2013 December Meroke Newsletter Copy 2
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THE MEROKE RC CLUB - EST. 1963 - Member -iiiiii SMOKE SIGNALS HappyHolidays I found the following at WANTTOKNOW.INFO Dear friends, I don't know if the following inspirational short Christmas story is true, but whether or not it actually happened, it's a wonderfully inspirational story for people of any faith. In this season of love, may we all remember the beautiful love of a small child. I wish you a meaningful and love-filled Christmas season and new year ahead. May your days be filled with love, joy, growth, and inspiration. The Gold Wrapping Paper Once upon a time, there was a man who worked very hard just to keep food on the table for his family. This particular year a few days before Christmas, he punished his little five-year-old daughter after learning that she had used up the family's only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. As money was tight, he became even more upset when on Christmas Eve he saw that the child had used all of the expensive gold paper to decorate one shoebox she had put under the Christmas tree. He also was concerned about where she had gotten money to buy what was in the shoebox. Nevertheless, the next morning the little girl, filled with excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!" As he opened the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, now regretting how he had punished her. But when he opened the shoebox, he found it was empty and again his anger flared. "Don't you know, young lady," he said harshly, "when you give someone a present, there's supposed to be something inside the package!" The little girl looked up at him with sad tears rolling from her eyes and whispered: "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full." The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his precious little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger. An accident took the life of the child only a short time later. It is told that the father kept this little gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. Whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems, he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and remember the love of this beautiful child who had put it there. In a very real sense, each of us has been given an invisible golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God. There is no more precious possession anyone could hold. DECEMBER 2013 YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU! PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!!" PAGE 1 www.liama.o THE MEROKE RC CLUB - EST. 1963 - Member - !&(,(!"#$%&'!(#)%%(*+"%,")*!*+'%(''"-&(.&"#rg CLUB ELECTIONS ARE MOVED TO THE MEETING OF DECEMBER 5, 2013 DUE TO TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES AT THE NOVEMBER 21,2013 MEETING. PLEASE STEP UP, THROW YOUR HAT IN THE RING AND RUN FOR OFFICE. This article was handed to me at the last meeting BIRTHDAYS by Al Hammer. It’s a very interesting read not to mention quite alarming. DEC 2 Alan Hammer DEC 2 Ray Maramara DEC 6 Abramson Ellis DEC 11 Mel Brenner DEC 11 To m D utto n DEC 11 Robin Smith DEC 12 Chris Mantzaris DEC 21 Nelson Ramos DEC 22 Bill Streb DEC 30 Tony Pollio Calendar December 5, 2013 Club Meeting CLUB ELECTIONS December 7, 2013 ANNUAL AWARDS DINNER 7:00 pm See next page for Details December 19, 2013 Club Meeting If you want to view The Long Island Aero Modelers (LIAMA) Send all suggestions to: website go to: www.liama.org [email protected] DECEMBER 2013 YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU! PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!!" PAGE 2 THE MEROKE RC CLUB - EST. 1963 - Member - 2013 MEROKE AWARDS DINNER iiiiii The Annual Meroke Awards Dinner will take place on December 7, 2013 at 7pm at the THE JONES BEACH HOTEL located at 3275 Byron Street, Wantagh, NY 11793 Take the Wantagh State Parkway South ramp to Jones Beach Take exit W6E for Merrick Road Turn right onto Merrick Rd Turn right onto Willow St Turn left onto Byron St Destination will be on the right 3275 Byron St Wantagh, NY 11793 2012 DECEMBER 2013 YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU! PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!!" PAGE 3 THE MEROKE RC CLUB - EST. 1963 - Member - !&(,(!"#$%&'!(#)%%(*+"%,")*!*+'%(''"-&(.