AMA News District XI - 2009/05
Palouse Region R/C Flyers (PRRCF) — Super Bowl Snow Fly
Report by Mark Scarborough
The Palouse Region R/C Flyers (PRRCF) in Potlatch, Idaho, had a Super Bowl Snow Fly. We had a good turnout — more than 20 people showed up. The food was great (as always) and plentiful. Many thanks to Joe, our chef, and to all who brought dishes.
Mother Nature was in a rather pouty mood that day and presented us with winds of 15–20 mph, so no outdoor flying occurred. Fortunately, the indoor flying was very entertaining.
Several members brought Blade MCX helicopters and it wasn't long before we had John's shop buzzing with the little flying contraptions. Early in the proceedings, Jerry handed Don the controls of his MCX, and Don soon discovered that he could force Harry's helicopter down with his rotorwash by flying over the top of him. A delightful and hilarious melee ensued that ended with one of the helicopters doing a "flopping fish dance" on the floor of John's shop. Fortunately the little helicopters are very durable and no damage was done.
Jerry joined the fray with his Vapor indoor flyer, making passes at Harry's heli, but soon realized that the whirring chopper blades would cut his fragile craft to ribbons should they meet. He contented himself with doing circles, figure eights, and harriers, with a momentary hover thrown in for good measure.
At one point Harry displayed remarkable finesse and control by landing his Blade MCX on the lid of a jar that was just barely large enough to hold the helicopter.
Mike Marsh, an LCRCF member and new PRRCF member, brought a nitro-powered RC car. When he fired it up, Matty the dog thought that it might be fun to chase it. However, when the car turned around and chased her, she decided that it was not so much fun after all, and fled the vicinity ignominiously.
A good time was had by all (except maybe Matty).
Rogue Eagles — Crater High School aeronautics class
The Rogue Eagles club in Medford, Oregon, helps with an aeronautics class in the curriculum at Crater High School. Crater High School has a group of seven students, led by Frank Berstrand, who are really getting into the mechanics and theory of flight.
Thanks to Calvin Emigh, the group has a flight simulator to practice flying their helicopters at lunchtime. Thanks, Calvin, for such a great contribution to our cause and to the cause at Crater!
Several in the group hope to fly full-scale helicopters or airplanes one day soon. What better way to start than with the hobby of RC modeling?
Submissions and contact
- Please send pictures and write-ups of your events. I'd like to showcase clubs in all five states in our district.
- Until next time.
Bruce Nelson District XI Vice President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
