Dare County Radio Control Flyers

Under a threatening sky, twelve club members and five guests braved the conditions and participated in a National Model Aviation Day celebration that was held at our field.

Although our plan to grill hotdogs for lunch was canceled, instructor pilots Jim Davis and Stephen Yanacek worked tirelessly with five new member student pilots and five guests to get them into the air, and back onto the ground safely. The day's four-hours of flying went very well, and those present had a good time until 1PM when a rain squall was spotted approaching the area and abruptly ended the activities.

As we departed the field in a heavy downpour, we were all glad to have enjoyed a day of flying and learning together, and we look forward to doing it once again in the near future.

Fourteen of our club members met at the library in Kill Devil Hills for our monthly business meeting to discuss a variety of topics ranging from improving the access to our flying field, to plans for our upcoming National Model Aviation Day flying activities. Our nine newest members in attendance were also asked for their ideas of local venues that may be able to host our club Christmas party that will be held in December.

Those present were: Jim Davis; Jim Shiels; Virgil Kee; Jason Sherwood; Mary Sherwood; Asher Sherwood; Jaden Sherwood; Mathias Sherwood; Steven Garrett; Stacy Williams; Samantha Kline; David Jenkins; Stephen Yanacek, and; Robert Yanacek.

Eleven of our club members attended National Aviation Day, hosted by the First Flight Society at the Dare County Regional Airport in Manteo.

Our primary activity that day was to speak with and to provide information to event visitors about our club and its model aviation activities. In addition to those efforts our members were also able to visit the airport museum, check out the aircraft that were displayed on the ramp, and chat with many of pilots who had been flown in for the day's celebration.

Members present were: Jim Davis; Jim Shiels; Virgil Kee; Mary Sherwood; Asher Sherwood; Jaden Sherwood; Mathias Sherwood; Steven Garrett; Samantha Kline; Grant Dick, and; Robert Yanacek.

Club member John McCord, who works as the Associate Director for Education, Outreach and Communications at the Coastal Studies Institute in Wanchese brought his "drone camp" class of nine high school students to our field to learn about and get some experience flying fixed-wing aircraft.

His students, aided by three adult facilitators, arrived and quickly set up shade canopies and chairs to shield their group from the sun and stifling 90-degree temperature. Club president, Jim Davis then spoke to the students as a group about how airplanes fly and are controlled, and what each of them would be doing when it was their turn to fly.

Jim then commenced to let each each of the nine students and all of the adult mentors individually fly a plane, aided by his verbal instructions and the use of a "buddy box" transmitter when it was needed. Between flights, club member Robert Yanacek assisted Jim by recovering the landed aircraft and installing a new flight battery so that turnaround time was minimal.

All members of this group successfully completed their flight and hopefully departed with some good memories of their flying experience with us at our field.

Despite having to cancel this event at the end of May due to flooding at our flying field, we successfully held the Outer Banks Festival of Model Aviation under clear skies and temperatures in the mid-80s.

Flying conditions throughout the day were near-perfect, and those who attended the day's events enjoyed food and excitement as our forth-nine guests participated in flying and learning about model aviation as a family-friendly and educational recreational activity.

Each festival attendee provided at least one non-perishable food item as admission to the event, with these items being collected by Beach Food Pantry director, Elisabeth Silverthorne, to aid local residents in-need.

Nine club members and three family members worked at the event in various roles to make it a safe, rewarding, and enjoyable day for all. Diane Yanacek and Peter Fynn welcomed, checked-in and socialized with our guests while Virgil Kee directed his efforts to the youngest attendees to explain how an airplane flies and how a radio control aircraft works. Kim Lloyd worked tirelessly throughout the day charging flight batteries, while Robert Yanacek photographed the day's activities to provide everyone with good memories to share.

Jim Davis, Richard Boyd, Stephen Yanacek, and Philip Garey performed the demanding task as flight-instructors, supervising our first-time guest fliers.

Thirty-nine of our guests took advantage of the opportunity to try flying a radio control airplane for the first time, under the watchful eyes of one of the club's four flight instructors. All those who flew, including a youngster who was just four years old, flew very well and without incident.

Around noon, attendees were treated to a lunch prepared by Matt and Paul Yanacek, consisting of hamburgers, hot dogs, chips, and beverages. Our food preparation team did an excellent job in ensuring that everyone was well-fed.

Following the day's flying activities, our club conducted a drawing to determine the three guest attendee winners of our no-cost try-to-fly raffle. Unfortunately, none of the winners were present to claim their prize, however, all three will be notified shortly.

The grand prize winner of our raffle will be receiving a 1.2-meter ready-to-fly Apprentice S2 airplane, a one-year membership in the Academy of Model Aeronautics, and membership in our club.

The second and third place winners will also be receiving a slightly-smaller ready-to-fly airplane, along with one-year membership in the Academy of Model Aeronautics, provided they demonstrate their desire to continue in model aviation by applying for membership in our club.

A separate raffle event to determine the winners of a Viper 64mm electric duct-fan jet and a WACO UPF-7 radio control biplane was also conducted. The winners of these two prizes will also receive notification shortly.

Our club wishes to thank everyone who participated in, and made this event so successful. Your donations for admission to the event for the Beach Food Pantry are greatly appreciated and will undoubtedly assist this worthy organization that does so much to help our local residents.

We enjoyed meeting and flying with all of our guests, and we hope that you will fly with us again in the near future. We also wish to recognize the Academy of Model Aeronautics Foundation for their generosity in providing event funding and prize donations.