Flying Site Assistance - 2003/04

April 2003 155
THIS MONTH I’ll review two chains of
correspondence I’ve developed over the past
two years. The first concerns the Coachella
Valley Radio Control (RC) Club in Southern
California, and the club’s successful effort to
secure and develop a flying site. The site
discussed is at least the 16th flying field the
club has had since 1936.
The second item involves The Northern
Virginia Control Line club, and is perhaps
the best example I’ve come across of
consistent, well-planned, and well-executed
community involvement by a club and the
majority of its membership.
The following story was developed during
numerous telephone conversations and Emails
with Dan Metz, president of the
Coachella Valley RC Club.
Someone has been flying model airplanes
in the Coachella Valley since 1936. In the
intervening years, the Coachella Valley RC
Club has had and lost 15 flying sites. For
whatever reason—and urban expansion was
mentioned most often—the club was losing
its field on the average of once every four
years.
In 1999, when Dan was asked to serve as
club president, he agreed but with the
stipulation that if he were to serve, then the
club would have to agree in advance to
schedule organizational meetings for the
purpose of finding and developing a
permanent flying field. Dan offered his home
as the meeting place, and the initial
brainstorming sessions were underway!
In a cogent retrospective comment I read
in reviewing this story, it was pointed out
that “Dan offered his leadership and a strong
focus. Had he known that the effort would
involve the raising of more than $80,000 as
well as dealing with a veritable sea of
political and bureaucratic details and
obstacles … well, ignorance was bliss!”
The first order of business was the
identification of potential sites. Members
Larry Eaks and Ron Vincent took the lead
here, and contacted the local Parks
Department. With input from other club
members, a site was found on land managed
by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation.
Dan and club member Bud Orren, an
attorney who serves as the club’s legal
counsel, hammered out an agreement with
the Reclamation folks, and a 25-year lease
was signed late in 2001, more than a year
since Dan took the reins. (Ah, that
ignorance!)
In November 2001, a cleanup of the new
site was organized. A terrific turnout of 35
members accomplished the entire task in a
two-day period. The effort was made far
simpler through the donation of heavy
equipment from some local rental
companies, and the presence of some
dumpsters dropped off by Waste
Management of the Desert. (Sometimes, the
hardest thing to do is ask!)
Club member Tim Lewis, a local
contractor, drew up plans and was tapped to
grade the runway. The plans were approved
in March 2002.
Then, unexpectedly, that old “four years
and out” bugaboo reared its ugly head! We
received an eviction notice at our old field.
Drats! With no runway in place at the new
field, and Tim out of town, an emergency
meeting was called. (Is there a greater RC
emergency than no field?)
During the meeting it was decided that
Gene Poe and his sons, Dennis and Doug,
with other volunteer club members, would
use borrowed heavy equipment to grade a
quarter-mile entry road, a parking area, and
the runway. The rental companies came
through. Doug Poe, Dennis Poe, Sam Jones,
Tim Lewis, and Chacho Gomez loaned us
their tractors, water trucks, and loaders. We
owe a debt of gratitude to United Rentals,
Nations Rentals, Hertz Rentals, and
especially to Jim Brown at Clairmont
Equipment Rentals.
About halfway through the grading effort
the Poes contacted a local paving contractor,
AMA News
Academy of Model Aeronautics 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
View from HQ
See page 192
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
NOMINATIONS for the office of Vice
President in Districts II, IV, VI, VIII, and
X are due at the Headquarters (HQ) of the
Academy of Model Aeronautics June 12,
2003. Any AMA Open member may
submit a nomination.
To be eligible to discharge the duties
of AMA Vice President, a nominee must
be a Leader Member of the Academy and
must reside in the District.
(Nominees and nominators will be
notified by HQ confirming receipt of
nomination.)
(If confirmation is not received within
two [2] weeks after you have mailed your
document, contact Mary Lou at [765]
287-1256, ext. 201.)
A letter of acceptance and a resumé of
professional qualifications and model
aviation experience from the nominee
must be on file at AMA Headquarters by
June 27, 2003, 15 days prior to the
published meeting date.
A resumé of professional
qualifications should include, but not be
limited to, the following areas of
consideration. (Note: all candidates must
have their campaign statement ready to be
delivered to AMA HQ no later than the
first of August.)
1) A statement of Leader Member
status, including the date on which it was
conferred.
