District III—Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Mark Radcliff Vice President
[email protected] 199 Heron Dr., St. Marys, WV 26170 Tel.: (304) 684-2133 www.amadistrict-iii.org
This month I want to illustrate some different ways we can promote our model aviation passion by featuring ideas you may not have thought of. Here are three recent examples from District III clubs that successfully promoted model aviation to nontraditional audiences.
Blue & Gray Miniature Aircraft Squadron — Girl Scout Camporee
The Blue & Gray Miniature Aircraft Squadron of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, was invited to participate in a Girl Scout Camporee held at Camp Happy Valley in Fairfield, Pennsylvania. The camporee theme was "Taking Flight" and activities throughout the event involved aviation. Members introduced the girls—Daisies, Brownies, and Girl Scouts—to model aviation and displayed various models.
Members who attended:
- Mike Brown
- Kyle Brown
- Tom Krichten
- Greg Zirk
- Matt Brodbeck
- Mark Brodbeck
Activities and highlights:
- Mike Brown spoke briefly about the Gettysburg club and the AMA, explained transmitters, and demonstrated basic transmitter and airplane controls.
- Kyle Brown put on a 3-D flight demonstration with a micro Extra and assisted the girls with one of two flight simulators the club brought.
- Tom Krichten and Greg Zirk also assisted the girls with the flight simulators.
- Matt Brodbeck and Mark Brodbeck demonstrated how retractable landing gear and flaps worked on their P-51 Mustang.
After the event, the girls presented the members with two thank-you cards and two gift baskets containing Girl Scout cookies, which were enjoyed after the event.
SHARKS (Seneca Highlands Aero Radio Kontrol Society) — Boy Scout Troop 499
Submitted by Chris Brown, club president of the SHARKS (Eldred, Pennsylvania):
- Date: June 1
- Host: SHARKS hosted Boy Scout Troop 499 from Bradford, Pennsylvania, for a model rocket activity to help Scouts earn their Space Exploration Merit Badge.
- Gary Fitch, AMA’s executive vice president, attended, offered assistance, and brought a flight simulator for the Scouts to try before getting RC flight experience using a buddy box.
- SHARKS members answered questions about the hobby and put on several flight demonstrations.
St. Clairsville RC Flyers — Transportation Day at Wheeling Ohio County Airport
Submitted by Bob Haglock (St. Clairsville RC Flyers, Ohio):
- Event: Wheeling Ohio County Airport’s annual Transportation Day — a car show combined with full-scale airplanes (more than 325 cars and trucks participated).
- Display: Bob usually displays an RC model in the back of his 1967 Chevy truck. This year he had an RC static display at the airport and handed out old Model Aviation magazines to kids.
- Demonstrations: He explained how the planes worked and recruited volunteers to hold up a Cessna 310 to demonstrate the retractable gear. The demonstrations were well received and served as a good plug for the hobby.
You can see there are nontraditional ways to attract new people to our hobby. Although these people may not become involved immediately, you may spark an interest that could help model aviation continue to grow.
Until next month, go fly and have fun!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
