District V - 2008/09
WITH SUMMER in full swing, that means it is Nats time! I hope to see several of you at the Nats this year.
We have an Executive Council meeting on the weekend of July 26–27, and I will get in early to take in some of the Nats. If you have never attended, it is really something to see!
Soaring into Summer
The theme for the City of Apopka’s summer camp this year is Soaring into Summer. I received an email from Mark at the camp asking if we could come out to Edwards Park in Apopka, Florida, and do a demonstration for the children. One of the most important aspects of our hobby—giving back to the community—should be our legacy at the Remote Control Association of Central Florida (RCACF).
Dean Cardoza, a new member of the RCACF, Don Lowe, David Dilling (a member of The Orlando Radio Control Helicopter Society, TORCHS), and I showed up early for the demo. We met our contact, Kristi Fixl, and set up for the show.
The first children began arriving and soon we had a crowd. They were all very interested in the models. I sent Dean into the air with a Seagull Models Harrier. Dean put on a show for the kids, and they were all amazed, most of them cheering him on.
David performed the most unbelievable, masterful, and just plain wild routine I have ever witnessed with a helicopter! The camp leaders were as amazed as the rest of us, but to the children it was pure magic. Just look at the faces of these children and you will see why it is so important to do these community service events.
Don Lowe was next in the line-up and he flew an Extreme Flight Vanquish. This model, in the right hands (as in Don’s case), is amazingly smooth and very entertaining to watch.
Let me remind you that these folks were flying in a small park—not a quarter the size of our field—and they were doing it safely and professionally. It is a real pleasure for me to be associated with this kind of modeler, and it really is not difficult to set up shows knowing that the caliber of pilots who do these events are top notch.
The camp director, Lorena Potter, thanked us for coming out. She enjoyed the flying as much as the children did.
After each group watched the flight demos, the pilots took their machines into the crowd so that the children could hold and manipulate the controls on the transmitters as they watched the flight surfaces move.
It was an amazing thing to observe. As their minds wandered into the wide blue sky, I know there will be some pilots in the future who were influenced by what they saw today.
I remember my first experience with a model airplane. I wasn’t even in school yet, but I knew what I wanted to do: I wanted to fly. These children reminded me of what it was to look up at the sky imagining and wondering. A great pleasure was had by all those there—most of all by me.
— Jose Soto
Acknowledgments
Thanks to Associate Vice President Jose Soto for this report, and thanks to Kristi Fixl for providing the pictures.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
