Flying Site Assistance - 2003/09

FLYING SITE PRIORITIES: First and
foremost, it is necessary to establish the club
flying site. This is the highest priority. The
heartbeat of model aviation is the flying site
and without it there is no aeromodeling and
probably no club. So after sweat and
persistance hopefully a flying site is secured.
Next comes the keynote—safety and
training. Last October I attended the AMA
District II Fly-In, hosted by the Syracuse
Thunderbirds Aero Radio Society (STARS)
in Syracuse, New York. During my stay, I
was escorted by president Fran Worth who
briefed me about the club’s method of
operation. He reviewed their field operation
and the training manual against which the
club operated.
I was impressed with the completeness of
the manual. Fran advised that the basic
manual was established in 1990 and since has
served as the bible of training. During these
years of practice, revisions were made for
improvement as experience dictated by
Michael Graham, club editor.
The STARS manual has been made
available among the other training manuals
on file with the AMA Education Department.
Aeromodeling is a fancy handle for
something. It sounds juicy and it sticks to the
wall. But what is it? Lexigraphy to the
rescue—which means: let’s snap this
buzzword in half, perform an autopsy on its
nose and rear end, and then paste it back
together. By following these simple steps,
we’ll all wind up singing from the same
hymnal.
Aero: There are 74 words in Webster’s
20th Century unabridged dictionary
beginning with the prefix “aero.” It simply
means gasses—more particularly, the air we
breathe. But this unto itself is a vapid
definition. Let’s hang four strands of tinsel on
this prefix so as to give it some pizzazz and
context.
• Aerodynamics: The science relating to
the effects of air in motion.
• Aeronautics: The science or art of
making flying aircraft.
• Aeroplane: An aircraft that is kept aloft
by the aerodynamic forces upon its wings.
• Aerostat: A lighter-than-air craft: a
dirigible, blimp, balloon (gas bag).
These four words should put us all in the
same ballpark. Now, let’s sink our teeth into
the word “modeling.”
Model: Model: Do not envision the
stereotypical individual showing off new
gadgets or the latest fashion in clothes. Think
of something far more noble, as in the
following:
Model: 1) Anything of a particular form,
shape, size, quality, construction, etc.
intended for imitation or 2) An imitation or
copy in miniature of something made or
already existing in a larger scale.
Summary statement: Where Webster’s
offers 2,129 pages of word definitions in this
truly humongous tome, it is disturbing to
note it has cheated us out of two word
definitions—humongous and aeromodeling.
We’ll let them stew over the first word; but
we’ll define the second one for them.
Aeromodeling: 1) A hobby and form of
recreation whereby an object suitable for
flight is designed and can be built for
display or for actual flight or 2) An often
addictive form of leisure activity capable of
inducing moments of unspeakable great joy,
euphoric seizures, heartbreak, or financial
ruination.
The Forever Field: Let’s talk a little about
the forever field! Of course, there is no such
thing, but let’s try to have at least a longevity
field. Just how do we go about doing that?
Almost every community has 50 acres,
more or less, of nonusable land—swamps,
lakes, parks, pristine areas, and of course
farmland. These are all perfect flyover lands.
A takeoff spot beside one of these areas is
perfect for our purposes. After all, we only
fly over these areas and if the occasion arises
that we do have a rare set down in the area,
we certainly won’t hurt anything retrieving
our aircraft.
As a matter of fact, we could be guardians
of these areas. Some can and should consider
us as prime environmentalists. We are
guardians of our environment and everything
in it. We would never do anything to hurt our
environment.
We would also act as fire watchers. If
smoke or anything out of the ordinary starts
to happen, we would be onhand to report
such things to the proper authorities. We are
really an asset to our community and they
don’t know it unless we tell them. Whatever
animals live there we will do our very best to
coexist with. Give us the job of watching
over your lands and we guarantee you will
like the results.
What farmer wouldn’t like an extra couple
of hundred dollars each month? All he has to
do is contribute a 100 x 500-foot area for
takeoffs and landings. Sure, we would fly
over his crops but we would never hurt them
in any way. What a bonus to his pocketbook,
and again, we would guard his precious land
with our presence.
These are all win-win situations for us as
well as the owner and the environment.
To those who want or are interested in
studying our science, again, we are available.
At the last fun-fly, we had an observer come
over and readily admit that up until now he
was an extreme couch potato. He never
realized that this science was available. He is
now a hardcore convert. He no longer has
time for his favorite couch but now has a
well-equipped workshop that he spends many
long hours in. He just didn’t know how
interesting life could be. He may come down
to the field and ask two million questions
about building and flying, but we are only to
glad to answer all these questions.
This is only one story of many I could tell
you, but I would rather have your personal
story told.
160
written for this magazine for 20 years. I have
stood in trade show booths serving members
for almost as long. Regardless of how often
one answers a question, the next question
asked is that question!
At a recent trade show, a member had a
question concerning education. It was
typical, something like, “When is AMA
going to do something about education for
kids? After all, us old guys like you and me
will die and the hobby will die.”
Aside from the fact I was somewhat
distressed to be placed in the “old” category,
I was equally distressed to find that the man
didn’t have a clue that anything was
happening in AMA with educational
programs. Politely, I enumerated the many
activities, cited the various Web sites where
he could find information about programs
and activities, and asked whether he ever
read this column? He knew not and had not.
Satisfied that I had fully informed the
member, I attempted to assuage his fear that
modeling is headed for extinction. I added
that in some ways aeromodeling is morphing
into a different form. His response after 15
minutes was to ask, “Yes, but what are we
going to do about not gaining youth
members?”
In the words of Charlie Brown, “Good
grief!”
Aeromodeling education is doing well!
Stay informed. When those 600 science
teachers we worked with at the Philadelphia
convention spread the word to their
colleagues and inspire each of their 300
students every year, the word “explosion”
will take on a different meaning. Then there
are those crowds in Dayton and the
thousands of kids in Science Olympiad—and
on and on ... Exciting isn’t it?
And, don’t worry about the man who
asked the question at the trade show. He
doesn’t read this column anyway!
—Bob Underwood
Flying Site Assistance
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]
Wes De Cou, Coordinator
Western Region
Districts VII - XI
Voice: (480) 460-9466; Cell: (480) 296-9515;
Fax: (480) 460-9434
202 W. Desert Flower Ln., Phoenix AZ 85045
E-mail: [email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Focus on Education
Continued from page 159