148
NEXT TO its members, the lifeblood of
almost any model airplane club has to be its
flying site. I’ve witnessed the efforts many
of our clubs make in trying to acquire sites
adequate to enjoy our sport, and in many
cases, I’ve seen the positive results of those
efforts.
As important as the work that leads up to
gaining the use of a facility is the effort
made afterward to thank those who were
willing to help. Showing our sincere
appreciation goes a long way to cement a
positive relationship into the future.
The Mountain RC Modelers is a club
that has done just that. Last fall the club
held a ceremony at its field in Old Forge,
New York, to unveil a new sign designating
the field as The A. Richard Cohen RC
Aerodrome. Mr. Cohen’s daughter was on
hand to witness the unveiling and was
presented with an award of appreciation
from the club. The Cohens generously grant
use of their property, which was formerly a
grass strip airport, for modeling activities.
Mountain RC president Pete Ferris looks
on as Sarah Cohen unveils a sign
dedicating the field in memory of her
father.
In addition to the dedication ceremony,
the club put on an airshow for the dozens of
spectators present. The evening ended with
the club giving all who wanted the chance
to fly a Radio Control (RC) model.
Pete Ferris (L) and Gary Vaillancourt look
on as Sarah Cohen tries her hand at RC
modeling.
Several times in this column, I’ve
mentioned the name of Congressman Ben
Gilman. Congressman Gilman has been a
strong advocate for model aviation, most
notably as a staunch supporter of our efforts
to return Free Flight modeling to the former
West Point training facility at Galeville.
It was because of his efforts that AMA
had the opportunity to present oral
testimony to a congressional committee in
Washington, D.C., studying recreational
uses for federally owned lands. On
September 21, 2002, a luncheon was held in
New City, New York, to thank the
Congressman for his work on our behalf.
The highlight of the afternoon was a
presentation of a scale model of a B-29 to
Congressman Gilman. The model, built by
Dick Eimert, featured a fully detailed
interior, and was complete with markings
that made it an identical scale representation
of the B-29 the congressman flew in World
War II. The model was truly a work of art.
AMA Flying Site Volunteer Al Betancourt,
District II Vice President Dave
Mathewson, Congressman Gilman, Dick
Eimert, and Rockland County Radio
Control president Tom Rotella.
On September 28, 2002, years of hard
work paid off as the Rockland County
Radio Control Club (RCRC) opened its new
flying site in Clarkstown, New York. Built
on a closed landfill, the RCRC field is a
perfect example of how modelers can work
together with municipal officials to create
an asset for the citizens of their
communities out of an otherwise useless
piece of property.
Local residents were invited to attend the
opening-day events. Flying demonstrations
took place throughout the day and all those
present were treated to lunch courtesy of the
club. Several local political officials were
present including Town Supervisor Charles
Holbrook and Town Councilman Ralph
Mandia who received awards of
appreciation from the club.
(L to R) RCRC president Tom Rotella,
Clarkstown Assistant Director of
Environment Ralph Laura, Councilman
Mandia, Supervisor Holbrook, retired
town engineer Ed Palmenberg (Ed drew
the project plans), and Al Betancourt,
FSA volunteer and project spearhead.
RCRC members used this event not only
to thank the town for several years of help
to gain use of the site, but also took the
opportunity to promote model aviation to
their neighbors and friends.
Efforts such as this will continue to pay
dividends in the future, not only for RCRC,
but also for all of us who enjoy our sport.
Supervisor Holbrook addressed the
crowd and had nothing but praise for
RCRC, its members, and its ongoing
relationship with the town.
Last month I wrote about our new District
II Webmaster, Doug Crawford, and the
great job he’s doing reworking our Web
site.
Since then Doug has added a discussion
forum to the site. This will nicely
compliment the district newslist and is one
more way you can exchange ideas with
other members of the district or many of our
district officers. You can join both the
forum and newslist by visiting our Web site
at www.amadistrictii.org.
See you next time.
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]
District II Web page: www.amadistrictii.org
Note: For a listing of all district volunteer workers
please consult the previous issue of Model Aviation
or the above Web address.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/07
Page Numbers: 148