AMA News: District IV - 2013/03
The Chesapeake Bay Radio Control Club held a fun-fly on May 19, 2012. Events included Slalom, Looper, ETA, Fast N Slow, Spot Landing, and Soda Can of Aviation. Attendance by pilots, volunteer workers, and spectators was the highest in many years.
Events at the Fun-Fly
- Slalom: Taxiing proved more difficult than contestants expected. All pilots did a good job keeping their wheels on the ground, but the balloons took a beating.
- Looper: Contestants tried to achieve the highest number of loops in 60 seconds. Keeping the wings level and maintaining a straight track through successive loops proved challenging.
- ETA: This event tested multitasking. Pilots flew while mentally tracking elapsed time to land as close to a predetermined time as possible. Surprisingly, three of the nine pilots were less than 10 seconds from their allotted times.
- Fast N Slow: Competitors flew at the verge of stall speed. Nick Anderson performed multiple stall-recovery techniques during the slow phase of his flight, achieving the greatest time differential between his fast and slow flights while flying a dorsally mounted EDF foamie.
- Spot Landing: The top three scores were achieved by foamie airplanes. A strong, variable breeze made landings challenging even for heavier airplanes.
- Soda Can of Aviation: Pilots touched a target with a tethered hollow can for score. The event was both thrilling and challenging. All airplanes, including electric-powered foamies, handled the extra drag with minimal effects despite the wind. Congratulations to Jeff Cislo and Steve White for their bull's-eye hits.
Club Information
The Chesapeake Bay RC Club is a 103-member Silver Level Leader Club located in Crownsville, Maryland.
Annual Open House (June 9, 2012)
The club conducted its annual open house on June 9, 2012, to introduce RC flying to the local community. Guests began to arrive at 10 a.m. Donna Sprague directed youngsters and parents who wanted to experience RC flying to Arnold Heckman’s tent. Heckman familiarized them with the buddy-box operation and had an aircraft powered up so everyone could see the flight controls respond to stick movement. Donna then brought each fledgling flier to one of three instructors: Roger Edwards, Steve Barnett, and Bill Setzler.
Assisting the instructors were Butch Fifer, Rick Crow, Don Caputo, and Steve White. Each hour was allotted time for demonstration flights so the instructor teams could find shade and refreshments during the more than 85° heat. Susan Edwards coordinated the volunteers who staffed the raffle sales tables and grill, and she served as greeter.
Zack Bury and his father, Wayne, from the Southwest Area Park Modelers club of Baltimore, joined again to present helicopter and fixed-wing aerobatic demonstrations. Will Setzler, Rick Crow, Brian Dean, and Billy Graham also flew demonstrations. Butch Fifer and Dave Gould flew a short Combat flight until Gould spun in behind enemy lines.
Representatives from the Maryland Park Service and Natural Resources Police, who supervise the property the club leases from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, stopped by and joined the buddy-box flying. A cookout continued throughout the day.
Two airplanes were raffled: a Tower Hobbies RTF trainer and an E-flite electric Beechcraft Staggerwing 480 ARF donated by GPA Hobbies of Crofton, Maryland. Steve White donated an E-flite 480 brushless motor and ESC. Bert Lewis won both aircraft in separate drawings.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to everyone who supported me in the AMA Executive Council elections. Here’s to another great year in District IV!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
