November 2009 161
DAILY I receive new, current information
that I can use in the ongoing effort to
create or save flying sites.
We have a Flying Site Assistance Kit
available for clubs to use in their efforts to
persuade site owners to let their land be
used for model aviation activities. Those
site owners might be city or county parksand-
recreation representatives, city
councils, state, or federal officials, or
simply people with a little extra land
available.
The kit contains much information about
the history of model aviation, the history,
mission, and purpose of the Academy of
Model Aeronautics, and myriad documents
attesting to the great recreational and
educational value of our hobby. There are
also documents intended to help you, the
local club member, make a good
presentation to those site owners in support
of your efforts to get a new flying site.
We’ve had the kit for many years.
Some of the available information is dated,
but it is still germane to the effort to tell
people who we are and what we do. The
material I receive each day via e-mail,
news wires, and web-based news journals
has the potential to add significant impact
to any presentation you make in your effort
to convince site owners of the “value
added” impact of a local flying facility.
Some examples, you ask? Read on!
I received an e-mail from Noel
Eberhardt, president of the South Bay
Soaring Society (SBSS), whose club has
gotten involved in its local community in a
big way.
“Thank you very much for the packet of
material on flying site assistance you
arranged to be sent from Muncie [Indiana].
I started going through it and there’s a lot
history can teach.
“Last weekend our club participated in
Take Flight for Kids, a local event focused
on children with special needs, but was
open to the public. The SBSS theme
promoted introducing children to model
aviation.
“I took your advice about the FPG-9,
built a few and test flew them before the
event. They’re great! Then I recruited my
6-year-old granddaughter who helped me
buy 5 bags (200 foam plates per bag), then
had her count out groups of 20 plates on
which I cut the outline on my electric
scroll saw.
“In the two days before the event we
had 1,000 cutouts to fold, tape, and give
away. Giving the children the glider
occupied them while we chatted with
parents, caregivers, and teachers about
model aviation.
“The day was successful in that we
identified a few teachers interested in
working together for in-school classes.
“We were also approached by Dr.
Wendy Holforty, a NASA physicist,
requesting help from our club to help her
set up a program to introduce high school
women to aviation via sailplane wing
design and wind tunnel testing of their
designs! She also brought and introduced
NASA astronauts Walz and Bursch to our
display tent.
“To top it off, the San Jose Mercury
News mentioned South Bay Soaring
Society in their write up on Take Flight for
Kids.
“Thanks for your help, Wes. I feel
we’re on the way to generating good
relations and press that hopefully will help
us obtain a flying site with a win-win for
both parties.”
A Take Flight for Kids participant getting
used to his FPG-9 glider. Hundreds of FPG-
9s were given away at the event
This was a great “public eye” effort on the
part of the club, and there were two ancillary
benefits: the club got the recognition and a
request for help from the NASA engineer
(loads of potential publicity here), and a
prominent mention in the large local
newspaper.
I have included additional instances of
club activities, and the positive publicity they
have generated. This excerpt is from the Time
Herald newspaper in central Iowa, dated
September 6, 2009:
“About 20 residents of the Iowa Veterans
Home witnessed aerial combat, helicopters
flying upside down and colorful airplanes
with passengers doing acrobatics Saturday.
“The event was not at the Des Moines
International Airport. The combat and
acrobatics were real, but the passengers were
figurines and the aircraft were being
controlled from the ground by sophisticated
radios and experienced, trained hobbyists.
“Members of the Marshalltown Radio
Control Flyers Club were putting on the
display for the IVH residents, staff and
volunteers at their new location off 18th
Avenue North, about one-half block from the
E. Main Street and 18th Avenue intersection.
“‘Pretty good,’ was resident Robert
Haub’s response to a question about his
Flying Site Assistance Wes De Cou | [email protected]
Wes De Cou
Coordinator
Western Region
AMA Districts VIII - XI
AK, AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, LA,
MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX,
UT, WA, WY
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.
