District I - 201209

International Miniature Aerobatic Club
(IMAC) activities are brought back to
life in Connecticut. The following report,
from Associate Vice President Andrew
Figler and I, describes how this was done.
CD Eric Haakonsen noticed last
year that none of the 13 IMAC events
in the Northeast region took place in
Connecticut. Eric developed a four-part
plan to revitalize IMAC activity.
The initiative began in February
with the purchase of a booth at the
Westchester Radio Aeromodelers
(WRAM) regional trade show to generate
interest in IMAC among attendees.
Part two of the plan involved a one-day
workshop on April 7 to teach sequence
aerobatic flying. AMA members Tony
Bonanno, from the Trumbull Indian
Ledge RC club, and Bill Larisey, from the
district Scale Aerobatics Contest Board,
taught the class of 20.
On April 28, the East Coast Swamp
Flyers hosted part three of the program
which was a one-day basic IMAC
competition. This first-level IMAC event
was a huge success, with trophy awards
given to winners from the new group of
participants.
Part four was the culmination of the
IMAC events. It was hosted by the
Wintonbury Flying Club in Salem in
June as a two-day competition, which
received sponsorship from AMA district
funds. More than 24 finalists, ranging
in age from 14 to 60, competed for the
trophies.
Eric and all those who helped to plan,
organize, and run these events during the
five-month period, are to be commended
for accomplishing their mission to bring
IMAC events back to Connecticut.
.