Simi Indoor Flyers Mourn a Founder's Passing

We lost one of our founding club officers recently. We mourn the loss of Martyn Cowley, a good friend, and co-worker to those of us who work at AeroVironment in Simi Valley. In the attached club photo of our first event, Martyn is the one circled in white.

This June, we are combining our normal monthly flying session with a memorial event at the usual Recreation Center. We are renting out the multi-purpose room at the rec center where they normally hold the wedding receptions. See the attached invitation. If you knew Martyn, and would like to come to the memorial, please do so, and remember to RSVP to help make sure there are enough snacks and seats for everybody. You don't have to attend the memorial event of course, it's not a formal club event, there won't be special club business presented there, it is just to share stories about Martyn's life from his friends.

For this June 15th event, the gym will be open from 7:30pm to 11:00pm, so an extra hour at the end. From 7:30-8:30 we'll do normal 3D flying. But at 8:30pm the flying will be stopped and we will setup for a mass launch of the catapult gliders that we are encouraging everybody to build and bring. There will be a few minutes to allow folks to get their gliders trimmed, and then the mass launch will take place in the gym hopefully close to 9:00pm. This is in honor of Martyn's desire to spread the fun of free flight gliders to anybody he could! He used to give away these gliders, built and trimmed, to anybody that happened along when he was flying them at local parks, really an awesome flyer from an awesome guy. So please build one, or preferably a couple. As a club we want to make a good showing at the mass launch, and some folks such as Martyn's co-workers won't all build and bring gliders, so let's make some extras to give out.

After the mass launch, we'll continue flying small and micro models until closing, with special demos, if you want to do a special demo, we'll find a time slot for you, just let me know.

We would really like to see as many different types of model airplanes at this event, and as many scratch-built models as possible. So dust off those unusual planes, and bring them for flying after the mass launch, there will be people there that have never been to an indoor flying session, let's give them a good show in Martyn's honor!

Also if you have a model or engines or something that Martyn was interested in, not necessarily related to indoor flying, and you would like to show them off, please bring them along, and if possible bring a little folding table to display them. We'll set those up in the gym. Please make a little sign describing the item, and if there is a connection to Martyn. One very cool aspect of Martyn's hobbies is that he was passionate about many different types of aeromodeling, and probably no single person is familiar with all of the aspects that he was in to. So if you can share some of that, we'd appreciate it. Also, you can fly your gliders out at the soccer field before the indoor flying and memorial, usually the field is clear and the wind is low in the early evening.

Thanks for the support. -Matt Keennon

"SIMI INDOOR FLYERS" - AMA CHARTER CLUB #4382

The flying schedule :
Outside : Open flying at the soccer field 5:30pm to 7:30pm (assuming no other event is using the field)

In the Gymnasium
7:30pm - 8:30pm Only 3D planes OR large planes flying, (LARGE IS OVER 2 OUNCES)
8:30pm - 9:00pm Martyn Cowley Memorial Catapult Glider Mass Launch
9:00pm - 11:00pm Loosely scheduled alternating fun flying of small, and micro models, as many special demos as possible

Site Location : Main Gymnasium, Rancho Santa Susana Recreation Center 5005 Los Angeles Ave, Simi Valley, 93063, at Hidden Ranch Drive, near Stearns Street. Exit 118 Fwy at Stearns Street, go south around 3 blocks, right on Los Angeles, and then around a half block on the right side at Hidden Ranch Drive.