District III—Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Mark Radcliff
- Vice President
- [email protected]
- 199 Heron Dr., St. Marys, WV 26170
- Tel.: (304) 684-2133
- www.amadistrict-iii.org
As District III vice president, the most often-asked question I hear is, “How do we get new people involved in our hobby?” That’s the million-dollar question for which no one has an easy answer.
There are many things we can do to attract new individuals to our hobby that will provide positive exposure and entice new modelers. Two of the easiest and most productive approaches are contacting your local Civil Air Patrol (CAP) and Boy Scout troops. Following are examples of clubs that have done this with success.
Doylestown Barnstormers RC Club (Akron, Ohio)
The Doylestown Barnstormers teamed up with the Akron-Canton CAP Model Airplane and Remote Control Program (MARC) to educate cadets about model aviation. Working with senior members, the club introduced a five-session program:
- PowerPoint introduction — presented the club, AMA, the MARC program, and RC flying to the cadets.
- Wind-tunnel hands-on experience — cadets “flew” a stationary RC airplane with a fan blowing at it to demonstrate aerodynamic effects.
- Model building — cadets built the AMA Delta Dart models and then flew them at the indoor facility.
- Simulator session — the club provided five RealFlight simulator stations to simulate what RC flying would be like.
- AMA Take Off and Grow (TAG) day — held at the club field; parents and CAP members were invited to fly using buddy boxes. The club provided hamburgers, hot dogs, and drinks. Several demo flights were flown by experienced fliers to get the students excited about modeling.
Although it seemed like plenty of work at the time, club members agreed that seeing cadets successfully fly an RC airplane for the first time made it worth the effort.
Greater Pittsburgh Area Radio Control Society (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)
The Greater Pittsburgh Area Radio Control Society (ARCS) hosted a Boy Scout Day at the K. Leroy Irvis Model Airport. Scouts from Troop #365 came out to the field, received stick time, and enjoyed a hot dog lunch.
ARCS instructors included:
- Paul Rebres
- Doug Snider
- John Smith
- Joe Jackson
- Herb Fletcher
The Scouts flew Kadets, Quakers, and the Advance 25 from eFlite. ARCS hosted another Boy Scout Day in July and provided flight demonstrations in October for the Boy Scout Camporee.
Flying Wing Nutz (St. Marys, West Virginia)
The Flying Wing Nutz hosted a day of fun and flying to expose young people to the joy of RC. Club president Jim Andrews reported that the crowd was much larger than expected. “We invited the local Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts, and I guess the word just spread.”
Club members spent the day teaching both young and old on buddy boxes. One mother of a Cub Scout joined in the fun and said, “I can’t believe how nervous I was. My heart was really pounding. What a rush!” The club provided hot dogs and hamburgers and experienced modelers performed several demonstrations to entertain the crowd.
These events provided positive exposure to model aviation. I assure you that the cadets, Scouts, and adults who experienced their first time flying RC will never forget it and will tell many others about their experience. This kind of activity will help our hobby grow in the future. I encourage your club to give it a try.
Until next month, go fly and have fun!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
