January 2008 191
HI FOLKS and Happy New Year!
What exciting times we live in now! As
you have noticed, this issue announces our
new Park Pilot Program, which is AMA’s
response to our declining membership.
The numbers show that we have been
losing members at a rate of 2-3% per year
for several years. We believe this is
attributed to people purchasing and flying
park flyers. Besides cost, the learning curve
for a park flyer pilot to solo is much shorter
and they have not been joining AMA
chartered clubs.
Until now we have not had much—if
any—reason why these park flyer modelers
would want to join our ranks, but that has
changed with the Park Pilot Program. The
success of this program is critical to our
longterm financial well being and I urge you
to support the program.
Please feel free to contact me if you have
questions.
After three years of mentoring me—and
being the person who talked me into running
for this position—my good friend Jerry
Tuttle approached me about resigning as our
associate vice president in Kansas, effective
the first of the year. As you can imagine,
this was met with much resistance from me!
I’m sure many of you who have come in
contact with Jerry will agree that he did an
outstanding job representing our needs. I
want to recognize Jerry for a job well done!
I thought hard about Jerry’s replacement
and had several great candidates, but finally
settled on Mike Tallman. Everyone I spoke
with has great respect for Mike and his
passion for our hobby. He has held several
local and national leadership positions in the
model aviation arena.
Mike resides in the Wichita area in
Kansas, and would be readily accessible to
hundreds of modelers.
I am pleased to inform you that Mike has
accepted this responsibility and I want you
to join me in welcoming him as the newest
addition to our District IX officers. Mike
wrote a brief synopsis so we can get to know
him better.
“I began flying RC 27 years ago after
spending 13 years flying CL, FF, and indoor
modeling competitively. I have been
president, vice president, secretary, and
treasurer of
different clubs in
Wichita, my
place of
residence for 43
years.
“I am
currently a
contest
coordinator and
past Control
Line Contest
Board member. I
am currently a
member of the
Wichita Radio
Control Club
(WRCC), the
Chisholm Trail Club, and the Wichihawks.
“Helping others learn flying skills will
always be fun for me. My area of interest is
in the competition environment and
promoting modeling activities. I have been
married to Vernelle for 32 years and have
one grown daughter and two grandchildren.
“I am looking forward to representing
Kansas modelers.”
The RC Barnstormers held its 2007 Heart
of America Float Fly June 2-3, 2007. I really
hated to miss this great event on beautiful
Lake Miola which is in a city park in Paola,
Kansas, 20 miles south of Kansas City.
More than 300 spectators enjoyed the
event in pleasant spring weather. This flying
site is outstanding, with neatly mown grass
and tall shade trees set back from the edge
of the water, making for comfortable
viewing for the appreciative crowd.
CD Darrell Watts speaks to the press.
One of the North Stars returns after a flight.
The local media helped also, with the
Miami County Republic newspaper running
nice articles before and after the event.
A variety of float planes ranging from
sleek, fast North Stars, which were well
represented, to a Fly Baby replica with a 7-
foot wingspan and 42-inch floats,
entertained everyone all day.
There were other scale replicas including
a detailed Stinson Reliant with a 100-inch
wingspan. Another was a replica of a Fokker
Eindecker with floats representative of that
early period: two short floats up front and a
very small one in place of a tail wheel.
Single-engine and twin-engine electric
models were also represented.
The raffle’s grand prize was awarded
Sunday afternoon. It was a fully assembled,
82-inch wingspan, Ryan STA on floats,
complete with radio and engine and ready to
fly. The winner admitted he wasn’t a float
pilot, but said he intended to learn to be!
The success of this event would not have
been possible without the generous help of
the City of Paola and the many individuals
who contributed time, money, and much
effort to making this a great float-fly. Next
year’s event is already planned for the first
weekend in June. Get something ready and
plan on joining the fun.
Thanks to club president Pat McGhee for
this information.
The Twin Cities Eagle Squadron held a
fun-fly September 8-9 and David J. Karl
reported on the event.
“On Saturday we had perfect weather:
sunny with winds from the south-southeast
at 15 mph. We had 44 registered AMA
pilots and 60 International Miniature
Aircraft Association- (IMAA) legal aircraft.
“Lunch was served to the pilots on
Saturday and Sunday. Those at Saturday’s
lunch consumed 60 hamburgers, 50 hot
dogs, and a very large pot of my famous
baked beans.”
David, it sounds like you guys had a
great time. Maybe next year I can join you
for some of your famous baked beans!
Some of the beautiful airplanes at the Twin
Cities Eagle Squadron fun-fly.
Mark Smith
Vice President
14632 W. 50th St.,
Shawnee KS 66216
Tel.: (913) 568-
4347
For a complete listing of
district officers, please see
the District IX Web site at
www.amadistrict-ix.org.
District IX
Mark Smith, District IX Vice President; [email protected]
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Mike Tallman of Wichita,
Kansas, is the district’s
newest associate vice
president.
District IX
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/01
Page Numbers: 191