District III - 201209

Flying road trip, part one:
On the weekend of June 9 and 10,
2012, I took a trip to Quakertown,
Pennsylvania, to fly in the BUC-LE Aero
Sportsman club’s annual Harold Weil
Memorial Giant Scale Fly- In. BUC–LE
is short for Bucks and Lehigh counties
and is just outside Philadelphia.
Upon arrival I was impressed with
a nice 1,000-foot grass runway which
was lined from one end to the other
with canopies and large RC models.
Another thing that struck me was
that the Pennsylvania Turnpike was
approximately 100 yards behind your
back as you were flying (more about this
later).
The event was CD’ed by club
president, Travis Moyer, who is not only
a model enthusiast, but a captain for a
major airline. Participants were from
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York,
and West Virginia, and Travis noted that
attendance was up from the previous
year.
The president of the International
Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA),
Frank Fels, also was in attendance. He
and I were thrilled with the quality and
quantity of the Giant Scale aircraft at the
event.
The club put on a noon airshow for
the public both days and I noted a large
number of spectators enjoying not only
the flying, but the provided food.
Judging from my first experience
attending this event, I believe the Harold
Weil Memorial will have many more
successful years in the future, and I look
forward to attending again. For more information go to www.buc-le-org.
On Sunday, June 10, I said goodbye to
the BUC-LE modelers and jumped on
the Pennsylvania Turnpike to head to The
City of Brotherly Love: Philadelphia.
After entering the turnpike, a mile or so
down the road I saw a glorious site to my
left. Fokker Triplanes, Sopwith Camels,
Neuports, and more World War I aircraft
were flying and putting on a great show.
Of course it was the BUC-LE pilots
performing a Dawn Patrol flight, and
with their field so close to the turnpike,
it made a spectacular site for passing
motorists. Great club exposure!
With my eyes back on the road, my
goal was to go to Valley Forge National
Historic Park and fly with the Valley
Forge Signal Seekers. Valley Forge is
where General George Washington’s
Continental Army spent the winter
of 1777 to 1778 during the American
Revolutionary War. I wanted to see how
an RC field could be tied into such a
historic place.
After getting lost (GPS had me going
in circles), I finally found the park
entrance and the RC field was visible.
I drove up and began talking to several
modelers and eventually was greeted by
the club president, Michael Lebrun.
He was helpful and explained a few
of the club rules—one of which was I
needed a special one-day flight permit
since I wasn’t a member. Michael had me
fill out a card with my name and AMA
number, and if a park ranger came by I
needed to show it, if asked.
He also noted that because the club
is in a national park, there are noise
limitations. If an BUC-LE officer feels an
aircraft is noisy, he or she will use a dB
meter to see if it meets the club’s noise
requirement.
Since I was visiting and couldn’t stay
long, I pulled out my electric Super Cub
and Mike and I got in a couple of flights.
I was honored to fly in such a historic
place. Flying electric there just seemed
the right thing to do and added to the
atmosphere of the entire experience. If
you’re a modeler and you are in the area,
you owe it to yourself to stop in and fly
at this historic site. You can learn more
about the club and site at www.vfss.org.
I had a fantastic time in the Keystone
State flying, however, this was just the
beginning. Stay tuned for part two of my
Pennsylvania flying road trip. Until next
month, go fly and have fun!