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Ed Rae Memorial Fun Fly, June 8, 2024
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Join us for the Ed Rae Memorial Fun Fly.
- DATE: Saturday June 8, 2024.
- TIMES:
- 08:30-9:00 Pilot registration
- 09:00-9:15 Pilot Briefing
- LANDING FEE: $10.00.
- BBQ LUNCH: 11:30 - 12:30
- 2024 MAAC registration required. Stetson Membership required for club members.
- This event is closed to the public - only MAAC members and crew may attend. Invited guest(s) of a MAAC member are permitted provided they are supervised.
- LOCATION: Stetson Flight Field - 5800 Frontier Rd, Ottawa
- Basic camping (no hookups)
- People's choice vote for 'Nicest Looking Aircraft' and draw prizes.
- Information: contact@stetsonflyers.com
Thank you to our sponsors: Great Hobbies and Orleans Hobbies. |
Stetson's First Fly Jan. 1, 2024
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| Click HERE for photo album |
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2024-01-01: Early on New Year’s Day, 20 members gathered at our snowless airfield for our annual first flight of the year.
The temperature was about -6c with light winds. At 9:00 o’clock, 8 electric planes lined up for take-off, and Rick Ramalho “officially” got the honours of being the first one in the air in 2024, earning bragging rights and a small prize, a pair of MLG skis.
A short time later, we had 2 participants for the Glow/IC category. Gary Robertson initially had a quick start-up and was confidently heading for the flight line, while Greg Oliver patiently ran his engine on the bench, but Gary’s engine stopped while in transit, which brought him back to his own bench. Both pilots finally lined up ready to go and Greg’s plane was off the ground seconds before his opponent. Which earned Greg bragging rights for 2024 and a small prize, a tail-wheel ski,
There was lots of fun and cheering.
We enjoyed some Coffee and Tim Bits, and Alain Richer’s home made cookies. It was a very good turn out everyone had a great time flying and socializing.
A very good 2024 to all!
Marc Côté, Events Director
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Registration is now open for members. Click HERE for more information. |
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2023 Christmas Party Thursday Nov 30, 2023
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| Click HERE for event photo ablum |
Thursday November 30 saw some 46 members and family join together at Mandarin Buffet restaurant for the annual Stetsons Christmas Party.
While the numbers were down a bit, the crowd more than made up for it with enthusiasm and fun.
A big Stetson Thank You to Mandarin. Great food as always. It always makes me chuckle to see the kids go for pizza and fries, in the midst of 100 delicious buffet items!
Santa's helpers were able to provide gifts to the children again this year. We tried for Santa, but he was tied up in C of A issues on his sleigh!
Louis' folks at Air Inuit were trying to help out, but reported issues with a red nose light not meeting Transport Canada regulations. Fancy that!
Special thanks to Pierre Voyer for adding to the gifts with his hand-made toys from his 3D printers. Fantastic! The kids were delighted.
Several awards were handed out and accomplishments celebrated throughout the evening.
Many thanks to Great Hobbies and Orleans Hobbies for contributing the many door prizes. We really appreciate your continuing support.
Among the most unique was the club's participation in the Ringmaster World Flyathon, where over a dozen members and a few guests spent a weekend flying control-line Ringmasters at Stetson Field. When the dizziness subsided, the club had tallied 1011 official 5 lap flights. This total was submitted to the powers that be, and in due course, was informed that this was the WORLD RECORD Winning Score for the year! Huge congrats to all the participants!
Those members who were major contributors in flying ten or more flights included John Weekes, Charlie Colwell, Tony Garbish, Mark Winstanley, Peter Wakefield, Ricardo Vieirafilho, Brian Pepin and Xavier Mouraux. Honorable mention to well over a dozen more who came and added to the totals!
Three deserving members were inducted into the Stetsons Clapping Wings Club this season, for their demonstrated abilities to disassemble an aircraft while in flight. Pat Hennessey and Gary Robertson each managed the balsa planting feat with 100% success, while Brian Pepin made the cut for his persistent attempts with figure 9 moves!
