District IV
Bliss Teague, District IV Vice President; [email protected]
- Delaware
- District of Columbia
- Maryland
- North Carolina
- Virginia
West Hickory Aero Modelers — Warbirds Over Wilson Field
The West Hickory Aero Modelers held its fifth annual Warbirds Over Wilson Field in Hickory, North Carolina, on June 2, 2007. The event was CDed (Contest Director) by Mearle Hickman. Approximately 30 pilots attended with a variety of World War I and II airplanes and even a turbine. The weather was great and the food was served by the Drowning Creek Fire Department. The usual 50-50 drawing increased the club’s coffers and the winner’s pocket.
The turbine demonstration was conducted by Greg Hames with his brother David assisting. To the best of my knowledge, this was the first turbine to be flown at Wilson Field. The aircraft was an F-16 Falcon.
Roanoke Valley Radio Control Club — Paul Offermann Memorial Fly-In
Hank Ebert submitted the following report on the Roanoke Valley Radio Control Club’s (RVRC) June fly-in.
A bright red fire truck with siren blaring was approaching the Roanoke Valley Radio Control Club’s flying field in Salem, Virginia. Was there an emergency? No — it was shuttling spectators from the parking area to our site.
David Reynolds, the event coordinator, borrowed the 1941 truck from a friend. It was a great touch to the event and children of all ages really enjoyed the ride.
The RVRC hosted the Paul Offermann Memorial Fly-In June 9–10. Offermann, an excellent builder of models who was instrumental in enclosing the RVRC clubhouse for year-round use, passed away in September 2006.
Twenty-eight pilots, some from as far away as Canton, Ohio, came to honor Offermann and delight the crowd of spectators—estimated at roughly 350 during the weekend event. At noon on Saturday flying was halted, airplanes were lined up on the runway, and the spectators were invited out for a close-up view and to talk to the pilots.
Miles Reed, in his usual masterful form, delighted the crowd and received an ovation from onlookers and experienced pilots alike. Lou Carpio from Wytheville had perhaps the largest aircraft of the weekend with a 125-inch span on his 40% Extra 330L, and thrilled the crowd with his aerobatics. Also entertaining were two father-and-son teams: David and Allen Reynolds and Randy and Chris Elliot.
Boy Scout Troop 39 raised funds by setting up a concession stand. Crossroads Hobby donated door prizes and set up a computer with the latest version of RealFlight for the public to try its hand at RC. Local television station WDBJ-7 aired three feature segments on Friday morning preceding the fly-in. The television exposure was instrumental in bringing out the large number of viewers to the event.
Go take a kid flying!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
