Author: Dave Mathewson
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/03
Page Numbers: 163

District II Report

New Jersey / New York / Europe

Dave Mathewson

Vice President

Note: For a listing of district officers, please consult a previous issue of Model Aviation or the above web address.

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENT (AVP)

Gary Fitch travels quite a bit throughout the district and has sent the following about an event he attended.

August 11, 2002 — Gary swung by the Jamestown Flying Aces field in Ellington, New York for the Aces Annual Fun-Fly. Pilots from Warren, PA; Buffalo; Mayville; and Olean attended the event. This year saw at least 60 people attend and fly.

Of particular interest was meeting the Hoitink family of fliers. That's right—the whole family builds and flies radio-control (RC) model aircraft. Chuck McIntire introduced me to them, and to the best of my knowledge, they are the only family that flies as a group. Pete and Lorene have five children: Jeremiah, 12; Benjamin, 11; Melissa, 9; Gregory, 7; and Robbie, 5. All have soloed and fly on their own.

Pete told me the story of the first kit they purchased. He started building it, but work called. When he returned home, he found that Lorene had completed one and a half wing panels—and she was hooked.

Today they fly together twice each week. Jeremiah and Benjamin are fairly accomplished pilots. I got a charge out of having them flying my 1/3-scale Fly Baby biplane! With the age of the average RC modeler increasing, it is a real pleasure to see a family committed to building, flying, and promoting our great hobby. Hats off to the Hoitinks!

Many clubs in our district know the importance of reaching out to the public in an effort to promote the sport we all enjoy. None do this better than the Garden State Circle Burners (GSCB). On September 28–29, 2002 the Circle Burners held a static display and flying demonstration at the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City.

Member Carl Holzworth, as a 4-H project in cooperation with GSCB, organized the static display. In addition, organized by Mary Knight and her husband Al, more than 150 kids had an opportunity to fly a control-line (CL) model airplane. The looks on the faces of the children told the story of how much each one enjoyed the experience. GSCB president Mike Ostella told me that it's common for club members to step up to help out with events like this.

See you next time...

Sunday, October 5, 2002, my wife and I were guests of the Cortland Aeromodeling Society (CAMS) at the club's fall picnic. It was a near-perfect autumn day—mild temperatures and bright sunshine outdueled the above-average winds.

We weren't there more than 30 seconds when I heard, coming loudly from the other side of the pits, "David, stop that!" I must have jumped nearly five feet into the air, as this brought back memories of my own mother calling out to me to stop whatever it is that young kids do to get that short sentence flung at them.

As it turned out, it was Debi Howe trying to get the attention of her nine-year-old son, David. Gary, Debi, and David Howe are relatively new modelers and are among the nicest people I have ever met. David couldn't tell me enough about how he was learning to fly RC with his dad's help, and about all the airplanes he was going to build during the winter, along with all the technical reasons why.

All David's plans came to an end two weeks later when he was tragically killed in a house fire.

David was one of those kids that every club would love to have as a junior member. He was full of energy and always brought a smile to the faces of other CAMS members when he was around. He was a typical nine-year-old who loved baseball, trains, and playing the clarinet in addition to model airplanes.

The highlight of David's short modeling career was his first unassisted landing, a perfect 10, at his club field to the cheers and applause of the other members watching.

The next time you see your kids or grandkids, give them a hug. Be thankful you have the opportunity.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.