I ATTENDED my first Executive Council
meeting at AMA Headquarters in Muncie,
Indiana. While there, I met with AMA’s new
Executive Director, Don Koranda. I was very
impressed with this man! He has a
tremendous background in the operations of
an association such as AMA.
I hope you read his article in the back of
the February issue of MA. If not, go and
check it out! Don brings many new ideas and
a great vision to AMA. I am thrilled to be
working with him to improve AMA services
to each member and grow our numbers. Don
is working on many changes and goals for
each department of AMA. It will be an
exciting ride!
Along with Don, I met with the other two
new EC members: Andy Argenio and Mark
Smith. They have great ideas and a desire to
work for AMA. I came away with a feeling
that AMA has a bright future ahead indeed!
I am naming new AVPs for our district and I
have several slots yet to fill. I hope to have
them all filled by the time you read this, but if
you are interested in serving as an AVP or
know someone who might be interested,
please contact me via E-mail at tony@
amadistrict-v.org.
I was able to attend the annual Pensacola
Aerotow 2005 held at Coastal Airport
February 4-6. Each year Tony Fiorentino
hosts this event.
The Pensacola Aerotow is a unique event
in that these are Scale airplanes towed to
soaring altitude by giant-scale “tugs.” Several
models are 1/2-scale with a 20-foot-plus
wingspan, and the weigh as much as 50
pounds. It is amazing to see these models
climb out at a 30° angle in the tow.
Our host, Tony Fiorentino, flew his 40%
Swift S-1.
The event had several pilots from a
number of places. Howard Keller came down
and flew his nice KAA Sailplane. Stan Troxel
made it in from California and flew one of
Tony’s giant Grob 103s. I even met David
Hobie from Australia who just won the F3J
Hand Tow World Championships. He came
try his hand as well.
Steve Rojecki and Asher Carmichael
shared “tug” duty during the week to keep
airplanes in the air. Asher and Rusty Rood
are two of the reliable club members who
help to run this event each year. Rusty flew
his 40% ASW 15 with a 19-foot wingspan.
It was a relaxing event and the spectators
snapped many pictures of giant airplanes.
Jeff Meyer gets ready to tow the Duo
Discus.
Howard Keller shows off his bright yellow
KAA Sailplane.
Steve Rojecki and Asher Carmichael enjoy
a flight.
Rusty Rood flew his 40% ASW 15.
Stan Troxel from California flew Tony
Fiorentino’s Grob 103.
Until next time ...
District V Report
Alabama / Florida / Georgia /
Mississippi / Puerto Rico /
South Carolina / Tennessee /
U.S. Virgin Islands
Tony Stillman
Vice President
3702 N. Pace Blvd.
Pensacola FL 32505; Tel.:
(850) 324-5832; E-mail:
[email protected];
District V Web site: amadistrict-v.org
Associate Vice Presidents
Alabama
Florida
Rod Gier, 6082 Ajax Ct., Cocoa FL 32927; Tel.:
(321) 636-2148; [email protected]
Gene Martine, 1422 Ingleside Ave., Jacksonville
FL 32205; [email protected]
Jim Saiff, 2727 W. Fletcher Ave. Apt. 25-C,
Tampa FL 33618; Tel.: (813)-969-4262;
[email protected]
Jose Soto, 1930 Deanna Dr., Apopka FL 32703;
[email protected]
Wallace J. Zober, 2273 Bent Oak Dr., Apopka
FL 32712; Tel.: (407) 929-7397; [email protected]
Georgia
Bob Dixon, 1351 Tristram Cir., Macon GA
31220; [email protected]
Nick Wright, 334 Indian Creek Subdivision Rd.,
Moultrie GA 31788; [email protected]
Freddie L. McClellan, 706 Smithstone Ct.,
Marietta GA 30067; Tel.: (770) 402-6570; theplumber@
mindspring.com
Mississippi
Paul Verger, 146210Porteaux Bay Dr., Biloxi MS
39532; [email protected]
Puerto Rico
Richard Prann, Baldrich 553, Abolicion St., San
Juan PR 00918; Day (800) 424-1322; Cell (787)
643-0373; [email protected]
South Carolina
Jim Fender, 225 Church Rd., Batesburg SC
29006;Cell: (803) 414-2591; james.fender@
us.army.mil
Tennessee
Charles R. Anderson, 8645 Belleau Woods Dr.,
Chattanooga TN 37421; (423) 227-6725;
[email protected]
Owen Maupin, Box 2038 Sunny Ln., Collegedale
TN 37315; [email protected]
Billy Miller, Box 573, Blountville TN 37617; Tel.:
(423) 677-9230; [email protected]
Dick Tonan, 639 Knollwood Dr., La Vergne TN
37086; [email protected]
Safety Coordinator
Red Schofield, 12219 NW 9th Lane, Newberry
FL 32669-2726; Tel.: (352) 331-8410;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator:
Nick Wright, (229) 324-7674;
[email protected]
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/04
Page Numbers: 176