July 2009 147
AT THE RECENT Weak Signals R/C Expo
(Toledo Show), Joe David was presented the
AMA District Service Award. Joe is the only
surviving charter member of the original nine
people who started the Weak Signals. The
other eight were Wes DeLong, Marv
Ellsworth, George Flick, Don Gall, Jim Gall,
Ray Gall, Gary Gordon, and Jim Howlington.
Initially Joe recognized the need for
another RC model club and thus began the
Weak Signals. The first club name was the
Toledo Model Manglers. As a reflection of
the times, Joe picked the name “Weak
Signals” because the radios were not very
reliable. The other members agreed and the
name and club continues.
Joe was the first Weak Signal club
president. His modeling career started when
he was eight years old. His first successful
airplane was a Megow Bipe.
As RC modeling developed, Joe devised a
system that would convert reed tones into
pulses, thereby converting a reed system to a
proportional system, which was a new
breakthrough at the time. Joe was a seasoned
pilot in the early 1960s, winning many
Pattern contests with his advanced full-house
system.
In 1969 Joe moved his family to New
Jersey and remained actively involved in the
hobby. In the middle 1970s Joe moved back
to Ohio and has since lived in the Columbus
metropolitan area. Joe is currently an
honorary member of the Weak Signals.
The Toledo Weak Signals R/C Expo was
originally called the Mid-Winter RC
Convention. The RC Club of Detroit started
the event in 1954. In 1956 the convention
was jointly sponsored at a Detroit locale. In
1957 the Expo was moved to Toledo and was
held in the Trilby Log Cabin.
Joe David and his son, Bill, proudly display the
District III Service Award.
In subsequent years the event was held at
a Toledo Express Airport hangar, the Lucas
County Recreation Center, the Toledo Sports
Arena, and most recently at the SeaGate
Convention Centre.
Joe David has dedicated his life to the
advancement of the RC hobby, being an
integral part of forming several clubs over the
years. His early devotion to the Weak Signals
facilitated the building of the Expo and the
club to its current national status.
A special thank-you is offered to Bill Carper
for his many years of service as the District
III Scale Contest Board Representative. This
year, Jim Rediske is our new Scale Contest
Board representative.
For the past 14 years, Jim has participated
in the Scale National Championships as a
volunteer, judge, or event director. He has
also been an active member of the National
Association of Scale Modelers, the AMA
Special Interest Group (SIG) for Scale, for
the past 10 years. This SIG supports all Scale
modeling, not just RC.
If you have concerns within the Scale
world, Jim can easily be contacted by e-mail
at [email protected]. Please remember that
FF and CL Scale are also governed by this
contest board.
The need for an associate vice president in
the Philadelphia area has been resolved. Ken
Karpinski has returned to the area and still
wants to continue as the local representative.
Gratitude is extended to those who
volunteered to fill the position.
Ken’s contact information is 3850
Woodhaven Road, Apt. 2001, Philadelphia
PA 19154; e-mail [email protected]; and
telephone (267) 474-3575. Ken provided the
following information about a recent event
that he attended:
“The Bucks County RC club held its
annual flea market and swap sale on Friday,
April 17, 2009. There were many good deals
on airplanes of all sizes plus parts and
accessories of every type and price range.
“One of the club’s junior members put on
a display of 3-D indoor flight with a Vapor
airplane and a miniature helicopter. The hot
dogs and donuts at the concession stand were
top notch. A fun time was had by all.”
The Bucks Country RC club’s auction.
The Academy recently recognized two clubs
with specific grants that will better model
aviation. The Willard R/C Fun Flyers in
Willard, Ohio, obtained the District III Take
off And Grow (TAG) stipend for 2009. The
group will utilize the funds to introduce
model aviation to the local community.
Check out the club’s activities at www.
willardrcfunflyers.com.
The second award, the Flying Site
Assistance Grant was given to AMA Gold
Leader Club the Blennerhassett Area RC
Club of Belpre, Ohio. The funds will help
reconstruct the amenities at the field lost in a
recent flood.
More information about this club may be
found on its fine Web site: www.barcc.us/.
District III
Bob Brown, District III Vice President; [email protected]
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Bob Brown
Vice President
35 Sanford St.
Bradford PA 16701
Tel.: (814) 368-7655
www.amadistrictiii.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Randy Adams, Fairfield
OH; (513) 858-3154;
[email protected]
Mike Barbee, Delaware OH;
(740) 362-5545;
[email protected]
Jeff Black, New Oxford PA; (717)
965-5634; [email protected]
Dave Brown, Hamilton OH;
(513) 738-1576; dbrown@
dbproducts.com
David H. Ellis, Cross Lanes WV;
(304) 776-1408;
[email protected]
Nelson Gould, Macungie PA;
(610) 395-9159; [email protected]
Ken Karpinski, Philadelphia PA;
(267) 474-3575;
[email protected]
Dan Luchaco, Sayre PA;
(570) 888-1856;
[email protected]
Jim Martin, Franklin OH;
(937) 260-0143;
[email protected]
Mark Radcliff, Saint Marys WV;
(304) 684-2133;
[email protected]
Leo Rodriguez, New Stanton PA;
(724) 925-0159;
[email protected]
Matthew Turowski, Drums PA;
(570) 788-0661;
[email protected]
Joseph S. Vislay, Monclova OH
(419) 878-8843;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator:
Ron Morgan, Scotland PA;
(717) 264-7425;
[email protected]
District III Volunteers
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Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/07
Page Numbers: 147