District II - 2006/05
From the Vice President
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.
- Kit and radio reviews
- How-to articles
- Training methods
- Buy-and-sell area
- 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.
Long Island Silent Flyers Sailplane (LISF) contest
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.”
GCA RC Club of Northern New Jersey
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 from 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.
“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.”
See you next time.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
