District V Report - 2003/05

May 2003 149
I ATTENDED the Collier Model
Aeronautics Club’s fun-fly in Naples, Florida.
Claus Mouret was the contest director (CD).
Jack Patterson is the club’s president. Jack
explained to me that the club encourages
young people to get involved in flying model
airplanes. Persons under 18 are allowed in
free. Currently the club has 15 free members.
Club members are encouraged to donate
airplanes, engines, radios, and the like, to the
children in the club just starting. They have a
liberal buddy-box system to show the young
members how to fly the airplanes. The club
has annual fly-ins just for these new members
getting started.
This snap includes Alex Menendez; Jerry
Keefe, club secretary/treasurer; Joachim
Korallus, vice president; Donna Fiala,
County Commissioner; Joe Casey; and
Jack Patterson, club president. Jack
explained to me that the club is 23 years old
and has 175 members.
The day I arrived, the club was honored by
the presence of Donna Fiala, a Florida County
Commissioner. It is the Collier Model
Airplane Club’s desire to retain the field the
members presently enjoy.
Here’s another picture of Alex Menendez
with his Edge 540T Aeroworks model. This
airplane can hang on its propeller in the air
and perform any maneuver. Notice in this
picture how everybody is bundled up. The
high temperature for the day was 44
degrees with winds 15-25 mph. It was the
lowest temperature on record for Naples.
Meet Armand Mastandrea, of the Naples
club, who works well with children. He’s
here with Armand Jr. and Michaela
Mastandrea. Also pictured are Melissa
Ankenbauer (R), and Casey McPherson.
Here is a gaggle of magnificent Scale
airplanes waiting to fly. Dozens of fliers are
watching the action and waiting for the
weather to warm up.
Because of the service this club performs
for the modeling community, and has been
doing so for 23 years, it is our January
District V Club of the Month.
Wait! Here’s another District V Club of the
Month for January. It is the DeLand Golden
Hawks of DeLand, Florida. I spent the day
with the Golden Hawks during the club’s
annual Festival of Giants event.
I was there the first day of a four-day
show. There were huge Scale airplanes as far
as the eye could see, and fliers from all over
the United States and Canada, and one from
England. The two CDs were Tom Beckman
and Bab Bartow.
Five club members were in charge of
security, keeping everybody staight. I got
thrown off the flightline until they gave me a
little badge of identification. It was a well-run
affair. This was their 14th Rally of Giants.
Experience is a good teacher.
Lucky me! I got some of the important
officials running the club and running the
affair to line up for a second later in the day.
Pictured are Jack Butler; CD Bob Bartoe;
CD Tom Beckman; Harold Voigt, club
president; Wayne Martin; Tom Brown; Jerry
Gallager; and Ross Kasponak.
I was there on a Thursday. I was told I
should have been there Saturday when there
were 250 registered fliers and spectators as far
as the eye could see. For the four-day
spectacle, there were maybe 4,000 spectators.
I couldn’t resist snapping these spectators.
Here above are Bill Brisco from nearby
DeBary, Florida, being wheeled by his
“baby” sister, Dorothy Hoaglan.
Have you ever seen a monster flying?
Dominating the flight scene, here’s a
monster. Merlyn Graves dropped down
from Chicago with his 90-pound Avro. The
aircraft has a 134-inch span and is 122
inches in length. Ducted-fan powered, it
flew at nearly 200 mph. It looked very real.
This beautiful lady is holding her dog
Sugar. They are beside her husband’s Klotz
biplane. A good flier, her husband is Don
Lowe, former AMA president and currently
the chairperson of the AMA Safety
Committee.
The DeLand Golden Hawks club is small
as Florida clubs go—only 90 to 100
members—but very influential in the
modeling world. The week before the Rally of
Giants affair, they hosted Jets Over DeLand.
This is the largest and most famous jet fun-fly
in the Southeast every year.
Because of the club’s enormous impact on
the modeling world, it is our other District V
Club of the Month.
District V Report
Frequency Coordinator: Jim McNeill,
scanners and analyzers; AMA Advisory
Consultant: Steve Kaluf
Associate Vice Presidents
James Alvis, Jackson MS (601) 956-4978
Sherwin Arculis, Huntsville AL (256) 883-9838
Malcolm Boartfield, Marietta GA (770) 977-4126
Ron Chidgey, Pensacola FL (850) 476-8639
Rod Gier, Cocoa FL (321) 636-2148
Michael Gregory, Greenville SC (864) 244-8660
Louise Izzo, Wintersprings FL (407) 699-4929
Richard Jackson, Charleston SC (843) 744-4575
Bob Laine, Goldmine GA (770) 466-5336
Richard MacEntee, Palmetto FL (941) 729-1524
Joseph Micalizzi, Fajardo PR (787) 863-9163
Fred Mulholland, Tampa FL (813) 962-7020
George Perryman, Smyrna GA (770) 436-6001
Nancy Riley, Lake Placid FL (863) 699-1215
Melvin Sires, Aiken SC (803) 649-4073
Jim Stewart, Gardendale AL (205) 631-6968
Ward Van Duzer, Gainesville GA (770) 718-0122
Lee Webster, Manchester TN (615) 728-3283
Bud Williams, Gray TN (423) 477-0772
Alabama / Florida / Georgia /
Mississippi / Puerto Rico /
South Carolina / Tennessee
Jim McNeill
Vice President
617 South 20 Avenue,
Birmingham AL 35205
Tel.: (205) 322-2127
Fax: (205) 252-2654
E-mail: [email protected]
District V Web page:
www.modelair.org/