Frankenmuth Aerotow Festival - Aug 11-12, 2018

[Joespeeder]

Hi Guys,

Time to start a thread for the 2018 Frankenmuth Aerotow Festival aka the "FAT Fest".


I am uploading the flier and will report any updates here, if needed.

The "FAT Fest" is an AMA Sanctioned event and will be our first 2 day aerotow event which is open to all flyers.
We dipped our toe in the water last year and managed to host close to 30 pilots at our initial invitational event. Please plan to join us and enjoy all the area has to offer.


Frankenmuth Aerotow Festival - AMA #18/997

When: August 11-12, 2018
Where: Frankenmuth Aeromodelers Club, 9650 Dehmel Rd, Birch Run, MI 48415
What: Aerotow and Electric Sailplanes - No Plans for a winch at this point in time.
Club Web SIte: https://www.flyfrankenmuth.com/

AMA and FAA Required


Early Registration: https://www.scalesoaring.com/septsoar-vt-registration.


Tugs so far....
Stephane has indicated he will be attending which means we'll have a Bidule 111 Tug as a baseline. He also Listed a H9 Valiant.

I will be bringing a Eflite Timber which is great for the Foam Parkzone Ka8's or similar sailplanes, a Flex Innovations Cessna 170 Tug for 2-3m ships.
I also have a 1/4 Scale L-4 Cub with a ASP 160 twin that can be available. Last year it was ready but never used as we had plenty of tugs.
My last Tug option is still waiting for it's maiden and testing. 113in BlackHorse Storch with a Laser 300v 50cc V Twin.


Don't let the above list fool you, we need tugs and drivers. It's hard to fly 4 tugs at once and the Storch is yet to have wind under it's wings.
If you have a tug available please let me know and we can promote it here. Thanks !!!!


Beginners...
If you are new to aerotow, but a current RC pilot, this is the event for you!!! We invite, welcome, and want you to make yourself known to us !!!

We will have 2 Parkzone KA8's available for current RC pilots to try their first aerotow. We flew 10-15 sport pilots last year for their first ever flight on the tow line.
If you have an electric or aerotow sailplane bring it along, get some help, and enjoy the day. The day is designed for sport pilots to see what aerotow is all about and to give seasoned aerotow pilots as much flight time as possible.


Food...
This is still a new and growing event. Planned so far are Hot Dogs and Drinks. Grab a bite to eat and be sure say hello to the cook! Every bit collected in the donation jar is a great help for a club of 23 or so guys that have been very kind by sharing their airspace with us to put on a very cool aerotow event !


Please Drive Slow on the Entrance Road

>>10mph Please<<

We enjoy the hospitality of the farmer whose land we are flying on, please treat his home as you would your own. Thanks!





Local Area - Food, Fun, and Shopping...

The Frankenmuth area offers many side trips and unique dinning choices to enjoy during your stay while flying at the FAT Fest.

Look at the City of Frankenmuth's web site for fun things to do that weekend after hours. Last year I made the mistake of choosing the same weekend as the Frankenmuth Car Festival which is literally the largest car/hot rod show in the country with over 2500 show cars in attendance. All the Motels were filled and rates are high for that weekend. Lesson learned and we moved our date.

Sorry to all those guys that came last year but had to stay in Saginaw due to the massive Car Show Attendance !! The change in dates this year should help.

Just for fun - here's a taste of 2,500 Hot Rods taking over the town - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W067mvlwlfI https://youtu.be/X2rXzcnGcOU


This year, there is a Ethnic Music Festival of German, Polish, and Slovenian music that would be fun to attend after flying. See the link below.

https://www.frankenmuth.org/calendar...nd/2018-08-10/


Also close by are the Birch Run Outlet Stores for shopping. If you'd like a side trip while enjoying your FAT Fest weekend maybe the Outlet Stores are for you!
Link Below for the Outlet Stores.

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet/birch-run/about

If you've never been to Frankenmuth, there are many shops and places to eat with the best known being Zender's and the Bavarian Inn for all types of German dinners and of course their Famous Family Style Chicken dinners. Be sure to order a plate of Zender's fried chicken livers before I get there or they might run out.... lol.

Places to Dine; https://www.frankenmuth.org/dining/

Zender's: https://www.frankenmuth.org/listing/220/

Bavarian Inn: https://www.frankenmuth.org/listing/165


Shopping in the Frankenmuth area includes many gift shops and even shops for those that love the Needle Arts. Be sure to see what's available at Bronner's Christmas Wonderland, which is the worlds largest Christmas store !! https://www.frankenmuth.org/listing/231



I'm sure I've missed something.... If you have questions, want to say hello, or will be bringing a tug post a note here and I'll do my best to help.

Joe

[Joespeeder]

Hey Guys,

We have our first registration on file ! Thanks Stephane.

Tugs Noted: Bidule 111 and a H9 Valiant

Onward and Upward.

Joe

[Tom Kelley]

Hi Joe, the pdf flyer link doesn't work. Can you fix please?

[Joespeeder]

Hi Tom,

Hmm... I just tried it and it opens here no issues. I'm on an iPad currently. I'll try again from the office later today. Send me a PM with your email and I'll send it to you.


Thanks! We'll get it worked out.

Joe

[Joespeeder]

Hey Guys,

Does the PDF linked a couple of posts above open correctly? It opens here ok but I need to know that it's usable.

Thanks.

Joe

[Tom Kelley]

I had an error before, must be something on my end. Its working now, thanks.

