AMA and Camp Jeep® 2001
by Dave Robelen
The weekend of July 26-29, 2001, approximately 8,000 Jeep® owners and family members driving 2,200 Jeep® machines gathered at the lovely Oak Ridge Estate in Nelson County, Virginia.
This estate—the largest private property in Virginia—is only a few miles from where the Waltons family television show was filmed.
The Jeep® owners were joined by approximately 50 AMA members to form one of the largest Radio Control (RC)-model flying schools to date.
The gathering drew people from 43 states and five countries, to provide a truly international setting.
Sponsored by the DaimlerChrysler corporation, Camp Jeep® included a wide range of activities for families and Jeep owners. Included were Jeep® 101 Village, which consisted of Jeep® 101 courses, a Jeep® performance area, Jeep® agility challenge, and other Jeep®-related activities.
There was Adventure Village, Virginia Village, workshops, and general-interest areas that featured a variety of outdoor activities. Gates opened at 9 a.m. and closed at 5 p.m. each day.
Along with the previously mentioned activities, there was the immensely popular Flight School. Despite difficult weather (it rained at least some of the time every day), 849 people got their first taste of model aviation.
Included with the Flight School were twice-daily model air shows that featured radio-control system operation and corresponding airplane control surfaces. This was followed by discussions on safety and pattern/radio etiquette and then a short look at RC flight using very creative techniques and equipment.
The next stop was a long row of RC flight simulators. Volunteers helped the students gain an awareness of a model’s movements in flight and the coordination needed to successfully control an aircraft through the wide variety of flight attitudes.
From there the students were ushered to the flightlines in groups (four flew simultaneously), where they had the opportunity to get “hands on” flying time on one of the .46-powered trainers through the “buddy-box” technique.
After a session of flying, each student had his or her picture taken with one of the models and was given a certificate and a set of “wings.”
Quite a few of the flights with the trainer models took place in a light rain or drizzle, which demonstrates the interest of the public and the perseverance of the volunteers.
Special mention should be made of DaimlerChrysler employee and AMA member Darrell Watts’s efforts; he brought AMA and his employer together to make the Flight School possible.
The lunchtime and afternoon air shows each day were a huge success. Featured were Team Futaba fliers Quique Somenzini and Gary Wright, volunteer pilots Darrell Watts (with a propeller-driven F-18), Joe Radel (flying large warbirds), Don Koonce (who flew a biplane with smoke), Tyke Hale (with a huge Edge 540), and several others who varied from day to day.
Although all the fliers did an outstanding job, a couple of pilots brought the crowd to its feet repeatedly. This illustrates the level to which our hobby has risen!
Quique’s model Excellence performed to music and executed seemingly impossible maneuvers.
Gary Wright flew a very aerobatic Electric model in an amazing display of close-quarters flying and did a helicopter demonstration that was nothing short of incredible. (When was the last time you saw a Cubana performed with the simulating back-and-forth speed?) Richard “Dick” Smith did a superb job of announcing, and he kept us all informed in a very professional fashion.
The whole operation was made possible by the selfless efforts of the volunteers, who came from the various clubs to work under conditions that were often challenging. They did so with a sense of teamwork that was spearheaded by Chuck Foreman; he served as Contest Director and kept things flowing.
Participating clubs were the Richmond Area Radio Control club, the Mid-Virginia Radio Control club, the Greta Aeromodellers, the Hanover Radio Control Flying Club, the Roanoke Valley Radio Control club, the Expoland Radio Control Club, the Hildebran R/C Aeromodelers, the Fauquier Aero Recreation Modelers, the Fredericksburg Aeromasters, the Rivanna Radio Control club, and the Dare County RC Flyers.
The Skymasters from Michigan deserve special mention for building and test-flying the models.
Participating AMA staff were Chuck Foreman, AMA Executive Director Joyce Hager, Carl Maroney, and District IV staff Bliss and Shirley Teague and Randy and Vikki Elliot.
Special thanks to the Radio Control Hobby Trade Association, which contributed $5,000 toward the effort.
The DaimlerChrysler corporation provided fine, quality shirts and caps in coordinated colors for the many volunteers working at Camp Jeep®. That made it very easy to spot the AMA volunteers!
It would be difficult to remember a time when I have seen such a display of cooperation and teamwork, and all AMA members involved should receive a big “thank you” from the membership for the job they did of promoting model aviation at this event.
If you ever get the opportunity, ask Joyce Hager what type of model airplane she enjoys. You might be surprised.
MA Dave Rohelen Route #4 Box 369 Farmville VA 23901 [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
