Spirits RC Flying Club Meeting January 13th
B.Halls, meeting called to order @ 7:02pm
24 members present
Jan-Apr meetings will be @ B.Halls O’Fallon, MO / May-Oct meetings @ Bob Gizzie Field
B. Halls deal is we eat their food, drink their beer, generously tip their staff and they’ll be happy to have us here
Secretary’s Report: Stephen Adams
Minutes from Dec mtg posted and accepted
Show and Tell
- Curt Milster donated a box of vintage RC magazines
- Dan Morrison “Engine RPM” acoustic tachometer app by Real Time Specialties
- Stephen Adams showed pics of grandbaby and the 1:3 Barth Waco is ready for paint
Membership Report – Greg Tesson
2025 ended with 130 members, time to renew for 2026. Average age 59
New membership cards being distributed have important contact info on back. Clip?
RC flight training every Thurs @ 5:30p from mid-May to mid-Oct weather permitting (criteria?)
We need membership IP/trainer/buddy box demos at field regularly.
Come out, fly and hang with fellow members, be ready to jump in and put a newbie under your wing.
We’ll work out logistic details as it goes. Greg Tesson will keep a list of our IP trainers. As he meets new members, he can reach out to this IP list. Take up the challenge to growing our sport.
Safety Committee Chair/FAA Liaison – Dave Harrington
Everybody is a safety person. If you see someone acting unsafely, be kind, but go talk to them. Look for a membership card, no card? Likely a good candidate for a new member, so be kind and helpful. If someone call you out for a safety issue, they might have a point. Reflect before becoming upset. Keep an eye out for newer members that might be struggling, see if they could use some help, don’t chastise.
Treasury Report – Wayne Nenninger
We are making expenses currently, but field mowing will likely run us into the red in 2028. Hard to budget with such an unknown. More members make the problem easier to solve. Significant donations ($1,700 in 2025) from members has helped as well.
Investment Oversight Committee – Ralph Grant
The Investment Oversight Committee’s Charter will likely be up for adoption at Feb meeting. The committee will consist of Life members, the Treasurer and President. Once constituted, the committee will vote for Committee Chair, a 5 year position. The specific purpose of the Investment Oversight Committee is to better manage the club’s savings such that the initial capital grows rather than shrinking in a CD.
Field Committee Report – Dave Brown (not present)
– Still no freeze-lift issue with the runway
-Dave Harrington showed a new Spirits Club logo proposed for the new pylon flags he’s making. He made a motion to adopt the logo as the official logo of the club, it was passed unanimously. (logo now on website). You may need to clear your. browser cache.
Announcements / Upcoming Events / New Business
- Pylon Racing Pilots meeting Jan 20th @ 7pm at B.Halls
- Frozen Fingers Fly In report? 8-9 members, bonfire to stay warm, fun was had. Brian A’s RC Radio Transmitter Gloves were useful and pretty cool
- Website versus being uninformed versus using snail mail…it costs ~$150 for old fashioned mailing and it takes a lot of manual effort. We rely on the Spirits Website and the Facebook Group to communicate with the members and community.
- Two Indoor Fun Flys – Jan 26 @ Saeger and Mar 5th @ Barnwell, detailed posting on website
- Feb 7, Jon Britt – Kansas City Radio Control Assn. Swap ‘N’ Shop, we need to consider an event similar to this
- 2026 Pylon Racing dates: Sat 10am 16 May, 20 Jun, 18 Jul, 15 Aug , 19 Sep, 17 Oct. CD’s needed for three events
- Jan 20 7pm @ B.Halls for Racer Meeting, email president@spiritsofstl.com for a copy
- Jun 11-14 – Whirlybird Classic, Mike Graves will CD, likely club help will be needed.
- Jul 25 – Jet Fly-In, Bart Asher AMA sanction confirmed
