District I - 2008/08

District I - 2008/08

District I Vice President

Andy Argenio; [email protected]

• States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
• Address:

Andy Argenio 3 Sheila Ln. Smithfield, RI 02917

• Phone: Home: (401) 231-6901; Work: (401) 231-5380

For a complete listing of district officers and volunteers, please visit the District I Web site at www.amadistrict1.com.

We currently have 125 AMA clubs in New England. Many of the clubs’ flying sites can only accommodate a limited number of fliers and parking. These smaller clubs have fun-fly events each year, but the attendance is often restricted to club members.

In the past I have written about clubs that find larger temporary sites at parks, airports, or colleges that can be acquired for weekend use for flying events. Another approach would be to have an invitational or specialty flying event so the attendance and parking could still be accommodated at a club’s flying site. The invitation could be sent to neighboring clubs or their members.

As a good rule of thumb, I have found that when my club invites other clubs to attend an event at our site we average roughly eight attendees from each. With our own members and the guest fliers we can handle approximately 30 pilots and cars. These events provide a great opportunity for area club members to meet face-to-face, share knowledge and experiences, make new friends, and be exposed to a wider variety of aircraft, flying styles, and skills.

Multiclub Fly-In — report from Christopher D’Arpino

Several months ago Bill O’Donnell, the Millis Model Aircraft Club president, came up with the idea of doing an “Inter-Club Fly-In.” It was decided that the event would be open to all types of aircraft for flying and would be limited to the following Massachusetts clubs:

• Millis Model Aircraft Club
• Charles River Radio Controllers
• South Shore Radio Control Club
• Wing Busters Model Aircraft Club
• Lazy Loopers Flying Club
• Discover Flying R/C Club
• Northbridge R/C Flyers

Zahoor Bajwa (Baj), the South Shore Radio Control Club president, graciously volunteered to host this first multiclub event at his club’s flying site on Sunday, June 1. The participating clubs are all less than 50 miles from each other. More than 55 pilots, representing each of the clubs, as well as district officers Les Watson, Carl Vogel, James Gilliatt, and Andy Argenio, registered and flew at the event.

Seventy-four aircraft were counted and everything from small electrics and sport to scale warbirds, including giant-scale aerobatic aircraft, were flown. The flying started at 9 a.m. under a steady breeze and warm temperatures after a pilot briefing from the event CD Bill O’Donnell and a welcome message from Baj.

This was one of the most active flying events at this club’s site with the five flying stations busy all day. At approximately 2 p.m. Mother Nature decided she wanted to join the fun with one heck of a boomer thunderstorm. Everyone scrambled to cover airplanes and equipment and get under the shade structures where they enjoyed free coffee, soda, good conversation, and laughter. After roughly 30 minutes, the storm blew through and behind it was a gorgeous blue sky and practically no wind.

Two of the clubs already volunteered to host the multiclub event next year.

This event was only the first of what will be annual multiclub events hosted at different participating clubs each year. The event brought to life the idea that we are a district of members who can come together, create new friendships, and share club flying sites while enjoying our common love of model aviation.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.