AMA News: District IV-2012/11

Joseph Franco, Educational Engineer of
Technology and Engineering Education
at West Potomac High School in
Alexandria, Virginia, provided a report
about a fun-fly his school held.
On Saturday, February 18, West
Potomac High School hosted another
fun-fly event.
The fun-fly is open to RC and FF
fliers. The events are typically held in
November and February. The fun-flys
are hosted and run by West Potomac
High School engineering students. The
event runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Fliers are charged $5 for the day
and spectators are free. Concessions
are available, as well as T-shirts, mugs,
prizes, and other fun-fly items. All
proceeds go to the Technology and
Engineering Department at the high
school.
The students enjoy hosting and
running these events, as well as learning
from seasoned modelers. In attendance
were community members and various
clubs such as, the DC Maxecuters,
the Northern Virginia Radio Control
Club, the Prince William County
RC Flyers Club, the Fauquier Aero
Recreation Modelers (FARM), the
District of Columbia Radio Control
Club (DCRC), and many others. Prizes
were donated by the Chantilly Hobby
Hangar.
The students look forward to hosting
our newest event, RC Mania. This
event will take place at West Potomac
High School on June 3. It will be an
all-encompassing outdoor RC Expotype
event involving RC cars, trucks,
airplanes, helicopters, boats, CL and FF
models, and any other hobbies vendors/
attendees are willing to bring. We are
hoping for the modeling communities’
support with this event through
sponsors, vendors, clubs, spectators,
demos, etc.
To be on the mailing list, or for more
information, contact [email protected].
Don Bourdon submitted a report about
a thermal competition held at the
Hunting Creek RC (HCRC) club’s field.
The raw, windy April weather did
not dampen the Sig Riser 2M Fun-Fly
and Thermal Duration Event, hosted
by the Caldwell Aeromodelers and the
Hunting Creek RC Club. Nine gliderguiders
braved the elements and flew
almost continuously during the threehour
event window.
Thermals were not to be had,
unfortunately, and up-and-down-flights
were the norm. Vic Welland managed a
pair of three-minute flights, the longest
of the day, and took home the Thermal
Duration (TD) honors along with the
Golden Glider trophy. Others logged
mostly one- and two-minute glides.
The most popular spots on the field
were the burn barrel and the coffee pot,
which provided welcome warmth for
both pilots and spectators.
A special thank-you goes to Cheryl
and JR Liverman for providing the best
hot dog lunch around a burn barrel
anyone could remember. Also, CAM
and HCRC would like to thank Sig
Manufacturing, RC FlightDeck, and RC
Reports, which supplied promotional
materials for the event. Despite the
adverse weather conditions, everyone
had a good time and stated that they
looked forward to the next TD event.
Lastly, I need to make a correction. In
my October column, I reported on an
event held by the Catawba Valley R/
Cer’s. The author was named as Mary
Catherine Carpenter, but her name is
Mary Catherine Thornburg. I am sorry
for the confusion.
Be sure to vote!
The Riser pilots.
Lee Parker and Andy Suits prepare to launch.
Pilots stay warm around the burn barrel.