District III
Bob Brown, District III Vice President; [email protected]
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
The Stacy family
Several years ago I was fortunate to meet an avid modeler in Pittsburgh named Clyde Stacy. Clyde's cheerful personality and creative mind helped him become one of the leaders in the Pittsburgh ARCS. His modeling activity included his son Ray. Unfortunately, Clyde is no longer with us, but Ray is hard at work with the family tradition.
One of my Christmas presents included a T-Rex helicopter. Past experience with these micro machines has taught me to seek assistance from those in the know. I found that several modelers in the Rochester, New York, area had knowledge of the T-Rex.
A visit to the local hobby shop, Performance Hobbies, was in order. On entering the shop, an enthusiastic 10-year-old was flying a micro helicopter throughout the shop. His flying ability was comparable to the best I have witnessed. His name: Kyle Stacy! His dad Ray was in the backroom of the shop working on Kyle's T-Rex.
It quickly became evident that Clyde's enthusiasm was instilled in his son and his grandson. The Stacy family is a fine illustration of how great modelers can be.
If you would like to see how well Kyle can fly, check out his website at www.kylerocks.com/. For those of you who don't know his father Ray, he is the helicopter columnist for MA.
World War I Dawn Patrol Fly-In (Dayton, Ohio)
Our new AVP, Jim Martin, provided the following information.
"The National Museum of the United States Air Force (formerly the Air Force Museum) in Dayton, Ohio, played host to the biannual World War I Dawn Patrol Fly-In September 30–October 2. This was the third time that the event was held at the museum. There were 13 full-scale flying aircraft, approximately six full-scale static displays in various stages of completion, and 65 RC pilots with more than 100 aircraft.
"Flying alternated between full-scale and models throughout the weekend. One of the highlights of the event was when Kermit Weeks would test-run his 100% Fokker D.VIII with an original rotary engine in it.
"One of the Dayton area's longtime World War I model builders and competitors, Bill Brucken, flew his full-scale Nieuport 27 at this year's event. Bill has been competing in modeling events for more than 30 years, so he decided it was time to build an airplane big enough to ride in. He finished the Nieuport this past spring and was able to get the required flight time on it before the fly-in.
"Balsa USA had its full line of World War I aircraft and introduced a new 1/3-scale Fokker D.VII. It flew beautifully and the kit exhibits the company's fine attention to detail.
"Balsa USA was generous enough to provide merchandise for the awards portion of the Saturday night banquet and for each registered pilot. Other sponsors included GT Models, David Rice, Proctor Enterprises, Great Planes, R/C Hobby Center, Bob Holman, SR Batteries, Bob Banka, and Horizon Hobbies.
"Pilot's Choice award for best glow/electric went to Jerry O'Connor for his electric-powered Gotha Bomber. Pilot's Choice award for best gas engine went to James Suchy for his Hanover CLII. Best in show went to Ed Andrews for his Fokker Dr.I.
"The next World War I Dawn Patrol fly-in at the museum is scheduled for September 21–23, 2007. Make plans to attend this must-see event."
AMA Vice President Sandy Frank provided the following pictures of the Dawn Patrol.
- Sponsors:
- Balsa USA
- GT Models
- David Rice
- Proctor Enterprises
- Great Planes
- R/C Hobby Center
- Bob Holman
- SR Batteries
- Bob Banka
- Horizon Hobbies
- Awards:
- Pilot's Choice (best glow/electric): Jerry O'Connor — electric-powered Gotha Bomber
- Pilot's Choice (best gas engine): James Suchy — Hanover CLII
- Best in show: Ed Andrews — Fokker Dr.I
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
