District VIII
Jim Rice, District VIII Vice President; [email protected]
Coverage area:
- Arkansas
- Louisiana
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- Texas
I have been up to my ears in FAA work, closing a hobby shop, and moving my wife’s business to a new building, so I have only been flying a couple of times and attended a swap meet.
One of my flying days was truly enjoyable. Five seasoned modelers descended on the Community Bible Church in San Antonio, Texas, on a Saturday to fly with a group that has no AMA affiliation. There must have been 15 kids—teenaged and younger—some flying hand-launched gliders, some flying Guillows rubber-powered models, and many flying micro RC aircraft.
Many had questions or troubles, and at one point I looked around and saw each of the five of us with a child at our elbows, down on a knee helping youngsters learn and enjoy our super hobby. I wish I had had a camera, but believe me the five of us have it in our minds eye!
The organizer asked me to discuss AMA at the break, and several of the families came to the hobby shop for information and assistance. Great day!
Report from Mark Johnston, New Mexico Associate Vice President
On February 4 and 5, Brian Regan and I traveled to a place called Granite Gap, about 30 miles from Lordsburg, New Mexico. AMA Director of Education Bill Pritchett joined us and we presented model aviation to Gene Turner and several others who are planning a fairly large community for rocketry, astronomy, and model aviation. It is a place for schools and others to attend in a camp environment that may also be used for AMA members to fly and conduct events.
The site is within two hours of:
- Tucson, AZ
- Las Cruces, NM
- El Paso, TX
We took a variety of aircraft, including:
- 1/4-scale Dr.I
- 1/4-scale S.E.5
- Tiger Moth
- Numerous electric aircraft, including an A380 jet and a T-Rex 600 helicopter
We had a good time representing AMA. Many AMA folks will be talking more with the organizers/owner to help establish the ultimate flying site. It could be a place to hold major events and attract folks from all over the West. The education side of this facility should be second to none—something we sorely need to do more of as a community of modelers.
The Albuquerque Soaring Association (ASA) invited me to represent AMA at their Zoom to Engineering Fair at the National Museum of Nuclear Science and History. About 400 people visited the event and museum. We set up videos from the AMA library, three simulators, and a static display with several sailplanes and helicopters. Handouts from AMA included magazines, the Beginners Guide to Model Aviation, and some model aviation school club flyers.
Contributions and demos:
- Charlie Zaffery brought a Slow Stick for demonstrations.
- Steve Moskal, president of ASA, brought a display fuselage of an airplane mounted on a tripod with a radio to show how it works.
- We flew some Blade helicopters.
- Taylor Collins had a helicopter on a large tripod with a camera mounted on the front; a radio allowed participants to pan and tilt the camera.
Mary Moskal, Richard Dick, Brian Regan, and Terry Pierce also helped with the event. We generated a lot of interest in model aviation and were asked to do a similar show at the National American Indian Science and Engineering Fair in late March.
Thanks for a great report, Mark.
Keep up with the FAA effort! Have fun and fly safely. See you on the flightline.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
