District II Report - 2004/04
This month’s column begins with a report by Associate Vice President (AVP) Ernie Nikodem about events he attended last year in Western New York.
Western New York — AVP Ernie Nikodem
On July 12–13, 2003, Ernie visited Fly Over Niagara, a Radio Control (RC) airshow held at New York State Reservoir Park. This eighth annual event included 29 registered pilots, most bringing more than one model. They demonstrated what our hobby is all about to the many spectators who came out in spite of the threatening weather conditions. Events like this, organized by Wing and Rotor of Western New York and the Niagara Sunday Flyers, help promote model aviation as a positive recreational activity to the general public.
Ernie sent pictures of Junior members participating in the airshow. It’s always nice to read about clubs that clearly have active programs encouraging junior participation. These junior members are our future.
Ernie also sent this report about another event he participated in:
“Medaille College has a summer research program for middle- and high-school students, ages 12 to 16, in Buffalo, New York, called GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs).
“This year one part of the GEAR UP program was called Up, Up, and Beyond: A Closer Look at Flight. It involved experiencing different things related to flight. The Lake Ontario RC Fliers became involved in the program and invited program participants to the club’s field in Krull Park to learn about RC modeling and to get a chance to fly an RC trainer.
“Ron Malcom, Clarence Ragland, and I helped each of the 17 kids get some stick time, which they all thoroughly enjoyed.”
Ernie also enjoys flying RC Combat and attends several contests in the district. On July 19, 2003, he competed in the Radio Control Club of Rochester’s (RCCR) Annual Radio Control Combat Contest. Ernie complimented Contest Director (CD) Ed Britton for running a safe event and noted it was good to see several entrants in the new Slow, Survivable Combat (SSC) class. When the dust settled:
- Mark Mozzo — 1st in Open Class B
- Matt Kirsch — 1st in SSC
Long Island — AVP Ray Juschkus
AVP Ray Juschkus from Long Island sent this report on his club’s annual contest.
The Long Island Silent Flyers held their annual Soaring Contest on September 25–26, 2003. CD John Hauff ran the two-day affair. This is the next-to-last contest of the Eastern Soaring League season and was hotly contested.
The event used a man-on-man format where groups of four pilots all launch at the same time. This system ensures a level playing field since all pilots must compete in the same air. Additionally, if there is a pop-off, the entire group has to land and relaunch.
RC sailplane modeling is going strong on Long Island.
District II Annual Fly-In
The 2004 AMA District II Fly-In will be held in Wall Township, New Jersey, and will be hosted by the Jersey Coast Radio Control Club. The date has yet to be determined. More information will follow as we get into the flying season.
See you next time.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
