ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news
www.ModelAviation.com MAY 2012 Model Aviation 145
We have a new associate vice president
(AVP) to help out with District IX.
Bruce Ream is handing over the reins
for the Colorado area to Tom Neff.
Bruce has been a pleasure to work with
and has helped out our membership on
numerous occasions.
Tom has been one of AMA’s
premier combat pilots. He has
always volunteered to help out when
needed. He has been instrumental in
coordinating AMA and the Civil Air
Patrol, and teaching kids and adults the
knowledge and values our hobby has to
offer. Welcome, Tom!
Tom Neff, our new District IX AVP.
Jefco Aeromod’lers R/C Club puts on
one of the largest auctions of RC model
aircraft in the country. This year, as in
years past, the auction was on Super
Bowl weekend. The difference this year
was the second largest snowfall in recent
history began Friday and continued
until the next day. Even with all the
snow, we had 330 registered sellers and
buyers and more than 1,000 items at
this year’s auction.
Although sales were down, there
were several great-looking models and
plenty of good buys. From propellers to
engines, and complete airplanes ready
to fly, buyers and sellers were having
a good time spending their money or
getting rid of the models they no longer
wanted to fly.
This was the first year that a new bar
code system was used at the auction.
Steve Mangels, chairman of the auction,
enlisted the help of Norm Berger and
several other computer gurus to design
the new system.
People could preregister and pay
the registration fee online. They also
could list all the items they wanted
to sell, upload photographs, and post
descriptions of the items before coming
to the auction. Check-in times were
reduced to minutes for those who
had preregistered their items, and
the lines to purchase moved quickly.
Aeromod’lers is a large club and this
year’s auction saw many volunteers
devote hundreds of hours to put on this
fantastic event.
The magic of an auction is fed by a huge supply
of good values.
Wings Over the Rockies is a
collaboration between AMA and the
Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space
Museum to display model aircraft. Tom
Neff reported on this year’s event:
“Wings Over the Rockies was an
amazing display of clubs in the local
area and hobby shops all melded
together, surrounded by a beautiful
display of aviation from the past,
present, and future. There were tables
that were set up for what is referred
to as a make and take type of aircraft
for the youngsters to participate in,
and enjoy making and taking balsa and
plastic model airplanes.
“A lot of the club members displayed
their prized possessions. Most of the
clubs had a computer set up with a
large screen for people to fly a flight
simulator simulating RC flight. The
Wings Over the Rockies museum has a
new, painted epoxy floor with lowered
lights that allows the viewing of its
exhibitions to be much nicer.
“Always anxious to talk to a passerby
about [the] hobby, the club members
love [to] share a story with a youngster,
[and] to talk about [a] beautiful model
and [its] flight characteristics and how
much fun it is to fly. [They also like to
talk about building] all different types
[of] flying models.
“Everyone seemed be having a good
time; the camaraderie was present, the
food was good, and war stories were
flying through the halls of the Wings
Over the Rockies once again.”
(L-R) Bruce Robson, Bruce Hatfield, and Lora
Knowlton help AMA at the Wings event.
Potential AMA members enjoy the Wings event.
Associate Vice Presidents: Norm Berger, Parker CO; (732) 763-0301; [email protected]; Steve Culver, Omaha NE; [email protected]; Zac Heskin,
Garrison ND; [email protected]; Fred Hildebrand, Casper WY; fl [email protected]; Tom Neff, Aurora CO; (303) 829-5416; [email protected]; Brenda Schuette,
Auburn KS; [email protected]; Mike Tallman, Wichita KS; [email protected]; Jim Tiller, Rapid City SD; [email protected]. Webmaster: Norm Berger,
[email protected]. Contest Coordinator: Mac Strader, Overland Park KS; [email protected]
Jim Wallen
Vice President
District IX—Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
[email protected]
7322 W 82nd Way, Arvado CO 80003
Tel.: (303) 421-9061; www.amadistrict-ix.org
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/05
Page Numbers: 145