We celebrated the fantastic service of two club members this year. Really nice souvenir plaques were created for these two gents as mementos, by our own John Jackson, of "Things Made" fame.
Peter Wakefield has acted as our Safety Officer for three years. Thank you Peter for your very significant help! Your attention to detail and the activity at the field has been much appreciated. We will miss your help!
Len Streefkerk has for years, and continues to be, our Flight School manager every Tuesday evening. His attention to detail on all fronts of the school operations and his many hours of hands-on repairs and testing are what make it all possible. We are very grateful to Len for his tireless help!
After a very difficult start to the year, we are pleased to see the enthusiasm at the club and the continuation of good times flying!
Merry Christmas to all the members and friends, and fingers crossed for a much more normal 2024 ahead!
Best Wishes,
Stetson Executive. |
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The 16th Annual Worldwide Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon is scheduled for October 14-15, 2023.
This is a control-line flying event.
Stetson Field will be the site for our part in the World Ringmaster Flyathon on this weekend.
Saturday October 14:
- Much of the field including the main runway will be utilized for multiple control line circles until 1 PM.
- Electrics can fly from dawn till dusk. Glow power after 9AM, as usual.
- *** No R/C flying from dawn till 1PM please. ***
- C/L flying will continue in the C/L circle only after 1 PM, with R/C flying available on the main runway after 1 PM.
Sunday October 15:
- Sunday will see a continuation of C/L activities in the c/l circle only.
- R/C flying on the main runway will be available all day.
If Saturday is a weather no-go, the Saturday schedule will be used on Sunday October 15. |
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Well, the weather gods and Mother Nature welcomed the Stetsons Flyer’s to a beautiful and gorgeous day in which to meet, greet and make new friends in an environment where “like minded” model R/C aircraft enthusiasts; (that’s us); Big Boys with cool Toys to a relaxing day of fun and enjoyment.
Approximately 26 registered pilots participated in this year’s event.
On behalf of the Stetson Flyers, I would like to thank club executive and all our sponsors, (Great Hobbies, Orleans Hobbies and KC’s restaurant) for their kind and generous prizes and support.
I personally like to thank all our volunteers who graciously gave up their free time and participation in making this year’s Giant Scale event a very enjoyable and rewarding event, Thank You.
So enough of me, enjoy the pictures.
We had Fun
Hal MacDonald
MAAC 79637L
Event Director
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| Click HERE for event photo album |
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2023-08-13: On a weekend normally reserved for IMAC competition, the Stetsons organized a different flavour of fun fly with an 'aerobatics' theme and some old-school fun and games! After pushing to Sunday for weather issues, the fun began bright and early on a sunny morning.
Weather cooperated for once and gave us a warm and not too windy day for some aerobatic hi-jinks from many disciplines.
Some twenty pilots signed up and flew about every style of R/C and Control Line aircraft imaginable, from the most modern Giant Scale Jets and Gassers to the tiniest little foamies.
For more information and photos from the event, click HERE.
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June 4th, 2023 - Ed Rae Memorial Fun Fly
The event was held on Sunday, June 4th, due to quite breezy conditions on Saturday. We wish to thank the twenty-two pilots who registered plus guests and spectators who attended. In total, we had 40 people.
For more information and photos from the event, click HERE.
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Thursday, May 11 saw a group of over 20 Stetsons enjoy a dinner evening with Christopher Simon and Elckar Monsalve.
We were there to celebrate the incredible achievements of these two at the recently completed TOP GUN 2023 event, in Lakeland Florida.
Young Chris, at eight years old, competed successfully in Sportsman class, flew every round, impressed everyone there, and became the YOUNGEST EVER competitor at Top Gun!
You might say Chris set the stage for Elckar.
Elckar took up the challenge and flew superbly, taking the lead in round one, never to be caught!
Our good friend Elckar is now a Sportsman class TOP GUN champion! Wow! Just Wow!
Young Chris was officially recognized and celebrated as a YOUNG GUN, with trophy to match and much excitement.
Their stories of getting to Top Gun are full of drama, politics, great cooperation, huge amounts of work on the equipment, endless planning and networking.
