mike Dewar, Carl Murtagh, Len Laporte, Ray Gould, Roger Gould, Joe Schooley, Roger Taillieu, Barry Fegarty, Norm Long.
Secretary Bill Bell.
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Following the close of the meeting, a display of antique planes and motors was presented by Joe Schooley. Joe gave members a brief description of each item.
 
JJ presents our appreciation certificate. One of the excellent Chatham entries.
This summer turned out to be a great one if you love to fly model aircraft. The weather was outstanding and the opportunities to get together with flying buddies were many. We had the opportunity to float fly at the Gresek’s and at the Bell’s and had a ball doing it regardless of the repairs required afterward.
It was also a good summer to learn. Two new pilots earned their wings, Norm Long and Kyle Tiessen are the newest members of the flying fraternity, welcome guys, it’s great to see the club growing. And while on the topic of learning, we again hosted scads of grade fivers who got hands on experience flying radio controlled aircraft . They got their first taste of the hobby and were really impressed.
Some of the summer events included the "fly in" at Schwab's farm on Labour Day weekend, the London swap meet, the meet at the Leamington airport, the Chatham Scale meet, the Cottom horse show, the meet at Heritage Village and the Seacliff float fly. We can't say there was nothing to do.
Last spring I asked Joe Schooley to wrote some articles on the beginning of the model aircraft hobby. Joe graciously agreed and his first installment completes this issue. Be sure to read it, it's great information from a knowledgeable source.
Secretary Bill Bell
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... a look back
This article is one in a series looking back at the history of model aviation. I hope you like it.
In 1911 balsa was discovered by the New York Aero Club. The word balsa is Spanish for ‘raft’
It is 8% wood fibre and 92% air.
In 1915 the first clubs were organized:
Harlem Model Aero Club Bay Ridge Model Club (Brooklyn)
Long Island Model Club Summit NJ Model Club
The first ‘Nationals’were held in 1915 in New York by the Aero Science Club. The first postal contest between clubs was also in 1915. A perpetual trophy was awarded with the winner putting on the next year’s contest.
Unfortunately most of these clubs faded away during the 1st World War never to be heard of again.
1919 saw the emergence of the first model magazines – Aero Digest and Aerial Age. Kits began to appear starting with Charlie Grant (of the famed Grant X Airfoil). Grant also invented an automatic prop carver that could turn out a thousand props a day. The Ritchie Wertz Manufacturing Corp. of Dayton Ohio was the home of this prodigious activity. Soon Bill Brown entered the picture with his Brown “D”, a 60 size engine. He was not the first to invent a model engine. There were others but he was the most successful. Fifty thousand were sold between 1935 and 1939. At $21.50 each this represented one to two week’s wages at that time. The Forester “99” Appeared in 1935 and was produced until 1957.
Before the days of TV, the Skelly Oil Co. sponsored a radio show named the Jimmy Allen Jr. Birdman Show and Jimmy Allen Flying Club Show. You could join at any Skelly Oil gas station. In 1933 sixty thousand Skelly/Allen oil ROG’s were kitted. The Jimmy Allen air races were held in Tulsa. Ten thousand spectators came to watch the kids fly stick and tissue airplanes. Then a week later in Kansas twenty thousand people showed up for the Jimmy Allen contest; later, thirty thousand fans turned out at St. Louis. At the height of it’s popularity in 1936 six hundred thousand club news letters were being printed. About this time, William Randolph Hearst, the most powerful newspaper magnet in America, decided to join in and formed his own airplane club – ‘The Jr. Birdmen of America’.
Frank Zaic, author of ‘The Year Books’ from 1937 to 1957 on what makes airplanes fly, joined together with Lawrence Shaw and organized a club with over a half million kids. It was the largest and best organized club in U.S. history. Shaw claimed to keep a dossier on every single birdman and it was said that Shaw was not known to lie.
From it’s start in 1926 the Detroit Dept. of Recreation, by the mid 30’s, sponsored 22 city clubs. Fifteen thousand boys built 500 planes a week.
In 1936 the A.M.A. was organized by a small group of modelers.
By now gas was taking over from rubber at contests. The average age of modelers was 13 at the beginning of the decade. By the end it was 19 yrs. (1939-40). All the planes flying in contests were designed by boys between these ages. By 1940, the majority of the country’s dedicated long-term modelers had arrived on the planet. By 1940 it was turning into an adult hobby and remains so today.
Joe Schooley
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