District VIII - 2011/06

148 MODEL AVIATION
ONCE AGAIN I have been overwhelmed
by things happening in the last month and
unable to attend district activities and events.
I hosted and attended another FAA work
session in San Antonio, Texas, where Rich
Hanson and his team joined Lynn Spencer
from FAA to continue the process of
developing standards by which we may fly
model aircraft after the small Unamanned
Aerial Systems (sUAS) rule is enacted in
early 2013.
Rich, Tom Kallevang, Mike Harrington,
Bill Pritchett, and I attended the session. We
teleconferenced with James Sizemore of
FAA, Greg Hahn from AMA Headquarters,
and Gary Fogel and Brian Hudson from the
work group.
Perhaps the best progress to date was
made during that two-day session. I left the
effort with a much better feeling about our
progress and the future of the organization.
Couple that with Senator Inhofe of
Oklahoma getting a model aircraft
amendment attached to the FAA bill as it
passed through the Senate, and things are
beginning to look brighter. Much work is yet
to be done to get us through this critical
effort, but I feel we are on the right track.
I closed my hobby shop after 15 years of
serving the modelers in Central Texas. It was
a bittersweet day when I locked the door for
the last time. The next day began the arduous
process of moving out of the rented building
after occupying it for so long. How does one
accumulate so much valuable, but worthless,
stuff?
I finished moving out and relocating my
wife’s business on the last day of March and
turned in the keys. That just about filled up
my month.
I received tragic news from the Temple
Aero Modelers Club in Temple, Texas.
Unfortunately, a member drowned while
trying to retrieve an airplane from a nearby
lake. He was flying alone, operating a new
airplane when it evidently crashed into the
lake. His jacket, wallet, and telephone were
found at the water’s edge where he went in.
The water temperature was likely
somewhere around 40° at the time and it took
several weeks to recover his remains. He was
a club officer and a seasoned modeler.
This tragedy points out to the rest of us
how dangerous it can be to fly alone and how
careful we need to be when performing
seemingly easy and common tasks at the
flying site. With some buddy assistance,
there likely would have had a better outcome
in this situation.
Good news from Arkansas! Cecil Collum
reports that his local club, the Flightmasters
Model Airplane Club near Fort Smith, is
losing its field to new interstate highway
development. After many stops and starts
and, with great persistence and perseverance,
the club now has access to 30 acres—at no
cost!—on the old Fort Chaffee property,
which is now known as Chaffee Crossing.
The members are looking forward to
breaking ground and developing a great new
site for the 65-member club. See the “Flying
Site Assistance” column on page 138.
Bill Holland, associate vice president for
Oklahoma, reports that a new RC club is in
the works. The group flies giant-scale
aircraft and is going to call itself the
Oklahoma Miniature Aerobatic Club
(OMAC).
These International Miniature Aerobatic
Club (IMAC) modelers have located a flying
site near the cities of Newcastle and
Blanchard. They have secured a 10-year
lease on 80 acres that should be a nice home.
I attended the Toledo Weak Signals Expo
again this year and chaired the Safety
Committee meeting on the Monday
following the show. The event was lively
and entertaining and I was busy with FAA
questions.
It felt like attendance may have been
down slightly from previous years, but
interest and enthusiasm were still high.
Randy Ritch from Houston, Texas, had a
booth and I snapped this picture of Dickie,
Suzanne, and Randy Ritch busy promoting
their product. He reports that business was
crisp.
For those who remember Rick Grim,
formerly from the San Antonio area, he has
joined the AMA Safety Committee and has
big shoes to fill. Don Lowe has stepped
down and Rick is assuming his position. He
does a great job and fits in well with the rest
of the talented members of that committee.
Rick and Kim now live in the Huntsville,
Alabama, area and are in the UAV business.
Rick and Kim are with Ilona Maine (L) who is
our staff liaison to the Safety Committee. We
would seldom get any work accomplished
without Ilona’s fine assistance!
Have fun and fly safely. See you on the
flightline!
District VIII
Jim Rice, District VIII Vice President; [email protected]
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Jim Rice
Vice President
4810 El Gusto San
Antonio TX 78233
Tel.: (210) 213-0299
www.AMA-Dist-8.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Jack Hogan, Chandler TX;
(903) 849-4193 (Evenings)
Bill Holland, Edmond OK;
(405) 562-1327
Mark S. Johnston, Albuquerque
NM; (505) 823-0158
Jim D. Marshall, Alton TX;
(956) 984-9474
Jon Martin, Rayne LA;
(337) 783-2759
Jack Matlock, Live Oak TX;
(210) 413-4846
Randy Ritch, Magnolia TX;
(281) 701-3121
Doug Staines, Belton TX;
(254) 780-3512
Ron Stanfield, Maumelle AR;
(501) 851-1697
Cliff Town, Dumas TX;
(806) 935-3063; town_cliff@
hotmail.com
Pat Willcox, Kingwood TX;
(281) 358-1750
Frequency Coordinator
Gene Kent, Tomball TX;
(281) 255-4805
Safety Coordinator
David Oates, Texarkana TX;
(903) 826-7919; davidoates@
sherrodservices.com
AMA Display Coordinator
David Johns, Deer Park TX;
(281) 476-4820
RC Contest Coordinator
Douglas E. Powell, Wichita Falls
TX; (940) 691-8348;
[email protected]
CL/FF Contest Coordinator
Bill Lee, Chandler TX;
(903) 852-5599; [email protected]
District VIII Volunteers
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