Flying Site Assistance - 2011/05

138 MODEL AVIATION
HI, AGAIN! I’m writing this in early March after returning from
my annual visit to the Southeastern Modelers Show in Perry,
Georgia.
The weather is finally thinking about warming up! Hopefully
things are starting to get better in your area as well and you will
soon be able to go flying!
Many club members must be thinking the same thing, because
I am getting busy with club flying site issues. I will be happy to
assist in any way that I can, so don’t be shy! Give me a call or email
and let’s see what we can do.
I was recently made aware of an update EPA video of AMA’s
EPA relationship and how the EPA sees model airplanes as a great
use of Superfund sites that have been remediated. The new video
can be viewed here at www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/
info/amapartners.html.
By the time you read this, a link will be on the AMA Flying
Site Assistance Web page that will take you directly to the video.
This clip can help you to convince local officials of how model
airplane flying sites can be a positive use of land, even if it is not
a Superfund site. Local county or city governments can benefit by
partnering with a club to use greenspace that might otherwise go
unused.
Sometimes showing local officials that a division of the
Federal Government sees our activity as a positive one and
actually recommends lands to be designated for our use can really
work in your favor!
Clubs can serve as a security force to ensure that the site is
secure and undamaged. Any issues can be noted and the local
officials informed.
Site usage can also result in positive economic impact to the
local economy, because of the influx of modelers heading to the
field for an event. These visitors purchase gasoline and hotel
rooms and keep the local restaurants busy. This is music to the
ears of any local official/politician. Bringing dollars to a local
economy in need of a boost is on their minds all the time.
I have heard from many of you who received a letter or e-mail
from me regarding contact from a local official who would like to
speak to club members about providing a flying site! If you
remember from previous columns, these contacts were obtained
during our efforts at the National Recreation and Parks
Association (NRPA) Expo, and the National League of Cities
Expo in 2010.
This is exciting and I am hopeful that many new sites will be
created as a result. Having a site available can help clubs grow
and even be the spark for starting a new club!
I will be following up with these clubs over the next month or
so to find out the results of these contacts.
This coming winter, I will be attending the National League of
Cities show in Phoenix, Arizona, and the NRPA event in Atlanta,
Georgia, to continue working to find new sites for our clubs.
Based on the results of our current push, we will modify our
efforts to improve our chances of gaining new sites.
See you at the field!
Tony Stillman
Flying Site Assistance
Coordinator
102 Cherrywood Ct., Brunswick GA 31525; (912) 242-2407;
[email protected]
Having a site available can help clubs grow and
even be the spark for starting a new club!
Flying Site Assistance
Tony Stillman | www.modelaircraft.org/membership/clubs/fsap.aspx
“When I became a freshman in high
school I found myself gravitating to the
marching band. I lettered all four years and
became a section leader in my senior year. I
had found my niche and I succeeded in
doing something I really liked.
“My academic studies were acceptable
and I made grades that were really good in
most areas but my math and foreign
language were a challenge. During all of
my academic years I had a hobby that
would one day get me to think about using
it as a career path.
“I started flying radio controlled model
airplanes as a hobby and pastime when I
was seven years old. It wasn’t until I was
about half way through high school that I
thought about pursuing a career in aviation.
I was busy building and designing different
models of planes from the very small to
large-scale heavyweights and all the while
my skills in math were coming up. I was
using complicated measurements, angles of
incidents, weights and measures, etc.
“During this time of building and
designing there came a transformation of
my flying skills. Members of my model
airplane club started coming to me to test
fly their planes. I started entering
competitions and surpassing the flying
skills of just about everyone including my
Dad. While this would appear to be a
normal course of events, one had to
remember that there were about 160
members of the club.
“My Dad had been one of the club
experts in training others and doing a lot of
test flying for the membership. As I gained
experience and skill these same members
were coming to me to do these piloting
chores. My Dad acknowledges that I have
surpassed his skills and is very proud of
me.
“My first flight in a friend’s Cessna 182
found me doing the actual piloting with
relative ease. My instructor was glancing at
my Dad in the back seat with raised
eyebrows. It seems that my models were
actually playing the part of a simulator
when I got to the controls of the real plane.
“My skills bolstered my confidence and
brought about a desire to fly for a living.
My Dad said that anyone could fly but an
educated pilot was going to be well paid.
After all, a modern plane was a complex
series of mechanical and electronic
systems and it was going to take an
educated individual to operate it. This
became my goal. My early success at
models was going to be my ticket to
becoming a pilot. I had to make a decision
to raise my grades and use my talent to do
what I love to do ... Fly!
“This was my defining moment to make
my dream of flight possible. I feel that this
is what sets me apart from others. I felt the
need to succeed at my hobby and take me
to the next level of my dream of becoming
a pilot.”
My guess is that Kyle would have gone
on to fly bigger and better things in his
life. I’m glad he was who he was!
Fly and have fun!
Education Through Aviation
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