AMA News District IX - 2010/04

April 2010 143
A SAD NOTE: I am sorry to report that
Jim Giffin, the AMA vice president
representing District X, has passed. Jim
was a well-respected member of the
Executive Council and he will be missed.
Our condolences go out to Jim’s family
and friends. He was a great contributor to
our hobby.
When you live in District IX and it is New
Year’s Day and you want to have a New
Year’s Day fun-fly, you are extremely
challenged with weather. Here is a typical
report for that event sent in by club
president Jerry Millard.
“On January 2, 2010, several members
of the RC ACES in Rapid City, South
Dakota, met out at the flying field to do
their first flights of the New Year. The
temperature was 8° with a wind chill of -6°.
Those present were Jerry Millard,
president; Ray Burnett, vice-president; Rex
Field, safety officer; Josh Frank; Tino
Galvan; Russ Koch; Dan Linde; Mark
Richter; and Rainer Schmitz.
“Several days earlier Josh Frank and his
brother Jason brought their Skid Steer
loader and, along with Jerry Millard, dug
through a 150-feet-long, 4-feet-deep snow
drift to open the road to the flying field.
That and the job of clearing off our asphalt
runway, pit area, and parking lot took most
of the day.
“Although all the flights were short
because of the freezing hands on the
transmitter controls, a good time was had
by all. There was hot coffee, spiced cider,
donuts, and a lot of fun talk about models
we have been working on this winter and
the plans we have for the club this up
coming flying season.”
Wings Across America is a group of
model airplane enthusiasts who will fly a
battery-powered RC airplane by relay in
all 48 contiguous United States. This event
was conceived by Frank Geisler of
Virginia in 2008. Detailed information can
be found on the group’s Web site at
www.waa-08.org.
Frank was the first pilot to fly the
airplane; he then hand-transferred it to pilot
#2, etc. Bill Nickell was pilot #178. Bill
completed his leg of the journey at Arvada
Associated Modelers Airpark in Arvada,
Colorado, earlier this year.
Bill and his son logged in a successful
flight before handing the aircraft over to
Jason Roadman for the next leg of the
journey.
Bill Nickell received recognition for flight
#178 going across America.
Club Corner—Has your club become a
little inbred? By this I mean, perhaps you
have not looked around to other clubs to
see what you might incorporate to make
your club more interesting and enjoyable.
Visit another club’s meetings to see what
features you might carry back to your club.
Maybe you can arrange to have a couple
of clubs in your area get together and fly at
a host field. It’s amazing what a hot dog
and a cup of coffee can do to bring club
and personal relationships closer together.
Keep the sunscreen on to keep the cancer
off!
Till next time …
Jim Wallen
Vice President
7322 W. 82nd Way
Arvada CO 80003
Tel.: (303) 421-9061
www.amadistrict-ix.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Steve Culver, Omaha NE;
[email protected]
Zac Heskin, Garrison ND;
[email protected]
Fred Hildebrand, Casper WY;
[email protected]
Bruce Ream, Highlands Ranch
CO; [email protected]
Brenda Schuette, Auburn KS;
[email protected]
Mike Tallman, Wichita KS;
[email protected]
Jim Tiller, Rapid City SD;
[email protected]
Webmaster: Jim Shaw,
[email protected]
Contest Coordinator:
Mac Strader, Overland Park KS;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator:
Steve Mangles, Denver CO;
[email protected]
District IX Volunteers
District IX
Jim Wallen, District IX Vice President; [email protected]
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
One of the most interesting
shows of the year is the AMA
Expo held in Ontario, California.
This was a good year for the
show with public attendance and
vendor participation on the rise.
New products were
numerous, the great static
displays were a hit, and
exhibition
indoor
flying was
popular.
One of
the biggest
highlights
was the
intriguing
presentation
of guest
speakers.
This year
the speakers
included
astronaut
Robert
“Hoot”
Gibson, Dan
Kreigh, Tom Huff, Mat Chapman, John Sharp, Hernan Posada, and Burt Rutan.
If you were not able to make it this year, put it on your calendar for next January.
Above: A
well-detailed
B24D on
display at
the AMA
Expo in
Ontario CA.
Left: Travis
McGinnis is
proving to
his wife,
Barb, that he
really did
attend the
show.
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