Phoenix AZ 85045
Voice: (480) 460-9466;
Cell: (480) 296-9515
Fax: (480) 460-9434
E-mail: [email protected]
Joe Beshar
Coordinator
Eastern Region
AMA Districts I - VII
AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY,
MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC,
NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN,
VA, VT, WI, WV
198 Merritt Dr.
Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281; E-mail:
[email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Putting model aviation in the public eye
AMA News
Announcements, news, and information from the
Academy of Model Aeronautics and the elected district representatives.
continued on page 162
11amanews_11amanews.qxd 9/21/2009 12:27 PM Page 161
impressions of the activities and model
airplanes on the ground near him in the pit
area. ‘It’s a dandy,’ he replied, when asked
about the sunny and warm conditions.
“The pit area held a variety of aircraft of
all colors, shapes, and sizes. Several were
modeled after conventional aircraft while
others were designed to resemble fighter
planes. The club of 41 central Iowa members
had planned a busy day for the residents, who
were also treated to lunch, beverages and
plenty of shade.
“Secretary Jim Zimmerman of
Marshalltown said they wanted to entertain
the residents and show off their new location.
For many years, club members flew their
aircraft at the old landfill north of town. Then
the site was purchased by another
organization.
“‘The local hunt club bought it,’ club
member Ed Boehm of Marshalltown said.
‘We worked with the city to get this property.
It used to be a field for crops. We leveled the
high points down and rolled it about three
times.’ Boehm pointed to a large silver roller
parked nearby.
“Zimmerman said, ‘The city had been
very helpful and good to work with,’ in
allowing the club to use the flood plain area.
‘The new location gives us more room and
more visibility. Since we’ve moved here,
we’ve added about eight new members.”
This is great “public eye” stuff. The club
got some good recognition, gave kudos to the
city for its help in getting a new flying site,
and can claim a “give-back” to the
community through this effort with the local
Veterans’ Home.
I saw this excerpted article by staff writer
Ed Richter of the Journal News in Butler
County, Ohio, on Sunday, August 9, 2009:
“Jordan Hils said he would like to become
a pilot someday. The 7-year-old from
Erlanger KY was among the nearly 3,000
people who spent Saturday afternoon, August
8, lined up along the taxiway at the Butler
County Regional Airport to watch the 49th
annual Flying Circus air show put on by the
Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club. ‘It’s
really good,’ Jordan said as he watched
World War II re-enactments by scale model
B-29 bombers. ‘I just think flying is fun.’
“His father, Michael Hils, said, ‘This is
wonderful, absolutely wonderful ... I
wouldn’t miss it for the world.’
“About 150 planes flown by 50
enthusiasts participated in one of the nation’s
largest radio control model air shows, said
Tom Burdin of West Chester Twp., who has
been a member for 41 years.
“Described by Burdin as the ‘apex’ of the
air show, more than two dozen planes built
by club members especially for the Flying
Circus participate in miniature versions of
WW II bombing raids and other fighter
attacks on a mini city in the airfield. As the
planes fly over their targets, club members set
off large firecrackers to knock down the
small buildings.
“Burdin said the planes—with price tags
from $300 to upwards of $10,000—are made
of fiberglass, carbon fiber, plywood, balsa,
foam, plastic, or a mixture of several
materials. The planes are powered by
methanol, gasoline, electricity and JP4 jet
fuel.
“Aircraft ranging from propeller-driven to
helicopters to jets zoomed skyward, buzzed
the runways, and performed acrobatic
maneuvers.
“Terry Jacobs, of Goshen, wowed the
crowd with his Starfire jet as it soared
through the sky. Jacobs said he got into the
hobby as a University of Cincinnati student
after he purchased a $300 plane. ‘I said it was
something I always wanted to do,’ he said.
‘The next thing I know, I’m walking out with
a plane.’
