February 2006 181
BURRR! I hope your winter projects are
coming along nicely! I just painted my first
airplane. It is a 1/4-scale Balsa USA EAA
biplane. With much coaching from my
“painter mentors,” I hope it turns out decent
and you’ll get to see it fly this summer!
Last year, my first visit to a District IX event
was the annual Jefco Auction in Colorado.
We hosted a District IX meeting and enjoyed
light refreshments at the auction to recognize
my predecessor, Russ Miller, and present
several other awards.
AMA’s president, Dave Brown, presided
over the award ceremony.
This year we will host another District IX
meeting on Saturday evening, February 3, at
a nearby hotel. We will present a few awards
and have an open question-and-answer
session at which I hope to answer any of your
questions about AMA.
Steve Mangels, our frequency coordinator
and member of Jefco, sent me the following
information about the event. I sincerely hope
you will be able to attend so that I can shake
your hand and give you a cool AMA pin!
“The annual Jefco RC Auction will be
held in Denver, Colorado, on February 3-4,
2006. This yearly event boasts more than
$75,000 worth of RC merchandise going
across the block during the two-day event,
making it one of the largest auctions in the
country.
“Although primarily aircraft related, you
will also see a large selection of helicopters,
cars, and boats. You will find more than a
thousand new and used items including
engines, radios, accessories, and tools.
“From Giant Scale to park flyers, from
RTFs and ARFs to balsa kits, you will never
see a larger variety of hobby items in one
place at one time—until next year!
“For more information, visit
www.JefcoAeromodlers.org or contact me
via E-mail at [email protected] or call (303)
922-8107 days or (303) 987-1944 evenings.”
Steve is not kidding about the huge number
of airplanes up for auction at the Jefco event.
The Fifth Annual Central Wyoming Fly-In:
Craig Bastian sent in the following report
from the great state of Wyoming.
“The Casper Airmodelers’ Fifth Annual
Central Wyoming Fly-In in Casper,
Wyoming, is now history. There were 30
registered pilots with out-of-town fliers
coming from all around the state and one
pilot from South Dakota.
“The most spectacular flying of the
weekend came from a 16-year-old from
Thermopolis, Wyoming, Keith Carothers.
Keith flew several times demonstrating his
talents with many 3-D maneuvers along with
more traditional aerobatics.
“For the weekend there were many prizes
awarded with the first set of drawings on
Saturday for the ladies. On Sunday all the
registered pilots were in the drawing for
numerous prizes that were given away.
CD Shannon Bastian awards a prize at the
Casper Fly-in.
“For those of you who may not know
what it takes to pull off an event of this
nature, I can tell you from behind the scenes,
it is much more work than one can imagine.
The planning actually began in February of
this year with some final preparations still
being finished the night before this all took
place. My hat is off to Wyoming’s first
female CD, my wife Shannon.”
Last spring I received a warm invitation to
attend The International, held in Minot, North
Dakota. At the time, I had no idea as how
quickly my weekends would fill up and was
unable to attend. However, 2006 will be
different! I have already marked my calendar
so I won’t miss the August 26-27 event!
Ron Klusmann sent in the following
report on the fun that I missed!
“Greetings from Minot, North Dakota,
home of the Minot Aircraft Modelers flying
club. On August 27-28, 2005, our club
hosted The International Minot Aircraft
Modeler’s 25th annual fun-fly. We have two
600-foot grass runways and free RV parking
with power for 30 units. Breakfast is
provided Saturday and Sunday mornings
and we offer a Saturday evening meal.
“We hosted a potluck supper Friday
evening for those who arrived early. This
year we had 57 registered pilots: 11 were
from three Canadian provinces and 46
United States’ pilots came from three states.
The weather was pleasant with temperatures
in the 70s and wind 15-20 mph.
“The highlight of the fun-fly was Russ
Gohl’s jet and his Cub seen below.”
Thanks, Ron. I hope many modelers will
be able to join us next summer in Minot!
Russ Gohl’s jet is taking off.
This is Kaeli Coleman, the daughter of Bert
Coleman of Estevan, Saskatchewan, Canada.
The Cub belongs to Russ Gohl of Minot.
That’s it for this month. Until next month,
have fun and keep in touch! Mark.
Associate Vice Presidents
Max Hansen, Huron SD;
[email protected]
H. Michael Harrington, Ft.
Collins CO; wdal@
lamar.colostate.edu
Fred Hildebrand, Casper WY;
[email protected]
Troy Lapp, Mandan ND;
[email protected]
Travis McGinnis, Arvada CO;
[email protected]
Brenda Schuette, Auburn KS;
[email protected]
Jerry Tuttle, Olathe KS;
[email protected]
John Van Brocklin, Hastings
NE; [email protected]
Webmaster: Jim Shaw,
[email protected]
Contest Coordinators:
Mike Tallman, Wichita KS;
[email protected]
Judy Gerken, Denver CO;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator:
Steve Mangles, Denver CO;
[email protected]
D i s t r i c t I X Volunteers
District IX
Mark Smith, District IX Vice President; [email protected]
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Edition: Model Aviation - 2006/02
Page Numbers: 181