District II
Gary Fitch, District II Vice President; [email protected]
Area: New Jersey, New York, Europe
Science Day — Ridgewood High School (March 11)
When AMA Education Director Bill Pritchett and I were asked to attend Science Day at Ridgewood High School in New Jersey on March 11 (theme: flight), we couldn't say no. This event was an offshoot of our attendance at the New Jersey Science and Engineering Festival last fall.
Unfortunately, neither Bill nor I could be there on that date, so I asked Richard and Dan Landis and Associate Vice President (AVP) Frank Granelli and his wife, Ann, if they could work the one-day event. Without hesitation they accepted the responsibility. Richard and Frank are excellent pilots, and Dan has world-class skills, so I knew the teachers and youngsters would be impressed. Richard sent this report:
- There were a lot of people and everyone enjoyed the planes. We gave out at least eight AMA DVDs and promotional packs to several school principals in attendance.
- The head of the Board of Education was very impressed with the presentation. Everyone loved the flying.
- Great Planes donated two airplanes to give away; we raffled one off after each flight demonstration. The two children who won the planes were thrilled.
- The Franklin Institute of Science was in attendance and made a flight presentation; we followed with ours. The kids and parents were very impressed and the AMA has been invited back to participate next year.
- John Caputo, a member of the Rockland County RC Club (RCRCC), will spearhead AMA's new Model Aviation School Club (MASC) Program and had a sign-up sheet at the event.
- Special thanks to Frank and Ann Granelli for their tremendous help, and to Barry Yarkon of RCRCC for assistance with the children and crowd control.
Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) — Syracuse
AVP Peter Seiffert has been spearheading the effort of Syracuse clubs working with the Museum of Science and Technology (MOST). Peter reported that they hosted 100 Girl Scouts who were very attentive and asked excellent questions about our aircraft and flying.
Three clubs participated:
- Syracuse Thunderbirds
- Aero Radio Club of Syracuse
- Central New York Indoor Flying Society
The participants flew Vapors and various indoor helicopters. Chuck LeVine took photos at MOST, gave a talk, and did some flying for the Girl Scouts. District II model aviation is really reaching out to our communities!
Until next month, help secure our future and take a youngster flying.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