“Jacobs said it took a few weeks to learn
how to fly using training aircraft, and he
added that he got into jets a year later. ‘I love
to do shows,’ Jacobs said. ‘They invite me to
fly each year, and it’s a lot of fun.’
“The club also gives back to the area
community by donating about $5,000 to
charities from the proceeds of the event.
“‘This is a very organized show,’ Burdin
said. ‘Wait until next year (for the 50th
event).’”
This is more “public eye” material—great
publicity for the event, which continued on
the day of publication, and a wonderful
comment about the charitable giving on the
part of the club.
My final offering is a tiny item with the
potential to deliver a big wallop during your
flying site presentation. This is from WTAPTV,
based in Parkersburg, West Virginia, as
posted on the WTAP.com Web site:
“Dozens of airplanes took flight in the
Mid-Ohio Valley Saturday, but it’s not the
kind of plane you took on your last vacation
or business trip.
“The Blennerhassett Area Radio Control
Club had its annual Airshow Extravaganza,
but the organization made this year a little
different by making it into a charity event.
Food and donations were collected for some
local charities.
“One BARCC member described flying
model planes as a life-long hobby. ‘When I
was younger I always went by a shop and
they had a big remote control Spitfire in the
window, and I just loved to watch that thing,
and I never saw it fly or anything, but I just
love airplanes,’ Rob Maas said.”
This is a small item, but the impact of a
charitable donation is never lost on site
owners. If your club is having an event, get
it noticed in the newspaper, on television, or
on a local radio show.
Don’t be afraid to put the activity in front
of the public. People remain fascinated with
all aspects of aviation. And the public can be
your greatest ally in front of people who
make decisions regarding your plea for a
flying site.
There will be detractors, but you can
have them outnumbered by a vocal and
sympathetic public if you put your club, its
events, and its value to the community out
there in the “public eye.”
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/11
Page Numbers: 161,162
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/11
Page Numbers: 161,162
November 2009 161
DAILY I receive new, current information
that I can use in the ongoing effort to
create or save flying sites.
We have a Flying Site Assistance Kit
available for clubs to use in their efforts to
persuade site owners to let their land be
used for model aviation activities. Those
site owners might be city or county parksand-
recreation representatives, city
councils, state, or federal officials, or
simply people with a little extra land
available.
The kit contains much information about
the history of model aviation, the history,
mission, and purpose of the Academy of
Model Aeronautics, and myriad documents
attesting to the great recreational and
educational value of our hobby. There are
also documents intended to help you, the
local club member, make a good
presentation to those site owners in support
of your efforts to get a new flying site.
We’ve had the kit for many years.
Some of the available information is dated,
but it is still germane to the effort to tell
people who we are and what we do. The
material I receive each day via e-mail,
news wires, and web-based news journals
has the potential to add significant impact
to any presentation you make in your effort
to convince site owners of the “value
added” impact of a local flying facility.
Some examples, you ask? Read on!
I received an e-mail from Noel
Eberhardt, president of the South Bay
Soaring Society (SBSS), whose club has
gotten involved in its local community in a
big way.
“Thank you very much for the packet of
material on flying site assistance you
arranged to be sent from Muncie [Indiana].
I started going through it and there’s a lot
history can teach.
“Last weekend our club participated in
Take Flight for Kids, a local event focused
on children with special needs, but was
open to the public. The SBSS theme
promoted introducing children to model
aviation.
“I took your advice about the FPG-9,
built a few and test flew them before the
event. They’re great! Then I recruited my
6-year-old granddaughter who helped me
buy 5 bags (200 foam plates per bag), then
had her count out groups of 20 plates on
which I cut the outline on my electric
scroll saw.
“In the two days before the event we
had 1,000 cutouts to fold, tape, and give
away. Giving the children the glider
occupied them while we chatted with
parents, caregivers, and teachers about
model aviation.
“The day was successful in that we
identified a few teachers interested in
working together for in-school classes.
“We were also approached by Dr.
