District XI—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Vice President / Contact
Mike Mosbrooker Vice President [email protected] 533 Birch St., Oak Harbor, WA 98277 Tel.: (360) 679-9139 Website: www.amadistrict-xi.org
Events
#### Bell Air Big Bird — Bellingham There are several events in western Washington each year that are worth attending. One of these is the Bell Air Big Bird in Bellingham, which has been held 22 years and will happen again this year on June 2–3. This event is sponsored by the Bell Air R/C Flyers.
Mark Metge was the CD last year, and with the help of many club members put on another event enjoyed by many. Pilots from across Washington and some from Canada came together and enjoyed two beautiful days of flying. The sunny weather also encouraged large crowds of spectators to enjoy the airplanes, noise, camaraderie, food, and flying.
Twenty-six pilots displayed more than 50 large sport, aerobatic, and scale airplanes with wingspans of up to 12 feet. Special flights were highlighted by Snoopy’s doghouse flown by Jerry McLean to the background music of “Who Let the Dogs Out.”
#### Jets Over Whidbey (JOW) — Coupeville A little farther south, in Coupeville, Washington, many jets can be heard each year in late August. The Jets Over Whidbey (JOW) event is sponsored by the Whidbey Island Radio Control Society and takes place at the Navy Outlying Field with a runway roughly 5,500 feet long and 250 feet wide. The event has been held for 21 years and is named after the island on which it is held. It will take place this year from August 24–26.
Last year, Al Watson was the CD and had plenty of member assistance. Twenty-seven pilots with 39 aircraft from across the U.S. and Canada attended. There also were national officers from the AMA and the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (MAAC), including Mark Smith (then-AMA Executive VP); Ron Dodd, MAAC President; Al Watson, Jet Pilot’s Organization (JPO) VP and JOW CD; Bob Brusa, JPO District XI Rep.; Paul Dries, JPO Canada Rep.; and Carol Brusa, JPO Secretary/Treasurer.
Awards were presented at the Saturday night banquet. Best Scale Jet went to Dan Avilla’s P-80; Best Flight was awarded to David Phillips, flying an F-4; Best Sport Jet was taken by Bob Wonioty’s BVM Bandit; and the Top Gun Award went to the event coordinator, Tom Berry.
Mark Smith took his maiden turbine flight while connected to the buddy box and instructed by Dean Wichmann. Saturday’s noontime lineup on the field drew a crowd to view the airplanes and talk to the pilots.
Associate Vice Presidents
- Rick Allison — Issaquah, WA; [email protected]
- Darrell Anderson — Great Falls, MT; [email protected]
- Bryan Batch — Spokane, WA; [email protected]
- Chuck Bower — Langley, WA; [email protected]
- Al Culver — Wilder, ID; [email protected]
- Bruce Harlow — Myrtle Creek, OR; [email protected]
- Jerry Holcomb — Vancouver, WA; [email protected]
- Reeves Lippincott — Wasilla, AK; [email protected]
- Chris Rankin — Bend, OR; (541) 593-3294
- Missie Mist — [email protected]
Coordinators
- Frequency Coordinator: Phil Tallman — Medical Lake, WA; [email protected]
- RC Coordinator: Steve Cook — 500 E. 7th Ave., Apt. 10, Ellensburg, WA 98926-3195; [email protected]
- FF/CL Coordinator: Dick Salter — 3126 184th Ave. SE, Tenino, WA 98589-9524; [email protected]
- Webmaster: Chris Rankin
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
