Community Outreach

By Kyle Jaracz [email protected]

As seen in the Winter 2023 issue of Park Pilot.

>> I wrote an article for the August 2022 issue of Model Aviation, entitled “Help Your Flying Community,” and asked AMA members towrite back with ideas about how they are involved in their local communities.

AMA has many resources to ensure that your community has access to great content surrounding model aviation. The only necessary ingredients are members who volunteer in their communities to share model aviation.

In that article, I called for event testimonials to share with others who are looking to integrate more aviation into the local population. I received quite a few responses! To assist those clubs that haven’t yet developed a plan of action for engaging locals, I wanted to share the following write-up that was provided  by Doug Maas of CCRCS (Clark County Radio Control Society):

The outreach event included hands-on experience with RC flight simulators and a chance to experience RC flying with instructors.

CCRCS, AMA District XI club 1759, is located just north of Vancouver, Washington. Our club is 40 years old and was founded in 1982. The field is leased from the Clark County Fairgrounds, providing us with a relatively low-cost, secure, safe, and wellmaintained facility.

For decades, the fairgrounds and our field have been situated in a largely rural area bordered by open farm fields. With substantial growth and aggressive development in Clark County, we are now increasingly surrounded by small commercial businesses and residential neighborhoods, raising enough concern with our board of directors that they launched a  community outreach program in early 2022. The two primary program goals include:

1. Developing and maintaining positive community relationships with our host agency (Clark County Fairgrounds) and surrounding residents.  

2. Expanding club membership, especially in the youth sector.

The first formal activity of our outreach program was an open-house-style event called Discover RC Flying, held August 27, 2022, at the Clark County Fairgrounds. The timing was good, and the weather was in the mid- 70s with light cloud cover, making it the perfect day for the event.

CCRCS manages numerous events during the year, but each has been focused on participation by our members. Because our club and members are experienced, our standard events haven’t required much planning or preparation.

The CCRCS field and facility are in a space leased from the Clark County Fairgrounds. The field includes a concrete runway and taxiway, a covered shelter, and pilot pit tables.

This outreach event’s focus was different and intended to bring the general public to us, so we spent time developing a planning guide, recruiting volunteers, and preparing for the event. We had no idea what to expect in terms of turnout, so we wanted to be prepared for anything.

The program: The schedule included watching open flying, a “How to get started in RC” booth, a flight simulator, opportunities for hands-on RC flying with instructors, aircraft displays, several demonstration flights, a free lunch, free stuff for kids, and three raffles.

Safety: Volunteers Dave Anderson and Dave Denning teamed up for event safety. They installed a rope barrier to keep spectators a safe distance behind the flight stations. One acted as the safety officer on the spectator side, and the other on the flightline. Additional flightline control and crowd supervision were a step up from our routine, memberfocused events.

Reception: Attendees were greeted by Stan Rylee, who provided the schedule for the day, a brief safety briefing, and an orientation. All kids ages 12 and younger received a free foam airplane, wing, or parachute. Everyone got a meal ticket for lunch, and non-club members got one free raffle ticket. They were also provided with club and AMA membership information.

Members’ displays: Members were encouraged to show off their models at their flight tables and to fly as much as possible. This provided an opportunity for the public to interact with our members and learn more about the sport.

How to get started: A variety of trainer-style aircraft, along with transmitters and other equipment that are required to get started, were displayed. AMA publications and other information on training were provided. We also encouraged attendees to fill out a contact form and to sign up to receive additional information.

Learning to fly: The most popular feature turned out to be the blacked-out tent with three flight simulators. Volunteers Wayne Phillips and 11-year-old club member Collin Tobias were busy throughout the event, signing in participants for the simulators and offering hands-on experience with one of our flight instructors.

Our two main instructors, Dave Agar and John Shirron, introduced more than 12 attendees to buddy-box flight training.

Demonstrations: This was a one-hour, crowd-pleasing show thanks to several skilled pilots. Dave Anderson provided commentary. Dave Denning and I flew two models with drop ramps and dropped parachutes with candy attached to them for the kids. We made them run a bit farther for the candy than we intended, but they all took home a cool parachute and a sucker.

Collin performed aerobatics with his AeroScout. Portland Sky Knights RC Club member Ryan Ball stepped up the action with his RC helicopter and 3D flights.

Dave Denning performed a 120-mph, low-level flyby with his Flex Innovations Piraña. Scott Zumwalt, with his Pave Hawk helicopter, and club president Thomas O’Neal, with his Apache helicopter, did a fun “face-off.” Scott’s heli was equipped with a noise generator that included lifelike gunfire sounds.

The final demonstrations included incredible turbine jet flybys and aerobatics by Thomas Frank Williams.

The CCRCS event was targeted to the public. Various types of entry-level aircraft and other equipment needed to get started in the hobby were displayed.

Overall Results:

• All club member tables were full, with some of the pilots setting up their own flight stations south of the main flightline.
• The estimated total attendance was slightly more than 100, including club members and the public!
• At least 22 attendees got hands-on RC experience, and multiple people used the flight simulators.
• Every kid who attended won something in the free raffle for ages 12 and under.
• We gave away scores of great prizes in the free, non-member raffle and a couple of RTF airplanes during the club-membersonly raffle.

The budget: The total cost of the event was roughly $500, and we had a net profit of $125. The open house was fun, and our hope is that we continue to get club and AMA support for  2023.

This type of community outreach event would be beneficial for any club. We encourage other clubs with facilities surrounded by neighborhoods to consider an open house.

A copy of our planning guide can be obtained by emailing [email protected].

Great write-up, Doug! I look forward to seeing more of these outreach events take place across the country. See you at the flying field! >>