&"# Recently The Meroke RC Club had the honor of Jim Plackis as a guest speaker at our club meeting on October 17,2013. From Mr Plackis’ first word to his last every member in attendance was mesmerized. Below is a brief and I mean brief synopsis of his distinguished career. I think I can speak for the club and say “Please sir can we have more”. The speaker, James G. Plackis, ATP1 #589616, is a Lifetime Member of the SETP2, and was previously a guest speaker at the European Symposium in Varesse, Italy many years ago. His Airplane and Helicopter Airline Transport Pilot Certificates have 24 Type Ratings on them, based on his 70 years and 13,500 hours as a Professional Pilot. He holds a current CFI and CFII in Landplanes, Seaplanes, Helicopters, Gliders and Instruments. He retired from a 38 year career with the FAA, where he served as a Test Pilot, Aerospace Engineer and Manager; for the concluding 29 years of his FAA career, he served as the Manager of the Flight Test Branch in the Eastern Region. In 1944, at the age of 19, he served as the Aircraft Commander of the largest bomber in the sky at that time, the B-24, 4-engine "Liberator"; he completed 40 combat missions in the Pacific, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross plus the Air Medal, with 6 Oak Leaf Clusters, by the U.S. Army Air Corps. The FAA has subsequently awarded him the "Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award". He is also an active FAA Safety Team Representative, as well as a Designated Engineering Representative in four categories. His education includes a B.S. degree from Virginia Tech and an M.A. degree from the University of Richmond, in addition to a year of post-graduate studies. He holds current membership in the NTSB Bar Association; the International Society of Air Safety Investigators; the Lawyer-Pilots Bar Association; and he served as an Adjunct Professor in the Aviation Department at the State University of New York, at Farmingdale. More information is available at: http:// www.linkedin.com/pub/james-plackis/b/95a/34b DECEMBER 2013 YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU! PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!!" PAGE 4 THE MEROKE RC CLUB - EST. 1963 - Member - !&(,(!"#$%&'!(#)%%(*+"%,")*!*+'%(''"-&(.&"# I received this in an e-mail from a dear friend who knows that I am the Newsletter editor for the club and she passed this along to me. I do not know where she found it so I can’t give credit where credit is due. The Black Hornet nano drone, which can be carried in a soldier's pocket, has an onboard camera that gives troops video and still images of hard-to-access places. Richard Watt/Ministry of Defense Unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs are becoming more and more common. They're commonly by the military to spy in insurgents and more recently, they're being used by law enforcement to investigate criminal behavior in the United States. But it doesn't take a soldier or a police officer to own and operate a UAV. And research labs around the world are advancing the technology, developing a new, diverse generation of UAVs designed to perch on walls, bust drug dealers, fly into storms, look for nuclear disaster survivors and even be controlled with smartphones. Demanding duties mean these vehicles need to be able to fly nonstop for hours, days, and longer. Forget refueling. UAV development is pushing the limits of solar and hydrogen power. It’s also pushing the Federal Aviation Administration to open airspace to smaller unmanned vehicles. “The fact that they’re finally coming up with small unmanned aircraft system regulations that look reasonable, that’s going to take the lid off an industry that’s been waiting for this to happen for years,” says Kevin Kochersberger, director of the Unmanned Systems Lab at Virginia Tech. He gives these ten UAVs high marks for technological prowess, risk and potential for spin-offs: A. R. Drone/Parrot Perching UAVs Earlier this year, Stanford University researchers created a model- plane sized unmanned aerial vehicle that can fly directly to a wall and then land vertically on it, superhero style. Miniature spines on its feet allow the vehicle to cling to a surface. The feet, with help from the propeller, can be manipulated so the UAV walks the wall to get a better view. “I am impressed with the engineering on the aircraft and the iterations they went through to get that configuration,” Kochersberger says. “It’s going to lead to new technologies.” He says the UAV has the potential to sense data that would otherwise be unobtainable. According to the Stanford team, the weather-resistant vehicle consumes very little power and can quietly monitor an area for days. No bat signal required. In the same vein, a team at MIT designed a control system that allows a foam glider with a single motor on its tail to land on a perch. Stanford University DECEMBER 2013 YOUR CLUB NEEDS YOU! PLEASE VOLUNTEER!!!" PAGE 5 THE MEROKE RC CLUB - EST. 1963 - Member - !&(,(!"#$%&'!(#)%%(*+"%,")*!*+'%(''"-&(.&"# Reaper The U.S. Army’s MQ-9 Reaper isn’t exactly new but, along with the Predator drone, it has come a long way in flying continuous missions.