In the Air
Cape Coral R/Sea Hawks: On a Mission of Excellence
On November 16, 2012, Trafalgar Elementary School in Cape Coral, Florida, held its annual theme day, On a Mission of Excellence, focused on flight and space travel.
The Cape Coral R/Sea Hawks club was invited to do a presentation and a limited flight demonstration for more than 800 students. Included in the flight demonstration were several park flyers and a UAV hexacopter fitted with a Cannon camera DSLR and GPS locator. Static displays included several 3-D and glider airplanes along with a turbine jet.
While the park fliers flew for the kids, a narrator explained the theory of flight and what each airplane was doing during the flight. The children and teachers were instructed on how the aircraft controls worked and the results of stick movement.
While the presentation was taking place, Bob Gossen piloted his hexacopter to an altitude of 300 feet and took some stunning photos. The club elected to have some of these photos framed and Ed Gamils, club president, along with a few of the participating club members, presented the photos to Ann Fainer, the school principal.
The day came to an end with the invitation to participate in more events with the school system. The nonanswered question was, “Who actually had more fun: the students or the members giving the demo?”
The Cape Coral R/Sea Hawks enjoy AMA Leader Club status and believe in reaching out to public information forums where members can share and promote this wonderful sport/hobby with youth and interested parties.
—Bunky Bruce [email protected]
National Model Aviation Day
There is still time for your club to join AMA and clubs across the country to celebrate the inaugural National Model Aviation Day on August 17, 2013. The event was established to commemorate and promote the hobby. Proceeds will help support the Wounded Warrior Project, a group with a mission to raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of injured service members and their families.
Clubs can register to participate in National Model Aviation Day by visiting www.modelaircraft.org/membership/clubs/nmad.aspx. Registered clubs can share ideas for fundraising, generating media exposure, and attracting spectators.
After a club is registered, its members gain access to the club resources page, created to provide promotional materials, ideas for raising funds for the Wounded Warrior Project, information about securing a state proclamation, and much more. The Academy will recognize participating clubs on the AMA blog, social media, and in Model Aviation.
The last day to register is August 1, 2013. Clubs will be provided with special three-month trial AMA membership offers to help recruit new members. The AMA Executive Council will also provide each of these clubs with a certificate of participation.
Would you like to attend a National Model Aviation Day event but don’t know where to go? The Academy has designed a map with locations of all participating clubs. Visit www.nationalmodelaviationday.org to view the map and learn more about National Model Aviation Day.
All donations received will be given to the Wounded Warrior Project on behalf of the participating clubs. With club and member support, we believe this will be a great event that will promote the hobby and aid an organization that benefits our heroes.
For more information about National Model Aviation Day, visit www.modelaircraft.org or call Mandee Mikulski at (765) 287-1256, extension 277.
—Mandee Mikulski
In the Air
Buzzards Invade the 1940 Nats
Coverage of the 1940 Nats in the October 1940 issues of Air Trails and Model Airplane News (MAN) noted the “great variety of design” present. It must have been a surprise when during the Class C Free Flight event, a multitude of the same models simultaneously took to the air. The Buzzards Club of Chicago had invaded.
The Buzzards had been staging mass flights at smaller local events, but this was the first of its kind at the Nats. It caused a stir, not only because of how unusual the sight was, but also because of how well the models—called the Buzzard Bombshell—flew. MAN’s event coverage discussed the various aerodynamic theories of design and the “speculation on the relative merits of Class A and Class C gas models.”
Joe Konefes was the man behind the Bombshell design. He finished building his model in time for the Wisconsin State Contests Meet and flew it to win the first-place trophy at the Class C Open. The following week, he lost the model in flight. Luckily, it was found before the Nats started in July, and it was in relatively good shape.
Eighteen Buzzard Bombshell aircraft participated in the mass flight, including Joe’s. His flight was also first of his three official flights. Because of the quality of Joe’s model and his skill—and aided by great weather—Joe set a record of 49 minutes, 40 seconds. The combined time of all three of his flights was more than 58 minutes.
In 1984, in memory of the Buzzards Club of Chicago, Joe donated his original 1940 Buzzard Bombshell, as well as the 1941 Buzzard Bombshell II, and a 1937 gas-powered airplane to the National Model Aviation Museum.
Read more about the Buzzard Bombshell at http://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amamuseum/2013/07/20/joe-konefes-buzzar....
Thanks to Ed Konefes and Dan Kane Sr. for sharing their memories of Joe and the Buzzard Bombshell. Throughout the next few months, look for more reports about the surviving artifacts of the 1940s Nats.
In the meantime, members of the museum staff would love to hear your memories. Please share your stories at [email protected]; (765) 287-1256; extension 508; or on the museum’s Facebook page.
—Maria VanVreede
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
