District IX
Mark Smith, District IX Vice President; [email protected]
- Colorado
- Kansas
- Nebraska
- North Dakota
- South Dakota
- Wyoming
Hi folks and Happy New Year!
Park Pilot Program
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 we have been losing members at a rate of 2–3% per year for several years. We believe this is largely due to people purchasing and flying park flyers. Besides cost, the learning curve for a park flyer pilot to solo is much shorter and many have not been joining AMA-chartered clubs.
Until now we have not had much reason for these park flyer modelers to join our ranks, but that has changed with the Park Pilot Program. The success of this program is critical to our long-term financial well-being and I urge you to support it. Please feel free to contact me if you have questions.
Kansas associate vice president change
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. Please 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.
Mike Tallman — biography
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 a past Control Line Contest Board member. I am a member of:
- Wichita Radio Control Club (WRCC)
- Chisholm Trail Club
- 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.
RC Barnstormers — 2007 Heart of America Float Fly
The RC Barnstormers held their 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.
The local media helped as well, with the Miami County Republic running nice articles before and after the event.
A variety of float planes — from sleek, fast North Stars 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 and a replica of a Fokker Eindecker with period-appropriate floats: 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 intended to learn!
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 effort. 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.
Twin Cities Eagle Squadron fun-fly
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 David’s famous baked beans.
David, it sounds like you guys had a great time. Maybe next year I can join you for some of those famous baked beans!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
