My first flying club experience!

I visited a flying club this afternoon at Fort Jackson, near where I live. I live 5 minutes from the main gate, but it takes 20 minutes to drive across the fort to the Jackson Flying Associates field. I went out there around 2:00 and there were a couple of people including Jim, who called me this morning and invited me in response to the e-mail inquiry I sent late last night. Since the crowd was sparse, he told me to just set up in front of the RC staging area. So I set up, all the while worrying about the wind, more than I usually fly in. But I wasn't going to wuss out in front of these guys.

This was the Streak's first real flight since I fixed the elevator. When I got it in the air, it was a lot more sensitive until I got tuned in, but I did some nice loops and 8s warming up the reflexes. The wind took it overhead and behind me right in the sun a couple of times before I learned to be a little more conservative. They all thought my frantic scares were just pure skill and I didn't tell them differently. So I finished my little exhibition and managed to not embarrass myself. I think they are mostly lekkies, though I think I did hear a gasser flying once. They had big jets and war planes, and the scariest machine I have ever seen, a 6' bladespan helicopter that could do things I never knew a chopper could do. He was an expert pilot but, damn, that thing could kill you. He wasn't flying it far enough away for my taste. Another guy, who seemed a bit aloof to me, moseyed over and squinted at the Streak and grunted, Oh, a Tee Dee. A couple of others said, Nice flight, and Mr. Aloof said, hmph, I'm just impressed you got it started and it ran.

As the crowd picked up, they showed me to the CL circle, complete with a concrete pad. The trees nearby create a lee so the wind was more manageable. So I set up and got about four really good flights in. The Streak and its marvelous Tee Dee made me very happy, as usual. After my first flight I heard noise and looked over to see them standing on the bleachers looking my way and clapping and hollering. I was thinking about quitting while I was ahead, and saw a new face walking over to me. It turned out to be the member that keeps the grass mowed. He was really interested in my equipment and full of advice like I need to polish my prop with Turtle something or other, but he'd never seen a bladder, then told me what I needed to name all the parts. Told me all about how he used to be good at CL but wrecked some kind of .40 model last time he tried and gave it up. He thought maybe he'd like to give the Streak a fly and I told him I would start bringing a trainer out with me and maybe he could try that. But since he wanted to see it fly, I gave it another rip. By then, the wind had calmed and it was by far my best flight of the day, I actually did a pentuple loop. I started with a big one by just flying it through, instead of a full up screamer, and then I pulled more up on each successive loop, making them smaller every time, sort of a two dimensional spiral. Gotta get that on camera sometime. So I'm really glad I didn't quit earlier.

I had the Li'l Satan with me too, but it was too windy for the little featherweight, and besides that, I was pretty much shot by the time I finished with the Streak, so I'll have to wait till another time to re-test it.

I loaded up the car and walked over to the bleachers to thank everyone and sit and watch them fly a little and listen to the chat. I like them and they seemed happy to have something new going on. One guy told me he hadn't seen a CL flyer out there since 2000.

I'll have to join the AMA to keep flying there, but since I'll be just an occasional CL flyer they won't charge me full membership fees. I never did get a number on that, but I think if I donate 10 bucks now and then they'll be okay with it. Whatever it takes is fine with me. I had big fun, it was well worth the trip. And didn't hit a single tree.