District IX Report - 2008/05
Park Pilot Program
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 well in advance. So I guess I’ll be signing up with AMA this week. I just have to decide which membership 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.
Colorado — Arvada Harvest Festival (report from Jim Wallen)
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 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.
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
- 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 buddy-box 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.
Kansas — Jayhawk Model Masters Float Fly (report from Gary Rauckman)
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 sight 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 chainsaw 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.
Keep in touch and have fun!
Mark
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
