District I Report - 2009/10
Inviting local residents and community leaders to club airshow demonstrations and engaging them in buddy-box flying is the best way to ensure the retention of flying sites. Club vice president Bob Mandeville sent the following event report.
Wingbusters Model Airplane Club Open House — June 7
On June 7, the Wingbusters Model Airplane Club held its most successful annual Open House in recent times. "This is our way of saying thank you to the community for allowing us to fly here and to show off the hobby," said club president Wayne Penwell. Perfect weather helped bring out a crowd of local residents to watch flight demonstrations, enjoy refreshments, and have the chance to fly RC and U-control airplanes.
An early open house was held for some special-needs students from the Daniel Webster School in Marshfield before the gates opened to the general public. Some aspiring pilots took control on a buddy box and some simply watched.
One student pilot, Eric Holler, was crowned the Looping King. Each time his Sig Rascal 40 came around he’d pull back on the stick and fly a loop. The plane would come around again and he’d fly another loop. Eric kept this up until he ran the tank bone-dry, and he was absolutely pleased with himself.
Before flying, prospective pilots attended Jim Lane’s "ground school" to learn the basics of RC flight. Then it was on to the flightline and the buddy boxes.
Instructor pilots took turns flying for roughly an hour at a stretch before calling a break. While the planes (and the pilots) were recharging, other club members kept the entertainment going with demonstrations.
- Instructor pilots included:
- Rob Lipsett
- Bob Foss
- Bill Schwenzfeier
- Jim Kimball
- and others
- Demonstration pilots included:
- BJ Russo
- Mark Sarofeen
- Cecil Horton
- and others
An estimated 200 visitors kept the instructor pilots busy all day with a continuous flow of students ranging from age four to retirement age. Charlene Penwell and Jeanine Rutherford kept club members and guests happy by serving well in excess of 400 hot dogs. Whenever a pilot wasn’t flying, they were peppered with questions about the planes and how to get involved with the hobby, showing a lot of future promise for the club.
Thanks to Bob and the Wingbusters for promoting the sport of aeromodeling.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