Wendy Holforty, a NASA physicist,
requesting help from our club to help her
set up a program to introduce high school
women to aviation via sailplane wing
design and wind tunnel testing of their
designs! She also brought and introduced
NASA astronauts Walz and Bursch to our
display tent.
“To top it off, the San Jose Mercury
News mentioned South Bay Soaring
Society in their write up on Take Flight for
Kids.
“Thanks for your help, Wes. I feel
we’re on the way to generating good
relations and press that hopefully will help
us obtain a flying site with a win-win for
both parties.”
A Take Flight for Kids participant getting
used to his FPG-9 glider. Hundreds of FPG-
9s were given away at the event
This was a great “public eye” effort on the
part of the club, and there were two ancillary
benefits: the club got the recognition and a
request for help from the NASA engineer
(loads of potential publicity here), and a
prominent mention in the large local
newspaper.
I have included additional instances of
club activities, and the positive publicity they
have generated. This excerpt is from the Time
Herald newspaper in central Iowa, dated
September 6, 2009:
“About 20 residents of the Iowa Veterans
Home witnessed aerial combat, helicopters
flying upside down and colorful airplanes
with passengers doing acrobatics Saturday.
“The event was not at the Des Moines
International Airport. The combat and
acrobatics were real, but the passengers were
figurines and the aircraft were being
controlled from the ground by sophisticated
radios and experienced, trained hobbyists.
“Members of the Marshalltown Radio
Control Flyers Club were putting on the
display for the IVH residents, staff and
volunteers at their new location off 18th
Avenue North, about one-half block from the
E. Main Street and 18th Avenue intersection.
“‘Pretty good,’ was resident Robert
Haub’s response to a question about his
Flying Site Assistance Wes De Cou | [email protected]
Wes De Cou
Coordinator
Western Region
AMA Districts VIII - XI
AK, AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, KS, LA,
MT, ND, NE, NM, NV, OK, OR, SD, TX,
UT, WA, WY
202 W. Desert Flower Ln.
Phoenix AZ 85045
Voice: (480) 460-9466;
Cell: (480) 296-9515
Fax: (480) 460-9434
E-mail: [email protected]
Joe Beshar
Coordinator
Eastern Region
AMA Districts I - VII
AL, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, IA, IL, IN, KY,
MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, MO, MS, NC,
NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN,
VA, VT, WI, WV
198 Merritt Dr.
Oradell NJ 07649
Tel.: (201) 261-1281; E-mail:
[email protected]
Finding—Preserving—Maintaining
Putting model aviation in the public eye
AMA News
Announcements, news, and information from the
Academy of Model Aeronautics and the elected district representatives.
continued on page 162
11amanews_11amanews.qxd 9/21/2009 12:27 PM Page 161
impressions of the activities and model
airplanes on the ground near him in the pit
area. ‘It’s a dandy,’ he replied, when asked
about the sunny and warm conditions.
“The pit area held a variety of aircraft of
all colors, shapes, and sizes. Several were
modeled after conventional aircraft while
others were designed to resemble fighter
planes. The club of 41 central Iowa members
had planned a busy day for the residents, who
were also treated to lunch, beverages and
plenty of shade.
“Secretary Jim Zimmerman of
Marshalltown said they wanted to entertain
the residents and show off their new location.
For many years, club members flew their
aircraft at the old landfill north of town. Then
the site was purchased by another
organization.
“‘The local hunt club bought it,’ club
member Ed Boehm of Marshalltown said.
‘We worked with the city to get this property.
It used to be a field for crops. We leveled the
high points down and rolled it about three
times.’ Boehm pointed to a large silver roller
parked nearby.
“Zimmerman said, ‘The city had been
very helpful and good to work with,’ in
allowing the club to use the flood plain area.
‘The new location gives us more room and
more visibility. Since we’ve moved here,
we’ve added about eight new members.”
