THANKS to the positive support of Jack
Dowden, Waste Management’s Group
Director of Closed Landfills, the Omega Hills
landfill in Germantown, Wisconsin, is
operational as stated by Greg Smith,
president of the AstroWings of Wisconsin.
Midwest slope pilots! The long wait is
over. Things turned out slightly different than
we’d originally planned but our friends and
fellow club members of AstroWings of
Wisconsin helped us finally gain access to
one of our local slope spots. Thanks to
AstroWings and especially Roger Zahn, as
well as the people at Waste Management,
including Jack Dowden, for this opportunity.
Several local slope pilots including
Mirko Bodul, Russ Whitford, Tim Hoff, and
Greg Smith have worked on access to the
closed portion of Waste Management’s
Omega Hills landfill in Germantown for
roughly five years. It took persistence and
hard work from the beginning, but things
really started to click earlier this year with
the help of Jack at Waste Management and
AMA’s Joe Beshar.
Earlier this spring Mirko and Greg met
with Jack and the president of the
Germantown trustees for a demonstration
flight at the site and received the town’s
blessing.
Mirko and Greg received a couple of
agreements from successful landfill slope
sites in New Jersey and Florida and, with the
help of Waste Management’s legal counsel,
drafted a three-year agreement for the nonexclusive
use of the Omega Hills site for the
purpose of slope flying non-motorized model
aircraft, which was executed in early October,
2007.
On Saturday, October 6, Mirko, Greg, and
Tracy Brown made a preliminary venture to
the Omega Hills site for some test flying of
what promises to be a great venue for Slope
Soaring action in southeast Wisconsin. On
this particular day the southwesterly wind
was from nearly as poor a direction as we
could have and we still had many flights of
10-15 minutes. Greg had one of at least 20
minutes and, remember, this was with the
least favorable wind direction!
On Sunday, October 21, approximately 30
pilots and potential pilots met at Omega Hills
and were given an orientation by Jack
Dowden outlining the few site rules that the
pilots needed to be aware of. After that the
group was free to fly!
To fly at this site you need to be an AMA
member and an AstroWings of Wisconsin
member. In addition, you’ll need to go with
a member who has previously been to the
site and can show you the ropes. Your best
bet is to contact Greg Smith at greg@
slopeflyer.com for the latest news and to
arrange a time to go with an active site pilot.
Because this has been more than five
years in the making, the AstroWings club is
seriously committed to making this
relationship work. Your help as responsible
pilots and people will be greatly appreciated!
Flying Site Observations: It occured to me
that it would be helpful if periodically I share
ideas, observations, and practices at the flying
site. Here is one that I believe is useful and
you will find interesting.
We all experience at various times the
need to repair our models at the flying field.
Having the Dremel Stylus rotary tool
available at the flying field is useful during
repairs because it is a versatile tool. It is
portable and designed with ultimate precision
and control.
Small and balanced, it accepts a variety of
accessories including abrasive wheels, drill
bits, wire brushes, polishers, and engraving
cutters. Best of all it is cordless. It employs a
Li-Ion battery that maintains its charge far
longer than Ni-Cds. I particularly like to use
it with a Rotozip bit that can rout, notch,
carve, and drill as desired. Using it with a
drum sander and of course cyanoacrylate
adhesive, most field repairs are possible.
With the Rotozip bit installed in the Dremel
Stylus, notching out a contour in plywood
sheet for a field repair is easy.
The Rotozip bit is installed and a drum sander
bit is displayed. Many additional bits are
available for a diversity of operations.
168 MODEL AVIATION
Flying Site Assistance Joe Beshar|[email protected]
Joe Beshar
Coordinator
Eastern Region
AMA Districts I - VII
198 Merritt Dr., Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281;
Fax: (201) 261-0223
E-mail: [email protected]
Wes De Cou
Coordinator
Western Region
AMA Districts VIII - XI
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.,
Phoenix AZ 85045
Voice: (480) 460-9466;
Cell: (480) 296-9515
Fax: (480) 460-9434
E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
New Slope Site in Southeast Wisconsin
Slope pilots gathered for the first official
day of flying at Omega Hills. Inset: Mirko
Bodul launches his Airtech Dynamic
model. Photos by Greg Smith.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/04
Page Numbers: 168