Vienna Sky Sharks 65th Anniversary

Vienna Sky Sharks 65th Anniversary by Mark Radcliff As seen in "AMA News: District III" in the April 2019 issue of Model Aviation

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AMA District III Vienna Sky Sharks 65th Anniversary

I begin this month by saying Happy Birthday to a club in West Virginia. The Vienna Sky Sharks M.A.C. was started in Vienna by a community leader named Francis Fluharty. A newspaper clipping, dated 1953, stated, “Interest in aviation among the boys of Vienna is stimulated by the Model Airplane Club sponsored by the Vienna Recreational and Improvement Association which holds its meeting in the Wesley Methodist Church youth center. The boys have constructed planes of all kinds and recently held a contest. Their instructor, Francis Fluharty, has spent a great deal of time working with the boys and would appreciate help from any adults from the city who are interested in model planes.” This was the humble beginnings of a model airplane club, which became the Vienna Sky Sharks. Apparently, there was a lot of interest from Frank’s call for help because the club began to grow rapidly after that first meeting. In the early 1960s, I became a member when my dad began taking me to club meetings and events. The club held a Control Line contest called the WV State C/L Championships which hosted Stunt, Navy Carrier, Goodyear racing, and more. In the mid-1960s, the club’s interest began to be more involved with RC and the club began hosting Pattern, Scale, and fun-fly contests. The Sky Sharks can boast about something few clubs can—they have two world champion competitors as members of the club. If you fly CL Stunt you might recognize the name Steve Wooley. Steve flew on three US CL Stunt teams in world championships in the 1960s. I am the other individual. Growing up, I idolized Steve Wooley who flew model airplanes around the world, and I set my sights on doing the same with RC. With the support of my dad and the Vienna Sky Sharks club, I was on four US RC Aerobatics teams in the 1970s and 1980s. Times have changed and so have the Sky Sharks. The club hosts a fly-in every year and continues to reach out to the local community with displays at libraries, building FPG-9 gliders with Boys and Girls Clubs, and indoor flying and model education demonstrations at the church where it all began in 1953. Thank you to the Vienna Sky Sharks for your contributions to model aviation and the AMA! With the roots planted by the club’s early leaders, I am sure there are many more years to come. Congratulations, Sky Sharks, and here is to another 65 years!