Hello ECIM club members and welcome to another fun-filled year at the Hanger.
As you read this, we have our first order of business for the year, which is to complete our New ECIM ID cards. We have been asked by the Base to change to yearly ID cards, which will make our entry to the base more secure. We will still need to show our AMA card and photo ID’s in addition to the new card. This is a good change for us as we have been using our current ID’s for over 3 years now. We are not alone in this change. Others have been asked to follow the same procedure such as the Lakehurst Historical Society. The Navy has done this in an effort to avoid having each member get a base ID issued. It saves the base a lot of work. As a back up, please retain your old card until the gate security personnel all understand that we have gone to a new yearly card.
All of the access forms that were filled out have been forwarded to the public relations department and are in the navy’s hands. I have retained a copy of them all for our club records.
Also, a few of our members who may have forgot to pay dues in 2004 will receive a 2005 card but unless their back dues are paid in full, they will not receive a card for 2005. Many of you have already paid, so thank you! If you are one of the members who have joined within the last few months are paid through 2004. As we still have cash in the account our dues will remain the same for the 4th year in a row 10$ for RC and 15$ for Free Flight, however this may not be the case for next year.
It has been a good year with our group flying RC and many have recognized us, including the AMA, as a club that is doing it right! For those who show up on Saturday mornings, you can attest that we have a big crowd, which is so big we have had to adopt a regular frequency board as any outdoor club has. We are now sharing the base with a group of flyers using the foxtrot circle outside Hanger 1. They have agreed to use this space during the week and we will continue with hanger flying on the weekends. The AMA has adopted this agreement and I would like to thank Don Post and those who helped out with the agreement in making a smooth cohabitation.
Otherwise, it has been a quiet year!! We still have our access and dates have been approved for next year, the only hitch has been the floor space, which has diminished slightly. Remember that we must be prepared to fly around anything the navy may put out there. We have no control over the hanger floor. We are all guests and in good standing. Please be prepared to accommodate anything that may be in your way. There is almost always space to take off and land but it may not be right in the regular area. As a club we have no regular area recognized by the Navy. We can use any space with the exception of the carrier deck. I know it is a pain to move around, but please be aware this is the club rule. We must fly around anything on the floor.
It has come to my attention that we had a bit of an issue with the kids in the VoTech and the mess they made. It was assumed by some that it might be us making the mess. We all know we are a neat and tidy group and thanks to Ed Hawley and his son, we now have a garbage can with our name on it for trash. It doesn’t need to be said to pick up after ourselves, but it would be appreciated if you can pick up after whatever mess is in the area, even if we didn’t put it there. I have contacted the right people and we hopefully will not have any problems with this issue in the future.
As we all know there is one charging area for RC, which is where we fly. Please remember that this charging plug does not belong to us and could, in the future, not be working or may disappear altogether. As of now, everything is fine, but we do need to be prepared to bring everything needed to fly. This may now include a way to charge your own batteries.
I want to thank all the club members for making this a great club to be in and in our ability to keep our low key casual flying atmosphere intact. I am currently trying to find out when the floor area will be more available. We are currently, like I said, in great standing with the base and let’s keep it that way for the next 75 years.
Record trial sanctions are going to run the second and last weekend of the months between April and September. We will have our regular indoor contests on the weekends of Memorial Day, July 4th, and Labor Day.
Remember if there are any questions or club issues please feel free to contact me anytime day or night. My e-mail address is cgrain1@yahoo.com Thanks again and please send in your 2004 membership renewal form (below) along with your dues--Payable to ECIM and mailed to the address below.
Sincerely,
Robert Romash
cgrain1@yahoo.com
East Coast Indoor Modelers
1442 Kirkham Street
Colorado Springs, CO 80901
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