by Joe Di Prima and Charlie Meyer
Photos by Joe Di Prima
Drawings by John DeSena
Meroke RC Club (an AMA Gold Leader Club), with
125 members, flies at Cedar Creek Aerodrome, which is a Nassau County
park in Wantaugh, New York, on Long Island. More than 500 permits to fly
are issued each year. The Aerodrome is a busy flying site that has been
in use since the mid-1970s.
Because of budget constraints, Nassau County has not been able to
provide many amenities. We had a few old, broken-down picnic tables to
rest our airplanes on, so last year club member Charlie Meyer and his
brother Bob Meyer decided to form the volunteer group “Friends of Cedar
Creek Aerodrome” to make some improvements at the field. The team
consists of club members and nonmembers. One of their major concerns is
safety at the field.
This is a great club project and can involve several members, which fosters teamwork and camaraderie.
The team has been working with Nassau County Legislator David Denenberg to get materials and make some changes. We needed benches to hold our airplanes rather than use the few cumbersome picnic tables provided by the county.
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Logical thinking by the members of the Meroke RC Club resulted in the production of this safety-bench design. It looks as though they thought of everything! Click on the pictures for a larger view. |
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Charlie Meyer demonstrates the use of the bench while adjusting the needle valve from behind the propeller. There’s no need to lean over to pick up the model! |
After collecting donations from the fliers, Charlie
designed and built a prototype bench. It was given immediate approval by
all who used it. We decided to build five more benches using leftover
wood from a member who had built a deck. But since we have two runways,
six benches were not enough; we needed more.
Being the busy guy that he is, Charlie asked me to coordinate the next
building project. I asked the Meroke RC Club’s board of directors to
allocate $150 to build five more benches. After getting the money, I was
ready to purchase the lumber.
Fred Abeles, our club treasurer, suggested that I try to get a discount
at the local lumber supplier. I wrote to the company, and instead of a
discount we got a donation of enough lumber to build the five benches. I
immediately wrote to four other suppliers in the area; we got lucky and
received more lumber donations—enough to build five more benches.
The new benches at the field are always grabbed first. The guys love
them. They are a convenient and safe design, are easy to build, and are
inexpensive enough, even if you have to pay for all the supplies.
This is a great club project and can involve several members, which
fosters teamwork and camaraderie.
