THE GOONEY BIRDS’ Spring Fly-In
was held in Florence, South Carolina, on
June 13, 2009. CD Sam Smith registered 56
pilots for the fly-in on a hot, very humid,
94° day.
This event turned into a big picnic
outing with many visitors, children, and
families under shade canopies with electric
fans, hot dog lunches, and lots of ice water
and sodas.
The Florence group is one of the oldest
and largest clubs in the state and enjoys the
best flying site this writer has experienced.
Local clubs represented included the
Gooney Birds; the Flying Tigers, Lake City;
the Lexington Aircraft Radio Kontrol
Society, Lexington; the Eutawville Flyers,
Eutawville; the Kershaw County Flyers,
Camden; and the Congaree Flyers,
Congaree. The longest-distance pilot, Ed
Grossheim, came from Boston,
Massachusetts, and received a special award
for his presence.
A hard(ly)-working CD gets lots of
assistance at the registration table. Total
attendance at this meet was estimated at
125 people, including the 56 pilots.
Shade canopies, electric fans, and lots of ice
water and soda drinks made the day
bearable for families, friends, and children.
Richard Anderson of the Gooney Birds flew
a 1974 Super Kaos from the Bridi kit. This is
a good-looking, good-flying aircraft from
when models were built instead of
assembled from ARFs.
Lee Denny of Sumter, South Carolina, flew
his scratch-built, Giant Scale Ercoupe. The
model weighs 38 pounds and features an onboard
electric starter for the Zenoah G-62
engine. The airplane also has landing and
flying lights.
A smooth landing and slow taxi back home
completes another successful flight for Lee’s
Ercoupe.
D o n
Carkhuff of
the Gooney
Birds has
b e e n
modeling for
75 years. His
designs and
scratch-built model plans have been
published in Flying Models and Model
Airplane News magazines. This 1973 vintage
fun-scale Parasol flies with an O.S. .90
engine and Futaba radio. The Parasol is a
gentle flyer and a model that a pilot can
enjoy just cruising through the sky.
This report was submitted by Roger
Marshall, AMA associate vice president in
South Carolina.
District V
Tony Stillman, District V Vice President; [email protected]
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands
September 2009 167
Tony Stillman
Vice President
102 Cherrywood Ct.
Brunswick GA 31525;
(912) 242-2407
www.amadistrict-v.org
Contest Coordinators
RC: Dick Tonan, 639
Knollwood Dr., La Vergne
TN 37086;
[email protected]
FF: Bob Thoren, 10002 Bluff Dr.,
Huntsville AL 35803; (256) 726-
1051; [email protected]
CL: Gene Martine, 11248 Martin
Lakes Dr. No., Jacksonville FL
32220; [email protected]
Associate Vice Presidents
Alabama:
Lamar Blair, Decatur AL; (256)
303-8349; lamarblair@amadistrictv.
org
Florida:
Jim Saiff, Tampa FL; (813)
969-4262; jsaiffchipmunkrc1@
verizon.net
Ron Van Putte, Ft. Walton Bch. FL;
(850) 243-0207; [email protected]
Georgia:
Bob Dixon, Macon GA; rldixon3@
cox.net
Mississippi:
Paul Verger, Vancleave MS;
(228) 826-4892;
[email protected]
Puerto Rico:
Richard Prann, San Juan PR; (787)
777-2143; [email protected]
South Carolina:
Jim Fender, Batesburg SC; (803)
414-2591; [email protected]
Roger Marshall, Camden SC;
(803) 432-2347;
[email protected]
Tennessee:
Dick Tonan, La Vergne TN;
[email protected]
For additional district officers and
volunteers, please see a previous
issue of MA or visit the District V
Web site.
D i s t r i c t V V o l u n t e e r s
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/09
Page Numbers: 167
