Nontraditional Recreation: Model Airplane Flying Sites

hen Salt Lake City, Utah, learned that it was chosen to host
the 2002 Olympic Winter Games, the city realized that with
such an enormous undertaking, it could not also host the 2002
National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) Congress
the same year. The NRPA Congress attracts 10,000 people annually
from around the world. A host city was needed to pick up the ball.
Through the efforts of Tampa Recreation Director Joe Abrahams,
Tampa, Florida, was selected to host the event. A committee of
approximately 10 of the local parks and recreation directors was
formed to plan the event. As director of the Pasco County Parks and
Recreation Department, I was honored to be one of the Executive Host
Committee members.
We found out about the task before us in early 2001, and the date of
the congress was October 15-20, 2002. We had our work cut out for us
because most cities have three years to plan!
As we set about planning this incredible event, I realized what an
opportunity we had to plan a field trip to a local flying field to present
a program for parks and recreation directors and managers from
throughout the United States. The session would be called “Non-
Traditional Recreation—Model Airplane Flying Sites.”
I have been an avid modeler for nearly 50 years and a member of
countless clubs. I am also an AMA volunteer flying-site assistant. One
of the clubs I belong to had recently lost its flying site, and all of the
open spaces around the area were being sold for development. I
believe that flying fields will ultimately need to be located on publicly
owned lands held out for conservation and green space. Who controls
those lands? In most cases, it’s the local or state parks and recreation
departments.
The Sarasota R/C Squadron in Florida had a great success story to
tell, thanks to Elizabeth Warren with Sarasota County Parks and
Recreation and members of the Sarasota club. They secured a capped
landfill and built one of the best flying sites I have ever seen.
I contacted Ms. Warren, who had recently become the parks
48 MODEL AVIATION
Nontraditional Recreation:
Model Airplane Flying Sites
A Sarasota R/C Squadron club member gives a student buddy-box RC lessons during the 2002 NRPA Congress and Expo.
Sarasota County Parks and Recreation spokesperson Elizabeth
Warren addresses the parks and recreation personnel.
The flightline at Sarasota always buzzes with activity. There is a
great deal of productive communication going on here.
W
■ Jim Slaughter
director in Pinellas County, Florida; Trip
Galasso, one of the Sarasota club members
who worked to get the flying site; George
Jenkins, president of the Sarasota R/C
Squadron; and Joe Beshar, AMA flying-site
assistance coordinator, to run it up the pole
and see if anyone would salute! They were
enthusiastic about hosting such a program. I
proposed the educational session to the NRPA
Education Committee, and it was approved!
AMA sent me great materials outlining the
Academy’s benefits, flying-site layouts,
education materials to be used to teach kids
about aviation, and some great door prizes! I
realized that to convince local officials that
something is a good thing, besides allowing a
bunch of people to have a good time in the
park I enlisted Frank Tiano—Mr. Top Gun—
to speak to the group about the economic
impact that model flying events can have on
the local economy.
As planning progressed, George Jenkins
stepped up and assured that the Sarasota R/C
Squadron would host the event. Thanks,
George!
October 16, 2001, dawned overcast and
threatening rain. As we loaded the bus to take
the NRPA participants to the flying site, it
started to rain. It was raining heavily as we
approached the flying field. This was not
good! We could do the classroom
presentations in one of the club shelters, but I
really wanted these people to see the airplanes
fly, talk to the club members to feel their love
and enthusiasm for the hobby, and actually
get their hands on a buddy box and fly!
We reached the exit on I-75 to turn off and
go to the Sarasota R/C Squadron field, and the
clouds parted and the sun came out! When we
arrived at the field, I told the participants to
talk to the pilots, ask questions, and step up
May 2003 49
Club members are eager to interact with
participants at the Sarasota R/C
Squadron-hosted educational session.
The Sarasota R/C Squadron’s junior-member flight instructor explains to his next
student how the airplane works. All ages got involved with the program.
Joe Beshar (L)—AMA’s flying-site assistance coordinator, eastern region—
was on hand to help out and answer questions at the educational session.
These happy people got their “wings” from the
Sarasota R/C Squadron during the event. It was a
resounding success!
Photos courtesy the author Graphic Design by Lydia Whitehead
50 MODEL AVIATION
for an introductory flight. They were excited
and ready. They had so much fun that it was
difficult to get them to stop two hours later
and sit down to listen to somebody talk! They
were all ears; they had tasted the sport and
wanted to learn more.
I started the session by telling about
AMA, its history, the insurance benefits, the
huge number of modelers, and the dire need
for flying sites. I passed out AMA literature
and some Delta Dart kits, and I encouraged
the participants to go back and start modelbuilding
and -flying programs for the kids in
their communities.
Frank Tiano followed my presentation. He
did a magnificent job of relating how the
hobby is perceived worldwide and the
economic impact his Top Gun event (which
will be held in Lakeland, Florida, this year)
has on the local economy.
Joe Beshar stepped up and emphasized
how those present could be great supporters
of the sport, what it has meant to so many
people, and how it continues to be a great
family pursuit. Elizabeth Warren told how
Sarasota County Parks and Recreation and the
Sarasota R/C Squadron worked together to
make the club’s magnificent facility a reality.
Trip Galasso and George Jenkins kept
everyone’s attention, telling about the events
they put on, the large crowds, and the great
working relationship they maintain with the
community by going into schools, working
with youth groups, and more.
As a surprise wrap-up to the day’s events,
the Sarasota club members had secretly voted
to choose three participants as the “Most
Promising Student Pilots.” One of the men
and the only two women in the group got
wings!
When we arrived back at the Tampa
Convention Center, there were only beaming
faces coming off the bus. They all stopped to
shake my hand and rave about what they had
seen and learned that day. Throughout the rest
of the week, delegates who had participated in
the flying-site session told me they were
going to go back home and start movements
to get flying fields in their communities.
The Sarasota R/C Squadron, Joe Beshar,
Frank Tiano, Elizabeth Warren, and all who
made this program possible did a terrific job!
The NRPA delegates who participated in this
program will be talking about it for a long
time.
The NRPA Congress in Tampa was a
resounding success. Joe Abrahams would be
proud; he passed away a few weeks before
the congress took place. I’m sure he was
responsible for parting those clouds!
I firmly believe that this is where the future
of the sport lies. Without flying sites, there
will be no need for AMA, hobby businesses,
or any of the things we enjoy today. We are
losing flying sites at a rapid pace. Public lands
are the future if the hobby is to survive.
I encourage anyone who is trying to
secure such a site to have his or her local
parks and recreation officials contact me. I
can be E-mailed at [email protected]. I
will be more than happy to do a “sell job” on
them! MA
Jim D. Slaughter
8459 Flagstone Dr.
Tampa FL 33615
Visit the AMA Education Committee
Web site at www.buildandfly.com.