No report. See you at this month’s meeting for the lake closure update.

Thanks

Will Campbell

President, Ft. Worth Thunderbirds

I know many of you can’t wait until the weekend so you can try out your latest aircraft, modification, or just have some good camaraderie at the flying field.  Unfortunately I am writing this on one of our "Iced In" days and even though the sun is out, an 8-degree wind chill and ice on the roads means that I, like many of you, will be going to the hangar (the garage) and performing some overdue maintenance on one

of my planes.  Days like this often serve me well in reminding me why I decided to move from the north 20 years ago!

In my Vice President role, I want to make sure that if there are topics that you are interested in hearing more about at our club meetings, that they are noted and we can try to find the appropriate person(s) to discuss them.  To that end, I will be helping Will set up programs for the meetings.  To do so, I may have to search out guest speakers and schedule them well in advance so they can attend our meetings.  To better represent your interest and get authorities on subjects that you are interested in, please let me know the topics that you would like to hear more about.  Feel free to call me or e-mail me with your suggestions.

 Over the holidays we had many people that requested training and the T-Bird instructors have been busy scheduling appointments, lining up training equipment and generally contacting all of the interested potential new members to schedule training.  The instructors continue to represent the T-Bird organization very well and I want to again, say "THANK YOU" to the instructors for their time and effort.  In our continuing quest of having one of the best training programs in the area, we are always looking for additional buddy boxes, training cords, engines, trainers, etc.  If you are interested in donating any of these items, please do not hesitate to contact myself, Woody Lake, Terry Thorpe, Oscar Slaughter or Claude Barnes.  Thanks for your continued assistance and dedication in helping out the training program.

 I look forward to a very successful, safe and fun 2007 and am proud to serve as your VP.  Thanks for the opportunity!

Report not available at this time.

The renewals are still rolling in: however, of the 180+ members list on the current roster, there are 46 who have not renewed. The following members will be dropped from the current roster March 1^st:

Please make welcome our latest new members Douglas M. Cecil, Dickie Henry, Thomas Henry, Virgil E. (Gene) Hodges and Stranton Pearce.

Remember to go by JT’s Hobby and pick up your raffle tickets for the Hellcat being raffled by the club to raise money for a new storage build.

Well that’s all for now, see you at the meeting, so be there or be square.

Respectfully,

SAFETY AVIATION HUMOR

Groundhog Chili Day. The dawn was dreary, cold and overcast for that little rodent in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, but for Thunderbirds in Fort Worth, Texas the sky was a warm clear blue that brought out more than 50 people to our annual Groundhog Day fun fly. In addition, there was chili, cornbread, chips, and even a coconut cake! There was plenty of good food, fun, and discussion of all things R/C. The fixed-wing pilots played "Thunderbird Poker" whereby pilots collected playing cards by landing their planes in designated grid-

squares marked on the runway. In the first round of poker, Patrick Mason won the hand with three-of-a-kind (fours). Roger Burgess took honors for the most landings with an incredible 59 touch-and-goes in 10 minutes. These two winners were awarded gift cards for J.T.’s Hobbies. It may be worth noting that both of these pilots flew Model Tech Magic aircraft. In the just-for-fun round, Gary Alphin had the best hand with a full house of Queens over fours. (It was announced at the field that Patrick Mason had the best hand with a flush. After further review, the ruling on the field was overturned, and Gary Alphin was declared the winner.) During the event, the club sold $125 in raffle tickets for the F6F Hellcat. Thank you to the pilots that participated in the Thunderbird Poker game. Thanks also to the helicopter pilots that worked with the rescue experiment. After adjustments are made to make the plastic soldiers heavier and increase the size of the rescue hooks, this could be a fun contest next year. Thank you to James and Jason Meadows for helping to draw the poker grid on the runway while it was still pretty cold. And thank you to Jeff and Lucy Fisher for working the Thunderbird Poker grid. A special thank you is also due to J.T.’s Hobbies for their generous support to the Fort Worth Thunderbirds club and our events. But the most important thank you goes to everyone that attended the Groundhog Day event. That is what makes this worth doing.

EZ Super Sport: Has OS 46 (headfin damage but runs good) asking $300.00+shipping with 4 ch xmtr

Hanger 9 Super Stick: Very nice plane has a thunder tiger 60 with 4-channel focus xmtr

Hanger 9 Ultrastick: Nice plane never flown has a fox 46 in it asking $350.00 airframe only or priced ready to fly with futaba 6xa xmtr for $475.00

Hobbico Superstar: Has thunder Tiger 42 with 4 ch asking $300.00 airframe only $275.00 firm compare new at 360++

For additional info on above four items contact Gene at: cadmn@hotmail.com

For Sale: Sachs 3.7 with prop, runs great, will sacrifice for $190.00 or OBO.
Contact Terry at (817) 444-8237 thorpetr@flash.net

For Sale: Sig "Somethin' Extra" Laser Cut Kit $70.00 - New in the Box- Never unboxed.
Specifications:
Engine .40-.46 2 cycle or .56-.65 4 cycle, Wingspan 51.5 in, Wing Area 614 sq in, Length 48.25 in
Weight 4/25-5 lbs
Requires Radio 4 Channel with 5 standard servos
CAD generated plans, laser-cut parts, a fully illustrated, easy-to-follow instruction manual, complete hardware packages, and the absolute best balsa wood and plywood. Unique plug-in wing panel system, pre-shaped leading edge, decals, motor mounts, hinges, all required flying surface and throttle linkages, pre-bent aluminum landing gear, wheel pants and tail group support system.

Contact Terry at (817) 444-8237 thorpetr@flash.net

4-6 May 07 SAE Competition Oliver Alvarado/Will Campbell

E-Mail: oliver.g.alvarado@lmco.com

E-Mail: wcampbell@maseratiusa.com

19 May 07 War Bird Fly-in Terry Thorpe

thorpetr@flash.net

13 June 07 Old Farts Four Stroke Fly-in Chuck McLeroy

chpe12@sbcglobal.net

16-17 June 07 Scale Masters Qualifier Lawrence Harville

lawhar@yahoo.com

July Club Picnic Club Officers

27-29 July Heli Heat Wave Will Campbell

E-Mail: wcampbell@maseratiusa.com

5 Aug Float Fly Oscar Slaughter

E-Mail: Oslaughter@charter.net

29 Sept Big Bird Fly-In Woody Lake

Tentative E-Mail: at6pilot@charter.net