AMA News District VIII - 2012/10
District VIII — Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Jim Rice — Vice President
I am writing this on August 1 and enjoying the heat! What a warm summer for everyone.
I was in Muncie, Indiana, in June and July, and the flying site was extremely dry. I hope everyone took precautions from the heat and sun so they can continue to enjoy the hobby for years to come.
Bill Holland, associate vice president for Oklahoma, sent me some pictures of an air show held in Moore, Oklahoma, for a vacation Bible school. It looks as though they had a great day. There was a good turnout and fine aircraft were present for the event. What an ideal way to introduce a lot of folks to the hobby!
One of the more prolific electric-power designers and flying members in the district is Gary Jones. He builds nearly anything from foam and makes it look like a scale masterpiece. I have had the pleasure of flying his 6-foot-wingspan Piper Tri-Pacer, but I particularly like this giant C-47 that he flies at indoor venues such as the Texas Indoor New Year’s fly-in (TINY) held in San Angelo, Texas.
My first commercial airline flight was on a DC-3, so I have a special kinship with DC-3s and C-47s. I wish I had one like this!
My wife, Linda, and I made a special effort to get our son, Gary, to the Executive Council meeting and part of the Nats in July. It was his first visit to Muncie and his first time at the Nats since we flew in Lubbock, Texas, in 1994.
Gary has been flying since he was 2, and he truly enjoyed the tour of the National Model Aviation Museum with Michael Smith, the museum director, and the special ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the first control-line flight with an aircraft named Miss Shirley.
He was awed by the magnitude of the AMA facility and the professionalism of the staff. Now nearly 40, he has been an AMA member most of his life, and he became a CD (contest director) and club vice president at age 18.
Everyone should try to make at least one trip to AMA Headquarters and take in the flying site, museum, and friendly, enthusiastic staff.
I picked up this information from Butch Spradling’s “President’s Corner” in the Flaps Out newsletter of Central Texas Modelers:
"Our partnership with Patriot Kids Ministries has provided our club with an excellent means of becoming involved with our soldiers and their families. We conducted an RC Flight Camp for military kids and it was such a huge success that now, we as CenTex Modelers, will be supporting a MASC (Model Aviation School Club)."
The members taught 20 kids about aircraft and helped them build several models, then treated them to an air show at the club’s field.
Have fun and fly safely. See you on the flightline.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
