172 MODEL AVIATION
MAYOR FRANK TOWER of Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, upon flying solo and welcomed to
the pilot ranks, stated, “It’s a passion. When
you get, people who are all passionate about
this same thing, all together—it’s fantastic!”
Isn’t this model aviation? I believe it is.
I attended the Mercer County Radio Control
Society’s (MCRCS) Giant Scale fly-in in
Imlaystown, New Jersey, Memorial Day
weekend. This is an event held every year for
the benefit of the Sunshine Foundation. I was
pleased to meet club member C. David Vale.
During our conversation he outlined a
ground school he had completed for the club
to promote RC aeromodeling. I was
extremely impressed and I asked him to write
about it for me to share.
“Perhaps the classes weren’t quite as
extensive as their counterparts in full-scale
flight training, but the students who
completed the model airplane ground school
taught by the Mercer County Radio Control
Society in New Jersey left with a solid
understanding of the sport of RC
aeromodeling.
“The last of the free six-hour classes
taught at three branches of the Mercer County
Library concluded on May 19. The classes
provided students an opportunity to become
familiar with the sport and prepare to fly
models of their own.
“MCRCS member David Vale originally
proposed the idea of conducting this public
ground school. He first proposed the plan to
the MCRCS Board of Directors and then to
the members at a general meeting. Receiving
favorable responses there, he proposed the
program to Mercer County Library System
Executive Director Ellen Brown who
responded ‘It would be a
wonderful program for
the library to host.’
“Dave and Ellen
worked together to
identify libraries that had
meeting facilities
available in an
appropriate timeframe
and then settled on three
branches. Dave
facilitated publicity in
the local newspapers and
Ellen arranged for
publicity through the
library system including
posters, the library Web site,
and cards distributed at the
circulation desks.
“The ground school, as
implemented, consisted of
three two-hour classes that
included an overview of RC
modeling, basic
aerodynamics, radio-control
systems, engines, motors,
how to build a model, and
preparation for the first
flight. Dave and a faculty of
12 instructors met to develop
curricula for these seven
topic areas and to prepare
presentation materials.
“Devoting about an hour of group
discussion to each topic and significantly
more time individually, the presentations
came together and were documented in ‘class
notes,’ a collection of written notes on
everything the instructors intended to say in
class. More than 150 pictures and diagrams
supplemented the notes, which served as
guides for instruction.
“The classes were conducted by
instructors using PowerPoint slides of the
pictures and diagrams, and demonstrations
with physical models and equipment to
support the lectures; the slides and class notes
of the content presented are available on the
club’s Web site at www.mcrcs.com.
“David Vale enumerated three goals of
conducting the classes when he first proposed
the ground school:
“• To raise awareness of radio control
modeling in the community and
promote it as a worthy sport.
“• To identify and attract enthusiastic new
participants to join the club.
“• To increase attendance at the club’s
revenue-producing events through free
media coverage of the ground school.
“Regarding the first goal, 10 articles
about the ground school and related club
activities were published in local
newspapers in the two months
encompassing the classes. In addition,
numerous posters were displayed in local
schools and countless cards were distributed
by the Mercer County Library System
advertising the classes.
“A feature article that ran in two local
publications featured club member Keith
Zimmerly with his 16-foot-wingspan Jenny.
Both figured prominently on the cover of
one of the publications.
“It is too early to tell how many
graduates will join the club, but several have
been spotted at the field, at least five have
taken intro flights with club instructors, and
at least one has purchased an airplane.
“Finally, although the club has never
actually counted attendees at its events, it
appeared that more families came this year
than had in the past—a good sign that the
event was attracting more of the general
public.
“This year the ground school program
consisted solely of classroom training. It
was designed with the intention that
graduates would be ready to join a club,
build a model, and start flying. A total of 53
students attended the first session. Of these,
32 finished the third session.
“Although planning for programs such as
this goes slowly during flying season,
informal discussions are already underway
regarding how the program can be improved
and expanded for next year.”
Ground school graduates from one of three branches pose
with a Giant Scale Aeronca. Left to right are Irwin Math,
Mathew Waltrip, Mike Sinocchi, Joe Mikulewicz, John
Horrocks, Chris Van Horn, Tom Van Horn, Merrill Ockun,
Mitch Marder, Sam Marder, Juergen Schnaitmann, Danika
Baskar, Lakhsmanan Baskar, Brian Lee, and Mankit Lee.
Students
Mathew
Waltrip, Abinav
Janakiramen,
Agamroop
Singh, and Rose
Soskind watch
as instructor Ric
deBastos
demonstrates
the controls.
Flying Site Assistance
Joe Beshar | [email protected]
“It would be a wonderful program for the library to host.”
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
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/10
Page Numbers: 172