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Click here for Show Dates, Road Map, and Summary Information!
Click here for the Exhibitor listing!
Click here for the Seminar & Meeting listing!
Click here for Howard McEntee Memorial Award Winners
Click here for Advanced Group Ticket Sales
One of the country's largest hobby trade shows, and the biggest on the East Coast, is the annual R/C show held by the Westchester Radio Modelers in White Plains, N.Y
Occupying all three floors of the
In addition to exhibits by some 150 or more manufacturers and organizations, the show is a magnet for modelers who compete for prizes in a static competition that is staggering for its size and the beauty of the models on display.
The show is normally held on the last full weekend of February each year.
Public admissions now include all three days, Friday through Sunday, and the
show opens daily at
Modelers (and exhibitors) from all over the country attend the show, and it is a showcase for all the latest in kits, engines, motors, radio systems, plans, accessories, and other hardware.
To give you an idea of the range of models present at the show, here are the categories of models that compete for prizes:
All models must be operable and radio-controlled. To give you an idea of incentives -- beyond the glory of competing -- here are the prize awards:
( Note: Junior Class models must be complete with engine and radio installed, but airplanes do not require covering.)
Those wishing to obtain pre-registration forms for entering the Static Competition can send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:
Dan Carozza
44 Mansion Ave
Another big attraction of the show is the Swap Shop, to which modelers bring their spare equipment and offer it for sale. Hundreds of items change hands. Pre-registration forms can be obtained from:
John Isbister
4
Advance Group Sales are also offered for groups of ten or more who want to avoid ticket lines for the show. Prices are $12.00 per adult, and $3 for children any day. Children under age 6 are admitted free.A check or money order, with a stamped, self-addressed envelope should be sent to:
Robert Krull
154
Seminars for beginners and advanced modelers were introduced at the show in
1996 and proved enormously popular. One earlier program, which continues, is a
free building program for boys and girls, aged 8-12, in which a rubber-powered WRAM
Flyer (the great Delta Dart design by Frank Ehling) is provided for
completion by each participant. Capacity is limited to earliest arrivals at
sessions held at
One of the latter program's instructors, Tony Tartaglia, offers insights after some 15 years of experience with it:
Kids have a sustained interest in even the simplest of planes like the WRAM Flyer. You must view this as both a building and flying project. In our experience the controlled flying competition that takes place after the building is done carries more impact than the actual building.
Anyone familiar with the little rubber-powered plane knows its wonderful simplicity of design and construction. Little needs to be added to the list of instructions for any adult who wishes to help a child with it or to encourage other adults to get their kids involved. Before the program begins, we encourage parents or older friends to join in with the kids. Often the adult who is unfamiliar with modeling becomes hooked by this shared experience, if only to find a new door of contact with the child. Make it clear to the participants what the Flyer model can do once it is built, and that the child will see his or her completed model really fly.
Once building begins, the kids complete construction of the wing, rudder, and stab. The construction simply involves gluing down the sticks right onto the plan, which then becomes the covering of the airplane. To speed up the building process in the limited time we have at the show, the components are finally assembled by an experienced project leader.
The final assembly consists of joining the motor stick to the wing and stab. We used glue guns earlier, but now use CA adhesive with an accelerant to fill in the gaps that sometimes come of youthful exuberance. When there is plenty of drying time, any white glue will do the job and a child can use it with a little help to assure that joints are properly filled
Once the Flyer models are done, the flying phase begins. This is the most satisfying stage of the project for instructors as well as students. The competition is simple. dollar bills are hung from the ceiling roughly six to eight feet apart. Each youngster gets to fly his model, one at a time, and trims his plane with the goal of hitting the dollar or the string attached to it. Of course, he keeps the prize if he hits it! The planes are trimmed with a small amount of clay in the nose to keep them from climbing. After each flight, the instructors discuss each plane's performance, suggesting any improvements possible in balance or launching techniques. Each participant then gets to fly again.
The fly-off has proven to be the most eagerly awaited part of the project. This is evidence of the interest and enthusiasm kids have to see the planes perform well. Without doubt the project would not be nearly as successful without the attention given to each kid, his or her plane, and its flight.
(Click below to see another, more advanced model.- The WRAMPAGER)
After the project of building and flying the WRAM Flyer, what's next? That depends on the age of the modeler and his or her contact with adults, parents, or teachers interested in model aviation. Over time, the most significant contribution to these kids' interest in models has been the satisfaction of watching their simple planes fly. With no regard for the experience of their builders, these planes give kids a taste of the thrill of model flying.
Click here for details and free plans for the WRAMPAGER, another plane you can build.
For those interested in model kits of the kind described, we have them
available and imprinted with the colorful Hat
in the Ring logo at $2 each, plus shipping. (Local hobby shops may have
similar kits under the name Delta Dart). Tony Tartaglia's address is
This award, presented annually by the WRAMs at the
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