Fly the RC Adventure
Encourage AMA Membership and Flying Sites
DAVE KOPEC, Paragon Federal Coordinator, cites his passion in the following essay:
November 2009 saw Paragon Federal expand its Aero Club with two new schools as participants: Pascack Hills High School of Montvale, New Jersey, on November 2, and Pascack Valley High School of Hillsdale, New Jersey, on November 4. Past issues of MA (May 2008, April 2009) have highlighted Paragon’s introducing model airplane building and flying to local schools.
Paragon President and CEO Richard Rays, a former pilot with a continued passion for aeronautics (and philanthropy), has seen Paragon donate HobbyZone Super Cub RC planes to several of the educational districts it serves in Bergen County, New Jersey.
Paragon Aero Club took a step forward in providing talent to its ranks by adding AMA modelers and builders (and Paragon employees) Tom Kazinci and Mike Fasouletos. Their combined experience in RC flying adds up to more than two decades.
In concert with Joe Beshar’s "Fly the RC Adventure," another major addition to the Aero Club this fall season was the idea of training the teachers to become proficient RC pilots. This way they would have the freedom and ability to bring students together for flying whenever time and weather conditions would permit.
Using the RealFlight Simulator Basic 1 program, science teachers Bill Giraud and Jim Kennedy were invited to the Paragon Federal facility to demo the program. They were so excited about the simulation that they couldn’t wait to do the real thing!
Much credit goes to Aarti Mallya (Pascack Valley Region district science and technology supervisor) for enlisting personnel and coordinating these two events for both high schools. She worked closely with Paragon Federal to handle the logistics of separate venues and literally hundreds of students and attendees.
November 2 saw the demo fly-in at Pascack Hills High School in Montvale. It was a nice, clear day for flying and dozens of students were in attendance. Science teacher Bill Giraud introduced Paragon’s Dave Kopec and Joe Beshar. Mr. Beshar, a former World War II aviator, always does a great job tying together the connection between RC modeling and its wide array of educational aspects.
One always-exciting aspect of a fly-in is the dedication of a brand-new plane to the school. A HobbyZone Super Cub (RTF) was given to Pascack Hills High School by Paragon Federal to officially kick off the festivities.
Paragon’s decision to bolster its team with RC flying aces Tom Kazinci and Mike Fasouletos had an immediate impact as planes took to the sky. They were both great, working with the students along with AMA pros Bruce Giamurra and Dan Dispensa. It cannot be overstated how important the interaction between RC mentor and student is at the fly-ins.
In the eyes of the novice, keeping planes aloft can seem quite daunting. However, with all of the great volunteer pros on hand, that apprehension quickly turns to exhilaration as newcomers put these RTFs through their paces. Bill Giraud was a quick study on the simulator and on the real thing, and he had the Super Cub soaring as well.
It is worth noting that Mr. Giraud also teaches engineering and robotics at the Region and is looking to have his students design and fabricate their own planes.
A second demo followed at the Pascack Valley fly-in in Hillsdale, New Jersey, on November 4. It saw a great number of volunteers and planes in the air. It was also captured for posterity by Mr. Kennedy’s video class. Mr. Kennedy leads a class in video production and multiple cameras were at the fly-in to capture the action.
The planes seemed to hit the skies first thing in the morning on what was a perfect day for flying. Student after student lined up to fly the newly dedicated Super Cub RTF and they were not disappointed. Once again our AMA pros put smiles on the faces of everyone who gave the RC Adventure a try. It was the kind of day you wished would never end.
Paragon’s impact in the local community and its surrounding schools is felt strongly by anyone who experiences these great events.
The fact that people are brought together for a stimulating and highly educational assembly is a wonderful thing. The highlight is always to see first-time fliers feel the magic of controlling a plane that is soaring hundreds of feet in the air.
Many thanks have to be given to the RC pros who so generously donate their time to share their passion for this great hobby/sport.
Everyone at the Pascack Valley Region deserves kudos as well for bringing aeromodeling into the classroom. It’s a win-win situation for all of those involved.
John O’Malley provided the photos.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
