Big Sky RC Meeting Minutes
Mar 04, 2026
President Dan Woods brought the meeting to order at 7:04 PM at the Paris Gibson Cafeteria with 12 members in attendance.
Secretary Don Gilles read January’s meeting minutes and they were accepted as read.
Treasurer Darrell Anderson read the Treasurer’s report and it was accepted as read.
Old business:
Dan Woods opened with a discussion on whether or not we should purchase a mower from Jerry Knight. The mower is a 48″ Husqvarna 24 HP twin cylinder similar to the red Sears 24 HP the club owns. Jerry has offered it to the club for $650. It would be replacing the 30yr old Montgomery Ward mower which will be sold this spring to help cover the cost. Chuck Woods made a motion that the club purchase the mower for $650. Motion passed.
Following the motion to purchase, Darrell Anderson made a motion we sell the Montgomery Ward mower. Motion passed.
New business:
Don Gilles briefed members on the status of the club sanctioning the two unofficial get-togethers, Leo’s Memorial and Steve’s farm invitational. This would allow the club to obtain a temporary RemoteID exemption and an altitude waiver for either 700ft or 1200ft. Sanctioning these events would cost the club a $35 AMA event fee and a $25 insurance fee. We had much discussion about the pros and cons of obtaining official, “Class C Unrestricted Entry” event status, which is what these get-togethers would fall under. In the end it was agreed upon that these two events would remain unofficial, i.e., BSRC will not be sponsoring them or be responsible for them. Chuck Woods made a motion that Big Sky RC Modelers not sanction either Leo’s Memorial or Steve’s Farm Invitational events. Motion passed.
** One item of special interest **
I forgot to let everyone know John Sandy and I are in the process of replacing three more tables out at the field. If you happen to stop out for any reason you’ll see three tables have the turf grass removed – these table tops are being replaced then new turf grass and new uprights will be attached just like we did last year. If you visit my 2025 blog on the table repairs and go to the bottom of the post you’ll see we had a mini-workparty down at John Sandy’s garage on 04 March (of course, some folks spent more time eating doughnuts than working…).
Thanks to all attendees, the meeting was adjourned at 7:41 pm.
Donald Gilles
BSRC Secretary
AMA Club 400
FYI:
Club meetings are the first Tuesday night of the month at the Pitstop, 7pm.
Club lunch is every Friday, noon at Arby’s.
Wednesday night is our designated “get-together” night for club flying.
Upcoming Events:
Paris Gibson Gym Indoor Flying: Wednesday nights from 6pm -9pm
– May 16-17 – Spring Thaw R/C Off Road Racing, Great Falls, MT
— Memorial Day Weekend is May 23-25
– June Wednesday Night League Racing ( 27 May to 01 July, 6 Nights )
– June 6 – Club Fly, Great Falls, MT
– June 20 – Float-Fly, Wadsworth Park, Great Falls
— Fathers Day is Jun 21
– July 11 – Open House, Great Falls, MT (Full RC Complex will be open to the public)
– July 25 – Summer Heat R/C Off Road Racing, Great Falls, MT (one day event)
– August 8, Float-Fly, Missouri River, Great Falls, MT, across from Elks Riverside Park
– August 22, Club Fly, Great Falls, MT, BSRC Field
– August 29, Steve Woodhouse Invitational Flying Event, Woodhouse Farm
– September 12-13, Fall Fury R/C Off Road Racing, Great Falls, MT, BSRC Track
– September 19, Club Fly, Great Falls, MT, BSRC Field
– October 3, Leo Sommerfeld Memorial Fly-In, location TBD