Flying Site Assistance - 2003/02

144
WHILE REVIEWING the mailbag this
month, I came across two items I want to
share with you. They are noteworthy because
they show that with a little effort, our sport
can be highlighted in local newspapers, spun
in a very positive light (not too much spinning
needed there!), and the story can reach very
many people.
Ron Lutz, of Wadsworth, Ohio, sent in the
following item printed in the Cleveland Plain
Dealer. The article, entitled “Wired for Fun,”
was spread across two pages, and included
nice photos of Control Line aircraft and
diagrams of basic maneuvers. Brian E.
Albrecht was the reporter.
“Berea––The plane is all flash and furor.
Flight on a leash. A sudden blaze of color and
a screaming buzz, diving at freeway speed,
then soaring to the clouds, leaving faint gray
contrails of methanol/castor oil-scented smoke
swirling in its wake.
“Five seconds later it’s back, rolling
upside-down, cutting the kind of split-second
aerial corners the Blue Angels would envy.
“Then it’s gone and back again, swooping
in fat loops, connected by two thin wires to a
control grip held by a flier who guides the
aircraft in wide circles just a few feet of the
ground. One hand controls the difference
between a perfect outside loop and a pile of
shattered wreckage. Tilt that hand back, and
the plane climbs, straining at its wire tether.
“Dip that hand forward, and the plane
plummets to seeming doom.
“It’s Control Line flying, as recently
practiced by members of the North Coast
Control Liners at the Cuyahoga County
Fairgrounds.
“The fliers are survivors of changing times
and technology during the 60-some years
since someone first got the idea of using lines
to control ‘Free Flight’ model planes.
“They swapped rubber-band motors for
small fi- to 1-horsepower fuel engines capable
of sending these handcrafted 30- to 60-ounce
creations howling through the air at 50 or 60
miles per hour. (Or they could use a miniature
jet engine as Control Liner Bill Capinjola, of
Uniontown, recently did to set a Control Line
speed record of 190 mph.)
“These modelers have persisted in the face
of urban sprawl that periodically sends them
roaming for new rural fields to fly. They’ve
steadfastly stuck to their wires, and
handcrafted balsa and tissue-covered
airframes, as radio-controlled airplanes
became the darling of model aviation in recent
years.
“Ron Lutz, North Coast Control Liner
president, dabbled with radio-controlled
planes a few years ago, but came back to
wired flight. ‘The thing about Radio Control
is you don’t have a feel for the airplane,’ says
Lutz, 57, of Wadsworth. ‘You’re just pushing
this little stick around on the transmitter, kind
of like a video game. With Control Line,
you’re more or less attached to the plane. You
can feel it moving out there.’
“Though Control Line fliers represent less
than 15% of the 170,000 members in 2,459
clubs of the national Academy of Model
Aeronautics, their number has slowly
increased in recent years.
“Start-up aircraft and equipment run from
$50 to $100 according to Control Line
modelers. They also say most novices adjust
fairly quickly to the initial dizziness
associated with flying a plane in circles.
“Eventually, many fliers gravitate to such
Control Line specialties as Precision
Aerobatics, Scale modeling, Speed Racing,
Navy Carrier, or Combat.
“A sampling of some of these specialties
was offered during a recent gathering of the
48-member North Coast Control Liners at
their usual flying field, a grassy area off the
fairgrounds’ parking lot.
“Though the 12-year-old club is grateful
just to have a place to fly, they’d prefer paved
flying circles. The grass is deceptive.
‘Subconsciously you might feel better flying
off grass because you think it’s softer. But if
you put one into the ground, either way,
you’re not going to be terribly happy with the
outcome,’ says Todd Lee, 29, of Parma.
“Lee, a Continental Airlines pilot, is going
to a world competition in Germany this month
as a member of the US Control Line
Aerobatic team. He’ll be flying a P-51B
Mustang he spent more than six months
designing and building.
“He’ll be joined by Bill Werwage, 60, a
five-time national and two-time world
Aerobatic champion whose flying and aircraft
designs are almost legendary in Control Line
circles. Werwage credits his success to ‘a lot
of hard work, and being able to say, I don’t
have it as good as I want it yet. I’m constantly
working with stuff, experimenting. I guess
I’m still trying to get it right.’
“Other club members may wish they had it
as right as Werwage, as he steps to the center
of the flying circle and guides his P-47
Thunderbolt aloft. The usual bustle of preflight
preparation and conversation on the
sidelines comes to a hushed halt as all eyes
turn to Werwage.
“‘Watch this,’ says Wayne Buran, club
secretary. ‘This is as good as it gets.’
“Werwage paints the sky in smooth silver
strokes of wings and wire. The moves are
seamless and sure, from triangular and square
loops to a landing that glides to earth with the
grace of a falling leaf.
“As the plane rolls to a halt, the sidelines
erupt in applause. Werwage doffs his hat and
bows.
“Soon, sunset bathes the skies in orange,
darkening the field. Yet the pilots still try to
wring some flying time from the dwindling
daylight, hanging in there, as always.
