Las Vegas Soaring Club hosts Introduction to Model Aviation Day for youngsters

18 youngsters and many parents from the Olive Tree Homeschool group attended and completed an "Introduction to Model Aviation" and "The Basics of Flight" class at the LVSC field on Friday, November 4, 2016. Club members Robert Slauson and Barry Mattison conducted the class that included a project plane build and competition, classroom style discussion with practical demonstrations, and ended with hot dogs and several demo flights by Robert (more pictures.) This was a very intelligent group of youngsters that not only knew some of the terminology and principles of flight, but were able to apply them in a real setting using model airplanes to demonstrate.

By the end of the program the kids were able to talk about Yaw, Pitch and Roll along with Lift, Weight, Drag and Thrust and gained an elementary knowledge of wing chord and what creates lift. A practical demonstration was used by drawing the exaggerated shape of a wing chord in the dirt. The kids divided into 2 groups and each group was tasked to follow the 2 lines. Of course the first time the "straight line" kids made it first. The 2nd time, instructed to walk faster than the other group, all kids made it to the finish point at the same time. Noticing that they had to go faster and were more split apart than the other group, they concluded that the air was less dense on the top of the wing, thereby creating lift (simply put.) Each youngster was presented with a small glider to take home along with a certificate of achievement. The foam plane cutouts provided by Alcoa and the AMA were a smashing hit with the kids. These kits are a perfect way to demonstrate the principles of flight. They go together easily by kids of all ages, they can be manipulated by the various control surfaces built in, and best of all...they fly a long way! Some of these were going over 50ft! The Las Vegas Soaring Club is proud to be a part of the community and is available for classes like this in the hopes of educating the public regarding the safe and proper use of model aircraft as well as exciting a new generation about model aviation. The AMA has great resources to assist teachers and groups interested in model aviation and supplied some of the materials at no cost for this event. Barry has over 50 years of model aviation building and flying and enjoys helping others learn about the hobby. He is an AMA Leader Member, current club Secretary and incoming LVSC President (2017), an AMA Introductory Pilot Instructor and also started and manages the LVSC Bob Pickens Junior Pilot Program. For more information please contact Barry at: [email protected]