District IV—Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia
Contact
Hank Mausolf Vice President [email protected] 12204 Dell Way, Fredericksburg, VA 22407 Tel: (703) 517-9860 Website: www.amadistrict-iv.org
RC-PAWS — Radio Control Piloting for Animal Welfare (June 14, 2014)
On Saturday, June 14, 2014, the Fluvanna County Radio Control Flying Club (FCRC) hosted Radio Control Piloting for Animal Welfare Shindig (RC-PAWS) at the club’s field immediately adjacent to the Fluvanna County landfill. RC-PAWS combined an AMA-sanctioned fun-fly with a fundraiser for three Fluvanna County animal welfare organizations. The club hosted the event to attract the public to its field and to generate goodwill by raising money for local nonprofit organizations. RC-PAWS ran from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on a picture-perfect day for flying.
Pilots from the club and other RC clubs had airplanes in the air—large and small, slow-flying trainers and hot aerobatic machines, one-of-a-kind designs and scale military and civilian aircraft, and helicopters. Nearly anything that flew took to the air at some time during the event.
The beneficiaries were:
- Caring for Creatures
- Fluvanna SPCA
- Peaceful Passings
More than 100 people enjoyed the aerobatic demonstrations, but that was just part of the fun. Each organization was on-site with information, and two of them brought dogs and/or cats for adoption. Throughout the day, guests could visit the booths, learn about the great work being done on behalf of homeless cats and dogs, and consider adding a new member to their families.
Admission was a $10 donation that included lunch and a door-prize ticket. The club arranged with two local barbecue vendors to provide lunch for guests and pilots.
In addition to door prizes, the club conducted a large raffle with proceeds going to the beneficiaries. Local businesses donated raffle prizes including:
- Overnight stays at local bed and breakfasts
- Recreation tickets for a nearby all-season resort
- High-end restaurant dinners
- And many other items
The club also obtained corporate sponsorship to help defer the cost of hosting the event. Thanks to the generosity of sponsors and businesses that provided raffle prizes, the club raised $1,500, which was split equally among the three beneficiaries.
A reporter and photographer from the Charlottesville Daily Progress approached club president Bill Sykes about doing a Father’s Day story on the event. Bill introduced them to Mark Stotsky and his daughter, Courtney, who had flown RC for the first time the previous month on the club’s E-flite Apprentice S trainer. The story appeared in the Sunday paper with a photo of Mark and Courtney at the controls. This generated positive recognition for the aeromodeling hobby that money can’t buy—a fitting end to the inaugural RC-PAWS.
Invasion of the Helis — Fredericksburg Area RC (September 28, 2014)
On Sunday, September 28, I attended the last day of the second annual Invasion of the Helis, put on by the Fredericksburg Area RC in Thornburg, Virginia. After the formal flying was over, an unusual event took place that fulfilled a family’s wish after waiting 21 years.
Tom Carson, a budding aeromodeler, had built an RC model in his spare time with the hope of flying it someday. Before he had a chance to fly the model, he was killed in a boating accident in 1993.
While attending the fly-in, I noticed the event contest director (CD) working on an older model. He was trying to get it ready to fly and was having trouble with the receiver battery. I helped him and we eventually got it working, never realizing at the time that this was Tom’s model.
The model was successfully flown for the first time with Tom’s parents, Marty and Kit Carson, in attendance. It was an absolutely perfect venue to send this model airborne after sitting around for so long.
Tom worked for the FAA as a controller for DFW TRACON in the Dallas/Fort Worth Tower. As a gift to one of its own, the FAA named an intersection on the approach structure in his honor. Today, if you fly into DFW you might fly over the intersection named CARSON on your approach to the airport.
During my conversation with his parents, I learned Tom’s father was retired from the Air Force and had flown C-47s, as had I. They also told me they had donated a model of a VC-47, tail number 43-48331, to the AMA’s National Model Aviation Museum in Muncie, Indiana. They hope to travel to see it someday.
It is events such as this that make the job so rewarding. I am fortunate to have been a part of this historic moment for the Carson family.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