This is great “public eye” stuff. The club
got some good recognition, gave kudos to the
city for its help in getting a new flying site,
and can claim a “give-back” to the
community through this effort with the local
Veterans’ Home.
I saw this excerpted article by staff writer
Ed Richter of the Journal News in Butler
County, Ohio, on Sunday, August 9, 2009:
“Jordan Hils said he would like to become
a pilot someday. The 7-year-old from
Erlanger KY was among the nearly 3,000
people who spent Saturday afternoon, August
8, lined up along the taxiway at the Butler
County Regional Airport to watch the 49th
annual Flying Circus air show put on by the
Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club. ‘It’s
really good,’ Jordan said as he watched
World War II re-enactments by scale model
B-29 bombers. ‘I just think flying is fun.’
“His father, Michael Hils, said, ‘This is
wonderful, absolutely wonderful ... I
wouldn’t miss it for the world.’
“About 150 planes flown by 50
enthusiasts participated in one of the nation’s
largest radio control model air shows, said
Tom Burdin of West Chester Twp., who has
been a member for 41 years.
“Described by Burdin as the ‘apex’ of the
air show, more than two dozen planes built
by club members especially for the Flying
Circus participate in miniature versions of
WW II bombing raids and other fighter
attacks on a mini city in the airfield. As the
planes fly over their targets, club members set
off large firecrackers to knock down the
small buildings.
“Burdin said the planes—with price tags
from $300 to upwards of $10,000—are made
of fiberglass, carbon fiber, plywood, balsa,
foam, plastic, or a mixture of several
materials. The planes are powered by
methanol, gasoline, electricity and JP4 jet
fuel.
“Aircraft ranging from propeller-driven to
helicopters to jets zoomed skyward, buzzed
the runways, and performed acrobatic
maneuvers.
“Terry Jacobs, of Goshen, wowed the
crowd with his Starfire jet as it soared
through the sky. Jacobs said he got into the
hobby as a University of Cincinnati student
after he purchased a $300 plane. ‘I said it was
something I always wanted to do,’ he said.
‘The next thing I know, I’m walking out with
a plane.’
“Jacobs said it took a few weeks to learn
how to fly using training aircraft, and he
added that he got into jets a year later. ‘I love
to do shows,’ Jacobs said. ‘They invite me to
fly each year, and it’s a lot of fun.’
“The club also gives back to the area
community by donating about $5,000 to
charities from the proceeds of the event.
“‘This is a very organized show,’ Burdin
said. ‘Wait until next year (for the 50th
event).’”
This is more “public eye” material—great
publicity for the event, which continued on
the day of publication, and a wonderful
comment about the charitable giving on the
part of the club.
My final offering is a tiny item with the
potential to deliver a big wallop during your
flying site presentation. This is from WTAPTV,
based in Parkersburg, West Virginia, as
posted on the WTAP.com Web site:
“Dozens of airplanes took flight in the
Mid-Ohio Valley Saturday, but it’s not the
kind of plane you took on your last vacation
or business trip.
“The Blennerhassett Area Radio Control
Club had its annual Airshow Extravaganza,
but the organization made this year a little
different by making it into a charity event.
Food and donations were collected for some
local charities.
“One BARCC member described flying
model planes as a life-long hobby. ‘When I
was younger I always went by a shop and
they had a big remote control Spitfire in the
window, and I just loved to watch that thing,
and I never saw it fly or anything, but I just
love airplanes,’ Rob Maas said.”
This is a small item, but the impact of a
charitable donation is never lost on site
owners. If your club is having an event, get
it noticed in the newspaper, on television, or
on a local radio show.
Don’t be afraid to put the activity in front
of the public. People remain fascinated with
all aspects of aviation. And the public can be
your greatest ally in front of people who
make decisions regarding your plea for a
flying site.
There will be detractors, but you can
have them outnumbered by a vocal and
sympathetic public if you put your club, its
events, and its value to the community out
there in the “public eye.”