AMA News - District XI Report

Bruce Nelson Vice President 807 E. Vicksburg St., Spokane WA 99208 [email protected] Day Tel.: (509) 326-3635 Day Fax: (509) 327-3867 Eve. Tel/Fax: (509) 467-1852 Cell: (509) 953-4418 Web page: http://www.olywa.com/yosemiteflash/xiama.htm Associate Vice Presidents Darrell Anderson, 132 Fifteenth Ave NW, Great Falls MT 59404 E-mail: [email protected] Al Culver, Box 86, Wilder ID 83676 ; : . E-mail: [email protected] Jerry Holcomb, 1010 NE 122nd Ave., Vancouver WA 98684 Reeves Lippincott, 4400 Gray Wolf Dr., Wasilla AK 99654 E-mail: [email protected] Mike Hazel, 1073 Windemere Dr. NW, Salem OR 97304 E-mail: [email protected] Gene LaFond, 840 Stevens St. Wenatchee WA. 98801 E-mail: [email protected] Richard Snaer, 781 LillooetCt., LaConnerWA 98257 Chick Young, 7411 154 Ave. E. #14, Sumner WA 98390 Frequency Coordinator Phil Tallman, Medical Lake WA (509) 299-5102 THE FOLLOWING photos were taken at the 43rd Annual Polar Bear IMAC (International Miniature Aerobatic Club) contest held at Marymoor County Park on April 7. There were 23 contestants, which is considered a very good turnout especially for that early in the year. Ralph Brooke originally organized the Polar Bear in 1959 and is now the oldest continuously running AMA sanctioned Radio Control (RC) Aerobatics contest west of the Mississippi. It has always been sponsored by the Seattle Radio Aero Club (SRAC) currently called the Snohomish Radio Aero Club. Paul Cole submitted the following pictures: ••---•• - - Roy Stubbs, veteran competitor, with his Chipmunk. Seth Davis, newcomer, and his Super Skybolt. Matt Cole, CD, with the event staff. Standing (L to R) are Jim Watson and Paul Cole. Sitting are Phil Walton and Ed Weigelt. Basic winners (L to R) Jeffrey Rugon, second place, and Shane Jensen, first place. This is Share's first ever contest. Better keep an eye on this young man! Memorial Day weekend we traveled to Albany OR for the 31 st Northwest Regional Control Line Championships. It was feared that this event would pass into history, but a new group of managers was formed from several different clubs and the event will continue. The event was well attended and there was nonstop action with several active circles running at all times. At the dinner for this event, 1 had the honor of awarding a Hall of Fame plaque to Oba St. Clair's daughter Shirley St. Clair. This award honored her father for his contributions to model aviation. Oba St. Claire is credited with inventing Control Line (CL) flying as we know it today. Along the way he developed many refinements and experimented with many different approaches to CL flying. Oba was once involved in flying a CL aircraft for more than 37 hours nonstop. I was told that the only thing that stopped the flight was a buildup of oil that caused the engine to overheat and seize up. During the weekend 1 heard many wonderful stories about Oba and I realized that this man was more than a model , aviation pioneer. He was a person with many skills and one whom many loved and respected. I enjoyed meeting Oba's daughter Shirley whom 1 was told is much like her father. Shirley has one of her father's early airplanes, one named after her. The Miss Shirley is a piece of aviation history but I'm sure it means much more than that to her. On September 29 the Glacier RCers will hold their second Fly-In and Swap Meet at the club field next to the Glacier International Airport North of Kalispell MT on Highway 2. Last year this event was attended by modelers from Washington to South Dakota and points between. For more information, contact Jerry McManus, (406) 844-4612, or gmcmanus(^;century.net. I hope to attend this event myself. Keep your airspeed up.