SCRC Club Activities

SCRC holds several annual events where the Club members participate as a group. These activities are, in general, designed to encourage and spread the model airplane hobby. We believe that this hobby provides a clean outlet for our youth where they can become involved in several constructive activities. The hobby uses construction skills as well as flying skills. It further involves each person several technical areas of mechanics, electronics, and aerodynamics. The activities and their specific purposes are described below.

January First Fly In

• SCRC has established a flying event for January 1st of each year. The purpose of this event is to start the new year with a challenge to fly at the Club field regardless of the weather and field conditions such as snow or ice.

Plans for January 1st, 1998 include incentives such as coffee and hot chocolate along with hot dogs and hamburgers. They are intended to entice as many hardy souls as possible to come out and fly or at least joint in the comraderie.

George Gurney has a personal goal of being the first to fly in the new year at the SCRC field. He has succeeded in this venture for January 1st,1995, 1996, and 1997.

Stop by the Club field on January 1st and see just how many hardy souls brave the elements to challenge George for the first flight of the New Year.

Delta Dart Model Building Class

Delta Dart Contest

• Each year for more than 30 years, SCRC had hosted an indoor rubber powered model airplane contest for young adults ranging in age from 5 to 16 . The contest was co-hosted with the Centre Region Parks and Recreation Department and the Optimists club of State College.  The contest has not been held since 1998 due to the lack of availability of a suitable indoor facility that the club could afford.

• Contest Description:

The contest is structured to encourage young adults ranging in age from 5 to 16 to build and fly a simple rubber band powered balsa wood model airplane. The contest pits the contestants, in different age groups, to see who can obtain the longest flight time in their age group. Awards of trophies and model airplane kits are given for each age group and a CO/2 model airplane engine is awarded to the contestant with the longest flight of the day. The longest flight of the day for the past few years has exceeded 30 seconds.

The contest is held in the March time. The contest date being determined each year by the availability of the indoor facilities at Penn State. The model kits used for the contest are available at either of the Nittany Line hobby shop stores or the Center Region Parks and Recreation office several weeks before the contest. The week prior to the contest, SCRC club members sell the Delta Dart kits at a display in the Nittany Mall. In addition to the kits, the members offer advice on building and flying the Delta Dart models. A number of the member's radio control models are also on display at this time.

The contest site is set up with two flying areas, the official contest area and an area for test flying and trimming the models. SCRC members are on hand to help newcomers trim their models. The most important activity at the contest is the repair station. Club members provide full repair service so that models damaged while at the contest can be repaired and flying in a very short time.

The Club has since placed more emphasis on a Delta Dart model building class with several of the State College Area Elementary schools.

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Last Updated 2/20/1999