District VII—Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Even for the bravest of the brave, winter flying in our district can make for some tough sledding (please pardon the mixed metaphor). Although I still put on my big-boy pants and head out to the field for my club’s New Year’s Day Freeze Fest, most of my winter modeling activity is of the kind where I can stay warm. To those in my neck of the woods who are awarded an All-Season Flyer patch, you have my respect and admiration.
This winter is going to be something special for me. After spending the last few years doing a lot more repairs than I care to discuss, I plan to build a kit with my grandson and give him the chance to get some glue stuck to his fingers.
To give you a bit of background, the first RC kit that my boys and I built together was a Goldberg Mirage 550. To say it was slightly overweight was an understatement (think brushed motors, Ni-Cd car packs and standard servos).
Paul Bedard, who is a good modeling friend, had a Mirage 550 in his collection of kits and I was able to talk him out of it. I’m really excited to see how this version will perform with the modern components that are available today. But most of all, I’m excited about the new memories that we’ll make and the old ones I’ll get a chance to revisit.
I’ll try and share some photos of the finished product in a future column. This journey will be every bit as much fun as the destination!
To help shake off the winter chill, I’m going to let Iowa Associate Vice President (AVP) Kent Woods tell you about the Ames Multi-Fly, held in Ames, Iowa, this past summer, and share some beautiful photographs courtesy of AVP Lloyd Swanson’s wife, Starla. Enjoy.
Ames Multi-Fly — Ames, Iowa (September 6, 2014)
September 6, 2014, dawned with bright sunshine coming over the trees in the distance. There was little wind, and it stayed that way. Members of the Central Iowa Aeromodelers began arriving to do the chores necessary to host an event.
Participants started to arrive (that’s always nice) to choose their favorite parking spots and begin assembling their aircraft. As the morning progressed, more pilots arrived. Shortly after 9 a.m., CD Mark Taylor held a short pilots’ meeting stressing the two most important things at a fun-fly event: safety and fun.
With little wind and just a slight quartering from the runway, the sky was a busy place, but everyone had ample opportunities to fly. This event is not limited to warbirds; Classic Era and multiengine aircraft also participate.
Something unique to our event is the proximity of several pilots who fly large warbirds. This year we were treated to five large B-17s in the air at the same time. The sound of four well-tuned engines, times five, is an example of the skill needed to fly these large aircraft.
Another crowd-pleaser was the contingent from the Des Moines Modelaires who fly 1/4-scale and larger World War I aircraft, performing very scale-like flights.
Sunday didn’t offer as nice a day, but some returned for a few flights before the wind decided to blow.
We want to thank all of those who attended. We hope you had a good time and plan to attend next year. The date hasn’t yet been set, but it will probably be the first part of September. See you then!
- Event: Ames Multi-Fly
- Location: Ames, Iowa
- Date: September 6, 2014
- Contest Director: Mark Taylor
- Highlights: five large B-17s airborne at once; 1/4-scale and larger WWI aircraft from the Des Moines Modelaires; excellent flying conditions on Saturday
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
