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DAVE KING, District II Contest
Coordinator, wrote to say that there is now
another good facility in the northern New
Jersey area for indoor RC. The inaugural
flying session took place in the Westfield
Armory on April 6, 2004, and was attended
by a large group of enthusiastic modelers.
The Armory is available every Tuesday
barring any other commitments. If you’re
interested, swing by and check it out or for
more information, drop Dave an E-mail at
[email protected].
These are some of the modelers who
participated in the inaugural flying
session at the Westfield Armory.
We all know the lifeblood of our hobby is
our ability to find and keep good flying
sites. Nick Maggio, president of the
Washington’s Crossing Radio Control
Flyer’s Association, sent the following:
“Relationships between flying-field
landlords and clubs must be nurtured and
enhanced to assure a positive experience.
All too often, when conversation turns to
aeromodeling, the dwindling number of
flying fields is the leading topic. The
Washington’s Crossing RC Flyer’s
Association (WCRC) in Titusville, New
Jersey, is pleased to reverse the trend.
“On April 17, 2004, The State of New
Jersey Division of Parks and Forestry held a
Volunteer Recognition Ceremony at
McGuire Air Force Base. In attendance were
officials of the division throughout the state.
Invited were the volunteer groups whose
commitment and service to the park system
form a foundation for success.
“Nick Maggio, president, and John
Kukon, secretary/treasurer represented
WCRC. Dave Donnelly, superintendent of
Washington Crossing State Park, presented a
certificate to our club. The award represents
recognition of outstanding volunteer efforts
on behalf of the New Jersey State Park
Service.
“We are very grateful and proud of this
acknowledgment. WCRC intends to further
our efforts to help the Washington Crossing
State Park and become an integral part of
this beautiful, historical, multiuse facility.”
You should be proud of this, Nick.
Efforts such as this will help ensure our
ability to continue the hobby we all enjoy.
Certificate presented to the WCRC
Association in recognition of its efforts on
behalf of the New Jersey State Parks
Service.
For those who subscribe to Plane & Pilot,
did you catch the Aeroshell advertisement
on page 37 of the June 2004 issue?
The ad depicts a young boy holding a
neat looking FF model, circa 1945. The
model appears to be a Banshee designed in
1942 by Model
Aviation Hall
of Fame and
AMA District
II member,
Leon Shulman.
Leon has
several designs
to his credit and
is the patriarch
of the wellknown
Shulman family
that includes
son Don and
grandsons Jason and David.
Congratulations to the Middlesex
Modelers, recipients of one of several AMA
Flying Site Assistance (FSA) Grants for
2004. AMA created the FSA program
several years ago to aid our clubs in
developing and improving their flying sites.
The grant will provide up to 10% of the
costs of the cost of a club project with a
limit of $5,000.
More information about this program can
be found on the AMA Web site at
www.modelaircraft.org.
Most of our clubs are fortunate to have
members who step up to help teach new
members to fly. There are probably as many
styles of instructing as there are instructors.
For many years Clarence Ragland has been
promoting his method of flight instruction
which he simply refers to as the “Ragland
Technique.”
What’s unique about Clarence’s method is
that he instructs without the use of a buddy
box. Several members of our District II team
who have flown with Clarence have told me
his method works, but frankly I was still a bit
skeptical, so when Clarence offered to come
to my club field and give a demonstration, I
took him up on his offer.
What I saw was rather impressive.
Whether it was his technique, his demeanor,
his flying ability, or a combination of all
these, I was impressed with what I saw. In
less than a tank of fuel he had one of our
members hovering a helicopter.
One of our newer students, who only had
one flight under his belt, was shooting
landings in his first flight with Clarence. This
member’s young son, after just a few minutes
with Clarence’s help, flew the remainder of
the flight up to the landing by himself.
Clarence Ragland (L) helps Aero Radio
Club of Syracuse member Ed Cooper
lineup for a successful landing approach.
I was most impressed with the success
my wife had. She’s flown a little on a
simulator and probably has roughly two
minutes of actual stick time on a RC model.
Clarence took the trainer to altitude and
handed her the box. After several minutes of
instruction he backed away and she flew the
remainder of the flight without any
assistance then shot a successful landing
with minimal help from Clarence.
I’m certainly not saying this technique is
for everyone, nor do I even know if it will
work for someone other than an instructor
with Clarence’s mild mannered approach,
but if you’re interested in learning more, you
can E-mail him at [email protected].
Clarence Ragland (L) and Aero Radio Club
of Syracuse president Herb Ziegler (R)
look on as Ginger Mathewson flies.
See you next time.
District II Report
New Jersey/ New York/
Europe
Dave
Mathewson
Vice President
7271 State Fair Blvd.,
Baldwinsville NY 13027
Tel.: (315) 727-4275
Fax: (315) 635-1039
E-mail: [email protected]
District II Web page: www.amadistrictii.org
Note: For a listing of all district volunteer
workers please see a previous issue of Model
Aviation or the above Web address.
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Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/09
Page Numbers: 150