District I - 2010/08

August 2010 159
ON APRIL 24, 2010, the Boys & Girls
Club of Central Massachusetts held its
annual Family Day event at its headquarters
in Leominster, Massachusetts. The theme
this year was aviation and space. There were
six presenters who exhibited items or gave
interesting talks for the children and their
families to enjoy.
AMA members Colin Towers and Mike
Turocy from the Quinapoxit Model Flying
Club participated in the event. Colin brought
his ¼-scale Piper Cub and a giant scale P-47
airplane to exhibit. Colin set up a RealFlight
Simulator with a model of his Cub for the
many attendees to try their hands at RC
flying.
Mike performed demonstration flights
with nitro and electric helicopters, which
was a big hit with the crowd. Nearly
everyone who stopped by their exhibit area
enjoyed what they saw and asked questions
about RC aircraft, clubs, and model aircraft
flying.
Other presentations included the awardwinning
Worcester Polytechnic Institute’s
Moonraker robot. This robot won a
$500,000 NASA engineering competition by
navigating around a moon-like surface,
collecting soil, and delivering the most soil
into a bin. This robotic function would occur
when processing natural resources on the
moon.
Space flight artifacts and memorabilia
were exhibited by the One Giant Leap
Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting
space exploration, math, and science in our
schools.
The Experimental Aircraft Association
(EAA) member pilots introduced their
Young Eagles program, which gives
interested young people ages 8-17 an
opportunity to learn about flying and how
they can get a free 15-minute airplane flight
with an EAA pilot.
Talks were given by the Aldrich
Astronomical Society, an organization of
amateur astronomers, about astronomy,
space science, observational equipment, and
telescopes. The highlight of the day was the
talk given by four-time Space Shuttle
commander, retired Air Force Col. Charles
Precourt, who arrived at the event in a
1947 Bell helicopter—just like the ones in
M*A*S*H.
He began his talk by asking, “What
weighs five million pounds and is faster than
a speeding bullet? It’s the space shuttle,
launching itself free of the gravitational pull
of Earth.” Col. Precourt gave parents and
kids a sense of what it’s like to fly, work and
play in space.
The Quinapoxit Model Flying Club
members recognize the importance of
participating in events that introduce their
club and the sport of aeromodeling to the
children and their families in their local
community. This kind of partnered
community activity often results in new
AMA members and support for flying site
acquisition and retention.
District I
Andy Argenio, District I Vice President; [email protected]
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
The Quinapoxit Model Flying Club was at the Boys & Girls Club Family Day in Massachusetts.
Colin Towers’ ¼-scale Cub is one of the many “ducklings” following this full-scale mother
Cub.
Andy Argenio
3 Sheila Ln.,
Smithfield RI 02917;
Home: (401) 231-
6901; Work: (401)
231-5380
For a complete listing of district
officers and volunteers, please visit
the District 1 Web site at
www.amadistrict-i.org
D i s t r i c t I
Above: Col. Charles Precourt, former shuttle
commander, arrived at the event in the 1947
Bell helicopter shown at the right.
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