District II Report - 2004/08
Top O' New Jersey RC Club — Annual Spring Water Fly
The flying season is finally upon us here in District II. Anthony Curcuruto reported that the Top O' New Jersey RC Club's Annual Spring Water Fly was again a success.
"The weather was great on Saturday, but it rained most of the day on Sunday. Herb Kircher and his son, AMA District II Radio Control Contest Coordinator Bob Kircher, have been running this event officially since 1980. Add on another five years unofficially and that's a long time by any standard.
"In its early years, the Water Fly was held at Budd Lake. Eventually it moved to Lake Musconetcong and then on to Lake Hopatcong. Today the event is held at Mountain Lake which has become the best location of all."
Anthony also wrote, "Event directors Herb and Bob Kircher have been flying off water since 1971. Herb has been modeling since 1938 and Bob since 1970. They both joined the Top O' New Jersey RC Club in 1971 and each has held the position of vice president in the club.
"The first airplane they flew off water was an H-Ray with an O.S. .19, and Herb has been heard to say that any airplane that flies with wheels can fly off water with floats.
"Herb and Bob conduct a fine AMA-sanctioned event. Look for their fall Water Fly scheduled in October in the AMA event listings in Model Aviation. Attend the event if you can. You won't be disappointed!"
Maynard Hill Lecture at ESAM
Occasionally an event comes along that just energizes your interest in our hobby. I attended such an event on May 8, 2004. The Electric Powered Aeromodelers (EPA) of Schenectady, New York, with the support of the Thundervolts Radio Control Club, sponsored a lecture by modeling icon Maynard Hill. The lecture was presented before a full house at the Empire State Aerosciences Museum (ESAM).
Maynard, as many of you know, is the man behind the recent crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by a radio-controlled model airplane. He recounted the years of research and experimentation that led up to the successful flight of the model dubbed The Spirit of Butts Farms. Maynard spent a significant amount of time detailing his decades of involvement in world record attempts and talked about the numerous world records he's achieved, including records for altitude, distance, and speed.
After the lecture, attendees were given the opportunity to get a close-up look at one of the backup models designed and built by Maynard for the record attempt. It was amazing to see just how simple that model was, yet complex enough to be able to fly for nearly 39 hours and travel more than 1,880 miles.
This was a rare opportunity for those of us in District II. On behalf of all who were there, our thanks and appreciation go to EPA president John Hackert and members Dan Whiteman and Sherrill McGill for organizing this remarkable event.
District II Fly-In Plans (October 2–3, 2004)
Plans for the third annual District II Fly-In, scheduled for October 2–3, 2004, are moving ahead. The fly-in is sponsored by AMA District II and will be hosted this year by the Jersey Coast Radio Control Club (JCRCC) at its field in Wall Township, New Jersey.
This is an open weekend of flying designed to give the casual, noncompetitive member an opportunity to meet and fly with other AMA members from around the district in a relaxed atmosphere. The first two fly-ins were extremely successful and we're hoping for another good turnout this year.
- Date: October 2–3, 2004
- Sponsor: AMA District II
- Host: Jersey Coast Radio Control Club (JCRCC)
- Location: JCRCC field, Wall Township, New Jersey
- More info and directions: www.jerseycoastrcclub.com
- Preregistration via the website is appreciated but not required.
Look for further updates throughout the summer. I hope to see many of you there.
See you next time ...
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
