District IX Report-2004/12
Colorado / Kansas / Nebraska / North Dakota / South Dakota & Wyoming
Vice President
- Russ Miller
980 N. 3rd St. Carrington, ND 58421 Tel.: (701) 652-2321 Fax: (701) 652-2994 E-mail: [email protected]
Associate Vice Presidents
- Max Hansen, 1909 Wisconsin SW, Huron, SD 57350
- H. Michael Harrington, 6112 Ashton Ct., Fort Collins, CO 80525
- Fred Hildebrand, 4015 Somerset Circle, Casper, WY 82609-3161
- Nathan Lancaster, 3597 S. Kendall Street, Denver, CO 80235
- Troy Lapp, 3419 Heartwood Drive SE, Mandan, ND 58554
- 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. Siebert, 3611 Kimberly Circle, Lincoln, NE 68506-4524
- Mark T. Smith, 14632 W. 50th Street, Shawnee, KS 66216
Frequency Coordinator
- Steve Mangels, c/o Radio Service Center, 918 S. Sheridan, Denver, CO 80226
News from Colorado
Sterling Miniature Aircraft Association — Combat Event (June 6, 2004)
The Sterling Miniature Aircraft Association (SMAA) held its fifth annual Combat competition on June 6, 2004. There was Slow and Survivable Combat (SSC) in the morning and Open Class B in the afternoon.
As with any event, it takes time in the planning stages. In this case the weather could be a large factor. After two days of severe storms, high winds, and tornadoes in the area, Sunday started out calm and warm with very few clouds. Later in the day the temperature was 95–100°F with winds as much as 20 mph.
CD Marv Ferdig and his committee did an excellent job getting the events underway with advertising in the local newspaper, on a local radio talk show, and on the Web sites along with getting the AMA sanction. All necessary boundaries were in place and the field was mowed by the grounds crew and in excellent shape on Saturday.
Some pilots came in on Saturday, others by 6 or 7 a.m. Sunday. Sign-in was completed by 8 a.m. The weigh-in of aircraft was completed by 8:30 and the assembled field judges met at 9:30 for instructions. Unfortunately winds began blowing at 9 but they were blowing away from the combat engagement boundary.
Thirteen pilots registered for the event. Teams were from Longmont, Greeley, Evergreen, Colorado Springs, and Denver, Colorado, and Nebraska. One team flew in from Los Angeles, California, and had time to participate in the SSC. Launching was done by hand and one by catapult. At times the gusty winds caused launch and flying problems. No impound was necessary as there were no frequency conflicts.
President Dennis Owen served as head time judge at all Combat heats. Nine pilots got the SSC contest underway at 10:10 a.m. Flying time for each of the six heats that were run was five minutes. Heats were run at 15- to 20-minute intervals. Normal, wind-related flying problems were incurred during heats, but the sixth heat had a midair.
Prize money and framed certificates were given to the first three finishers. George Kerr from Aurora, Colorado, was top gun in this event. The dinner committee had set up and served a delicious lunch of barbecue beef sandwiches, baked beans, salad, cake, and iced tea and lemonade.
At 1:05 p.m. Class B Open began with the same format as SSC. Wind was not as much a factor for this event. To start, 11 pilots took to the air. In the air they looked like a bunch of mosquitoes after each other. A spectacular midair occurred in the first heat. The third heat produced two midairs and amazingly one airplane survived and completed the round. The sixth heat also produced a midair.
Midairs are something to see: the bang of collision, the engine and fuselage coming down, and the wings fluttering away in the wind. Retrieval took some time as the wind took the wings a distance from the field.
The event was completed at 3:10 p.m., then all pilots cleaned up and prepared to leave. During this time, the two pilots from California treated us to a fly-by before heading to Los Angeles.
Awards were presented to the first three in this event, with Tom Neff from Aurora, Colorado, taking top gun with more than 2,000 points. All of the pilots expressed their enjoyment of their time here and appreciation for a well-organized event.
SMAA will host another Combat event October 17, 2004, and we hope it will be as successful as this one was.
News from Kansas
Capital City Radio Control Club — Open House (August 28, 2004)
The Capital City Radio Control Club held an open house at its new flying field on August 28, 2004. We had not held a fly-in at our previous field for a number of years, so all club members were eager to get together, fly, and debut our new site.
The site features a 710 x 120-foot grass runway, and a pit area shaded by several trees. The day dawned cool and windy; a rainstorm had roared through just hours before. The wind settled down, a beautiful day emerged, and pilots and aircraft began to arrive.
The event was well attended, and we heard favorable comments from our guests. Two new members even joined on the spot! Among Kansas cities represented by pilots were Lawrence, Manhattan, and Eudora. We sold burgers, hot dogs, and bratwursts, and the concession area was busy as long as the aromatic smoke wafted from the grill. Darrell Colton, Jack Eighmey, and Don Reiger were the talented chefs.
Marvin Reyner provided a public address system, and he, Tim Kearney, and son Patrick Kearney took turns lending their golden voices to the mike, informing visitors about the aircraft and pilots. Greg Inkman and Daniel Edwards safety-checked airplanes, and took turns running the transmitter impound. George Jones, club president, tended a handy vendor area where needed, and put in many flights with his Giant Stinger. Greg Inkman tempted potential pilots with his buddy-box setup.
Many types of model aircraft flew, and the talent of many of our guest pilots was impressive. There was much 3-D flying and pattern work! Two 1/4-scale aircraft from the World War I era, Daniel Edwards’ Sopwith Pup and John Dalton’s Fokker Dr.I, were present. They looked great parked together.
It was a fun and successful open house. We’re truly grateful for all the club members who helped make this work, and are looking forward to hosting another fly-in.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
