District IX
Jim Wallen, District IX Vice President
A sad note: I am sorry to report that Jim Giffin, the AMA vice president representing District X, has passed away. 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.
New Year’s Day Fun-Fly (Rapid City, SD)
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 by the 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
- 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-foot-long, 4-foot-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 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 upcoming flying season.
AMA Expo (Ontario, California)
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
- Burt Rutan
If you were not able to make it this year, put it on your calendar for next January.
Wings Across America
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 website 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 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
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
