An Intrepid Event
By Mary Knight
Something unusual happened in New York, New York, on September 21, 2002—something that had not occurred in approximately 30 years. A carrier aircraft was started and launched from the flight deck of the USS Intrepid.
Okay, the aircraft was not exactly what you may be thinking. It was a Control Line (CL) model of a full-scale airplane. Roy Ward—Garden State Circle Burners (GSCB) member, introductory pilot extraordinaire, and the club’s main “Carrier Guy”—made that flight, of which there were many more to come during a two-day weekend demonstration and Learn-to-Fly aboard the Intrepid. Roy was beaming; this was the weekend he had been waiting for.
Was it an unusual idea to fly CL on the Intrepid’s deck? Not according to a picture we found hanging near the mess hall which depicts three sailors getting ready to start an OK Cub on the carrier’s then-wooden deck. You can clearly see the line clips in the picture. Another photo shows several sailors hard at work on their model boats and airplanes. There is proof of model aviation onboard Intrepid.
The Intrepid has a rich history and was almost destroyed three times during its service. It was sometimes referred to as the “Ghost Ship.” Now it is permanently docked at Pier 86 in New York City and is called the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum.
It is a terrific day trip. There is so much to see and do onboard, including new flight simulators of which the staff is quite proud. The gift shop is reasonable, with good-quality merchandise. To learn more about upcoming events at the Intrepid museum, visit the website at www.intrepidmuseum.org.
Preparations and Donations
A couple of years ago Carl Holzwarth, another GSCB member, began an effort to establish a model-airplane club through the local 4-H program. Carl and the kids created and prepared a GSCB display board.
Donations began arriving. Steve Dalke made a handle, a set of lines, and a homemade reel. Several GSCB members made monetary donations toward our mailing that promoted the event. Other contributors included Brodak Manufacturing, The Model Shop, Bratco, and Sig Manufacturing. Our photojournalists—Kevin Lancaster and Dean Leuzader—worked nonstop both days, capturing the true essence of the event. We salute all of you and cannot thank you enough!
We divided the static model display into five categories, with separate awards for each day:
- Best in Show
- Best Military Aircraft
- Best Navy Carrier Aircraft
- Best Civilian Aircraft
- Best Aerobatic Model Aircraft
Static award sponsors:
- PowerMaster Fuels
- Linda's Hobby Hut
- M. Ostella & Associates Inc.
- United Environmental Systems
- Morris County 4-H Association
Thank you, sponsors!
Event and Volunteers
There were many individuals from the local modeling community, the GSCB membership, and the Flying Wildcats who helped make this an enjoyable event. It took many volunteers for this outing to run smoothly.
Key contributors and volunteers:
- Neal Beekman (from NYC): donated his time and his Bratco SkyBaby. Neal pitted and flew demo flights on Saturday and returned Sunday. He loaned the SkyBaby for the Learn-to-Fly program both days and it was used for nearly all the pilot training flights.
- Roy Ward: single-handedly made nearly all of the ~150 flights.
- Mike Cooper: helped as pit person.
- Kevin and Eric Lancaster: handled intro-pilot sign-up, took photos, and did demos.
- Al “Mary’s Husband” Knight: filled out AMA flight certificates for new pilots and emceed the Learn-to-Fly, adding his unique comedic charm.
- Ken “Sleepy” Dawson: volunteered both days and helped with crowd control.
Topside on Sunday:
- Dan Banjock and Bob Zambelli (Philly Flyers): were aces in the pits, performed flying demos, and added enthusiasm. Dan tried flying a Bi-Slob on 40-foot lines and remarked that “it was a little ‘tricky’.”
- Wlodkowski family (Ted, Elaine, Teddy, and Eric): active with the 4-H Flying Wildcats and helped with demos and pilot registration.
Hangar Deck volunteers:
- The Kastner family (Bob, Linda, Rob, and Brian): always ready to help with whatever task needed doing.
Other supporters and static-display entrants:
- Bob “The Champ” Lampione
- Mike Ostella
- Tom Hampshire
- Rich Peabody
- Rich Giacobone
- Steve White
- Frank Iacobellis
- Jochen Aufhammer
Flying Wildcat families who supported the event:
- The Scimecas
- The Abrams
- The Nevils
- The Alexanders
Carl stayed at our booth all weekend, overseeing the safety of the models on display and answering countless questions such as “Do they really fly?” Carl would point interested children and their parents to the door that led topside to our flight zone so they could try flying a CL model.
The children could feel the vibration of the engine down the lines. Some of them naturally understood how moving the handle made the airplane wiggle. A few said they felt a little dizzy, but none wanted the flight to end. Several student pilots had such relaxed yet steady hands that I was able to ease up slightly on the controls.
I’ve always noticed that when we have student pilots, they all smile. Regardless of how tough a kid tries to be, no matter how serious the look before takeoff, by the time he or she has come around on that first lap, a smile is breaking.
Guests, Sponsors, and Demos
Guests of honor included:
- Dave Mathewson (AMA District II vice president) and his wife Ginger: Dave ensured we had use of the AMA tabletop booth and plenty of printed AMA material to hand out. He pointed out that our program was one of the only hands-on demos for kids aboard the ship.
- Representatives from New Jersey 4-H on Sunday:
- Ginny Powell, NJ-state interim chair, Department of 4-H Youth Development
- Donna Woody, NJ-state 4-H program coordinator
- They brought their husbands to assist with static-display judging and to hand out awards.
Bill Harvey from Bratco (manufacturer of the SkyBaby and the HexDrone) attended and generously helped sponsor the event with a donation of several Ready-to-Fly HexDrones. Bill was thrilled to see kids flying his models.
The SkyBaby proved to be one of the best trainers we have used. Some advanced pilots may view it as a toy, but it is a gentle, easy-flying model and performed well in windy conditions over the Hudson River. The Norvel .061 started easily numerous times. The SkyBaby requires little building time and rewards trainers with rapid student progress. That weekend I had two new fliers solo on it!
Closing and Thanks
As the sun began to set on the Hudson, we knew it was time to roll up the lines and reflect on what we had accomplished. Those two days came and went right before our eyes. It was sad to leave, but we had a great feeling. To quote Roy Ward, “We done good.” Who could have imagined that one day we would be flying on the USS Intrepid? Hopefully the spirit will live on, and we will be asked to come back to its deck to fly again.
Thanks to everyone who helped or participated—especially to the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum for having us. It was such a pleasure meeting and working with everyone. If I’ve neglected to mention you, please forgive me. This was one event in which everyone had a job to do, and he or she did it well. We could not have done this without each other.
Volunteering your time for what you love to do is not hard, but getting started is. If anyone is inspired by our accomplishments, think about starting a program through a local group such as 4-H. Contact AMA or call Carl Holzwarth; he is always happy to talk about this project. Try something that will involve the children and the parents. Sometimes by hooking the parent you hook the child, and vice versa.
A program such as ours will cost some free time and maybe some money. You cannot do it alone, so be prepared to enlist a few dedicated volunteers.
However much you shell out or whatever TV you miss, you will be rewarded with a gift that doesn’t have a price tag. When your first trainee finishes his or her first airplane and makes that maiden flight, words cannot describe how warm and fuzzy you will feel.
Success? Yes. Fun? Yes. Hard work? Yes. Would we do it again? Yes!
Mary Knight 51 Ringwood Ave. Pompton Lakes, NJ 07442
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