2) a. Management experience
b. Financial background
c. Insurance employment and/or
expertise
d. Legal background
e. Technical background, including
the areas of aeronautics, electronics
(especially in radio frequency
propagation and usage), acoustics (as
related to noise studies and analysis), and
other areas of engineering
f. Aeromodeling background must
be noted. The individual will be required,
if elected to national office, to deal with
questions related to all areas of
aeromodeling, and should have a broadbased
background
3) It is strongly recommended that
nominations be mailed by certified mail,
receipt requested.
No person may nominate himself/herself
for an AMA office.
An incumbent must be properly
nominated and have accepted to be placed
on the ballot.
AMA Officer Nominations Due
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156
Larry Gaylor. Just so happens that Larry is a
full-scale pilot. He went out and looked at
the project and said, “This is a really terrific
effort. How can I help?”
And help he did. Larry gave us a quote
well below what other contractors had
offered us for a smaller runway.
Before the paving was started, an entry
road, a 70-foot by 600-foot runway, a pit
area, and a parking lot had been graded.
Approximately 10,000 cubic yards of soil
had been moved, requiring roughly 750,000
gallons of water, which was donated by
Howard Keck.
Club members Bob Taylor, Gene Poe,
Larry Eaks, Dan Metz, Richard Boyd, Bill
Conlin, Steve Fornelius, Susie Fornelius,
Richard Knapp, Bill Sorenson, and Randy
Martin showed up to work 10-hour days in
100-degree heat. That shows dedication,
especially when you consider that more than
half of these people are past 65 years young!
The paving was in place 30 days after
breaking ground. Daniel Martinez and a crew
from Date Land Construction poured 11,000
square feet of concrete for the pits, shade
structure, and storage building. The 5,800
square feet of shade structure and storage
building have yet to be built, but we expect
the shade structure to be completed in
January 2003.
Chacho Gomez would often show up
unexpectedly with a drum of diesel fuel or
another key commodity just in time. He
called daily to see if we were in need of
anything. Larry Eaks was involved in the site
acquisition, plan approval, fund raising,
material donations, youth aviation, and
sculpting the statue for our thank-you
garden.
Gene Poe is a relatively new club
member, and is still learning to fly RC. His
numerous and invaluable contacts in the
community have benefited the club many
times over.
There were some memorable impressions
during the various work parties. When Dan
Metz showed past president Bob Taylor the
quote from the paving contractor, Bob
realized we had the money and we were
about to get our new runway. His face lit up
like a young boy’s on Christmas morning
when he opens his first model airplane!
Another memory was made watching
Larry Eaks drive the water truck. Larry, who
is normally in a wheelchair, had found his
WW II fighter in that big old water truck.
Machine guns were traded for great jets of
water placed precisely on target. The look on
Larry’s face showed that happiness, for the
moment was truly his.
Some suggestions, in closing this
segment, from a club whose “assets” are
measured largely in community goodwill:
1) Be hospitable to newcomers; they may
prove to be invaluable.
2) Get to know your local media, and
invite them to your events. They will give
you exposure no amount of money could
buy.
3) Ask for help. There are lots of people
out there who are willing to help and donate,
but you must ask.
4) Develop a youth flight training
program. Not only will you see the sparkle in
a young person’s eyes as he or she learns to
fly, but you will also provide a good reason
for individuals and companies to donate to
your cause.
5) Dream big and start now! A
combination of sweat, cash, and donations
can turn that gloomy look on your treasurer’s
face into the field of your dreams.
The remainder of this month’s column
contains excerpts and paraphrases from
correspondence to, from, and about the
Northern Virginia Control Line Club.
Scott Richlen, the club president, has
been gracious enough to include me as a
“cc” on many of the club’s E-mails. The
excerpts show a clearly defined commitment
by this club to be a visible part of the
community. Virtually all of their group
activities are in the public view and/or
involve the purposeful introduction of model
aviation to young and old alike.
Here’s a sample from Scott, dated April
23, 2002, concerning a newsletter write-up:
“April is turning out to be a very busy
month for us! We’ve had two training
sessions with kids (and a few adults) where
we introduced them to flying Control Line
model airplanes. At our monthly club
meeting we began to flesh out our committee
system. And we made the preparations for
participating in the Manassas EAA fly-in
May 4 and 5.
“Our first training session was held at
Rachel Carson Middle School (our officially
adopted school) on April 10. As many of you
know, one of our newest members, Margy
Natalie, is a teacher there and sponsors an
aviation club. She found our club through
Henry, and has enlisted the enthusiastic
support of our club in helping get her
fledgling fliers off the ground. That
afternoon we gave flight instruction to nine
students, who put our trainers through their
paces.
