District II
New Jersey, New York, Europe
This month’s report comes from District II Associate Vice President Dennis Andreas.
“August 14, 2021, was a special day for model flying on Long Island, New York. Owing to the hard and persistent work of past and present members, the Lufbery Flyers secured historic status for its field in Seaford, within Nassau County. The Lufbery Flyers club was also celebrating its recent establishment in 2020, culminating from the merger of two existing AMA clubs, the Meroke RC Club and the Nassau Flyers/Long Island Condors.
“In 1973, open areas were starting to being sold off. Our original flying site, Mitchell Field, was divided for the county and commercial developers. There were a number of clubs that used Mitchell Field and a new home was needed. Nassau County granted the use of the south part of Cedar Creek Park in Seaford. The flying site became known as the Cedar Creek Park Aerodrome and modelers were provided with two paved runways!
“Fast forward to approximately 2010, and there was discussion of merging our local RC clubs. There were also numerous attempts to transform or share the area with various commercial business proposals. With the help of the community, we were successful in quelling those attempts. During the same period, two individuals, the late Charlie Landau and Ken Gutwein, started investigating the area’s history after coming across old pictures of small flying fields in the region.
“The history investigation uncovered that Raul Lufbery had flown from a training field located on the very ground from which we now fly. French-born Lufbery was the first American to earn the title of ace in World War I; however, he was flying with French and British airmen
“The next logical step was to gather as much information as possible with the hope of historical status as the goal. This would give special historical significance to our flying site and help protect our little plot within the park.
“Roll the clock forward to 2021, and after 10 years of historic investigation and multiple presentations to Nassau County, Charlie and Ken’s hard work paid off, and historic status was granted.
“It was fitting that on National Model Aviation Day, club members, the general public, the area’s American Legion Post, the local Boy Scout troop, Nassau County executives, and a number of model aircraft gathered at the field, now known as the Lufbery Aerodrome, home to the Lufbery Flyers!”
“Thanks, Dennis. Remember, it’s not about what you fly, it’s about the friends you make!”
