164 MODEL AVIATION
DURING my tenure as AMA vice president,
I have had a number of questions posed to me
concerning why there hasn’t been any
coverage of events in Iowa. This is not
surprising.
There has been little input from any clubs
in the state. No one has forwarded any
material to me. I have commented on this
matter several times throughout the years and
repeatedly asked for event articles to share
with all in District VII.
Finally my pleas have been answered—at
least for the time being. The following is what
I’ve been asking for.
Dean Dingman, event director for the first
annual Western Front Dawn Patrol, reported
on the event. Sponsored by the Cobras R/C
Club of Council Bluffs, Iowa, the event was
billed as The RC Celebration of Early
Aviation and was of Scale model aircraft
representing full-scale airplanes from 1903
through 1933.
Pilots from five states attended and despite
some windy conditions—winds of 20-25 mph
and gusting to 30—they managed to get some
flights in without serious mishaps.
The event was so successful that the club
hopes to make this an annual affair promoting
early aviation. They hope the event will be the
largest of this nature in District VII.
I think the following pictures will tell the
rest of the story.
Members of the Arkansas Dawn Patrol.
Tom Egbert’s Staggerwing Beachcraft.
Inspecting Brian Hole’s 1/4-scale Balsa USA
Fokker D.VII after a successful maiden flight.
Note the windsock!
Dale Locander’s Fokker D.VII.
Ooops!
T h e
picture
on the
l e f t
shows how big Dale’s Balsa USA 1/3-scale
Fokker D.VII actually is. It looked great in the
air and handled the wind well until landing.
There is a multicolored lozenge camouflage on
the undersides.
Dale soon had the airplane flying again. The
trailers used to transport these giants are like
shops on wheels with spares for nearly
anything that might break.
Here is another report from Iowa sent in by
Terry Edmonds about the Misty Meadows
Soaring Classic held last May at Solon near
Iowa City. The classic is sponsored by the
Eastern Iowa Soaring Society which also
sponsors a fall event.
The event winner in Hand-Launch and
Two-Meter was Mike Fox and Karl Miller
won in Unlimited. Both are Illinois residents.
These Former Nats Soaring champions are
also Eastern Iowa Soaring Society members
and, along with Terry Edmonds, are the
AMA’s FAI Soaring representatives.
Okay District VII, Iowa has stepped up to
the challenge of submitting reports. How
about the rest of the district events? I’m only
one person and I can’t cover all the events.
Til next time, fly safely, have fun, and
introduce a youngster to our hobby/sport.
Remember when you got started. C.A.V.U.
District VII
Bill Oberdieck, District VII Vice President; [email protected]
Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Bill Oberdieck
Vice President
Box 1076,
Southgate MI 48195
Tel.: (734) 283-4813
Fax: (734) 283-0650
www.amadistrictvii.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Larry Brannan, Grand
Rapids MI; (616) 956-6012;
[email protected]
Ed Bucki, Rockwood MI;
(734) 379-4054; thebuckster@
sbcglobal.net
Bud Gorman, Knife River MN;
[email protected]
Don Held, Elmira MI;
(231) 584-2662; [email protected]
Tom Pierce, St. Clair MI; (810)
367-6450; tom_pierce_48079@
yahoo.com
Mark E. Robotti, North
Lindstrom MN; 76214.1624@
compuserve.com
Tom Ryan, Milwaukee WI;
(414) 881-0070; tomcat@
execpc.com
Frequency Coordinators
West: Al Schwartz, Roseville
MN; (651) 633-2286
East: Pete Waters, Northville MI;
(248) 486-4800
Flying Site Coordinator
Joe Beshar, [email protected]
Webmaster
Ed Kincer, [email protected]
District VII Volunteers
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/08
Page Numbers: 164