District V—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands
Contact
Kris Dixon Vice President [email protected] 2389 Dublin Eastman Rd., Dexter GA 31019 Tel.: (478) 484-3845 www.amadistrict-v.org
Summer update
Happy summer all! By now, fly-ins are in full swing. Florida Jets, the Southeast Electric Flight Festival, and Joe Nall have come and gone. Many of the local clubs have sponsored great events in District V as well.
Throughout the past few months I have run into old friends and made hundreds of new ones. I have been through Florida, across the Mississippi River, around Alabama, up the edge of Tennessee, and of course around South Carolina, where our membership meeting at Joe Nall was well attended. Thanks to all who came.
I am trying to visit as many clubs as time allows. With the requests, emails, and calls, my calendar quickly fills up. Please don’t stop inviting me — this is the best way to meet with the clubs in the district. I also have several associate vice presidents (AVPs) who are just as capable of promoting AMA and assisting you.
I had the privilege of opening the noon demo Friday at Joe Nall this year. After my introduction, we welcomed a special guest: Staff Sgt. Scott Millican from Statesboro, Georgia, a member of Ogeechee Aeromasters and the Liberty Blazing Angels RC Squadron, who was wounded by an improvised explosive device while serving in Afghanistan. He was the recipient of a new Krill Extra 330 from Chief Aircraft, assembled by Brett Blixt.
The airplane was painted in U.S. Army colors and bore insignia from Doug Harrell and Oversprayer in appreciation of his bravery, determination, and heroic efforts to fight for our freedom. Thank you to all of our veterans!
Don’t forget District V’s goal for all 335 clubs to participate in National Model Aviation Day on August 16 and help support the Wounded Warrior Project.
Joe Nall Week (Triple Tree Aerodrome)
Joe Nall Week in South Carolina is an amazing time for RC pilots. The event takes place at Triple Tree Aerodrome in Woodruff. It is a beautiful, well-maintained site staffed with friendly, hard-working volunteers. The Triple Tree Aerodrome seems to add something each year that further enhances the experience for everyone who attends.
This year’s event had 1,484 registered pilots representing 45 states and 10 countries. If you needed anything for the hobby, the 94 vendors could probably supply it.
Triple Tree’s flightlines include:
- Main flightline for Giant Scale aircraft meeting International Miniature Aircraft Association (IMAA) specifications
- IMAA-size 3-D flying
- Float flying
- Electric aircraft less than 80 inches
- Helicopters with no size restrictions
- Control-line (CL). The CL site also had trainers for anyone who wanted to learn or reacquaint themselves with that segment of the hobby.
Thursday evening was the AMA membership meeting, with all but one of the district vice presidents (VPs) in attendance. District IV VP Bliss Teague was ill and unable to attend; we all wish him a speedy recovery. AMA Headquarters staff and the VPs covered a number of topics, including:
- Finance
- Education
- FPV and new technology
- The AMA Foundation
They also answered questions from the membership.
Joe Nall is a great flying event, but it is also a place to meet old friends and make new ones. If you have never had the pleasure of attending Joe Nall or any Triple Tree event, put it on your list of things to do. Anyone bitten by the RC bug will enjoy it immensely. For more information, check www.tripletreeaerodrome.com and click RC Fly-Ins at the top of the page.
—Don Wise District V AVP
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
