District I

Edition: Model Aviation - 2024/11
Page Numbers: 113

District I

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont

The White Hills Eagles RC Club (WHERCC) was incorporated 18 years ago on the Sam Stern Farm in Shelton, Connecticut. It has since been awarded AMA Gold Leader Club status for multiple years by meeting all of AMA’s performance goals and electives. New members are welcome, and nearly all types of aircraft and flying (except for turbine-powered aircraft) are permitted.

The club conducts yearly events, including Boy and Girl Scout fly-ins, STEM outreach, cookouts, member meetings, and RC flight training. Ken Tatsuno and Associate Vice President (AVP) Andrew Figlar submitted this event column.

On the morning of June 12, four of the WHERCC members once again brought model aviation to the Engineering and Science University Magnet School (ESUMS) in West Haven, Connecticut (https://esumsnh.net). The school is a public college preparatory middle and high school that prepares students for demanding STEM programs at the collegiate level.

The WHERCC event was a “show and tell” to introduce the students to various model aircraft, including balsa Free Flight rubber- and capacitor-discharge-powered airplanes, RC aerobatic, electric-powered foam aircraft, and a model helicopter, all flown in the school’s gym. A 78-inch Blackhorse Viper jet was taxied on the floor. The members talked to the students about each of the aircraft, their construction, power, and radio control systems.

This fun, educational demonstration for more than 200 students from the middle school’s sixth, seventh, and eighth grades was consistent with the school’s mission to imagine and investigate complementary project-based technical hobbies, such as aeromodeling, that might one day lead these STEM students into fields in aviation.

Special thanks to club members Ken, Sam Brauer, Mike Maillet, Wayne Andrew, and Robert Pinsker from ESUMS.

Thanks, Ken and Andrew, for this STEM report, and WHERCC members for conducting this educational outreach event! AMA clubs doing STEM events should visit https://amadistrict-i.org/Outreach-Toolkits or contact District I Vice President Andy Argenio.