District IX Report - 2008/05

HI FOLKS! I continue to be very busy
traveling and making presentations on the
Park Pilot Program. Most recently, I attended
E-fest in Champaign, Illinois, and presented
the program in a seminar to an audience. We
ended up with four new AMA members!
The Park Pilot field-acquisition process is
moving forward slow but steady. I thought
you might be interested in the following from
one of the popular RC forums.
“I also found out from another flyer that ...
someone had approached the Park Boss about
getting the field reserved for flyers every
weekend. They actually succeeded ... it’s all
ours from 7-11 a.m. unless a game is
scheduled way in advance ... so I guess I’ll be
signing up with AMA this week. I just have
to decide which version to get (Park Pilot or
Open membership). So it’s pretty nice to
have the blessing of the Park Manager to fly.”
Man oh man. This is music to my ears!
And now, with your help, maybe we can
continue to grow the number of Park Pilot
fields. Okay, enough about our new program.
Let’s see what’s happening around the
district.
We are fortunate to have talented Jim
Wallen as our associate vice president
representing Colorado. I attended his club’s
fall festival and had a wonderful time. I even
handed out flyers in the parade!
What a wonderful way to educate the
community about our hobby and demonstrate
civic pride. Jim provides us with his report:
“The City of Arvada, Colorado, holds its
annual Harvest Festival in the fall of every
year. Arvada Associated Modelers (AAM)
always provides many of the highlights of the
three-day celebration that has become a
Colorado tradition and is one of the primary
attractions in the area.
“The three-day event starts on Friday
evening with midway activities and the AAM
booth is set up to promote our sport to the
public, answer questions about modeling, and
advertise the upcoming parade and AAM
Airshow.
Getting the float ready for the Arvada
parade.
Three generations of the Jim Wallens.
“The Harvest Festival parade is one of the
largest in Colorado and the AAM float,
loaded with varied models, is always a fan
favorite. Flyers are handed out along the
parade route advertising the afternoon’s
AAM Airshow.
“The air show is held at the AAM
Airpark, complete with two runways, a newly
constructed CL circle, a car track, covered
pavilions, and dining facilities. The air show
runs nonstop for four hours to the delight of
thousands. The acts and aircraft are varied
and the flying skills are top-notch. Both kids
and adults are held in awe.
“Concurrent with the Airshow, AAM
provides simulators, instruction, and a buddybox
experience for the hundreds of kids and
adults interested in trying out our sport. This
event has been a great forum for
implementing AMA’s Take off And Grow
(TAG) program. AMA provided the
hardware and instructional materials used for
this most enjoyable public experience.”
Thanks, Jim, and I hope to be back to
enjoy the festival in the fall.
My good friends in Lawrence, Kansas, held
the Jayhawk Model Masters Float Fly as
reported by Gary Rauckman.
“We lucked out again for our June 23
Float Fly. The weather was mild and the
winds were nearly calm. We had 24 registered
pilots, even more float planes, and a steady
flow of spectators throughout the day.
“The only real mishap that I remember
was the takeoff of Shane Sternecker’s North
Star. He took off toward the southeast. The
plane went out of site after liftoff and hit a
tree at about 25 feet above ground. Shane
made several attempts to get it out in the
midst of heavy brush. He said it will take a
chain saw to get it out.
“One of my favorite planes was a Great
Planes Tiger Moth, equipped with 60-inch
Super Floats, and flown by Jim Copeland
from Topeka, Kansas. I believe it had a Saito
1.50 on it. Another favorite was a little
electric Cub converted to small Saito power.
Robert Longyear from Dee & Mee Hobbies
in Topeka was flying the Cub. It was cute and
a little sensitive during takeoff.”
Patrick Deuser and Greg Kloepper are two
great flying buds from the Jayhawks club.
Can you feel my frustration with my Seawind?
Keep in touch and have fun! Mark.
Mark Smith
Vice President
14632 W. 50th St.,
Shawnee KS 66216
Tel.: (913) 248-9191
www.amadistrict-ix.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Fred Hildebrand, Casper WY;
[email protected]
Troy Lapp, Bismarck ND;
[email protected]
Ward Neesen, Omaha NE
[email protected]
Brenda Schuette, Auburn KS;
[email protected]
Mike Tallman, Wichita KS;
[email protected]
Jim Tiller, Rapid City SD;
[email protected]
Jim Wallen, Arvada CO
[email protected]
Webmaster: Jim Shaw,
[email protected]
Contest Coordinator:
Judy Gerken, Denver CO;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator: Steve
Mangles, Denver CO;
[email protected]
District IX Volunteers
District IX
Mark Smith, District IX Vice President; [email protected]
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
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