District IX - 2011/04
AMA Expo
Another AMA Expo has passed and it keeps getting better. Lora Knowlton does a great job of organizing the event for AMA and for attendees' enjoyment.
If you have the opportunity to attend next year, make sure to put it on your calendar. Ontario, California, is a great place to be in the winter!
Leader Member
John Kellogg was quick to report that Terry Batterman, AMA 490, of the Northern Hills RC Fliers, was the first Leader Member for 2011. Thank you, Terry, for all that you do for your club and AMA — congratulations!
Carl Goldberg Vital People Award
Sollie Cadman sent some great news: Bill Carpenter has won this year’s Carl Goldberg Vital People Award for District IX. The presentation was made earlier this year and attended by family and members of the Wyoming Modelers Park Association (WyMoPA). Bill graciously donated his $200 award check to WyMoPA.
Indoor flying in the Black Hills
Jim Tiller, our associate vice president from South Dakota, sent a report on how people in his area keep flying during the winter months:
The Black Hills area has quite a few electric enthusiasts. With the snow and cold here in the Outback of the U.S., it is nice to be able to do some indoor flying.
Thanks to Josh Franke of the RC Aces in Rapid City, we have several opportunities for indoor flying this winter. Josh was able to secure the South Middle School Community Center gym for three events in December and January.
The first took place on Saturday, December 18. More than 20 fliers from as far away as Spearfish attended. Small micro flyers were the most numerous aircraft of choice, including:
- T-28s
- Cessnas
- Vapors
- Mustangs
- Helicopters
Perhaps the most interesting flying was with the Battle Yaks — an original design from Troy Lapp in Bismarck, North Dakota. These 30-inch foam-profile aircraft have caught on like wildfire up here for both indoor and outdoor flying. These little foam airplanes are magnificent 3-D flyers and extremely damage resistant — hence the name Battle Yaks.
At one point during the festivities there were seven Battle Yaks in the air at the same time in that claustrophobic space, including my own, which I only saw intermittently through the cloud of Styrofoam.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
