District V—Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands
Report from Associate Vice President Paul Verger
Fall Fly-In — Pine Belt RC Association, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
The first weekend in November is the Fall Fly-In held by the Pine Belt RC Association in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. This late-fall date has not always been kind to the club, and this was one of those years. Yes, it was cold, but there was a lot of flying. Yes, it was windy, but the wind was down the runway. There was still a great turnout considering the forecast.
Everyone wished there had been more flying, but what flying there was proved excellent.
Notable aircraft:
- Mac Hodges flew an 11-foot Cessna 310 powered by two Desert Aircraft DA-50s; it was very aerobatic.
- Al Ayler flew a large B-25 that handled like the full-scale aircraft and featured incredible detail.
If you have ever been to Hattiesburg, you know the event director, Jeff Williams, is going to blow something up. While the foamie warbirds flew, Jeff set off charges on the ground and into the air, which everyone enjoyed.
The noon meal at the Hattiesburg event is something special. Jeff goes to local eateries and asks for donations, and it turns into a 50-foot buffet line. This year there were roughly six national food sponsors, including Hooters, with two Hooters servers serving chicken wings. When was the last time you were at a fly-in that had Hooters servers?
Thanks to Ken Achee for taking pictures at the fly-in. The next event is in April. See you there.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
