AMA News: District VII-2007/03
Winter projects and the season ahead
By now most of you have your winter projects nearly finished or are, in fact, done. Of course, if you are an ARFer, the most you had to do was assemble some pieces to have a finished model — that is a sign of technology.
March is a signal for me that the Toledo Expo is just around the corner, and for me the flying season will be starting soon after. It will be interesting to see what new items will be offered.
Protecting flying sites
Lately I have been getting a number of inquiries regarding how clubs can protect their flying sites. Unfortunately, except for owning your own property, you are at the mercy of others.
Risks include:
- If your field is on a farmer’s property and he or she gets an offer from a housing development, it might be too good to turn down.
- If your field is on city, county, or state property there is the risk of political intervention.
- You may think a landfill might be the perfect place, but that’s not necessarily true either.
Why do I bring these subjects up now? Because each one of these has happened in the past year and the results were devastating.
Club responsibilities and community value
There is some light at the end of the tunnel, and we have to make some positive changes to how we conduct the operations of our clubs. The AMA Executive Council and staff are working diligently with agencies for the use of flying sites on public land and landfills, but the council and staff cannot do it alone.
Clubs have to become proactive in the sense that they must prove they are an asset to the community. This applies to park and recreation facilities and landfills. Flying sites are (or can be) used year-round; soccer fields in the northern climes are often used only in the spring and fall. There are more trips to the emergency room from soccer injuries than mishaps at a flying field. These are just a few issues to think about.
From the field
Chris Balser from the Balsa Butchers of Jonesville, Michigan, sent in this picture to prove they do exist — after much kidding from me.
Joe Pitts, vice president of the Des Moines Modelaires in Iowa, sent in photos from the annual Penguin fly-in. There are no captions for the pictures, but they do prove that modelers are a hearty bunch to brave the elements. After flying and freezing for the day, the pilots were treated to a special chili dinner.
Till next time, get involved. Get some youngsters involved in our hobby. You might have fun doing it and so will they.
C.A.V.U.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
