District IX Report - 2009/11
Associate Vice Presidents (AVPs) are the valuable conduits that link local clubs to the AMA. I am proud to announce that Zac Heskin is our new AVP representing the North Dakota area.
New AVP — North Dakota
Zac is 23 years old and resides in Garrison, North Dakota. He is replacing Troy Lapp, who has done a great job over the last several years. A few words from Zac:
“I’m 23 years old and from Garrison, North Dakota, and I started flying about eight years ago. I really don’t count it because I burned a gallon or two of fuel during that time.
“I got back into the hobby last August when I thought I should try flying helicopters. That’s when I gave Troy Lapp a call and it’s been nothing but burning gas and glow fuel since. I now fly a Trex 700 and a couple of 50 cc gas airplanes.
“In both the helicopters and planes I fly 3-D and am starting to get into Pattern. I’m on my fourth case of heli fuel for the year and am almost to the point of finishing my 10th gallon of gas.
“I’m having an absolute blast in the hobby and am meeting tons of new people every day. I’m gearing up right now for the Black Hills Air Rally and plan on doing a write-up on the event. Troy will be down there also. It should be a great weekend.”
Grand Island Modelers Club — Nebraska
Jim Stulken, president of the Grand Island Modelers Club in Nebraska, sent a picture of the new Ford tractor and finishing mower purchased with club donations to help with field maintenance. A group of proud members is shown surrounding the vehicle.
Colorado — Glider Modeling Organizations
Ray Boyd, an active Colorado flier, submitted the following:
Colorado is blessed by having two outstanding organizations that promote glider modeling: the Rocky Mountain Soaring Association, which flies radio-controlled gliders, and the Magnificent Mountain Men, who fly free-flight (FF) models.
The Rocky Mountain Soaring Association (RMSA) has been Denver’s foremost model sailplane club since 1976. They are an AMA-chartered club with over 80 members. They are proud to count among their membership:
- Skip Miller — one of the United States’ three-time world champions
- Jack Sasson — U.S. F3B speed record holder
- Lennie Keer — distance record holder
- Byron Blakeslee — noted soaring columnist
The Magnificent Mountain Men (MMM) FF club is Colorado’s major outdoor free-flight club. They promote the building and flying of all sorts of free-flying model airplanes, whether original designs for high-performance competition or kit models for scale or sport.
The Denver area has a companion club called the Society of Antique Modelers (SAM). The SAM club promotes building and flying the free-flight model aircraft of the era prior to World War II. The club also actively participates in the U.S. Team Selection Program for the World Championships. Several MMM members have represented the United States in the World Championships, and many have been national champions in their chosen events.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
