168 MODEL AVIATION
THE SIXTH ANNUAL AMA District II
Fly-In was held in August 2006 and was
hosted by the Jersey Coast Sport Fliers
(JCSF). JCSF president Stan Berger wrote
the following as an opening for the club’s
August 2006 newsletter. I couldn’t say this
any better.
“Congratulations are in order to the entire
club for an outstanding job with the AMA
District II Fly-In. Pilots from New Jersey,
New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and
Florida enjoyed what is being called one of
the most successful fly-ins of its kind.
“This two-day event is responsible for
additional club and AMA memberships,
community awareness, interest in our
upcoming model aviation class, a wonderful
article from the Asbury Park Press, and kudos
from the Monmouth County Park System and
AMA. All of the work paid off nicely for our
club which came out shining brighter than
ever. Heartfelt thanks go out to all who
pitched in to make this event such a great
success.”
JCSF newsletter editor, Ed Runkel
followed Stan with a report of his own. I’ve
used part of it here because I think it perfectly
captured the essence of the event.
Joe Beshears, balsa glider in hand, displays
the AMA District II banner.
“The club has had many fine moments
during its 33-year existence, but surely this
was one of its finest. For one thing, the
weather could not have been better with
sunshine, light winds, and warm but bearable
temperatures. Stan Berger and AMA District
II Vice President (VP) Dave Mathewson each
argued that it was their own prayers that did
the trick, but regardless, it was perfect.
“The park bleachers were well used by the
general public who watched with rapt
interest. There were many family groups.
They stood along the fence, sat in chairs, and
even on the top of their cars to get a better
look. The parking area was packed with cars.
“More than 100 pilots registered to fly.
They flew an endless variety of aircraft
ranging from small electrics, Scale models,
giant-size electric, and International
Miniature Aerobatic Club competition
aircraft. Among them were truly outstanding
pilots including the world-class Jason
Shulman, Dan Landis, Chris Maier, Dave
Lockhart, and our own Trent Schneider and
Adam Lilley. They all put on dazzling flight
demonstrations.
Dave Lockhart, Stan Berger, and Jason
Shulman enjoyed the activities.
“All of this was only a part of what
made this happening so great. Camaraderie
was one explanation. Another was getting
to meet and socialize with rarely seen old
friends and acquaintances. Don Shugard, to
our delight, came down from Binghamton,
New York, to join us again with his
lumbering Mud Duck. Bob Green was up
from Accident, Maryland, and Model
Aviation Hall of Fame member Leon
Shulman was on hand to watch grandson
Jason do his thing.
“Rob Kallok and Stu Katz handled
registration and impound and all went along
without a hitch. Despite the number of
pilots, there was little waiting time between
flights. It all took place so smoothly.
“The most hectic place at the field was
the refreshment stand handled by Mark and
Kristine Nettleingham, Frank Beshears,
Bill Buck, Jim Baye, and Darryl Schlosser.
Their duties included not only providing
picnic food during the day but also the free
dinner courtesy of AMA District II at
suppertime. The size of the crowd and its
hunger had been grossly underestimated,
requiring repeated trips to the store to get
more food and drink. AMA District II VP
Dave Mathewson, who was delighted at
how well the event had gone, presented
Stan Berger with a nice plaque for the
club’s efforts.
“For me, the best part was when I
introduced myself to Jason Shulman and
mentioned that I had witnessed his first solo
RC flight up at Jamesburg when he was
about six years old. As the CD, I had also
allowed him to fly in our sanctioned Pattern
contest at age eight over the objection of
some. Whether true or not, Jason insisted that
this experience hooked him on contest flying
and he had a photo taken of us together.
“Of all the pilots and spectators I spoke
with during those two days, not one had a
complaint and all said they were having a
wonderful time.
“Few members can appreciate all the
work, the sweating of details with the park,
the AMA, publicity, etc., that ate up so
much of Stan Berger’s time to put this great
event together. I can only thank him
repeatedly.”
Thanks, Ed. I want to express my
appreciation to all of the JCSF members.
This was one outstanding event. I really
don’t know how it could have gone better!
More pictures and video are on the JCSF
Web site at www.jcsportfliers.org.
Next month I’ll tell you about an indoor
fly-in held in Syracuse, New York, an
award presented by District II AVP Alex
Szemere, and I’ll bring you up to date on
some of the new programs AMA has
created, designed to introduce members of
our community to model aviation.
Flying season is here. I’ve already had
to call in a parts order for my Trex. See you
next time.
Dave Mathewson
7271 State Fair
Blvd., Baldwinsville
NY 13027; Tel.:
(315) 727-4275;
Fax: (315)
635-1039
For a complete listing of
district officers, please see
the District I1 Web site at
www.amadistrictii.org/.
D i s t r i c t I I
District II
Dave Mathewson, District II Vice President; [email protected]
New Jersey, New York, Europe
T r e n t
Schneider
(L) and Les
Boehm flew
this RC
boat/plane.
Dan Landis wowed
the crowd with his
46% Ultimate (R).
Lee Stab
(L) got in
s e v e r a l
electricpowered
flights.
Greg Drusjack
(R) flew a
unique model
at the August
fly-in hosted
by the Jersey
Coast Sport
Fliers.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/06
Page Numbers: 168