District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Northern Hills R/C Flyers
From Jim Tiller, our new associate vice president in South Dakota, comes this report about what appears to have been an outstanding fly-in.
On August 19, the Northern Hills R/C Flyers held their annual end-of-the-Sturgis Rally fun-fly at the club’s field in Spearfish. This year they renamed the event the Memorial Fun-Fly and held a ceremony naming their flying site Memorial Field in honor of special past members who made significant contributions to the club. Honorees included:
- Bill Robinson
- Howard Muchow
- Vern Faus
- Myron Sullivan
- Vernon Wammen
- Alvin Ross
- Keith Hanks
- Dean Miller
- Bob Upton
The hard work of the Spearfish group is evident in the club’s well-manicured grass field on the site of the city waterworks. I am told the club has a five-year lease in place with the city and plans are underway for even more field improvements.
The fun-fly was well attended by roughly 100 fliers and spectators from several states. John Kellogg staffed the transmitter impound. Monty Stensland, Ray Jarvi, and Terry Batterman did a great job supervising the flight line.
The highlight of the noontime break was the field-naming ceremony, with Monty Stensland presiding. Many relatives of the honorees were present for the ceremony.
The Northern Hills R/C Flyers should be very proud of their work in making this event a truly great experience. The field and the day of flying were remarkable.
Wichita Radio Control Club — IMAA Fly-In
On the first weekend in October, I drove south to attend the Wichita Radio Control Club’s (WRCC) International Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA) Fly-In. I had the opportunity to renew many friendships from previous trips.
While the wind was a bit strong, we all managed to get in a few flights and, best of all, we had plenty of time to chew the fat (which most of our wives would say we excel at!).
What would a fly-in be without plenty of food? The WRCC knows how to put on a pizza fest, and there were plenty of hungry folks in attendance.
A special thanks to the event organizers for making sure things ran smoothly:
- Kevin McKaig, WRCC president
- Victor Kirkpatrick, WRCC vice president
- Don Pemberton, IMAA representative
As I write this, I’m heading to our AMA Convention next weekend and then to Muncie, Indiana, for the January Executive Council meeting at the end of the month. These are exciting times for AMA, and I’m honored to be a part of it.
Until next month, hopefully you’ll find some good flying weather and have fun!
Mark Smith
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
