Our March meeting had 7 members in attendance. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT EVERYONE ATTEND THE NEXT MEETING AS IT IS THE LAST ONE BEFORE OUR CONTEST ON MAY 17^th.We have lots to discuss and organize table pick up and set-up. Please make every effort to be there. I now have membership cards (thanks to Tony Abbott) and those who have paid up for the year can get theirs at the meeting. Also be sure to plan on being at the show May 17^th, as we will need EVERYONE’S help.

Lib at New Brookland is now home and recovering from her broken hip, we all wish her a speedy recovery! Also Joe has six paint racks for sale for $10-$15 dollars. This is a great opportunity to get one to store your paint in.

Our website continues to grow and improve. The site address is  www.oocities.org/swamp001. Everyone will need to be featured to keep this site fresh. 

The contest flyer and entry forms are available for download directly from our website. So please pass that info on.

People have been asking for the following demos: Weathering of vehicles and aircraft, plastic polishing, Airbrush tips, natural metal finishes, airbrushing. So volunteers are needed.

We want to make sure that our flyers and Sumter’s are up in the local hobby shops. If you notice either club’s missing when you next visit a shop please let me know so they can be replaced. It is very important to let potential members know both clubs are out there.

A special thanks to Pirelli and Ben Satcher Motors for sponsoring 4 trophy packages each. And also to Ted from the Shops of Flightdeck for sponsoring a trophy package. Please work on getting more sponsorships! I know that Alex Smith has gotten commitments for three more and hopefully will have the checks at the meeting.

As always we would like each club member to donate a complete, unstarted kit to the raffle. Currently we are light on cars, Sci-fi and armor so please help out by donating something from these areas of the hobby. Special thanks to John Helms, Hub Plott, Tim Darrah and Paul Lovell for already supplying some kits.

New items on display for us to drool over were:

• Finescale Modeler new issue

• Flypast Magazine new issue

• New issue of SAMI

• New issue of SAM

• Aeroplane Monthly new issue

• New issue of Air Classics

• 1/48 AmTech P-40F

• 1/72 Revell of Germany Bv-222

• 1/48 POMK HD.780 Floatplane

• 1/20 Perasauralophis kit by Mike Petryszak

Completed kits and in progress items were:

• 1/1400 Ravenstar Star Trek light attack Cruiser “USS Saratoga” by Hub Plott

• 1/35 CMK WWII VW “Bug” by John Sherrer

• 1/32 Monogram Grumman Gulfhawk by Dan Waters

Here’s a list of the upcoming contests and things of interest:

• May 3, SCMA, Columbia, SC*

• May 10 – 11, USAF Museum Celebration of First Flight, Wright-Patterson AFB, (Dayton) OH www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/ 

• May 16 – 26, Festival of Flight, Fayetteville, NC www.festivalofflight.org

• May 17^th Our joint show, Lexington, SC*

• Feb. 8, Richmond, VA

• Mar.15, SCMA Greenville, SC* 

• Apr. 12, Knoxville,TN*

• May 24 – 25, Pope AFB, NC airshow*

• Jun 6 – 7, Region 3 Contest, Spartanburg, SC*

• Jun 25 – Jul 4, 25^th World Acrobatic Championships, Lakeland, FL www.wac2003.org

• Jul 2 – 5, IPMS/USA Nationals, Oklahoma City, OK* www.ipmsmetrookc.org/Nats_2003/index.html

• Jul 17 – 20, Dayton OH airshow www.inventingflight.com

• Jul 29 – Aug 4, EAA AirVenture, Oshkosh, WI www.airventure.org

• Aug 2, Charlotte, NC contest*

• Sep 6 – 7, Virginia State EAA Fly-In, Petersburg-Dinwiddie, VA www.vaeaa.org

• Sep 6 – 7, Winston-Salem, NC airshow

• Sep 12 – 14, USAF Museum WW I Fly-In, Wright-Patterson AFB (Dayton), OH www.wpafb.af.mil/museum/

• Oct 3 – 4, Region 2 Contest, Reston, VA

• Nov 7 – 9 (?), Owen’s Field Airshow, Columbia, SC* www.celebratefreedomfoundation.org

• Dec 13 – 17, First Flight Centennial Celebration, Kill Devil Hills, NC  www.inventingflight.com

Those with an * are the ones members of our club and Sumter are planning to attend. If interested in joining us talk to Hub.

Next meeting:
April 17th will be our next meeting at 7:00PM at Michael’s off Harbison Blvd. This is a Tuesday! We will have lots to talk about and to show off our new purchases and built-ups too. So come on down and voice your opinion and participate. After all it is YOUR club.

Till next time

Hub