District III - 2011/05
The last weekend in February was very busy for the Academy. I spent the weekend at the Westchester Radio AeroModelers (WRAM) show while AMA’s Government Relations and Regulatory Affairs Representative Rich Hanson and Associate Vice President (AVP) Mark Radcliff were in Charleston, West Virginia. The main focus of our activity was to inform the membership about issues with the FAA. The following insight was provided by Mark Radcliff.
West Virginia RC Expo
The third annual West Virginia RC Expo was held Saturday, February 26, 2011, at the National Guard Armory in Charleston. This event, sponsored by the Jackson County Aeromodelers and Flying Hillbillies, has become a major attraction for modeling in the state.
Chuck Westfall and his crew have done an outstanding job of attracting hobby vendors and modelers from West Virginia and the surrounding states of Ohio and Virginia.
This year, the Academy and Chuck added an important element to the event with a special guest, Rich Hanson of the AMA. Rich is AMA’s government relations and regulatory affairs representative and has been working with the FAA for three years concerning the upcoming rules and regulations that will affect model aviation.
Rich gave a brief but detailed outline of the current AMA/FAA meetings and some of the possible ramifications these regulations could have on model aviation.
After Rich’s talk, it was announced that anyone wanting to contact their elected officials in Washington could do so immediately by using a group of computers set up at the expo. AMA District III AVP Mark Radcliff helped interested attendees log in to the AMA website so they could e-mail their respective state representatives.
Rich and Mark answered questions throughout the day concerning this important issue. Rich traveled from his home in Arizona to update everyone, and the gathering of modelers from West Virginia and surrounding states appreciated his visit.
After listening and talking to Rich, it was clear that AMA has an ideal representative for members on this subject. He is also working on a local FAA issue pertaining to airport use by local modelers.
Once again, the West Virginia RC Expo was a huge success thanks to the efforts of the Jackson County Aeromodelers and the Flying Hillbillies RC Club.
Tuscarora RC Club
The Tuscarora RC Club begins its 44th year as AMA Chartered Club #574 and its 17th year as a Gold Leader Club. The club’s 2011 schedule and pictures of past events are posted on its website at www.tuscarorarcflyingclub.com.
Mall displays and Aerorama 2011
The first of two scheduled mall displays was held successfully on February 12–13, 2011, at the Laurel Mall in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.
In addition to the 30-plus airplanes and helicopters on display, a large HDTV was set up and connected to a laptop running the latest RC flight-simulator software. This provided onlookers the opportunity to experience model airplane flight without crashing.
On the last weekend of February, another mall show display was scheduled for the Fairlane Mall in Pottsville, Pennsylvania. Raffle tickets were available at the shows for two chances to win a ready-to-run RC truck or a ready-to-fly (RTF) RC trainer airplane. A drawing to choose the lucky winners will take place on the last Sunday in August at the annual, public-invited demonstration event named Aerorama 2011.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
