District V Report - 2003/06
District V States
- Alabama
- Florida
- Georgia
- Mississippi
- Puerto Rico
- South Carolina
- Tennessee
Contact / District Officer
- Jim McNeill — Vice President
- Address: 617 South 20th Avenue, Birmingham, AL 35205
- Tel: (205) 252-2127
- Fax: (205) 252-2654
- Email: [email protected]
- District V Web page: www.modelair.org/
- Frequency Coordinator: Jim McNeill
Note
- For a listing of all district volunteer workers please consult a previous issue of Model Aviation.
In Memoriam
My lifelong friend George Perryman passed away unexpectedly. George was an active Associate Vice President for Free Flight. We'll all miss him.
George's replacement will be Manny Sousa.
Sun Dancers Radio Control Club (Port St. Lucie, FL) — Club of the Month
I attended the 12th Annual Big Bird Fly-In conducted by the Sun Dancers Radio Control (RC) Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. This excellent organization is long overdue for District V recognition. Port St. Lucie is on the eastern side of Florida, about 100 miles north of Miami. Many model fliers live in the area.
The Sun Dancers, with 240 members, provide anyone in the area with an AMA license, an opportunity to join the club, and a place to fly. The club currently has three fields and a lake for model fliers. George Zegaib is the treasurer and field marshal.
Some of the members congregate into groups when out flying. Earl Ridgway reports the Monday–Wednesday–Friday Gang in the club newsletter, Tale Spinner, and the Tuesday–Thursday–Saturday Gang is reported by Larry Olson. Similar interests and flying expertise draw them together. No one is forbidden to fly at any of the club fields at any time. It is a fun organization.
Larry reported in a recent newsletter that the Lake Forest Retirement Home residents came in their own bus to the field and watched the club put on a good show.
This remarkable club, the Sun Dancers RC, is our February Club of the Month.
Charlotte Radio Control Society (Punta Gorda, FL) — Club of the Month
The Charlotte Radio Control Society (CRCS) in Punta Gorda, Florida, is our other Club of the Month for February. The CRCS recently held a big International Miniature Aerobatics Club (IMAC) contest, providing the field and officials to help conduct the event.
The Junior Challenge covered events 412, 413, and 414. It was a four-day affair for Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited, with a freestyle competition on the last day. The event was sponsored by Horizon Hobbies.
CRCS was started around 1984. Joe Hanchey and Jim McClary shaped the club's direction. Today the organization is successful with nearly 100 members. It has an excellent flying field with two parallel runways. Landowners Sylvia and Larry Hudson support the club and enjoy model airplanes, as do Jim McClary and the other club officials. The contest director came all the way from Maryland to run the event.
I was there on Friday, Intermediate day. This was not a fun-fly; it was a big contest. Fliers showed up from all over the United States.
Both clubs have been mailed cloth patches that say "AMA Club of the Month." There are many more pictures of these clubs on our District V web site, www.modelair.org.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
