OH THE DOG DAYS of summer! I trust
you all are getting plenty of stick time and
enjoying the friendships that are at the heart
of this great hobby of ours.
This month I’d like to feature three very
progressive clubs and hope that someday
you’ll get a chance to fly with these people
because they are all fantastic gentlemen.
Wichita Radio Control Club (WRCC)
Auction: Good flying bud Walt DeFrees and I
spent a couple of days in Wichita with friends
from the WRCC.
On Friday afternoon, WRCC members
John Newmann and Jerry Shumann took time
out of their busy schedules to give us the
grand tour of their RC Big Birds museum.
Words can’t express the quantity and quality
of these beautiful airplanes that John and
Jerry have built throughout the years. After
our tour, Jerry invited us to his home so we
could see his latest project: a giant, scratchbuilt
B-17!
As you can see from the picture, the
fuselage is nearing the final building stages.
Many of the components are specially
ordered because nothing like this has ever
been attempted. The wingspan alone will
exceed 15 feet and all-up weight will exceed
200 pounds. John and Jerry promise to keep
us posted on the progress of this monster.
Jerry and his huge B-17.
Some of Jerry and John’s museum aircraft.
The Shawnee Mission Radio Control Club
(SMRCC) heard an informative and
entertaining presentation by a World War II
B-17 waistgunner. One of my favorite flying
friends, Darrell Watts, reported on an
outstanding SMRCC meeting held in the
spring.
More than 60 members, guests from other
clubs, and spouses attended this special
SMRCC club meeting to hear Roy Shenkel
tell about his experiences in World War II.
He told about his training, flying, experience
as a POW, and finally his liberation.
Two of many stories were about the time
when his airplane was shot down. He bailed
out at 25,000 feet and because of lack of
oxygen, passed out. He came to just in time
to open his parachute. Moments after he
opened his parachute an Me-109 whizzed by
roughly 100 yards. away with a P-51 in hot
pursuit. Then two more 109s flew by less
than 50 yards away. They were so close that
he waved to the German pilot and the pilot
waved back.
In the prison camp they were fed
principally black bread and cabbage. The
recipe for black bread (from German records)
consisted of barley, sugar beets, sawdust, and
straw.
Mr. Shenkel was introduced by Gary
Swanson. Mr. Swanson volunteers for a
Library of Congress project where he
interviews World War II veterans. He records
their stories and gives a copy of that
interview to the veteran’s family. Another
copy goes to the Library of Congress to
preserve this history. To date Mr. Swanson
has interviewed more than 850 veterans.
If you are looking for a good club meeting
program you might seek out a World War II
veteran who has an interesting story to tell.
SMRCC guest speaker and World War II
veteran Roy Shenkel.
Hutch Bunch Gives Back to the
Community: In a couple of days, I will be
going to visit with this small but mighty club.
You see, the club is one of our newest Gold
Leader Clubs and I make every attempt to
award these plaques in person.
Good flying friend Jim Harris sent the
following about his club’s newest
achievement.
“The Hutch Bunch RC Club in
Hutchinson, Kansas, has been working with
the Kansas Children’s Museum to promote
model aviation to children and their parents.
About a dozen models of various types were
displayed for 30 days in the museum last fall,
and recently the club donated a complete
model flight simulator to the museum.
“In the picture above, club president
Gordon Warnken is showing museum
director Pamela Gould how to operate the
simulator. Pamphlets were left at the museum
with club information for those who are
interested.”
Next month I want to write about some of
my travels to different clubs around the
district including my trips to Toledo and the
Joe Nall. Until then, have a great day and
have fun! Mark
Mark Smith
Vice President
14632 W. 50th St.,
Shawnee KS 66216
Tel.: (913) 248-9191
www.amadistrict-ix.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Fred Hildebrand, Casper WY;
[email protected]
Troy Lapp, Bismarck ND;
[email protected]
Ward Neesen, Omaha NE
[email protected]
Brenda Schuette, Auburn KS;
[email protected]
Mike Tallman, Wichita KS;
[email protected]
Jim Tiller, Rapid City SD;
[email protected]
Jim Wallen, Arvada CO
[email protected]
Webmaster: Jim Shaw,
[email protected]
Contest Coordinator:
Mac Strader, Overland Park KS;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator: Steve
Mangles, Denver CO;
[email protected]
District IX Volunteers
District IX
Mark Smith, District IX Vice President; [email protected]
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
176 MODEL AVIATION
Edition: Model Aviation - 2008/08
Page Numbers: 176