District III—Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Mark Radcliff — Vice President
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 stands for Bucks and Lehigh counties and the field is just outside Philadelphia.
Upon arrival I was impressed with a nice 1,000-foot grass runway that was lined from one end to the other with canopies and larger RC models. Another thing that struck me was that the Pennsylvania Turnpike was approximately 100 yards behind the field as you were flying (more about this later).
The event was CD'd by club president Travis Moyer, who is not only a model enthusiast but also a captain for a major airline. Participants came from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and West Virginia, and Travis noted that attendance was up from the previous year.
Frank Fels, president of the International Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA), also attended. The IMAA 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 ahead, 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 Philadelphia (The City of Brotherly Love).
After entering the turnpike, a mile or so down the road I saw a glorious sight to my left: Fokker triplanes, Sopwith Camels, Nieuports, and other 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 sight 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 1777–1778 during the American Revolutionary War. I wanted to see how an RC field could be tied into such a historic place.
After getting lost (my 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 that 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; I would need to show it to a park ranger if asked.
He also noted that because the club is in a national park there are noise limitations. If a club 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 Michael 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 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!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
