Wings, Paws, and Smiles
On June 15, 1996, the Atlantic County Skyblazers sponsored a fun day for children with physical and developmental disabilities at Renault Flying Field in New Jersey. Members of the Pinelands K-9 Club joined the event to entertain children and young adults of the Arc of Atlantic County, NJ. The opening event of the second annual Arc Air and K-9 Show drew cheers as pilots put on a varied and energetic program.
Event organization
- Sponsor: Atlantic County Skyblazers
- Beneficiary: Arc of Atlantic County, NJ
- K-9 participation: Pinelands K-9 Club
- Event flying coordinator: Paul Wilson
- Announcer: Paul Carney
Flying highlights
Pilots, carefully selected by the Skyblazers, kept spectator safety in mind while delivering an hour-plus of aerial entertainment.
- Hugh Wachter — Flew a Radio Control Tiger 60. After a smooth takeoff he pulled into an inside loop, leveled out just in time, and soared inverted across the field to thunderous applause from the children.
- Bob Chapman — Launched a 70-inch-span, electric-powered glider by hand (no landing gear). The fragile craft climbed sharply, the engine was killed, and it slipped into a controlled, silent glide that passed eye-level over the crowd.
- Ed Meluskis — Flew a replica 1930s vintage model on just an ounce of fuel. When the engine briefly burped and died the crowd gasped, but the lightweight craft remained under control, rode thermals, and landed safely.
- Luke Weyhmuller (age 10) — The youngest Skyblazer demonstrated that flying can be kids’ stuff with left- and right-aileron rolls, snap rolls, and inside loops. He had begun RC lessons just nine months earlier; fellow teen Sarah later congratulated him on his flying.
- Ron and Dave Lockhart — Father-and-son team in identical Tiger Two models performed side-by-side four-point rolls, square loops, and figure eights in tight formation.
- Dave Lockhart — Put on a comedic display with the Windshear, flying herky-jerky zigzags and dancing an airplane across the sky like a corkscrewing cartoon mosquito, prompting shouts of “Hey, it looks like Airwolf!”
- Pete Smith and Ryan Gormley — Helicopter demonstrations included liftoffs and vertical 360-degree climbs. One spectator, James (16), leaned back in his lawn chair as the chopper climbed higher, ending with a gentle descent and shared laughter.
K-9 Club demonstrations
After lunch, the Pinelands K-9 Club engaged the children with canine demonstrations and hands-on activities.
- Karen Lockhart (Pinelands coordinator) taught proper greeting behavior for unfamiliar dogs: extend the back of the hand and let the dog sniff.
- Club members demonstrated basic training techniques and showed that children, including those in wheelchairs, can use hand signals to command fetch, stay, and come.
- Dogs ran obstacle courses, cleared high jumps, and went through tunnels while children were encouraged to pet, hug, and walk them.
- The crowd favorite was Barkley, an 83-pound reddish-brown Golden Retriever named for the Sesame Street character.
Community and closing
RC airplanes and dogs may seem an odd pairing, but the children from the Atlantic County Arc enjoyed both. The kids expressed their appreciation by giving each club member a handmade beaded keychain, along with plenty of smiles and thank-yous.
Reporter
Robert Weyhmuller 16 Cottage Rd Somers, NJ 08244
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
