To all of you dads out there, Happy Father’s Day!
The following is from the Tri-State Model Flyers (TSMF) in Cannonsburg, Kentucky.
The TSMF club recently hosted its annual show at the Ashland Town Center Mall in Ashland, Kentucky. RC airplanes (24), helicopters (6), drones (1), and cars (2) were on display in front of J.C. Penney. Young and old mall patrons talked with members, asked questions, and flew flight simulators.
Club members always enjoy sharing their hobby, especially with young people who have great hand-eye coordination.
This was submitted by Don Gilkison of the RC Sport Fliers in Kansas City, Missouri.
One day in late November, I was at the field flying when a van that I didn’t recognize pulled up in the parking lot. I continued putting my airplane together as a young man rolled up in a wheelchair with an airplane and transmitter precariously balanced on his lap. He set his airplane and radio on the flying stand and returned to his van to retrieve his flight box.
Upon his return, we introduced ourselves. His name is Brian Mitchell. Brian had assembled his airplane at home and all that was required to ready it for flight was to put a battery in, range check it, test the controls, and take it to the flight-line. I watched as he balanced his model on his lap and headed for the flight-line through the gravel. This was challenging although it was downhill, and then onto the wet grass where the wheels immediately sank into the damp ground.
It was at this point that I realized he was going to have to make the return trip to get his radio when I asked if I could bring it to him. Brian simply said, “Sure.” We started talking and he mentioned that he had been flying for several years but was still learning. Upon landing and taxiing the plane back to us, I asked if I could get the airplane and he said that would make things a lot easier.
I carried the airplane and radio as Brian traveled back up the slope through the wet grass onto the gravel and back to the stand. As I got to know Brian and saw the challenges confronting a person in a wheelchair, it occurred to me that we needed to change some things at the field to make it easier for people with restricted mobility to get around.
I checked a government website and found the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) that details what is required for public spaces to be ADA compliant. Because our flying field is located on Jackson County Parks and Recreation land and owned by the Army Corp of Engineers, I thought it would be difficult or impossible to make changes to the field to make it ADA compliant.
I contacted Jim Adams, the president of the RC Sport Fliers, and presented the question to him. Jim has a good working relationship with John Johnson, the superintendent of Jackson County Parks and Recreation. Jim explained what we were trying to do to make the field accessible to wheelchairs. John said he would look into it and in just five days, he assembled the key players from the Parks Department, Army Corps of Engineers, and a concrete contractor, then we had a meeting with Brian at the air field to discuss the design concepts. What followed was nothing short of amazing. Within eight weeks, while battling freezing temperatures, snow, and rain, the project was complete.
To the best of my knowledge, the RC Sport Fliers, is the first ADA, AMA flying field in the US. I hope other clubs will follow and make flying fields accessible to all people.
If you enjoyed this month’s submissions and would like to see an event from your own club here, email me a short write-up with the word “magazine” in the subject line and attach a few high-quality digital pictures! Also, please take the time to introduce someone to model aviation!
Gary Himes
Vice President District VI