Team Update #3 - Auction

 A quick update on some fundraising initiatives... The team continues to plan for our trip to Australia and we have been running local auctions within our club to help raise funds. As mention in the last blog update, we have our online auction page set up at https://rcplanesforsale.ca/    and will be auctioning off  a Supermarine Spitfire on the 7th of February (at our VRCMS club meeting). 

In addition, we have added a couple more items to auction off at the March 7th club meeting. They include a Sukhoi SU-31 ARF and a Big Stick 40 ARF. 

Most of team members have applied for and received their FAI License's in preparation for the World Championships. This is a basic requirement for anyone competing at this event.  We are also getting our preliminary paperwork compiled and ready for submission by February 28th, 2023. This will give the organizers an ideal of team composition, helpers/ supporters etc. for planning purposes. 

Construction news.... Henry Piorun has been busy building his latest airframe, a BJ Anthem and if you go to https://www.facebook.com/henry.piorun you can see his build thread. He has another kit right behind this one awaiting construction, a Pavana that replaces the one he lost in a fire.  Both will use the Adverrun Contra Drive.

Chad Northeast continues work on his back up Nexus airframe... when he is not looking a ski boat brochures :-)  He plans a VLV Contra Drive setup with Thunder Power batteries.

Michi Akimoto has used up his free time to construct a plane storage system in his garage. He used otherwise wasted space to provide a safe location for his many planes! 

And.... our alternate pilot Will Gross, is putting in work on his own Nexus Bipe for 2023.

Worlds Bulletin #1

Ah the best laid plans.....  

Well it appears that the location has changed for the 2023 Worlds in Australia. The dates remain the same but the new location is in Warwick, Queensland.  We will be pouring over the data that makes up Bulletin #1 which includes dates, event schedules, fees etc. and planning accordingly.

In an effort to secure a place to stay ahead of the pack, we had already booked accommodation in Casino, NSW and made a deposit.   After some back & worth emails and calls, we managed to get most of our deposits back. Special thanks to the Big4 Casino Holiday Park for their understanding with the venue swap.  We are now looking at other accommodation in the Warwick area.  

We have been running a local auction here in Victoria to help generate funds to support the team. To date this has been just our local club members but Lawrence has opened it up to anyone interested. The website is at https://rcplanesforsale.ca/ and features a "kit a month" that will be on the block.  

Lawrence also made a pledge to match any donations or successful auction winners bids up to $1000 dollars! That is fantastic! 

Introducing OneFeather & PayPal Donation Link

 As mentioned in previous blog posts, Lawrence Lewis is now assisting the team with his expertise in fundraising for our trip to the World Championships next year in Australia.  

Lawrence has been kind enough to use his business portal to set up a PayPal Donation link for us! 

His company's name is OneFeather Mobile Technologies Ltd. and is located right here in Victoria, BC, Canada. They provide empowerment to Indigenous Peoples and Nations and are leaders in dedicated Indigenous banking solutions, a truth center for digital Indigenous sovereign identity and data, community engagement, election and voting services.  For further details you can check out the website at https://www.onefeather.ca/

Now with a simple click of a mouse button or QR Scan you can be directed to the team's donation page. This makes it quick and easy for anyone wishing to financially assist the team. All funds donated go through a rigorous accounting process to ensure every dollar* goes towards team expenses (*with the exception of PayPal fees... yes they get their small piece for the service)    

REMOVED LINK

 

or simply scan this QR code with your device and it will open up the donation portal.  Any amount is appreciated!

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I will be adding these links to the main blog page (once I figure out how to correctly do it!) as well as our team's Facebook page shortly.  A big shout out to Lawrence for getting this up and running!!

Michi's New Ride

 Team member Michi Akimoto has put his new 3D printer to work manufacturing a nose ring for his Akuma+.  He converted it from a single prop Plettenberg setup to the VLV contra unit and made design changes that did not disrupt the nose section's original construction. This makes it possible to switch them out if desired. Michi will be flight testing the setup and dialing in his newest airframe over the next 9 months, weather permitting.

Team Update #2

We are pleased to announce the return of our adopted team member John Bentley. John has helped the team in various capacities in both Argentina and Italy and has become a great asset to our team. He will assist the pilots with plane handling, calling, logistics and he will help me out with herding and other sundry duties :-) His passion for precision aerobatics is well known amongst his peers in the US and it's great to have him back with us for the trip to Australia.  

Team Update #1

 We are still awaiting the first official "Bulletin" from the organizers but we have confirmed that the dates for the 2023 FAI F3A World Championships are now August 19th to 26th in Casino, NSW.  Accommodation arrangements have been made in the local area and we continue to plan flight bookings, visas, vehicle rentals etc.   Plenty still to do. 

Fundraising has begun and we are pleased to add Mainroad Lower Mainland Contracting LP to our list of donors. Special thanks to John Deadman for his assistance with this donation.  We are also working out some details for those interested in making a private or corporate donation towards the team. I'll have more info in upcoming posts.

The team is also in the process of adding some additional "Team Members" to assist us.  One new "Helper" is Lawrence Lewis who has taken on some fundraising duties on behalf of the team.  Lawrence is also the new MAAC Assistant Director for Zone H (Vancouver Island/Lower Mainland)  

More team news when it happens!

Team Canada F3A 2023 is formed!

Following the Canadian F3A Team Trials held at the Spectrum RC Club's facilities in Cloverdale, BC,  the newly formed team members convened and basically voluntold me that I was the team manager.  Sheesh... I really need to try harder to muck up the job so they don't ask again! :-) 

The team consists of pilots that all flew in Italy in 2019 with Chad Northeast, Michi Akimoto and Henry Piorun returning with Will Gross as our alternate. Congratulations guys and great flying!

As manager for our team's trip to the 2023 FAI F3A World Championships in Australia, I will start organizing our team members, creating to do lists, arranging sponsors, waiting for official Bulletins, reviewing herding procedures etc... the list goes on!  

Also expect page layout changes etc. as I get this blog up and running.  If you have any links to teams or relevant World's news please send them in and I can add them to the Links List.

The Team's Facebook page is up and running at https://www.facebook.com/groups/488344629297370 and have added this to the links page for easy access from here. 

I will have more details on the team and our trip plans in the coming days, weeks & months but for now that is it.

Nice flight but always room for improvement :-)