District III Report - 2009/11
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Wings Full of Wishes RC Air Show and Car Cruise
The ninth annual Wings Full of Wishes RC Air Show and Car Cruise, to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Pennsylvania and Southern West Virginia, was held at the Hazleton Municipal Airport. Moving to a new venue initially created difficulty, but ultimately allowed full-scale aircraft to be added to the event.
In addition to the RC air show, 54 cars attended the Car Cruise and two World War II aircraft were flown in from Valley Aviation: a PT-17 Stearman and an SNJ-5. Everyone was allowed to sit in the cockpit of the SNJ and have their pictures taken; the kids loved it.
Don Kellner, the Guinness World Record holder for the most skydives, opened the show by jumping with two of his instructors under American-flag chutes while the national anthem was played. Three Make-A-Wish families attended, along with the mayor of the city of Hazleton. Members of the local media did a great job covering the event.
Money was raised through raffles, a bake sale, face painting, event T-shirts, children’s games, food concessions, and donations. The following clubs helped entertain the large crowd:
- West End Wings
- Tuscarora RC Club
- Black Sheep Squadron
- Swetland RC Flyers
- Northeast Valley RC Club
- Tri-County Wing Snappers
- Wyoming Valley RC Flyers
This year’s proceeds of $5,150 will fund the wish of 6-year-old Justin of Avoca and partially fund the wish of 4-year-old Judith of Pittston, both from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. For additional information, see the event website: www.wingsfullofwishes.com
Special thanks to Mike Losh for his organization of this great event.
Flying Aces Non-Nats (Geneseo, NY)
Ross Mayo, of Erie, Pennsylvania, is the Commander of the Flying Aces Non-Nats in Geneseo, New York. This event draws scale free-flight enthusiasts to central New York every year and is a must for anyone wishing to compete or see some of the world’s best scale models.
Dave Mathewson, Gary Fitch, Bob Brown, and Jim Cherry enjoyed the camaraderie with the Aces.
21st Annual Bob Evans Fly-In (Rio Grande, OH) — August 15–16, 2009
The 21st Annual Bob Evans Fly-In was held in Rio Grande, Ohio, on Saturday and Sunday, August 15–16, 2009. This event has attracted fliers from surrounding states for many years and has become one of the premier fly-ins in southeastern Ohio.
Named after the restaurant chain, the Bob Evans event is flown on the restaurant founder’s farm and offers a large grass runway with plenty of camping areas. Bill Carper is the mastermind behind this fly-in and runs a unique venue.
Bill is a master-class scale builder and pilot who started the event to promote scale building and flying. This year’s fly-in had a record turnout of more than 40 pilots. The Rio Grande Flyers, Jackson R/C Aces, and the Flying Hillbillies all pitched in to make it a success.
Because not everyone wants to enter competition, Bill allots time between scale rounds for any kind of flying, which attracts many types of fliers. The event draws new pilots who may try Fun Scale for the first time. The fly-in is low-key and welcoming, and attendees return year after year because they simply have fun. If you have a scale model and have been thinking of entering a scale event, this is a great contest for your first entry. The hospitality at the fly-in is second to none, and Bill and his club will make sure your first scale contest is a success.
Blue & Gray Mall Show (North Hanover Mall, Hanover, PA)
The Blue & Gray mall show was held again this year at the North Hanover Mall in Hanover, Pennsylvania, on Saturday, May 9, 2009 (Mother’s Day weekend), from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
