District IV - 2006/07
Vince Tabacco of the Fauquier Aero Recreation Modelers (FARM) club sent the following report and pictures about the club's Charity Float Fly held last October.
Event summary
The consensus is that the FARM club's first annual Charity Float Fly held at Lake Ritchie in Bealeton, Virginia, was a resounding success. The event cleared more than $800. Since the crowd totaled approximately 50 people, the club hopes to do it again next year.
Volunteers and helpers
- Gene Flynn retrieved airplanes that didn't make it back to the beach under their own power.
- Ralph Graul assisted with retrieval using Tom Wright's electric fishing boat.
- Nic Burhans and Ron Coen ran registration and the raffle ticket tables. (Nic won three of the four gallons of fuel from Hobbytowne USA.)
- Bud Hilker staffed the transmitter impound and frequency board.
- Duane Beck served as the "do-anything helper" and chronicler; his Ultra Stick 40 on floats performed well.
- Bruce Green sliced tomatoes and onions for lunch; he lost his Goldberg Eagle to a bad receiver battery.
- Grillmeisters: Bill McMullen and Charlie Koustenis.
Food donations:
- National Deli burgers and hot dogs donated by Hobby Hangar.
- Buns and cheese donated by Foster's Grill.
- Four dozen donuts donated by Carla Wallace of Sheetz Gas Stations.
Raffle and prizes
Raffle prizes were given away starting at 10 a.m., with at least two prizes every half hour until 4 p.m., when the big prizes were awarded.
Major raffle winners:
- RealFlight G3 simulator (donated by Great Planes) — won by John Hunton.
- Tiger Wing RTF electric airplane (donated by Powerline Hobbies) — won by Dave Rothbart.
- Mini Mauler RTR RC truck (donated by Horizon Hobby) — won by Ken Sonneleitner.
Special auctions and donations:
- Dan Chapman won a GWS C-47 and donated it back to the club for auction during the group photo; Ralph Graul won the auction with a top bid of $40 to bolster fundraising.
- Pete Carpenter donated an RC Report subscription he had won back to the club for use as a fun-fly prize.
Sponsors and donations
- TSG Hobbies: epoxy and cyanoacrylate glue.
- Hobby Hangar: meat for lunch and donated a GWS C-47, a GWS Flying Witch, and a Firebird Scout.
- Handibond Adhesives: 35 bottles of cyanoacrylate.
- Bob Smith Industries: assortment of cyanoacrylate products.
- Gordon Banks: six one-year subscriptions to RC Report.
- Fauquier County Development Commission: waived the special event fee.
- Boots Ritchie: allowed use of the Lake Ritchie facility without the usual $400-per-day rental.
Aircraft and flying
- Types of aircraft on display and flown included Cubs on floats, an Ace SeaMaster, an Eindecker monoplane, and several electric models including Wingos and Soarmasters.
- Notable models by members: several neat airplanes by Don Srull and Pat Daily.
- Vince Tabacco flew a Skyraider Mach II converted with Gee Bee 33-inch floats.
- He also tried a Herr Engineering Aquastar with a Norvel .061, hand-launched from the beach; the fuselage had filled with water during extended taxiing, causing a dramatic near miss with the lake surface that drew excited comments from other pilots.
Thanks and closing
Thanks to all who contributed and attended. Special appreciation to the sponsors, volunteers, and Pilots for Christ International members who showed up in force. The venue was beautiful and the weather was perfect. Hope to see everyone next year.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
