District III - 2006/07
Club ICR (Indoor Camp Ronnie)
On Saturday, April 29, 2006, in Russellton, Pennsylvania (about 20 minutes outside Pittsburgh), Club Indoor Camp Ronnie (ICR) celebrated its grand opening with an early evening flying session from 7 p.m. until 10 p.m. Local RC pilots participated in the ceremonial e-powered flight session, and roughly 25 spectators watched the indoor flying festivities.
ICR is a new AMA-sanctioned club dedicated to the advancement of e-powered RC model helicopters, and it also welcomes e-plane pilots. ICR’s home field is the Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena (PISA), which features three well-illuminated indoor fields ideal for flying.
Field details:
- Main field: 210 x 150 feet with 65-foot ceilings.
- Two secondary fields: each 200 x 80 feet with 40-foot ceilings.
- Total indoor area: approximately 100,000 square feet (for comparison, most indoor golf dome flying sites have about 55,000 square feet).
- Amenities: two bleacher sections for guests and a concession area for food and snacks.
Club ICR was founded by Team JR helicopter division pilot Ron “GMRO” Osinski, Kenny Martin, and Jim Diorio. Team JR helicopter pilot Erik Anderson traveled from Connecticut to attend the grand opening; according to Erik, the indoor facility is so good he drove 507 miles to attend the first fun-fly.
“All three ICR fields are great for today’s e-powered micro and mini RC helicopters,” said ICR president Ron Osinski. “We have had a blast here tonight and will host monthly flying sessions all year long. We also plan to host clinics and training sessions for RC e-helicopters. It is refreshing to have such a great facility and management to work with to better enjoy this facet of our hobby. Kenny, Jim, and I knew it would work and we have implemented everything we could to organize a well-run, safe-flying venue for e-powered enthusiasts.
“The AMA was very helpful and directed us to set up the required organization and filing of paperwork for our new club. Who knows? In a year’s time we could host a large indoor e-powered event similar to other sites. The site is beautiful; it speaks for itself, once pilots fly here.”
Several Pennsylvania hobby shops supported the event. Each participating pilot received a free raffle ticket and a prize. Participating shops included:
- J&C Hobbies, Penn Hills
- Hobby Express, Cranberry Township
- Steel City Hobbies, Bridgeville (provided the pictures for this article)
Horizon Hobby provided free t-shirts to the pilots for this ceremonial event.
For the most up-to-date information about scheduled ICR flying sessions, safety rules, landing fees, and approved model and Li-Poly requirements, visit www.clubicr.com.
Upper Valley Fun Fliers (Piqua, Ohio)
The Upper Valley Fun Fliers of Piqua, Ohio, held their annual mall show March 3–5. Club members displayed nearly 50 airplanes of all shapes and sizes, ranging from small electrics to giant scale warbirds. The mall show was well received by spectators throughout the weekend and generated significant interest.
A new highlight this year was RealFlight G3 shown on a large screen, which gave everyone a great view of how much fun the hobby can be.
The club has roughly 30 active members and is looking forward to a full season of flying at its new field. Doug Manson, president of the Upper Valley Fun Fliers, provided the information and pictures.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
