AMA News District II - 2012/10

Great fun-flys and airshows have
continued throughout the 2012 flying
season in District II!
The International Vintage Sailplane
Meet 2012 brought together vintage RC
Gliders with some of the best full-scale
historic gliders and sailplanes in the
world.
In collaboration with the National
Soaring Museum, modelers enjoyed
two days of flying on July 6 and 7,
2012, at the Elmira Vintage RC Soaring
Aerotow. Located atop historic Harris
Hill in Elimira, New York, and adjacent
to the museum, the RC aerotowing
event was an unqualified success in
collaboration with its full-scale cousins.
The Southern Tier Aero Radio Society
(STARS) celebrated its 35th Annual
STARS Rally and Air Show July 7-8,
2012, at the Cattaraugus County/Olean
Airport in Ischua, New York. More than
100 Scale aircraft participated during
the two-day event.
Rally highlights included a fullscale
Stearman, that flew in Saturday
morning, and exciting midday RC
airshows. During the airshows,
spectators were treated to Scale
demonstrations, an entertaining flying
lawn mower, 3-D helicopters, and 3-D
airplane aerobatic acts that pleased the
crowd.
District II’s Aero Guidance Society
(AGS) celebrated another successful
pattern contest July 7-8, 2012, marking
57 years of hosting the historic event.
The AGS owns its own beautiful, 100-
acre flying site in Tioga County that
over looks West Endicott, New York,
and the Susquehanna Valley.
An impressive lineup at the STARS Rally.
Second only to the AMA Nats, the
AGS event is the oldest continuously
running event of its type in the US!
The eighth annual Capitol Jet Rally
was held July 13-15, 2012, at the South
Albany Airport in Selkirk, New York.
The airport’s 75 x 3000-foot asphalt
runway was host to nearly 100 aircraft
and the pilots enjoyed nearly perfect
weather throughout the three-day
event.
Following the success of past years, a
special Hand-on-Sticks flight experience
was held during the noontime
intermission, where spectators were
invited to fly trainer aircraft. Through
careful preparations and theme-parklike
staging, the local Flying Knights
RC club, took up 70 modelers in two
60-minute sessions on Saturday and
Sunday!
Pilots at the Aero Guidance Society pattern
event.
During Capitol Jets intermission,
spectators were invited to see the jets
up close and talk with pilots. Spectators
were invited to come to the Flying
Knights for more flying and flight
instruction. Activities such as these
attract the public to our hobby and
welcome new members into our clubs!
John Lamonaco (L ) pilots as Al Latchford
(kneeling) instructs two happy students at
Capitol Jets.
This model glider, The Skyrider, displayed in the
National Soaring Museum flew via RC at Harris
Hill in 1937!
Until next month, visit District II’s new
website for extended photo coverage of
these and other events, and remember
to see “AMA-District-II” on Twitter and
“like” us on Facebook!
Remember, it’s not about what we
fly, it’s about the people and the friends
we make.