District IV - 2012/09

Andy Kane of the Fly By Knights has provided a report about the Bealton International Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA) Fly-In, held September 9-11, 2011. The District of Columbia Radio Control Club (DCRC), AMA #329 also participated in the event.
This is our 34th year at the Bealeton
Flying Circus, home to one of the finest
full-scale barnstormer’s air shows. It
is held every Sunday, May through
October, in Bealton, Virginia.
In 1977, we were allowed to host the
inaugural all-Scale contest at the Flying
Circus. With more than 40 contestants,
it was the start of a great future at the
Flying Circus. There were 22 Scale
contests then the competitions changed
to IMAA format in 1999. This was our
12th IMAA event at the Circus.
Every time I come to the Flying
Circus and hear those vintage Stearman
and Fleet biplanes, I get a chill down
my spine.
The 2011 DCRC event crew traveled
to Virginia a day early to visit the
Smithsonian’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy
Center museum located near the Dulles
International Airport. This is one
place you must see! There are vintage
biplanes, the SR-71, and everything in
between. Even the Enola Gay B-29 is
on display.
The Bealeton IMAA event has
evolved into a successful event, but
this year’s rain forecast for September
9 to 11 caused the attendance to
slightly drop. Fortunately, the weather
prognosticators were wrong again. We
had a beautiful flying weekend.
There were approximately 50
entrants and more than 70 airplanes
on the flightline on Saturday. We
recently added night flying, foamies,
and electrics to the mix. All I can say is:
what a great way to spend three days in
the beautiful Virginia countryside!
A special thank-you goes to all the
DCRC members who came to the
event, participated, and helped with
all aspects of this gathering. We were
treated to the company of Bliss Teague,
AMA District IV VP. Randy Elliot and
Josh Bunn were also in attendance.
Bliss made a wonderful presentation
to the DCRC club for the Award of
Excellence. Only a few clubs receive
AMA’s highest honor.
We appreciate the recognition by
the AMA and as we move into the
next decade. I hope that more DCRC
modelers will find their way to the
Flying Circus to start building a lifetime
of aviation memories.