[Joespeeder]

Thanks Tom,

Glad it's up and running with no issues.


Just in case...

I copy and pasted the raw flier screen grab into Evernote and grabbed a link to the Evernote page. So I have an alternate viewing option just in case.

If anyone needs to they can download the Evernote flier by hovering your mouse over it to bring up the download icon.

Here's the link below to that new flier on Evernote if needed.



Since I copy and pasted the screen grab Evernote shouldn't even show it as a PDF that you open.
It should just be seen as a photo of some sort. Whatever form a screen grab is when you do that...


Joe

[Tom Kelley]

I figured out what it was. You have to login to downoad the PDF but the evernote flyier let's you download anonymously.

[Steve P]

Then, there is the jpeg option....

Also on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/events/3321...tab=discussion

[Joespeeder]

Hey Guys,

It's coming up to the one month countdown to the FAT Fest in Frankenmuth, MI and it's my duty to blab on and on about the event.... lol

Here's the important info and everything else you may need is in this thread a few posts above this one.



Frankenmuth Aerotow Festival - AMA #18/997

When: August 11-12, 2018
Where: Frankenmuth Aeromodelers Club, 9650 Dehmel Rd, Birch Run, MI 48415
What: Aerotow and Electric Sailplanes - No Plans for a winch at this point in time.
Club Web SIte: https://www.flyfrankenmuth.com/

AMA and FAA Required


Early Registration: https://www.scalesoaring.com/septsoar-vt-registration.


At lunch today I learned of a new World Models Hall Cherokee that just went on the bench to be flown at the FAT Fest !! Lets hope he works fast and we can see that at the event !!


My season has been going well, I managed to get some aerotow time at Stephane's spring event where I maidened my Rhonsperber. Since that time I've been flying warbirds and even managed to kill 1 EDF F-18 in an awesome figure 9 and mangle a Eurofighter in a mid air that in the words of Monty Python is "not quiet dead yet".... lol We fly those in packs of 6-12 other F-18's, good fun.

Currently, I'm working hard to finish up my Storch that is set up as a Tug. It's very close and I hope to have air under it's wings this week. I would love to get some time on it at the FAT Fest.
It had a wonkee switch that was giving me iffy brown outs as I worked out the kinks on the bench and at the field during it's initial tune up outing. The Sotrch also had some wheel axle issues that showed up at the filed. Those issues are fixed now, Finally, I had to play with flap/flaperon programing. I finally have a set up that makes sense and works well.

I'll post more on the Storch on my thread here as I progress but as a teaser and just cause I love hearing the 300v running I'll link the video of the Storch idling here. Gotta love that sound.



Hope you'll put this event on your calendar and weather you're new to aerotow, a thermal coring madman, or a grizzled old tug driver we love to have you join us !!

See you on the flightline !!

Joe

[Joespeeder]

Hey Guys,

I thought I would post a little more info about things to do in Frankenmuth. If you’re staying overnight there is plenty to do and see including a military museum. You can get a feel for what’s available at this link.

https://www.google.com/travel/things-to-do?dest_mid=%2Fm%2F0vp08&dest_state_type=p&ved=0ahUKEwjH5ty2h5PcAhUKOawKHZj0AwsQzToIbDAO&ictx=1&dest_src=tsvr&hl=en&gl=US&biw=834&bih=1010

You can also see Frankenmuth’s visitors guide at this link.

https://www.frankenmuth.org/

Both Frankenmuth and the Birch Run Outlet shops are within about 15 minutes from the field.

Outlet Info Here - http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlet/birch-run/stores

I think we have lots to offer including a beautiful field, a fun event, and lots to do after hours or for family members that would love to explore while we fly !

Joe

[Al_M]

Joe is doing a great job promoting this event. It would be terrific if many of you aerotow road warriers could attend and support Joe's efforts to establish a truly first-class event here in Michigan. Hope we'll have a good turnout this year and I'm looking forward to many more great events at Frankenmuth in the future.

[ARUP]

I'll plan to be there to fly on the 11th.

[Joespeeder]

Two Week Countdown to the FAT Fest....


Tell your friends, alert your enemies, and pack your car for a great weekend of flying.


We have approximately 100 cool Custom Keyfobs to give away. Pilots first, then spectators and friends will receive a KeyFob until they are gone !!


Don't miss out on some Thoroughly Thick Thermals and an awesome keepsake of the event that will be talked about for generations !! lol....


Front and Back of the Keyfobs are shown below.



Joe

[Joespeeder]

Hi Guys,

I had a question about how late we can fly Sunday. Great Question.

Our plan is to fly until 5ish but there is nothing stopping us from going longer other than running out of Tugs.

We will plan 5pm+ on Sunday and if you guys want to fly longer we'll keep going till things wind down on their own. This is our first event that's open to everyone and we are not really sure the numbers of flyers or how things will be going around 5pm.

I've always tried to give flyers as much airtime as I possibly can at any event I CD and when I attend I love to fly.... lol.


If you guys would like to go beyond 5pm on Sunday and everything's humming along, I'm not shutting anything down till people are burnt down and can't stand to see my ugly mug anymore!!


BTW, camping is ok at the field. We have a group of Civil Air Patrol Cadets that will be camping Friday and Saturday nights at the field. They will be joining us and maybe we'll put them to work.

You can camp at the field, however, Open fire is ONLY allowed in the Clubs new Fire Ring. We want to keep things tidy and safe.

Joe