Between all the MAAC issues, Turbine certificates, AMA requirements, and all the hoops to go through, just getting everything approved and signed off was nerve-wracking until the very end. Once there, a big thunderstorm, Florida style, nearly ruined everything at 3am after the first round. Fortunately, Elckar and Chris were able to continue. Weather and it's consequences continued to upset schedules, flying order, pattern direction, and all sorts of things, in true contest tradition. (anyone who competes in contests will attest that weather can be the #1 enemy, and frequently is!)
Have a chat with them when you get the chance this summer and hear more of the stories!
In the meantime, CONGRATULATIONS TO CHRISTOPHER SIMON, YOUNG GUN, AND ELCKAR MONSALVE, TOP GUN!
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November 24th was our Annual Christmas Dinner. Fifty members and guests enjoyed excellent food and a fun and relaxing evening. ‘Special’ presentations were made and the children received gifts from one of Santa’s elves. We had many draws for door prizes, including several gift cards graciously provided by Great Hobbies and Orleans Hobbies. Thank you to both hobby stores. Your support to our club events is much appreciated. The highlight of the evening was the opportunity to suitably honour our recently retired president, Daniel Marcotte. Details follow HERE.
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October 1-2, 2022: The 15th Annual
Worldwide Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon is over and what a blast!
The final numbers are in and as of October 14, 2022: 15 Nations worldwide
submitted a total of 10,481 flights logged by 605 pilots. A whopping 2,154 flights
more than last year's record setting 8,327 flights logged by 553 pilots!
Click HERE for more infomation this international 'control-line' flying event.
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 Click HERE to see photos... |
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The final session of Flight School for this year enjoyed favorable weather, despite a fairly gloomy forecast. It was attended by five students flying a mix of Apprentice, Mini Apprentice and AeroScout trainers. No models were hurt during this event!
In the accompanying pictures you can see the instructors hard at work scrutinizing models before flight, showing a student which switch not to press, demonstrating how to make a turn, and just standing around after a successful flight. Len is guarding the Flight School’s collection of equipment. One picture shows 12-year-old Kailen, a very promising pilot.
Flight School will return in 2023 with ground school sessions followed by a resumption of flight training as soon as the field dries out after the spring runoff.
Thanks to all who contributed to making Flight School 2022 a success.
President Daniel Marcotte |
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 Click HERE to see more photos... |
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Stetsons Giant Scale Fun Fly: A Royal Event!
Saturday September 24, 2022 provided near perfect weather for our event with sunny blue skies and warming temperatures. Winds down the runway helped as thirty-one pilots signed up and flew a wide variety of aircraft with no major incidents.
The high point of the day was the arrival of Her Excellency, the Right Honorable Mary Simon, Governor-General of Canada who visited to watch her grandson Christopher Simon fly his dad's big Jaguar jet. Chris did a fantastic job of showing us all up as he flew the big bird through a very smooth routine filled with loops, rolls and multi-point elements in all directions. He nailed the landing in a bit of a crosswind at the time as well, just to put the rest of us to shame!
The GG was very generous with her time, joining us for lunch and allowing lots of photo opportunities.
Flight Line help from Mike Lalonde and Safety Officer Peter Wakefield kept things moving well throughout the busy periods.
Compliments go out to the many pilots who flew safely today with lots of communication on the line.
Visitors from Kingston, Arnprior and Ottawa clubs joined in the fun and visited in one of the first post-covid events at our club. Old friendships were renewed, and new ones made throughout the day.
Thanks to Jon Harper and Pierre Coulombe for helping with registration and finances.
The Stetsons Canteen crew, headed by President Dan Marcotte and Chefs Jon Harper, Alain Riche and Peter Wakefield, fed everyone with great BBQed burgs and dogs.
This event was a huge success, with big thanks to all the pilots, helpers, and guests.
Gary Robertson
Stetson Events
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Click HERE to see more photos... |
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August 13-14, 2022 saw the long-awaited return of IMAC competition to Ottawa
with 21 pilots from Sept-Iles to Sault Ste Marie and Timmins to Toronto on a weather-perfect weekend.
