District IX—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Model Aircraft and Remote Control Flight Academy (MARC) — Salina, Kansas
Tom Neff, Associate Vice President (AVP) for Colorado, served again as an instructor at the Model Aircraft and Remote Control Flight Academy (MARC) for Civil Air Patrol cadets in Salina, Kansas.
Captain Les Gilmer was in charge of 24 cadets attending the Salina MARC. These camps, held across the U.S., are designed to teach cadets to solo during the six days of training. Cadets follow a rigorous flight instruction syllabus while instructors monitor and evaluate their performance. Upon successful completion, a cadet earns his or her wings for the solo flight.
Exceptional cadets may work toward flight instructor status. To qualify, a cadet must demonstrate strong flying skills and the ability to teach those skills to others. Instructor status is noted on the cadet’s AMA card for those who complete the course. At the end of six days, each cadet is encouraged to take his or her newfound knowledge back to the squadron and share the experience with other cadets.
Miniature Aero Sportsters Kids’ Day — near Denver
The Miniature Aero Sportsters held their annual Kids’ Day on August 9. Club president Larry Ott reported that the weather was perfect and club members were well organized. Instructors had aircraft assembled, fueled, and ready before registration and ground school began at about 9:30 a.m.
Over the next seven hours, more than 100 kids had a chance to pilot an RC airplane. Typical activity included:
- Four or five airplanes airborne at a time, with two or three refueling on the ground.
- Air marshals matching waiting prospective pilots with instructors to ensure everyone got a turn.
Lunch was served at 11:30 a.m. During the recess, Tom Neff (AMA District IX AVP and one of the instructors) performed a demonstration with his turbine jet. Steve Graham followed with an over-the-top helicopter demonstration choreographed to music.
At roughly 3:00 p.m., storm clouds and lightning forced flying to stop. Between this event and the club’s booth at the Adams County Fair the previous week, the club reached hundreds of kids in the community. Both events were true club efforts, with participation from most members; a big thank-you went to all who helped.
Black Hills Huckfest — Rapid City area, South Dakota
For the sixth summer, the Rapid City Propbusters, the RC Aces, and the Black Hills Aeromodelers hosted a regional fun-fly, the Black Hills Huckfest, August 20–24. The four-day event drew pilots from a five-state radius.
Highlights included flying after dark under spotlights and foamie competitions such as:
- Pylon Racing
- An obstacle course
Saturday night featured a pulled-pork barbecue, numerous prizes, and tongue-in-cheek awards. Brandon Koch, the new AVP for North Dakota, made his first appearance at Huckfest as an AMA official.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