“Times and technologies may change, but
Control Liners persist, confident that as long
as someone keeps the hard-wired faith, what
goes around will always come around again ...
exactly five seconds later, with a screaming,
methanol/castor oil-smoking vengeance.”
The second article, entitled “Mission
Possible: Aim for the Skies,” was printed this
July 8, 2002 in the Prescott AZ Daily Courier,
and was written by reporter Mirsada Buric-
Adam.
“Yavapai Family Fliers (YFF), a local
non-profit group, is on a mission. The group
wants to get people of all ages, especially
youth, involved in model aviation, a hobby
that can offer not only a recreational
experience, but an educational one as well.
“Last week, YFF members presented
several of their models, as well as
experiments, to some 50 Boys and Girls Club
members who gathered at the Mountain View
Elementary gym. The youths were able to
learn about what it takes to build a radiocontrolled
model aircraft, the skills needed to
fly one, and about the aerodynamic principles
that allow a plane to fly.
“Sixty-eight-year-old Norm Walsh, a
member of YFF, has been flying model planes
for more than 50 years. He said that model
aviation has had a huge impact on his life.
“‘Model aviation kept me out of prison,’
he said, adding that it kept him away from
friends who were looking for nothing but
trouble. ‘And most of them ended up behind
bars,’ he said.
“Six years ago, when Walsh’s group
formed a club in Chino Valley, he told his
story to town officials. It got their attention he
said, and they agreed to designate a field for
the club’s use.
“‘We are trying to get a model field in the
Prescott Valley area so it could be more
convenient for the kids,’ he said. ‘Our goal is
to introduce kids to full-scale aviation career
opportunities through model aviation. Many
of the commercial and military pilots in the
Flying Site Assistance
Wes De Cou
Coordinator,
Western Region
Districts VII-XI
Voice: (480) 460-9466
Cell: (480) 540 3368
Fax: (480) 460-9434
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.
Phoenix AZ 85045
E-mail: [email protected]
Joe Beshar, Coordinator,
Eastern Region,
Districts I-VI
198 Merritt Dr., Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281; Fax: (201) 261-0223
E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Two different
articles on two
distinct facets of our
sport ...
feb03.qxd 11.20.02 1:34 pm Page 144
US were and are modelers,’ Walsh said, and
astronaut Neil Armstrong was one of them.
“‘Modeling teaches kids how to apply
their (modeling) knowledge in school,’ he
said, adding that it helps them with problem
solving, patience, and concentration.
“‘Even if they do it only as a hobby, they
can apply the skills learned in model aviation
in many other professions,’ he said. ‘I held a
job, and I was the only non-college graduate
in that job,’ he said. ‘It was only because of
model aviation. I could solve problems that
other guys couldn’t.’
“‘Besides being fun, the message YFF
hopes to get across to the youth about model
aviation is that their involvement can keep
them out of trouble,’ he said. ‘And it can
introduce them to the math and science
knowledge needed to enter the fields of
astronomy or aviation. There is no limit to
what we can do with these kids if we get an
opportunity,’ he said, adding that YFF can
teach them about aviation history as well.
“Walsh also stressed that the model
airplanes are not toys. ‘These are miniature
aircraft that fly on the same aerodynamic
principles with the same problems and the
same performance as the real ones.’ Many
people, including children, do not participate
in model aviation because of its costs, he said.
“‘We are maintaining trainer airplanes so
that these kids can come out and fly without
cost,’ he said. ‘We do not want to turn one kid
away because of their financial status. We
want these kids to be members of the
Academy of Model Aeronautics,’ he said. ‘It
costs them $1 per year, and it provides
necessary insurance for flying.’
“YFF is trying to get moral and financial
support from the community, Walsh said. The
Valley Hobby Shop, a local business, has
shown its support, for example, by selling
YFF models at a discount.
“Some of the planes are dual-control
trainers, which allow the instructor to rescue
the plane if the student loses control of it.
‘Dual control makes a no-risk try for anyone
interested,’ he said. ‘We want families (to get
involved) not just kids. We want to get people
who always wanted to fly models, but
couldn’t.’
“Fourteen-year-old Justin Phelps became
interested in flying model airplanes a year
ago. Currently he is building an aerobatic
biplane. Meanwhile, two to three times a
week he practices flying a PT-40 model,
which is a trainer plane. Besides being fun,
his interest in airplane modeling is geared
more toward becoming an aeronautical
engineer one day.
“‘When you are building planes you learn
how aerodynamics works and you learn how
to design better planes,’ he said. ‘That’s why
I’m doing this. And it’s a lot of fun.’
“His friend, Brandon Wheeler, who started
flying models just recently, said that flying
miniature airplanes is not easy because it
requires multiple skills. For him, however, it
will only be a hobby, he said. ‘I just like
having fun and something to do during the
day,’ he said.
“Walsh said that airplane modeling is a
hobby that can close a gap between
generations. ‘One of our oldest members is 88
years old,’ he said. ‘It is a hobby that they
(children) can have until they are old like
us.’”
Two different articles on two distinct facets
of our sport—but they put model aviation in
the public eye in a favorable light. This is a
very good strategy for you and your club if
you are planning ahead for that “We need to
find a new site” dilemma.