AMA News District II - 2009/06
Report from Ernie Nickodem
Ernie Nickodem, District II associate vice president from Lockport, New York, attended several of his club’s events this past year and sent the following report.
On August 16–17, 2008, the Great Electric Fun Fly took place in Rochester, New York, with 28 pilots, many aircraft, and a lot of spectators. Greg Covey brought an enclosed trailer loaded with electrics. Electrics have become mainstream in our district.
September 19–21, 2008, saw the Great Grape Gathering in Geneseo, New York, for FF enthusiasts. There were 35 contestants—a third of them from Canada—attending. One of the Canadians was Richard Barlow, president of the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (MAAC).
This is a terrific event for fun flying, including an afternoon social where attendees wore hats with a Great Grape Gathering theme.
Model Aviation Hall of Fame Induction
The AMA booth at the Westchester Radio AeroModelers (WRAM) show in February of this year was the venue for the induction of the late Donald McGovern into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame. Jim O’Brien was the sponsor of the prestigious award. McGovern was well known for being editor of Flying Models magazine from 1953 to 1979, as well as a model designer and competitor. Dave Mathewson, AMA’s president, presented the award to McGovern’s daughter, Donna McGrann, while her family looked on.
District II Fun Fly (July 17–19)
The District II Fun Fly will be held in western New York for the first time, hosted by the Southern Tier Aero Radio Society (STARS) at the Olean/Cattaraugus Municipal Airport.
Key details:
- Dates: July 18–19 (July 17 reserved for flying small electrics)
- Location: Olean/Cattaraugus Municipal Airport
- Runway: 2,500-foot manicured grass runway
- Camping: Weekend camping available for $10; no hookups
- Amenities: Free lunch for registered pilots on Saturday
- Special events: Airport’s 50th anniversary with a full-scale static display (including warbirds) and hundreds of spectators
- Schedule highlight: Saturday afternoon (noon–2 p.m.) will feature flight demos and fun-fly events
This should be a great weekend and I hope you can make it.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
