Clubs in the News

The Casa Grande RC Flyers visited Palo Verde Elementary School to give lessons about the principles of aviation. Alan Friedman, club president; Nancy Friedman, club treasurer; and Ronald St. Pierre, club vice president, presented the program, “Drone - Summer of STEM” that was geared towards students. They answered the students questions about flight and model aircraft safety. The presenters asked the class how many students owned drones and found out that many students raised their hands. The club also covered the rules for the safe use of drones. The presenters covered a range of topics including all drone safety flight rules as well as lithium ion battery safety procedures to prevent the batteries from exploding. The vice president, Ronald St. Pierre, also flew a drone and a 3-D fixed wing aircraft for the students. The AMA would like to thank the Casa Grande RC Flyers for teaching students about model aviation.  

The number of women joining the Casa Grande RC Flyers is increasing. When the club was created several years ago, it consisted mainly of men. In 2017, one women joined and in the recent months, an additional six women joined. Nancy Friedman took up flying RC aircraft from her husband, Alan. Alan is the club president and associate vice president of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. Alan encouraged her to give RC flying a try using a flight simulator in their home. From there, she decided to take lessons to better understand the hobby. After a few lessons, she had mastered the controls and moved on to a model plane that requires more skill and experience. The Casa Grande RC Flyers is an AMA sanctioned club and an Arizona nonprofit organization. The club was awarded the AMA’s highest honor by being named a “Gold Level Leader Club” for its community service and field facilities. The AMA would like to congratulate the Casa Grande RC Flyers for getting women into the hobby.  

The Hot Springs RC Flying Club recently hosted an event directed towards children. The club is located in Hot Springs National Park, AR. On May 10 the Hot Springs Radio Control club hosted 200 first graders from the Lake Hamilton School District. The children learned about basics of flight and were entertained by club members who flew model airplanes, drones and helicopters. At the conclusion of the event, a large model plane flew over the field and dropped candy for the children. To check out pictures from the event, click here. The AMA would like to thank the Hot Springs RC Flying Club for hosting an event to educate the future of model aviation.

The Casa Grande RC Flyers will begin raising money for the Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona next winter. The clubs board recently decided to add the Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona to their list of charities to give back to. Currently, the club raises money for Casa Grande Food Bank and Valley Humane Society. The club’s events are free to the public and act as fundraisers for these local charities. The club has several events throughout the year. On Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, the club will hold its first annual Fly-In and club swap meet to benefit Hospice Charitable Fund. In addition, they will hold their sixth annual National Model Aviation Day celebration and swap meet on Saturday, Dec. 8 to benefit the Casa Grande Food Bank.  On Saturday, March 9, 2019, the club will hold its sixth annual Air Show and swap meet to benefit the Valley Humane Society. The club hosts their events at their award-winning flying field on Isom Road across from the public shooting range. The events start at 9 a.m. and conclude at 1 p.m. To learn more about the Casa Grande RC Flyers and their events, click here.

The York County Flyers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in York, SC. The club hosts their “Fallen Eagle Memorial Fly In” which is an annual fundraising event for Hospice. The club has been putting on the event since 2007. Since then, the event has raised about $12,000 for Rock Hill-based Hospice and Community Care. The club has simulators, drone ride-alongs and homemade planes for kids to get the community involved in the hobby. Raising money for Hospice is important to the York County Flyers because they have seen their club members rely on Hospice. Their fly-in honors members they have lost throughout the years. One of the clubs goals is to get more teens involved in RC flying. The AMA would like to thank the York County Flyers for raising money for Hospice and giving back to the community. The AMA Club Recognition and Reward Program was established to encourage clubs to promote model aviation. The AMA offers clubs cash incentives for positive local media coverage for a public event, public service, club announcement, or other coverage. Click here to learn more about this program.

