District IX Report - 2003/05

May 2003 153
News from Colorado: Darwin Idler,
contest director, sent in the following
information about the Love Air Rocky
Mountain Big Bird Festival.
“The Ninth Annual Love-Air Rocky
Mountain Big Bird Festival was held the
weekend of August 17 and 18, 2002. Once
again, the event turned out to be a huge
success with 117 pilots from 11 states
registering more than 150 airplanes for a
great weekend of flying.
“Even though this is officially a twoday
event, it was obvious some people like
to make it an extended outing. The first
RVs began to arrive early in the week, and
by Saturday morning the flightline was
completely full.
“This year we were honored to have
Chip Hyde in attendance to perform the
noon exhibition fights. The pilots and
spectators alike were amazed with his
performances. Chip spent most of the
weekend with a transmitter in his hand.
“Chip flew several airplanes and gave
tips on trimming to several pilots. A few of
the spectators even had the opportunity to
fly a Quinn Cadet with Chip using the
buddy-box system.
“We had a great spectator turnout
again this year with nearly 3,000 people
joining us to see some of the best flying
around. Advertising, newspaper articles,
and word-of-mouth have combined to
make this a truly outstanding event.
“Airplanes of all types were on hand
for the weekend. Although highperformance,
aerobatic aircraft seemed to
be the most abundant, beautiful Scale
airplanes from all eras and sport models of
all types also filled the air.
“We had another first for our event—a
Giant Scale turbine jet. The six pilot
stations were full throughout the weekend.
“With the generous help from nearly
50 sponsors, we were once again able to
give door prizes to almost all of the pilots.
Several kits and numerous accessory items
were given away in the hourly drawings.
“We didn’t forget about the spouses
either. Several gift certificates and gift
baskets were distributed throughout the
weekend. The event came to a close with
the grand prize raffle drawing for the
ready-to-fly Quinn Cadet, complete with
engine and radio.
“Hosting an event like this would be
impossible without a great group of club
members putting in a lot of time and effort.
Flight bosses kept the flightline flowing,
the transmitter impound kept the
frequencies under control, and all the club
members made our guests feel welcome.
“A great thanks goes out to all of the
pilots who attended the event this year. We
hope you enjoyed it, and will plan on
attending again next year. Thanks also to
the sponsors who helped make it such a
special event.
“Plans are already being made for the
10th Annual Big Bird Festival. We plan to
make it the best event yet!”
The following photographs are from
the Love Air event.
The following photos are from the Arvada
Associated Modelers’ annual mall show at
Westminister Mall, January 24-26, 2003.
Photos by Phil Trane.
Pat Vachon is seen building the “mall
airplane.”
Dicy Snyder’s aircraft has a 12-foot
wingspan.
Russ Laine had the most airplanes at the
show—11.
Associate Vice Presidents
Max Hansen, 1909 Wisconsin SW, Huron SD
57350
Nathan Lancaster, 3597 S. Kendall Street, Denver
CO 80235
Fred Hildebrand, 4015 Somerset Circle, Casper
WY 82609-3161
Troy Lapp, 1619 Wichita Dr., Bismarck ND 58504
Travis McGinnis, 8027 W. 81st Circle, Arvada CO
80005
Don Moden, 410 Hart St., Salina KS 67401
Jim Ricketts, 4921 Fernwood Drive, Sioux Falls
SD 57103-5573
Jack L. Sibert, 3611 Kimberly Circle, Lincoln NE
68506-4524
Mark T. Smith, 14632 W. 50th Street, Shawnee
KS 66216
Mike Weidner, 6535 Foxdale Circle, Colorado
Springs CO 80919-1788
Frequency Coordinator
Steve Mangles, c/o Radio Service Center, 918 S.
Sheridan, Denver CO 80226
Colorado / Kansas /
Nebraska / North Dakota /
South Dakota / Wyoming
Russ Miller
Vice President
980 N. 3rd St.
Carrington ND 58421
Tel.: (701) 652-2321
Fax: (701) 652-2994
E:mail:
[email protected]
District IX Report