Six Stetsons were in the mix in classes from Basic through Advanced. We were extremely pleased to see Wayne Karperien and Brian Pepin join in and have a go in their first IMAC contest. These two were out busting it for two weeks ahead of the event, practicing and soaking up info from everyone trying to help them, and really put forward a superlative effort. Brian even pulled an all-nighter putting a brand new F3A foamy together after a small incident on Saturday. He flew it extremely well the next day after only 2 ½ hours sleep and zero practice time!
These two guys are proof positive that you don’t need a huge expensive airplane to have fun with aerobatics. They placed first and second in BASIC class! Congrats to you both for the huge effort!
Pierre Coulombe battled it out for top honours in Sportsman class all weekend with Jason Thompson from Sudbury. Having won the recent Sudbury event, Pierre was looking for two in a row, but it was not to be. Jason edged him out in a very close series of Sunday flights. The score is now 1-1 between these superb pilots.
Mike Lalonde came out with a new Extreme Flight Extra 300 for this meet, and after a busy couple of weeks practicing and trimming, flew the new bird very well in Intermediate class. It’s a beautiful aircraft, Mike! I had the pleasure of flying against Mike and a crowded field in intermediate, and while results weren’t that great, it was a ton of fun to finally get the plane running properly and compete!
Dave Rees was our lone entry in the Advanced class, and with his better half Genevieve calling for him as always, flew beautifully in a heavyweight class of truly expert level pilots. Well done sir! Take your caller to dinner!
Stetson volunteers make this weekend-long event possible. We absolutely could not do this without you! Many thanks go out to Jim Denyer, Jon Harper and Dan Marcotte who did a fantastic job of keeping us fed, while Mike Lalonde, Pierre Coulombe, Tony Garbish, David Martin, Dan Marcotte and several others were busy setting up and dismantling the tents and equipment. Dave Percy was busy running registration and taking photos of EVERY entrant with their aircraft. Scoring duties were run very smoothly by Michel Boulerice, set up in his snazzy scoring trailer, with assistance from Tony Garbish who spent the weekend chasing down judges, scribes and running results to the scoring trailer. Dave Martin was our Pit Boss, keeping the flight lines and flying orders straight the entire time. “It’s a bit like herding cats” he was heard to say…
At the end of the weekend, a sunburned, tired but very happy gang said their goodbyes after awards and results were given out. Everyone went home with personalized full-size photos from Dave Percy, a Stetson/IMAC Coffee mug made by our own John Jackson, stick planes compliments of our Sudbury friend Brendan Grace, and very nice awards plaques to the top three in each class.
Thank you, Stetson Flyers, for the use of the field and facilities this weekend.
It was a real pleasure to bring competitive aerobatic flying back to the capital once more!
Gary Robertson |
Thank you Simon Nadler
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Wednesday August 25th - President Daniel Marcotte awarded a plaque to Simon Nadler in recognition his contribution over the last 15 years to the Stetson Flyers Model Airplane Club. Thank you Simon and best wishes on your next adventure in New Zealand.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Stetson Flyers Giant Scale Event, Sept. 24, 2022 |
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INFORMATION:
Stetson Flyers Giant Scale Event is scheduled for Saturday Sept. 24, 2022. (Rain date is Sunday Sept. 25).
Stetsons members invite you to join us for a day of fun flying with giant scale aircraft of all types including jets and helicopters.
Enjoy a full day of sport flying and the always great Stetson Canteen for your lunch hour pleasure!
- Canteen available.
- Limited Camping. No hookups or power.(please let us know ahead)
- 5800 Frontier Rd, Ottawa Google Maps Link ,or click for field photos
SCHEDULE
Saturday Sep 24, 2022 - Main Event
Sunday Sept. 25, 2022 - Rain date
REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
For information, send email to Gary Robertson at contact@stetsonflyers.com
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Download the event poster - HERE 
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Stetson Flyers IMAC Aerobatics Contest, Aug 13 14, 2022 |
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INFORMATION:
Pilots from all over Ontario and Quebec will register in one of the five classes of competition, from BASIC through to UNLIMITED.
