MCRCS Family Picnic

2009 Family Picnic

Cool and Bright!

Planes to the Left
Planes lined the field, both left and right.

Planes to the Right
This year it was cool enough to fly them, both big ones ...

Foam Fliers
... and small foamies.

Bob Bennett takes as much care assembling his SE5A as he does flying it.

Joe Raimondo is a Fledgling pilot, and proud of it.

Twist
Jim Van Buren's colorful twist just seems to attract the camera.

Nobu and Allan
Nobu Iwasawa explained to Allan Schear that Allan's Synapse should actually fly ...

Nobu and Dave
... and with Dave Vale launching it, proved his conjecture to be correct.

Russ and Peter
Russ Brueninger instructed student Peter Finnerty in the fine points of approaches.

Sal with Dollar
"And this dollar says I can fly it."

Sal and Walt
"Well, it was only a dollar."

Jim Meighan organized the most successful potluck to date ...

Potluck
... featuring several salads, lots of brownies, and a few cookies.

With Brian Bunda on the grill, the burgers and dogs were smokin'.

Brian Bunda
Brian spent lunch in in the clouds (of smoke).

Fred Doldy
Cool weather and good company inspired good conversation ...

Dick Radcliffe
... and quiet contemplation.

Karen
Karen Evertsen found a good book filled in gaps beween exciting aerobatic routines.

Frank and Wife
The Figurellis enjoyed lunch at the pavillion ...

Meighan Family
... as did the Meighans.

Meighan Dog
This day, the only hot dogs were on the grill.

Under the Tree
The shade tree was still a popular venue, though.

Funky Chicken
Even food flies at a picnic.

With the temperature in the high 70s and the gentle breeze moving the warm air at a walking pace, we experienced for the 2009 Family Picnic some of the best weather we could recall. It was certainly more comfortable than last year's 97° heat wave that sent pilots running for shade.

And with the more moderate temperatures, there was a lot more flying going on. There were the classics, including Jim Van Buren's colorful Twist, Joe Raimondo's Fledgling, Brian Bunda's Nieuport 17, Armand Graziani's Nieuport 11, Bob Bennett's SE5A, and Sal Lucania's Funky Chicken. There were also several models on the edge of aerodynamic design, including Sal Lucania's red wing and Allan Schear's foam Synapse. This year the classics exhibited somewhat better success in getting and staying in the air, but crashes were infrequent and insignificant.

We've tried several times to get a potluck meal going for the family picnic, with but limited success. This year, with Jim Meighan's lead, we made significant strides that included a couple potato salads (including a hot German one) and a few deserts. There was a brief moment in which fear gripped the crowd that we might not have a main dish. Quick work by Jim, Brian Bunda, and Armand Graziani, however, got the meal back on course before many had time for a second thought about being hungry. And when the smoke cleared, everyone had enjoyed a good meal and a good time.

For those interested, last year's picnic webpage can be accessed by clicking here.