District II - 2006/07
Dave Mathewson, District II Vice President [email protected] New Jersey, New York, Europe
DOES YOUR CLUB participate in AMA’s Introductory Pilot Program? Are you an AMA Introductory Pilot Instructor? If you’ve answered yes to either of these questions, you’ve probably noticed that there have been some major changes to this longtime program. The Introductory Pilot Program has long been a resource that our clubs have used to reach out and help new modelers have a successful first experience flying model aircraft. In many cases, the end result of a club’s involvement in the program has meant new members for the club. AMA has implemented several changes which we believe make the Introductory Pilot Program easier to implement. Changes include:
- Less labor-intensive record keeping
- Online access to registration and reporting
- Lengthened introductory period (from 30 to 60 days)
- More recognition for the instructors, clubs, and students participating
If you or your club already participates in the AMA Introductory Pilot Program, thank you. If not, you might consider it as a way your club can attract new members and reach out to your community to offer help to the many new modelers looking for a little guidance and support. The end result is that you will be looked upon as an asset to those you have helped, and that almost always ends up paying dividends to the club. You can find more information on the revised Introductory Pilot Program on the AMA Web site at www.modelaircraft.org.
Thanks to Ron Chizek, president of the Lazy Eight Radio Control Club, for sending the following information.
“For well over 30 years the Lazy Eight Radio Control Club has been holding model airplane air shows for the public to help promote awareness and interest in our hobby. In the past two years this effort has also been turned into a charity event that has raised over $1,300 for the James L. Brennan Memorial Humane Society. This new tradition will continue to be a part of our Giant Scale air show for 2006 and in the future.
“Each year we offer to let the Sir William Volunteer Fire Department, which is a neighbor to our flying field, run the food concession at our Giant Scale air shows. This has turned into one of their largest fundraising events. The relationship that we have with the fire department has resulted on at least one occasion with its support in helping squelch a noise complaint by a resident close to our field.
“Every year, we hold a club breakfast prepared by our officers and board members. We hand-deliver invitations to all of our flying-field neighbors to attend this free breakfast and serve roughly 80 people. We bring our airplanes to fly after breakfast. This is a great opportunity for the club to show our neighbors what we are about and it opens the door for communication about any concerns that they might have.
“Our club’s civic mindedness doesn’t stop there. We have started donating a food basket to a needy family at Thanksgiving through the church where we hold our club meetings. In addition to all of this, the Lazy Eight RC Club has been part of the New York State Adopt-A-Highway program for the last 12 years, cleaning two miles of the state highway adjacent to our flying site twice a year. This civic expression by the club has brought praise on numerous occasions from the residents who live along the highway that we are responsible for.
“We have approximately 65 members and although we are not a social club, most of our members support these efforts to benefit the local community.”
Thanks, Ron. It’s being proactive that results in community support when clubs need it the most. Often this can mean the difference when the issue on the table is keeping or losing a flying site.
Meet Bob Bender
Bob is a modeling icon who lives in the Mineola area of District II. Bob is 81 years old, a veteran of World War II, and a retired New York City policeman. Bob’s passion is rubber-powered free-flight (FF) models. By anyone’s standard, Bob’s creations are magnificent. In a picture taken by District II Associate Vice President Ray Juschkus, Bob is shown at the annual Nassau Flyers Swap Meet displaying a number of models in his “fleet.”
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
