District II Report - 2004/08

August 2004 155
THE FLYING SEASON is finally upon us
here in District II. Anthony Curcuruto wrote
that the Top O’ New Jersey RC Club’s
Annual Spring Water Fly was again a
success.
Anthony wrote, “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
Musconnetcong 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 of
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.
Retrieving a deadstick floatplane takes a
little ingenuity. A boat doesn’t hurt either!
Event Directors Herb (L) and Bob Kircher.
“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 of 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!”
Occasionally an event comes a long that just
energizes your interest in our hobby. I
attended an event such as that 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 I’m sure most 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
other numerous world records he’s achieved,
including records for altitude, distance, and
speed.
After the lecture, those attending 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 and I’m sure I’m speaking for all
of us who were there when I offer our thanks
and appreciation to EPA president John
Hackert and members Dan Whiteman and
Sherrill McGill for organizing this
remarkable event.
Maynard Hill shares his experiences during
a lecture at ESAM. In the foreground is one
of his backup models built for the
transatlantic record attempt.
EPA member Dan Whiteman, club
president John Hackert, and Maynard Hill
pose with one of Maynard’s Trans Atlantic
Models.
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 with
the concept of giving 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 looking for another good
turnout this year. You can visit the JCRCC
Web site at www.jerseycoastrcclub.com/ for
more information and directions to the field.
If you’re planning to attend,
preregistration via the Web site is appreciated
but not required. Look for further updates
throughout the summer and I hope to see
many of you there.
See you next time …
District II Report
Associate Vice Presidents
Roy A. Brown, USAE AFCENT CMR 460 BOX
585 APO AE 07903 E-mail: [email protected]
Sal Calvagna, 1335 Broadway Avenue, Holbrook
NY 11741, (631) 737-6327 E-mail:
[email protected]
Gary Fitch, 1219 Slab City Rd., Franklinville NY
14737 (716) 676-2498 E-mail:
[email protected]
Ray Juschkus, 59 Livingston Street, St. James NY
11780 (631) 862-5589 E-mail:
[email protected]
Eric Henderson, 303 Shady Lane, Marlton NJ
08053; (856) 988-9184; E-mail:
[email protected]
Jim Lewis, P.O. 61, Ogdenburg NY 13669
(315) 393-2580 E-mail: [email protected]
Tom Murray, 31 Voorhees Drive, Basking Ridge
NJ 07920 (908) 766-5656 E-mail:
[email protected]
Ernie Nikodem, 407 Willow Street, Lockport NY
14094 (716) 434-8350 E-mail:
[email protected]
Bill Poythress, 2 Hemlock Court, Saugerties NY
12477 (914) 246-8850
Adam Sattler, 41 Perry Avenue, Latham NY 12110
(518) 783-8929 E-mail: [email protected]
Peter Seiffert, 8636 Grey Birch Dr., Baldwinsville
NY, 13027 (315) 635-6370 E-mail:
[email protected]
Alexander Szemere, One Talia Rd., Kendall Park
NJ 08824-1705 (732) 821-5641 E-mail:
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator
Dan Williams, 27 Treeline Dr., Liverpool NY 13090
(315) 652-7740 E-mail: [email protected]
Webmaster
Doug Crawford, 441 Co. Rt. 1A, Oswego NY 13126;
E-mail: [email protected]
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
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