Battle Stations!
Battle Stations!
The North Texas Battle Group has changed the schedule of regular battles to occur on the third Sunday of each month (formerly third Saturdays). This can sometimes change due to various circumstances such as weather. Our normal "home" is the Star Brand Ranch in Kaufman.
General membership meetings are held once during each quarter, at irregular times depending on what's going on. Most of the club's business is conducted by the Board of Admiralty that meets monthly. Admiralty meetings are open to all members. Guests are welcome, too, but probably wouldn't find it terribly interesting.
We hold build and repair sessions at irregular times throughout the year, sometimes with relatively short notice. These get-togethers are intended to provide an environment where members can get access to a different shop, possibly with more or different tools than they have, as well as help or advice with ships' technical problems. Often we will use these events to build or repair club-owned ships. These types of meetings would be of particular interest to new members and non-members who are interested in learning more about Big Gun R/C Warship Combat, because there are usually several experienced builders and captains available, ships to inspect in detail, and plenty of time to talk. Our goal is to hold 4 such meetings in 2007, and dates, times, and locations will be posted here as they are determined.
Most North Texas Battle Group battles are held at Star Brand Ranch
in Kaufman. US-175 Exit 1390, West of Kaufman - signs will be posted
to assist with navigation to the pond. GPS Coords for the battle pond: 32 34'18" N 96 21'44"W
Typical Battle Schedule:
9:00 AM: Setup - Captains arrive and start setting up their ships.
11:30 AM: Captains' Meeting
12:00 PM: Commence Firing - The battle begins!
2:00 PM: Last opportunity to patch battle damage.
4:00 PM: Last opportunity to re-arm or re-gas.
The battle continues until only 1 fleet is able to sortie ships.
Pond
layout:
The photo above shows our speed trap, built by Jerry Ethridge. Ships drive between the yellow pontoons in either direction, breaking a pair of laser beams. A microcontroller times the difference between the breaks and displays the ship's speed in scale knots on a large, daylight-visible display.
Above, USS Dallas exits the speed trap, a little slow.
Mike Duffy and Todd Wikel prepare ships for battle, just below the dam, while onlookers watch from the bridge. The dam makes for an excellent "wet workbench" from which to launch and retrieve ships, while the bridge makes a good safe observation spot. From this angle, that bridge is a little reminscient of the U-boat pens at Lorient!
Above is a photo from a past naval revue. As you can see, the ships are available for close inspection and the captains are available to answer questions.