I try to post and add to this checklist every year. There were a few years I was away from the hobby but I'm back.

Every year there are more than a few first time over night campers who have never experienced the varied and sometimes unpredictable weather in the valley. Here's a bit of how to prepare and what to bring.

Here's a reasonable checklist:

[ ] Medical mask or face covering for crowded situations.
[ ] Hand sanitizer. The bathrooms/sinks are a long walk to each end of the field.
[ ] Waterproof shoes or boots.
[ ] Socks-- Twice as many as you think you'll need.
[ ] Very warm coat for the nights. We've had temps in the 20°'s.
[ ] Long Johns or sweats so you can layer clothes. Cold nights.
[ ] Sweater or jacket. The mornings and evenings can be pretty chilly.
[ ] Rain gear like a raincoat or poncho and maybe rain pants too.
[ ] Gloves- both heavy and light.
[ ] Warm hat.
[ ] Brimmed hat or ball cap.
[ ] Sunscreen and sunglasses.
[ ] Bug spray just in case. It's rare that bugs are a problem but you never know. It's 2020, anything can happen.
[ ] Shorts and t-shirt weight shirts. Can get pretty hot during the day.
[ ] Flashlights or head lights for getting around at night. There's very little ambient light so it is DARK.
[ ] Spare batteries for those flashlights.
[ ] If you're tent camping a ground tarpaulin and rain fly are nice to have. It gets really, really damp at night. An air mattress or cot will get you off the ground.
[ ] A second tent to put your planes in at night. It's a great way to keep the ever present nightly dew off of your models.
[ ] Sleeping bag of at least a 30° rating. A 0° or better will serve you well if the temp goes low. We've had some warmish nights there and we've had some really really cold nights there over the years. Warm is easy. Cold is not if you aren't prepared.
[ ] Easy-Up type canopy will keep either the sun or rain off of you and your models. Not essential but nice to have.
[ ] Folding chairs. You'll eventually get tired of standing.
[ ] Sandals or water shoes or Crocs. If you plan on showering bring quarters if you want hot water. Be smart DO NOT GO BAREFOOT. Nuff said. Instead of a shower you can use baby wipes. You can get them in big tubs. They are a effective means of bathing. We use an antibacterial version of them in the hospital. They work.
[ ] Food and drink.
[ ] Prescriptions or any other medications you take.

NOW THE FUN STUFF: Leave your shyness at home and make sure to join in the fun. By fun I mean the festivities in the JCSF and PIGS tents. JCSF is the Jersey Coast Sport Flyers and the PIGS are a collective of like-minded loonies and both have "party tents". Both are now famous, or should I say infamous, for their nightly fun, notably the Night Vapor Games, UMX Radian Pylon Races, obstacle course, rock crawler course, RC bowling and bonfires, special pyrotechnics and lots of night flying. On the opposite side of the valley Lobster Al has his ridiculously fun Lobstah Combat in the evenings. It's almost as much fun to watch as it is to fly in.

Look, this is your invitation to come on down at night and join us for some flying fun, adult fun (not that kind of fun, this is usually a franks and beans situation), movies, music, bonfires, Chinese lanterns, night flying and more. Good people, good flying, good fun.

Don't stand outside and watch and wish you were there. Come on in and join the fun.

See you all there,
Mike and all the JCSF and Pigs guys

Mike,

Always good to see your list - even after eighteen years of NEAT I still will forget something and your list helps me to keep that from happening.

One quick addition to Mike’s list - bring money. While this year we won’t have as many vendors as usual, there are always great deals on the flight line. Most of us leave with more planes than we came with

Speaking of planes, there are several events held during the course of the week where you’ll want a specific type of plane to participate with. In no specific order...
- Al’s Lobsta combat - this is a streamer chase event. You’ll want something quick but stable, and something you won’t be worried about losing (Al loves flying low).
- Mass Warbird Launch - typically held Friday and Saturday late afternoon, Tom keeps these limited to warbirds in the Parkzone-sized model range. Naturally it has to be a military plane
- Saturday Night Slow Flier contest - I suspect Tom will post the rules for this again soon, but this is a fun (to watch or participate in) event where we use illuminated slow fly planes (night flyers) to bust lighted balloons. I believe the planes are limited to 16oz and a 3s battery but Tom will correct me if my memory is off.

That should get you started. Any questions feel free to ask!

Rob
JCSF

Yes, please bring money.

We are going to have some very nice prizes to raffle off, some complete RTF models. since we expect spectatorship to be low, throwing money are way from the pilots that do come for raffle tickets, older shirts and hats will be very welcome. also, anytime you can visit the food vendor, please do.

Thanks
Tom

Tom,

Thanks for pointing that out. A lot of us forget that putting on NEAT is not cheap for SEFLI. With the reduced pilot count and likely lighter spectator turnout things will be tight this time around. I’m not usually a raffle kind of guy (never have any luck with them) but I’ll definitely be buying tickets this year - gotta keep NEAT afloat

Rob

It occurred to me that some folks are on medications. In the rush to prepare and pack they can easily be forgotten. I'm adding prescriptions to the list as well as hand sanitizer. The bathrooms/sinks are a long walk at each end of the field.

Vaseline and baby wipes for diaper rash.

Originally Posted by antslake

Vaseline and baby wipes for diaper rash.

Go to Tractor Supply and buy Anti-monkey butt powder. It's a lifesaver
https://www.antimonkeybutt.com/

Originally Posted by coreman

Go to Tractor Supply and buy Anti-monkey butt powder. It's a lifesaver
https://www.antimonkeybutt.com/

Befor and after remedies lol.

Prefer gold bond actually (TMI)