District II Report - 2003/03

March 2003 163
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT (AVP)
Gary Fitch travels quite a bit throughout the
district and has sent the following about an
event he has attended.
August 11, 2002 Gary swung by the
Jamestown Flying Aces Field in Ellington,
New York for the Aces Annual Fun-Fly.
“Pilots from Warren PA, Buffalo,
Mayville, and Olean attended the event. This
year saw at least 60 people attend and fly.
“Of particular interest was meeting the
Hoitink family of fliers. That’s right, the
whole family builds and flies Radio Control
(RC) model aircraft. Chuck McIntire
introduced me to them, and to the best of my
knowledge, they are the only family that flies
as a group. Pete and Lorene have five
children; Jeremiah, 12; Benjamin, 11;
Melissa, 9; Gregory, 7; and Robbie, 5. All
have soloed and are on their own.
“Pete told me the story of the first kit they
purchased. He started building it, but work
called. When he returned home, he found that
Lorene had completed 11/2 wing panels and
she was hooked.
“Today they fly together twice each week.
In the photo below you can see all the kids at
a flying session earlier this season. Jeremiah
and Benjamin are fairly accomplished pilots.
“I got a charge out of having them flying
my 1/3-scale Fly Baby Bipe! With the age of
the average RC modeler increasing, it is a
real pleasure to see a family committed to
building, flying and promoting our great
hobby. Hats off to the Hoitink’s!”
STARS member Kip Karn is all smiles after
winning this Dazzler at Jamestown.
Many clubs in our district know the
importance of reaching out to the public in an
effort to promote the sport we all enjoy. None
do this better than the Garden State Circle
Burners (GSCB). September 28- 29, 2002 the
Circle Burners held a static
display and flying
demonstration at the Intrepid
Sea-Air-Space Museum in
New York City.
Member Carl Holzworth,
as a 4-H project in
cooperation with GSCB,
organized the static display. In
addition, organized by Mary
Knight and Mary’s husband,
more than 150 kids had an
opportunity to fly a Control
Line (CL) model airplane.
The looks on the faces of
the children told the story of
how much each one enjoyed
the experience. GSCB president Mike Ostella
told me that it’s common for club members to
step up to help out with events like this.
Oh, by the way, Mary’s husband? His
name’s Al!
Members of the Garden State Circle
Burners on the USS Intrepid.
One of the scores of kids who tried his
hand at CL flying. Check out the
background!
See you next time ...
Sunday, October 5, 2002, my wife and I were guests of the Cortland Aeromodeling
Society (CAMS) at the club’s fall picnic. It was a near-perfect autumn day. Mild
temperatures and bright sunshine out dueled the above average winds.
We weren’t there more than 30 seconds when I heard, coming loudly from the other
side of the pits, “David, stop that!” Now, I must have jumped nearly five feet into the
air, as this brought back memories of my own mother calling out to me to stop
whatever it is that young kids do to get that short sentence flung at them.
As it turned out, it was Debi Howe trying to get
the attention of her nine-year-old son, David.
Gary, Debi, and David Howe are relatively new
modelers and are among the nicest people I have
ever met. David couldn’t tell me enough about
how he was learning to fly RC with his dad’s help,
and about all the airplanes he was going to build
during the winter, along with all the technical
reasons why.
All David’s plans came to an end two weeks
later when he was tragically killed in a house fire.
David was one of those kids that every club
would love to have as a junior member. He was
full of energy and always brought a smile to the
faces of other CAMS’ members when he was
around. He was a typical nine-year-old who loved
baseball, trains, and playing the clarinet in addition
to model airplanes.
The highlight of David’s short modeling career was his first unassisted landing, a
10 that took place at his club field to the cheers and applause from the other members
watching.
The next time you see your kids or grandkids, give them a hug. Be thankful you
have the opportunity.
District II Report
New Jersey/ New York/
Europe
Dave
Mathewson
Vice President
7271 State Fair Blvd.,
Baldwinsville NY 13027
Tel.: (315) 727-4275
Fax: (315) 635-1039
E-mail:
[email protected]
Web page: http://www.amadistrictii.org
Note: For a listing of district officers, please
consult a previous issue of Model Aviation or
the above Web address.
Jeremiah, Benjamin, Melissa, Gregory, and Robbie Hoitink.
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