Aerobatic sequences consisting of ten moves will be flown in all classes a number of times during the day Saturday and again on Sunday until early Afternoon.
The sequences will be judged by other pilot/judges and graded according to difficulty and success on each of 10 manoeuvres.
Scores are tabulated using a well-developed scoring program and continuous update reports will be released after a round is completed.
The maneuvers flown are developed from true aerobatic moves flown by full scale aerobatic aircraft in competitions. The aircraft being flown are scale-like models of real-life aerobatic aircraft such as Extras, Edges, Lasers, Yaks and Sukhoi's, etc. There will be many types and sizes for you to enjoy, including some of the very best aerobatic model airplanes anywhere on the planet!
SPECTATORS are welcome, and we hope you will bring friends and family to watch some really great flying!
You will witness the progression of aerobatic flying from the fundamental loops, rolls and stall spin moves in BASIC, through Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited classes. Each class flies their own sequence, with the moves getting more complex as classes go up.
- Canteen available.
- Limited Camping. No hookups or power.
- 5800 Frontier Rd, Ottawa Google Maps Link ,or click for field photos
- Competition in five classes from BASIC through to UNLIMITED.
SCHEDULE
- Friday Aug 12: Practice flights
- Saturday Aug 13:Competition.
- 8:30am pilots meeting.
- 9:00am first flight.
- ?:??pm Dinner (more info to come)
- Sunday Aug 14: Competition.
- 8:30am pilots meeting.
- 9:00am first flight.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION:
IMAC members:
- $30: Members
- $50: Non IMAC members: members
- $10: Basic/Novice classes: classes
Please register online at http://www.mini-iac.org/
- Open the North Central region tab.
- Go to Events.
- Select Stetsons IMAC.
- Click on register. Fill in the form.
Send payment and any questions to garyr75@hotmail.com
FIELD AVAILABILITY NOTICE FOR STETSON CLUB MEMBERS:
- Friday August 12: Practice flights will be occurring on Friday. Many of our out-of-town competitors will want to check out their equipment and fly a flight or two on Friday afternoon. The field will be open to Club Members on Friday; however, we ask for your cooperation in sharing the skies with the competitors.
- Sat Aug 13 & Sun Aug 14: The Stetson Field will be closed for this competition Saturday until 6 pm, and Sunday until 3 pm.
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| Download the event poster - HERE
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June 4-5, 2022 was...
...the annual Stetson Ed Rae memorial Fun Fly Event!
After a fine but breezy day for Saturday, Sunday was significantly better!
This weekend (4-5 June) was the Ed Rae Memorial Fun Fly, our first major event since 2019! Nineteen pilots defied the brisk winds and cool temperatures on Saturday and eleven more signed up on Sunday, when the weather was a bit more suitable for relaxed flying. Most people agreed that it was a great opportunity to socialize and get back together after two years of cancelled event. Many thanks to our cooks and food handlers, Debbie, Pauline, Alain and Jim, and to our ever hard working President Daniel. Enjoy the pictures!
Pierre Coulombe
Treasurer
Photos: Goose. Click image above for the album.
March 5, 2022 was...
...the annual Stetson Winter Fun Fly Event!
What a wonderful winter day!
We couldn't have asked for much better weather for our annual Winter Fun Fly. Sunny skies and very light winds made the cool temperature totally bearable. A great turn out as well, with at least 23 pilots, including several from other clubs as far as Montreal. Many visitors also dropped in to add to the numbers. The convenience of electric planes for winter flying was very evident, as all but two airplanes were battery powered.
There is nothing like a hot meal, a warm drink, and some carbs when you spend a winter day outside. Many thanks to Jim & Deb Denyer for preparing a delicious chili, to Jon Harper for his hot chocolate and donation of too many Timbits to count. Also, Alain Richer's perfect home-made molasses cookies were much appreciated as were the chocolate chip cookies donated unnoticed by a member or visitor. Also, thanks to Daniel Marcotte, Mike Lalonde and Pierre Coulombe for clearing the snow around the tables and pit area. But most of all, thank you to all who came out and made this a most enjoyable event.
