164 MODEL AVIATION
I HAVE HAD a couple of members say
they weren’t able to contact me by e-mail.
Please check to make sure you have copied
the correct e-mail address and not the AMA
District II Web site URL. Most importantly
please put “AMA Business” in the subject
matter space. I receive a couple of hundred
junk e-mails daily and this will alert me to
your message.
I met with Associate Vice President (AVP)
Eric Williams, Leader Members Reid
Condon and Tom O’Brien, and AMA staff
members Ben Flesher and Shawn Grubbs in
Saratoga Springs, New York, at the New
York Conference of Mayors.
AMA and I made a promise to the
district to engage our politicians to promote
model aviation and this was an excellent
start. Ben and Shawn brought the AMA
booth and we had a flight simulator allowing
interested parties have a chance to fly. We
even flew a Vapor above the displays and all
over the hall, drawing a great deal of
interest.
The outcome? It was a real hit! More
than a dozen mayors said to us that they
have underutilized parks and wanted to
know how to get a flying site started. Now,
all we need are interested pilots. AMA’s
Park Pilot Club Program is a natural fit for
these applications. Think about it.
A special thanks to Eric, Reid, and Tom
for their many hours staffing the booth and
preparing for this great event!
Shawn Grubbs, Ben Flesher, Reid Condon,
Tom O’Brien, and AVP Eric Williams.
One of the mayors at the conference flying
the simulator.
The weather could have been better but the
District II Fun Fly/Southern Tier Aero Radio
Society (STARS) Rally drew 150 aircraft
and 81 pilots. I attended along with AMA
President Dave Mathewson, District III Vice
President Bob Brown, AMA Executive
Director Jim Cherry, and AVPs Frank
Granelli, Eric Williams, and Bill Hauth.
Twenty-four clubs from New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and
Canada were represented. There was a
controlled flightline with six flight stations,
and each had a STARS member with a radio
headset, communicating with Randy
Bittinger, the flightline boss, and the PA
announcer Tad Manske, who did an
outstanding job keeping the hundreds of
spectators informed.
Everything from turbines to helicopters
and foamies flew. I want to thank STARS
CD and AMA District II RC Contest
Coordinator Jim Goodemote for organizing
this event. And thanks to the many STARS
members for putting on a great show! I
would also like to thank all of the pilots who
traveled many miles to be there and put on a
terrific rally for the spectators.
Above: Bill Parenti with
his electric Me 262.
Right: Milt Peacock of
Westminster MD.
Above: Scott Miller
and his outstanding
MiG-15.
Left: Bud Carlson
dressed for the
occasion with barn
boots.
Ron Griswold and his AT-6.
Ron McGrath’s F7F Tigercat. Photo by John
Tucker.
District II
Gary Fitch, District II Vice President; [email protected]
New Jersey, New York, Europe
Gary Fitch
1298 Slab City Rd.,
Franklinville NY 14737;
Tel.: (716) 341-2813
www.amadistrictii.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Tom Bickford, Tupper
Lake NY; (518) 359-2218;
[email protected]
Sal Calvagna, Holbrook NY;
(631) 737-6327; ncalvagn@
suffolk.lib.ny.us
Bill Hauth, Hamburg NY;
(716)649-8582;
[email protected]
Ray Juschkus, St. James NY;
(631) 862-5589;
[email protected]
Gene Gavin, Staten Island NY;
(718) 967-0598;
[email protected]
Joe Sarbello, Woolrich Township
NJ; (856) 491-8481;
[email protected]
Alexander Szemere, Kendall
Park NJ; (732) 821-5641;
[email protected]
RC Contest Coordinator:
Jim Goodemote, Allegany NY;
(716) 372-1137
Safety Coordinator: Al Kanser,
New Lisbon NY; (607) 293-7974;
[email protected]
For a complete listing of
district officers and volunteers,
please visit the District I1 Web site
or see a previous issue of MA.
District II Volunteers
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Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/11
Page Numbers: 164