Bong Eagles Impact Schools
Demonstrations, Building Classes Well-Received by Students
Tony Italiano and R.E. Black
The Bong Eagles Model Airplane Club of Wisconsin had a very active fall/winter season in 1998. We presented 18 aviation programs to elementary and high school students; the theme was "Introduction to Aviation Through the Use of Model Aircraft."
After a number of years' experience, our club insists on giving the presentations in the school gymnasiums — to accommodate a larger student body or to allow seating, providing a suitable environment for the demonstration of indoor model flight.
We start by showing some of our outdoor free-flight models and explaining how they work; students and teachers are amazed that we fly these aircraft without wires or radio control.
We then fly Pennyplanes, No-Cal Scale models, and AMA Cubs for the audience, explaining what makes each type special. The kids love to see the midair collisions. The club always makes a hard sell for the AMA Cub, explaining, "This is a model you can build and fly, even if you have never done it before." Our goal is to be invited back to conduct building classes.
The programs have been received enthusiastically by faculties and students, resulting in several invitations to conduct building classes. The classes usually occupy one long session on one day, or two shorter sessions a few days apart.
In one unusual situation, a class was conducted over a one-month period. The principal of Somers Elementary School, located west of Kenosha, Wisconsin, invited our club to meet with 19 fifth- and sixth-grade boys and girls for 30 minutes of their lunch break, two days a week for four weeks.
Thorough preclass preparation was necessary for the six Bong Eagle instructors to make efficient use of the 30-minute periods. The instructors were:
- Bob Black
- Jack Boone
- John Fellin
- Ron Goodspeed
- Ralph Jensen
- Tony Italiano
The students built AMA Cubs for starters. The young people were attentive and eager to learn. In this class, as is often observed, the girls built their models correctly and they flew better than most of the boys' models. The difference is not because the girls are inherently more mature at the same age, but because the girls followed instructions carefully, whereas the boys, with a tendency to "know it all," often did not follow the instructions even though advised repeatedly.
However, the instructors made sure that all of the models were adjusted correctly to obtain a semblance of a good flight. One boy tried something different from the typical indoor circling flight pattern: by adding tabs, he trimmed the AMA Cub for speed flights that terminated against a theater curtain. The finale to the AMA Cub portion of the project was a much-enjoyed mass-launch contest.
Nine students had the time to go on and tackle the Double Whammy design. Created by Charles Markos of the Chicago Aeronuts, this model gives students their first hands-on experience building a lighter structure covered with Japanese tissue. The students applied their learned skills adequately and produced models that performed quite well, with durations approximately four times longer than those of the Cubs. The young builders were pleased with the slow, graceful flights of these larger models.
The Somers Elementary students were given schedules of the Bong Eagles' indoor events at Racine Memorial Hall and of outdoor contests at Bong Recreation Area. The Bong Eagles are ready to assist any of our young friends who want to continue building and flying models.
Tony Italiano 1655 Revere Dr. Brookfield, WI 53045
R.E. Black 1914 Empire Dr. Waukesha, WI 53186
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