Dan Marcotte
President
Photos: Hal, Rick and Dan. Click image above for the album.
October 3, 2020 was...
...the Stetson Meeting & Vote (at the field)
Due to COVID-19 the Aviation Museum was unavailable for the annual Stetson Executive vote meeting however as it is mandatory for the club, Dan & the Executive arranged it for the field.
Social distancing, masks and situational awareness is the new normal and was adhered to for the both the meeting and those who remained to fly afterwards.
The Executive and volunteer positions were voted in with John Jackson performing the Master of Arms role. The 2020 budget was discussed along with the proposed budget for 2021. General business rounded out the meeting followed by the official close of the Flight School.
Certificates were presented to the instructors in appreciation of another successful season and the challenges of this particular year acknowledged. Many thanks to the instructors, Len Streefkerk (Assistant C.F.I), executive and those who ensure the Flight School program continues to thrive.
With the mild weather, many remained after the meeting to fly a vast range of aircraft and enjoy the day. Many pictures can be seen on the Stetson Facebook Group page.
Photos: Hal MacDonald. Click image above for the album.
March 7, 2020 was...
...the annual Stetson Winter Fun Fly Event!
Sometimes it just really works out!
GREAT sunny skies, good karma, and wonderful weather greeted a fantastic crowd of snow-weary members and guests from all over the zone today for the Stetson annual Winter Fun Fly event.
We were 35 plus pilots registered around 11 AM, when President Dan did a quick calculation, then disappeared in a cloud of snow down the road to load in more lunch supplies! We don't have a final number yet, as folks were still arriving at lunch hour, but the total is likely over 40 pilots, 100 plus aircraft, and a considerable number of spectators. BIG thanks to Dan, Louise and Rene for the help with Chili lunch and fixings!
The skies were filled with 3, 4, and 5 at a time all morning and after lunch break. Every kind of aircraft imaginable took to the skies, providing an ever-changing airborne spectacle. The field was perfect! Iced over smoothly in all directions and dusted with a light powder snow cover from yesterday's flurries. We could land virtually anywhere, and taxi safely, as evidenced by Jon Harper, landing out near the tree line and successfully making it back without incident. When I left in early afternoon, the action was still hot and heavy!
We had many Stetson regulars out, and a good number of folks from the clubs in the region, including our Zone Director Geoff, one of our newest Stetson members.
Several onlookers were out to have a first look at the sport and gather information on how to get involved. Thanks to the members and executive who spent time explaining how it all works!
Today was a fun celebration of winter flying. We all look forward to spring and warmer days ahead, but for today, flying and friendship was enjoyed by many, and that's what it's all about!
Gary Robertson
Events Director
Photos: Goose. Click image above for the album.
Additional event pictures by Dan Marcotte.
Additional event pictures by Jim Denyer.
Additional event pictures by Louise Gelinas.
January 1, 2020 was...
...the annual Stetson First Flight Event!
Early on New Year's Day, 22 members gathered at the Stetsons Field for our annual First Flight of the Year.
The temperature was a comfortable 0 Celsius, and we were pleasantly surprised by lighter winds than forecasted. At 9:00, eight electric planes lined up for takeoff, and Nigel Chippindale got the honour of being officially the first one in the air in 2020, earning bragging rights and a small prize (neck warmer). A short time later, Gary Robertson launched his glow powered Twist to take the IC category, unopposed for the second year in a row (we need more glow or gas planes at this event!)
We enjoyed some coffee, Timbits, and Jim Denyer's home made cookies, and everyone had a great time flying and socializing.
Happy New Year to all!
Pierre Coulombe.
Photos: Goose. Click image above for the album.
Stetson Web History...
Wednesday January 29, 2020 is the next scheduled meeting at the Aviation Museum. Catch up with club members and let everyone know what you have been upto this winter.
Meeting starts at 7:30, come in through the front door.
February 2021 Newsletter Available!
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