District I Report

December 2009 149
ON COLUMBUS DAY weekend, I attended
a popular helicopter event in Massachusetts.
One of District I’s RC helicopter-only clubs,
the New England Heli Crew (NEHC), held its
second annual Heli Phenomenon October 9-
11 in Mansfield, Massachusetts. This is the
biggest helicopter smackdown event in the
Northeast.
NEHC is two years old and currently has
65 members who fly off of a large, open field
with five widely spaced helicopter flight
stations. The club’s flying site is well suited
for events with spacious parking areas for
guests and multiple areas designated for flying
3-D, sport, scale, and hovering activities. The
site is only minutes off of Route 95 and 495,
30 miles south of Boston.
The club members are lucky to have a
huge, gated field and on-site shade structure,
storage container, AC/DC power, charge
stations, a 5K generator, lawn mowers,
cooking grills, and a portable toilet.
Despite the weather, this year’s event drew
85 registered pilots, more than a dozen
factory-sponsored pilots, hundreds of
spectators, and numerous aspiring
aeromodelers.
Each day we were treated to some
spectacular flight demos from some of the
world’s best helicopter pilots including Frank
Columbia (Team Align), Bob Libby (Team
R/C Hover), Andrew Melino (Team Hirobo),
and the Team Outrage pilots Alvin Chai,
Wesley Griffith, and Andrew Palmer. And, of
course, the world’s youngest champion flier,
seven-year-old Justin Chi, attended.
As with many events today, night flying
entertained those who participated and stayed
at the site after 7 p.m. On Saturday, more than
12 scale helicopters competed at a second
flightline for a Pilots’ Choice Scale award.
More than $3,000
worth of great prizes were
put into a public and pilot
raffle with drawings on Saturday afternoon.
All of those who attended reported having an
awesome time and a big thanks goes out to
event sponsor Jeremy Waltzer, CD Shawn
Leclair, Kyle Parson, who served more than
300 meals, and all of the members of NEHC
for another Phenomenon.
If you love helicopters, want to fly, or just
watch and learn from the best, plan to attend
next year. Visit www.NEHelicrew.com for
more information.
District I
Andy Argenio, District I Vice President; [email protected]
Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont
This is NEHC’s 40-foot aluminum site container, power station, and shade structure.
Dennis Spicuzza (L) gets some pointers from Frank
Columbia, Team Horizon Align pilot.
NEHC member Joe Kelly is one of
the club’s top 3-D helicopter pilots.
Jeremy Waltzer, owner of RC Hover’s
Hobby Stop, sponsors the annual Heli
Phenomenon event.
Rich Daggett flew several
helicopters including his T-Rex 600.
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
Bob Moore (above) and other
club members built the 720-
amp system (right) for
charging helicopter batteries
from panels on the container
at the flying site.
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