District II - 2006/05

May 2006 153
District II
Dave Mathewson, District II Vice President; [email protected]
New Jersey, New York, Europe
THE OUTDOOR flying season is almost
here and I know a lot of the clubs in our
district are gearing up their training programs
and are ready to welcome and help their new
members become successful modelers. Most
likely these new modelers will be looking for
any information available that will help them
have a good modeling experience.
There’s a great resource out there—and
probably another one of AMA’s best kept
secrets—called Model Aviation’s Sport
Aviator. Sport Aviator is AMA’s online
magazine dedicated to helping new modelers
be successful.
The site is loaded with information for
newcomers and includes sections on kit and
radio reviews, how-to articles, training
methods, as well as a buy-and-sell area and
an events calendar.
You’ll be doing your new students a
favor by pointing them to this E-zine as a
good source for modeling information that
specifically targets the newcomer. If you
haven’t been to the site, check it out at
www.masportaviator.com.
Ray Juschkus, District II associate vice
president (AVP), attended the Long Island
Silent Flyers Sailplane (LISF) contest
September 24-25, 2005, and sent the
following.
“Saturday started out cool and breezy as
30 pilots, including world-class competitors
Tom Kiesling and Mike Lachowski, gathered
for the
competition.
“This two-day
event is one
of several
Soaring
contests held
each year by
LISF. Early
morning
times were
coming in
rather low on
Saturday until
noon when the wind died down. As the
temperature warmed up so did the
competition. Times improved as the day
progressed and most pilots were getting their
seven-minute maxes.
“This LISF event was one of several
competitions held in the Northeast in 2005 as
part of the Eastern Soaring League. In
addition to two Soaring contests LISF runs
each year, the club is in its second year of
holding an aerotow event at its site on Long
Island. LISF is one of the more active
Soaring groups in District II.”
Our clubs in District II have a great
reputation for being actively involved in their
communities. One of these clubs is the GCA
RC Club of Northern New Jersey. GCA
works hard to promote our hobby, introduce
model aviation to the general public, and use
a membership recruiting program that has a
strong emphasis on the younger generation.
GCA president Bob Vazquez wrote about
some of the highlights during this past year.
“Our club began 2005 by adopting Butler
High School for our youth program. Ten
students built two trainers under the
supervision of club member Bob Vanderhorn
and had the models completed and ready to
fly just in time for the flying season. In May,
GCA participated in the Washington
Township’s annual Memorial Day Ceremony
by organizing a static display as well as a
flight demonstration using electric models.
“In July we participated in a three-day
Morris County 4-H program that drew 25,000
residents form the surrounding area. We
provided a model display and a rocket
building and flying program. To complete our
involvement we flew several model helicopter
demonstrations during the three days.
“In August we were on hand to help
Washington Township Police Department
celebrate National Night Out. Again, we had
a static display and flew our electric models.
The Garden State Circle Burners provided
this display of Control Line models as part of
the GCA’s Grand Event Come Fly with Me.
“Capping our 2005 season we held our
GCA club’s Grand Event Come Fly With
Me. Static displays, three operating flight
simulators, a Delta Dart building program, a
rocket building and flying program, CL
flying, and a showing of several RC videos
made up the event.
“To cap it all off, those who went through
flight simulator training were taken to our
nearby field for a hands-on experience with
one of our club trainers. It was a busy year
and we’re ready to do it again in 2006.”
GCA members Pat Gesvaldo and Walt Dean
introduce model aviation to these two young
boys.
See you next time.
Associate Vice Presidents:
Roy A. Brown, USAE AFCENT
CMR 460 BOX 585 APO AE
07903; [email protected]
Sal Calvagna, Holbrook NY;
(631) 737-6327; ncalvagn@
suffolk.lib.ny.us
Gary Fitch, Franklinville NY;
(716) 676-2498;
[email protected]
Ray Juschkus, St. James NY;
(631) 862-5589;
[email protected]
Eric Henderson, Marlton NJ;
(856) 988-9184;
[email protected]
Jim Lewis, Ogdenburg NY;
(315) 393-2580
Tom Murray, Basking Ridge NJ;
(908) 766-5656;
[email protected]
Ernie Nikodem, Lockport NY;
(716) 434-8350;
[email protected]
Bill Poythress, Saugerties NY;
(845) 246-8850
Adam Sattler, Latham NY;
(518) 783-8929;
[email protected]
Peter Seiffert, Baldwinsville
NY; (315) 635-6370;
[email protected].
Alexander Szemere, Kendall
Park NJ; (732) 821-5641;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator:
Dan Williams, Liverpool NY;
(315) 652-7740;
[email protected].
Webmaster: Doug Crawford,
Oswego NY; webmaster@
amadistrictii.org.
D i s t r i c t I I Volunteers
World-class competitors
Tom Kiesling and Mike
Lachowski at the LISF Fall
2005 Soaring Contest.