AMA News—District III - 2009/01
Mid-Ohio Valley Air Show (Parkersburg, West Virginia) — September 28, 2008
On Sunday, September 28, 2008, a full-scale air show was held at the Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Airport in Parkersburg, West Virginia. The air show is held every other year and three area R/C clubs were invited to participate.
Participating clubs:
- Blennerhassett Area R/C Club (BARC) of Belpre, Ohio
- Vienna Sky Sharks of Vienna, West Virginia
- Flying Wing Nutz of St. Marys, West Virginia
Crowd estimates exceeded 23,000. All three clubs provided static displays and flying demonstrations and were constantly busy displaying models and answering questions. Each club was allotted a 20-minute flying period. Mark Radcliff provided a flying demonstration with his 46%‑scale Ultimate. Three helicopter pilots—Larry Smith, Paul Futey, and Jamie Edwards—also demonstrated their chopper-flying talents.
A full-scale air show is a great way to reach large audiences and educate them about model aviation. With three area clubs participating, the event also fostered teamwork among clubs to better promote the hobby. All three clubs are already planning for the next air show in 2010.
Keystone Indoor Electric Fly (KIEF) — Williamsport, Pennsylvania — October 18–19, 2008
After months of planning, the Keystone Indoor Electric Fly (KIEF), hosted by the Muncy Indoor Flyers, took place October 18–19, 2008, at the Generations Sports Complex (GSC) dome outside Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Feedback from pilots, vendors, and sponsors was overwhelmingly positive.
Tons of flying took place from Saturday through Sunday evening. The GSC dome provided the perfect setup with plenty of room for all types of flying. Special events, vendor space, pilot pits, and three separate flying zones were all under one very large roof.
There were airplanes of every imaginable type at the event, from 3‑inch‑span micros to 60‑inch standoff scale military transports. Pilots flew frequently and also participated in numerous special events. The organizers rarely needed to shut down other flying areas for these events.
Special events and activities included:
- Micro scale
- F3P Pattern
- Micro helicopters
- Vendor demonstrations
- Obstacle course flying
- Night flying
- Jet sessions
- Demonstration flights
- Seminars
- Time-and-glide
- 3‑D flying
- Sport flying among friends
Friends flying with friends—and making new friends—were a big part of the Keystone event. The farthest-traveled award went to Ken Spencer, who drove more than 20 hours and 1,112 miles from Missouri and brought several friends. Amazing!
One of the highlights was the involvement and success of youth in the hobby. Brothers Peter and Stephen Sripol of Dayton, Ohio (ages 16 and 13) demonstrated remarkable flying skills and also design, engineer, and build impressive indoor multiengine and scale models. Peter won the Most Unique Performance award with his 10‑ducted‑fan military transport.
For other award winners, photos, videos, sponsors, and vendors, please see the club’s website: www.keystoneindoor.com
Charitable donation
During the awards ceremony, Muncy Indoor Flyers vice president Ron Angle presented GSC dome director Dan Johnson with a check for the River Valley Regional YMCA. The donation will be used to kick off the Strong Kids Campaign, a project to support youth membership in YMCA youth sports programs throughout the year. Plans are underway to increase Muncy Indoor Flyers’ participation in this worthy endeavor for 2009.
Thanks and plans for 2009
The Muncy Indoor Flyers thank all pilots, vendors, sponsors, and volunteers who made the first Keystone Indoor Electric Fly a huge success. Special thanks to District III Vice President Bob Brown and AMA President Dave Mathewson and their wives for their support and attendance; both gentlemen flew at the event.
At the time of this writing, contracts have already been signed for KIEF 2009. With the overwhelming success of the first event, club president Tony Minnella and Dan Johnson quickly secured plans for next year. KIEF 2009 will be expanded to three days and will take place Friday, October 16 through Sunday, October 18, 2009.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
