District II Report - 2003/08
Dave Mathewson — Vice President
Does your club participate in any youth modeling activities? This is a great way to give back to your community while gaining a great deal of personal satisfaction.
Meroke RC Club — Cradle of Aviation Museum (Ray Juschkus, Associate Vice President)
On Sunday, March 9, 2003, I attended an event held by the Meroke RC Club at the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island. The Merokes had a great idea to hold a paper airplane contest for kids at the museum.
The event was planned for the entire weekend and, according to the president and vice president, John DeSena and Gene Kolakowski, several hundred kids attended. Boys and girls alike were instructed in the art of making paper airplanes and actually flying them in the atrium of this beautiful museum.
After constructing the airplanes, the club marked off a course in which the kids had to throw their planes. If they hit the mark, they won a free ticket to the museum for another day.
The Merokes are a Gold Leader Club. I was very impressed with the programs they provide, such as teaching at-risk kids the joy of building and flying radio-control models. They feel the hobby gives children an alternative to just hanging out and an alternative to drugs. They should be commended for that. The Merokes are one of the premier clubs on Long Island.
The Cradle of Aviation Museum is home to many Grumman aircraft. As you walk through the doors of the atrium, you look up and see a huge F7F Tigercat hanging from the ceiling beside a Fleet biplane. I had the distinct pleasure of a personal tour of the museum by one of the ushers who happens to be my friend and flying buddy for the last 25 years, John Clark.
The Merokes and the museum made for a most enjoyable day for me.
Staten Island Radio Control Modelers (SIRC) — Scholarship (Ray Verry, Public Relations Liaison)
For many months the Staten Island Radio Control Modelers, through our president George Waller, have been involved in establishing a relationship with a local school to help a struggling future pilot.
A firm link was put in place with the College of Aeronautics in Queens, and a scholarship in the name of the SIRC was established. The scholarship award was made on February 27, 2003, to Wilbert Ortiz, a young man who lives to fly yet is in need of financial assistance to further his studies.
I attended the event with George, and the management of the school could not have been more courteous. Special mention was afforded to SIRC during the ceremony: George gave an award speech before the assembly and presented the award to Wilbert Ortiz.
George did his usual outstanding job representing our club. The results of George's efforts are proving to be enormous. For example, the college very much wants to initiate a competition program both nationally and internationally, and it has asked the SIRC to take the lead in developing the program with them.
George has invited the AMA to contact the school in order to augment the school's flight plans via the AMA's resources and capabilities. The SIRC, the AMA, and Wilbert Ortiz are all on center stage.
Radio Control Club of Rochester — Delta Dart Building Session (Joe Somers, President)
On March 8, 2003, members of the Radio Control Club of Rochester held a Delta Dart building session for students at the Brighton High School Student Fair. After much discussion and advice from the more senior and experienced members of our club, we decided that, instead of having each student just build an AMA Dart, we would supply some Darts that were prebuilt and test flown so each student would be sure to get a chance to fly as well as to build.
We had approximately 50 students attend our three sessions. After a brief tour of the displays, the students were divided into two groups. While one group flew the prebuilt Darts, the other group gained experience building a Dart from the professionals on hand. After twenty minutes, the groups were switched.
Some of the models the students built were finished and flown. They flew very well. The students did a great job and were a pleasure to work with. After each session, every student was given a kit to take home.
The former AMA District IV Vice President, Chuck Foreman, used to end almost every one of his columns with a thought that seems appropriate here: Go take a kid flying.
See you next time.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