“On Saturday, April 13, we scouted
Manassas airport for where we would fly
demonstration and training flights at the
EAA airshow.
“Finally, Saturday, April 21, we
participated in Tarara Vineyard’s Winds and
Wines Festival. Because of the weather,
there wasn’t a very large turnout. We still got
about a dozen children in the air, and a few
adults. They got quite a charge out of it.”
To Jerry Raimo, Youth Committee Chair,
from Dick Houser, Activities/Contest
Committee Chair, dated September 21, 2002
(the evening of the Dulles Days event):
“Thanks to all who came out and helped!
Could not have trained all those ‘little’ fliers
without your help and knowledge. Some
kind of tired when I got home, but a good
kind of tired, if you know what I mean.
Thanks again. ‘Rubber Legs’ Dick.”
The response from Jerry, later the same
evening:
“We had 48 of them fill out our
questionnaire and fly. And a few more at the
end after we ran out of questionnaires. We
made a lot of new friends today. Maybe a
few of our new friends will show up at a
building session we plan to invite them to at
Henry’s. Time will tell.
“I drank about eight bottles of water out
there and can barely walk right now, but
you’re right, it’s a good kind of tired.”
From Scott Richlen, Saturday, October 5,
2002, was a note to Barry Smith, staff person
with the Dulles Plane Pull for Special
Olympics:
“On behalf of the Northern Virginia
Control Line Club, thank you for the
opportunity to fly at the Dulles Plane Pull for
Special Olympics. We had a wonderful time,
and put up more than 40 children on our
trainer airplanes.
“We are now planning to offer a special
builders class for all our new ‘pilots’ who
Nominations Due for
AMA Hall of Fame
Established in 1969, the AMA Hall of Fame honors those men and women
who have made significant contributions to the hobby/sport of model aviation.
The list of members is long and distinguished, and there are others not yet in
the Hall who are worthy of induction.
Any AMA member can submit a Hall of Fame nomination. Consider
nominating a person(s) who has had a positive impact on some facet of
aeromodeling.
For a nomination form, call or write Michael Smith at AMA Headquarters.
Deadline for nominations is March 31, 2003.
april03.qxd 1.22.03 9:01 am Page 156
will begin in November. With a little luck,
some of the kids who got to fly for the time
at Dulles will now be able to build their first
model airplane.”
From W. Smith, October 14, 2002, was a
note to Scott:
“Just came from the Scout planning
meeting and we are set on this end to show
up at the field around 2 p.m. on October 19.
Scott forwarded the message with the
following:
“Please see attached. We will be flying
the Cub Scouts (weather permitting) this
Saturday at our club field. Someone please
bring a camera, as we need to keep
recording our efforts! We will also be
having a fly-in with a church youth group
on November 3 or 10. We should be able to
field at least four trainers.
“Also, we are wrapping up plans to
begin a building class for all our new
‘soloists’ starting the last Wednesday in
October.
“Finally, the draft use-plan for
Meadowood Farms should be issued by the
Bureau of Land Management sometime in
November. Once issued, we will have 30
days to make comment. Since we may need
to make an all-out effort on this, please be
prepared. We simply cannot afford to be
bystanders if we want to regain the nicest
Control Line flying field on the East Coast!
“I believe that some of you took pictures
out at Dulles Days. I could really use a set!
It looks like we’ll have to start cranking up
the old ‘visit the staffers’ routine in
preparation for the draft plan. This time
we’ll be visiting Fairfax County officials.”
Scott sent out another E-mail to the club
members Sunday, October 20, 2002:
“This past Saturday we had a training
session with a Cub Scout den from
Maryland. We ended up flying four Cub
Scouts, one older brother of one of the
Scouts, and Henry’s nephew. We were
expecting more, but I’m sure a lot of people
are hesitant to do much of anything outdoors
anymore, what with all the media on the
sniper ... ”
On and on it goes—textbook illustrations of
what we all should be doing if we are serious
about perpetuating what is arguably one of
the most educational hobbies on the planet,
while building a network of friends and allies
as we continue the quest for quality flying
sites.
I hear stories of success and failure nearly
every day in this job. Folks who call me with
a tale of woe pretty much watched it happen.
Those who call with tales of success pretty
much made it happen.