The Beresford Aera Radio Flyers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. This club is located in Alcester, SD. In February 2018, the club donated $250 to the Beresford Rural Office of Community Services, Inc. The ROCS Transit program operates a fleet of transportation vehicles in Beresford and several South Dakota communities. The program is designed to provide an affordable, accessible option for many communities to meet their transportation needs. The Beresford Aera Radio Flyers club includes members from the local area and surrounding towns and has been part of the area community for 29 years. The club builds and flies model aircraft at their field located west of the Beresford Gun Club. Club meetings are held at 2 p.m. on the 2nd Sunday of each month. Some members are experienced drone and rotorcraft pilots. The club also presents programs to local schools and community groups. The AMA would like to thank the Beresford Aera Radio Flyers for giving back to their community. The AMA Club Recognition and Reward Program was established to encourage clubs to promote model aviation. The AMA offers clubs cash incentives for positive local media coverage for a public event, public service, club announcement, or other coverage. Click here to learn more about this program.

The Local Area Fun Flyers (LAFF) are located in Bullhead City, AZ. The club was covered in the Mohave Valley Daily News on Dec. 27. The RC club has 30 members and they meet at the Rodney Briscoe Memorial Flying Field at Rotary Park in Arizona. LAFF is actively looking for other RC aircraft enthusiasts in their area to join them in their flight plans. The club is planning a fun fly day in February that will be open to anyone interested in learning about the sport. Andy Murphy, a member of the club, said “This field is a great place to come out to fly. People can come out with us and give it a try before they invest in the sport; if they find they are interested, we can help get them started and give good advice on how to do it as inexpensively as possible.” For more information about LAFF email localareafunflyers@yahoo.com. To read the story from the Mohave Valley Daily News, click here.

The Casa Grande RC Flyers airfield located in Casa Grande, AZ recently installed WeatherLink, a new weather monitoring station. WeatherLink offers real-time information about current weather conditions which include temperatures, rainfall totals, humidity, wind speeds and direction. The data that the station collects can be accessed by anyone interested in the area’s weather conditions. The data collected is available to users on the website WeatherLink.com and on a smartphone application, WeatherLink 2.0. A press release from the Casa Grande RC Flyers club stated that the monitoring station will be used by pilots who fly RC planes and drones at the flying field. It will also be used by police and shooting enthusiasts curious about conditions near the gun range. The city of Casa Grande provided a large flagpole that was installed at the airfield to accommodate the weather station and maintains it. The weather monitoring station is one of many improvements that the club plans to make to their field. The club plans to add sun shades for the pilot tables and another runway to their RC airfield. The AMA would like to congratulate the Casa Grande RC Flyers on their new additions to their field!

The Hampton Roads Radio Control group hosted the 11th annual Toys for Tots Fly-in on Nov. 4. The event was held at their field in Suffolk, VA. All proceeds from the event went to the Suffolk’s Toys for Tots Program. More than 30 pilots registered for the event. There was a $10 landing fee or a pilot could bring one new, unwrapped toy. There was also a skydiver demo and candy drop at the event. The club event collected three boxes of toys, along with $3,462 worth of cash donations, raffle tickets and food sales. The AMA would like to thank the Hampton Roads Radio Control group for hosting this event and for donating to such a great cause! For more pictures from the event, click here.   

The York County Flyers will host their annual Fallen Eagle Memorial Fly-in benefit for Hospice and Community Care on Saturday, October 28 starting at 9 a.m in York, SC. The club has been hosting this event since 1997. The York County Flyers pays all expenses of the event and returns 100 percent of the proceeds to Hospice & Community Care. Hospice and Community Care was founded in 1985. The nonprofit provides services to patients in their homes, care facilities, and the Wayne T. Patrick House. Hospice has a mission to give comfort, compassion and hope to the community when needed most. To date, the York County Flyers have raised over $12,000 for Hospice. There will be a $10 pilots landing fee. In order to fly, the pilot must be an AMA member. Also, there will be raffle tickets available for $5. At the event, there will be a make and take glider contest for kids, two simulators, a drone ride along, buddy box instructions and a demolition combat. There will also be a lunch BBQ available. The club also has a donate page for those who cannot make it to the event. For the donate page, click here. To learn more about the York County Flyers, click here. The AMA would like to thank the York County Flyers for hosting their annual event and donating all the proceeds to Hospice.