District V
Pinebelt RC Club Fly-In — Hattiesburg, Mississippi (November 6)
NOVEMBER 6 was the fly-in at the Pinebelt RC Club of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This was not your typical fly-in; it was the idea of event director Jeff Williams and actually had three distinct parts.
- Fly-what-you-got: a normal open-flying session with everything from small electrics to 40% Giants and everything in between.
- World War II tribute reenactment: complete with a 42-foot battleship the club built. While the warbirds made passes through the battleship's antiaircraft fire, they blew up the ship. The fire department was on hand to put it out — it was conducted safely.
- Lunch: not your typical fly-in lunch — a full buffet line with beef, pork, chicken, pizza, and more. Some items were supplied by the club; others were brought by members.
Pinebelt is a small club, only about 25 members, but everyone helps in any way they can. Jeff and the club members have worked hard to turn this into a must-attend event, and I believe they've done it. I hope they repeat it next year.
— Paul Verger, Associate Vice President, Mississippi
Spring Hill modelers (Don Ogren)
The Spring Hill modelers enjoy a bit of flying in the Timber Pines Performing Arts Center's high-ceiling facility once a month, year-round. Models include indoor RC and rubber-powered No-Cal types. The two-hour sessions usually result in a few wall bangers and ceiling pushers; mid-air collisions are rare. Several helicopters are flown regularly.
We don't have a club, and we invite all who are interested, although most participants are members of the Hernando County RC Club of Spring Hill, Florida.
North Alabama R/C Association Swap Meet — Madison County (Rich Lawrie)
The North Alabama Radio Control Association's (NARCA) 2011 Madison County R/C Swap Meet, held on March 19, was very successful in terms of seller and buyer turnout. Most tables were presold and a few additional tables had to be added to accommodate late-arriving sellers. Setup started before 7:30 a.m., and as the photo shows, setup was still in progress when doors opened to buyers.
- Door prizes: each attendee received a raffle ticket and prizes were drawn every 15 minutes. Prizes included small building and alignment aides, glue, glow plugs, and free premium subscriptions to RC Report online.
- Main raffle: limited to one prize — a Spektrum DX8 radio system. The winner was Bill Zinger (pictured on the right), with Tim Batt, NARCA's Events Committee Chairman, on the left.
- Items for sale: ranged from new, still-in-the-box kits, engines, motors, and airborne lighting systems to a large collection of well-used items such as flight boxes, starters, and airframes.
- Auction: the event ended with a voluntary auction to give sellers a last opportunity to move more items and buyers a chance to pick up bargains.
It was a good event all around.
Until next time!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
