District IX - 2010/12

AS THE WINTER weather begins to leave
its chilly mark on our District IX states,
maybe we should bring some focus to nonflying
events. If you have such an event in
your area, snap some pictures, jot down a few
comments, and send them to me to get some
well-deserved press space in MA!
AMA is holding its 2011 Expo in Ontario,
California. If you can make it fit your
schedule, the event is worth attending.
The show will run for three days: January
7-9. In addition to a floor full of vendors
selling the latest and greatest stuff, there will
be several interesting guest speakers. Visit
http://amaexpo.com on the Web for details.
The F-117 Stealth was a hit at last year’s
show.
Bruce Ream and Jim Tiller, District IX
associate vice presidents (AVPs), submitted
this article describing a popular warbird
event in the Rocky Mountain region.
Each year this event, sponsored by Love
Air RC, gets bigger and better. AMA
Executive Vice President Mark Smith and
his wife Ruth attended along with two AVPs
to represent AMA.
The weather couldn’t have been better.
There was a slight wind out of the south,
right down the runway and not a cloud in the
sky. Roughly 150 pilots showed up with
more than 200 warbirds of all vintages.
Twenty vendors set up tents behind the
flightline.
The club really put on a show for the
spectators. A full-scale Mustang and a T-28
made several flyover passes. Afterward it
was time for the WW I airplanes to do their
thing. What a show!
Following that were the WW II fighters
with a pyrotechnics show that got a big hand
from the audience. A crowd favorite was the
WW II bomber show with more explosions
going off with each pass.
After that the jets took over. As always,
this is a real crowd pleaser. The noon air
show did not disappoint. The show is broken
down into flights of WW I airplanes, WW II
airplanes, and jets.
The pyro this year was just as noisy and
hot as last year and added scale flak for the
bombers to fly through. I think my favorite
part of the demo was the four pilots who
flew two Mustangs and two Stukas in mock
combat. They obviously fly a lot together. It
looked very real. After the show, the
flightline opened and all types of airplanes
filled the air for the entire afternoon.
“It’s the greatest place to see a so many
people with the same interest,” said Zac
Roller. “They all share the same passion for
military aircraft. How could you not get
caught up in all this? It’s invigorating, to me
and to all of aeromodeling.”
This Me 262 had a great scale look!
The flightline was filled with WW II memories.
The
pyrotechnics
were
spectacular!
Jim Wallen
Vice President
7322 W. 82nd Way
Arvada CO 80003
Tel.: (303) 421-9061
www.amadistrict-ix.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Steve Culver, Omaha NE;
[email protected]
Zac Heskin, Garrison ND;
[email protected]
Fred Hildebrand, Casper WY;
[email protected]
Bruce Ream, Highlands Ranch
CO; [email protected]
Brenda Schuette, Auburn KS;
[email protected]
Mike Tallman, Wichita KS;
[email protected]
Jim Tiller, Rapid City SD;
[email protected]
Webmaster: Norm Berger,
[email protected]
Contest Coordinator:
Mac Strader, Overland Park KS;
[email protected]
District IX Volunteers
District IX
Jim Wallen, District IX Vice President; [email protected]
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Club Corner
How involved are you in your local club? Perhaps you just want to pay your dues and go fly your
airplanes when you want to. Maybe you volunteer to cut the weeds on a tidy-up day at the field but
you don’t want to do much more. Maybe you seldom go to a club meeting or perhaps you make it a
point to attend all of them.
Have you ever submitted an article for your club newsletter? Do you go to some of the club
social functions? Have you ever cornered your club field marshal to share with him or her some
ideas you would like to see implemented.
Do you want to show up for your training night at the field to help out? Keep in mind all skill
levels can find a role to help out with the new guys and kids! Have you ever had the urge to put
together a fundraiser for the club? Can you find a way to show up early for club meetings and help
set up refreshments?
Have you ever thought about planning a Valentine’s Day fun-fly to get some of the ladies
involved? Did you ever think about becoming a club officer? You get the point.
You will find that the clubs that have more people involved tend to prosper and those that don’t
tend to stagnate and even fail. Roughly 10% of the members do 90% of the work. It doesn’t have
to be that way!
If you are in any sort of leadership role in your club, think about ways to motivate some folks
and change that ratio. Things do not just happen by themselves. It takes you to initiate change. Take
that first step and watch how your club benefits.
December 2010 177
Above: WW I
aircraft were
well
represented.