District II Report - 2003/10
Jersey Coast RC Club Warbird Fly-In
Finally! Near the end of June we had a weekend in District II without rain, and I visited the Jersey Coast RC Club’s (JCRCC) third annual any-size Warbird Fly-In in Wall Township, New Jersey. The event was co-sponsored by JCRCC and the 91st Bomb Group of the World Miniature Warbird Association. JCRCC has been in existence for 40-plus years, flying for most of that time at Allaire State Park. The club has about 150 members and encourages all aspects of model aviation, from helicopters and Old-Timers to fun sport flying, with an emphasis on safety and camaraderie.
Three years ago, when this event was conceived by JCRCC president Joe Mosso, the late Art Muglia, and the late Dino DiGiorgio, it was decided to donate the event’s proceeds to the National World War II Memorial Fund. Last year a donation was made to a local historical group. The Tuskegee Airmen Inc. Scholarship Fund was selected to be this year’s recipient.
On the day of the event, 31 pilots flew in near-perfect weather. The opening ceremony began with Tuskegee Airmen Tommy Tindall and George Reed raising a 48-star flag as the National Anthem played. As the flag reached the peak, a giant-scale P-51 painted in traditional Tuskegee Red Tail colors, flown by Danny Douglas of Staten Island, New York, made a high-speed fly-by.
RAMAC Pattern Contest (report by AVP Eric Henderson)
While I was heading south, AMA District II Associate Vice President (AVP) Eric Henderson was heading north to attend the Roxbury Area Model Aircraft Club’s (RAMAC) annual Pattern contest. Eric noted that many of the best precision aerobatic pilots fly in New Jersey and surrounding areas. Three of the nine Pattern contests in the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics' (NSRCA) northeast District One are sponsored by New Jersey clubs.
The first of these hotly contested events occurred June 28–29, sponsored by RAMAC, with Michael Ramsey as contest director. The flying took place at RAMAC's Pennsylvania field in the Pocono resort area. This always well-attended event offers a great flying site for competitors and numerous activities in the surrounding resort areas for their families.
Twenty-six pilots flew hard during two days of beautiful weather. Airplanes ranged from the newest Temptation, Partner, and Focus models all the way through older Prophecies and Summits.
The highlight of the event was a special presentation made to Dean Pappas for his 30-plus years of enormous contributions to all forms of modeling, especially Pattern competition. A special award, signed by all of the area's competitive pilots, was presented to Dean as a token of appreciation.
The 12th Annual Pocono Pattern Event was a huge success. Results included:
- FAI: Dan Landis
- Masters: Joe Lachowski
- Advanced: Anthony Romano
- Intermediate: Don Abati
- Sportsman: Joe Ziegenfus
More than a dozen club members worked two hard days to make the event a success; the contest would not have happened without them. All hope to see everyone again at next year's 13th annual event.
Rhinebeck Model Museum (note from AVP Bill Poythress)
AVP Bill Poythress suggests that if you plan to visit Rhinebeck this year, you might want to check out the Aerodrome's Model Museum. The Model Airplane Museum is a one-of-a-kind attraction. The scale models, many built by Cole Palen, are replicas from the same era as the full-scale aircraft flown at the Aerodrome.
Cole Palen, who owned the Rhinebeck Aerodrome, was a member of the Mid Hudson Modelmasters and opened the museum at the suggestion of his wife, Rita. Along with the models built by Palen, several models on display have been donated by local club members.
Palen asked members of the club to act as docents as the museum opened so there would be knowledgeable people on hand to answer questions during airshow days. Today the museum is staffed by members of the Mid Hudson Modelmasters under Bill's direction.
Reminder — District II Second Annual Fly-In
The Pennsylvania Avenue Radio Control Society will host the AMA District II Second Annual Fly-In October 4–5, 2003, at Floyd Bennett Field in Brooklyn, New York. Check the District II website at www.amadistrictii.org for the latest updates. Hope to see you there.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
