District VIII — Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Mark Johnston Vice President
Contact
- Email: [email protected]
- Address: 6608 Beck Dr. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
- Tel.: (505) 823-0158
- Website: www.amadistrict-viii.org
Last month we were in the middle of proposed state legislation in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Arkansas. Of those bills, only the one in Texas is still moving forward. The other states have finished their legislative sessions for the spring and will not return until the fall.
We have been lucky that these bills have not limited our ability to operate our models. But we are our own worst enemy in that regard. Someone from the hobby will likely do something that attracts the national spotlight again.
Please spread the message that we as aeromodelers should be careful of how we represent ourselves in the news and in online postings. All of our reputations could be jeopardized if we are not vigilant.
Austin Heli Fest (April 5–7)
I attended the Austin Heli Fest April 5–7. The event garnered 101 pilots. The 100th pilot was an older gentleman named Lloyd who was working the event for the club. When they hit 99 pilots, he signed up to be the 100th.
Joe Doran was the CD and did an outstanding job. Everyone learned something new and what he or she could do better next time around.
The event had many sponsors. Gaui's team and well-known pilot Curtis Youngblood conducted demonstrations. Several hobby dealers were there selling goods.
The Austin, Texas club has a nice field and we met many friendly people. One thing to note about this event is that if you are having problems with something, someone is always there to help. A group I know from the Abilene RC Society came and we set up next to them for the weekend. We had a great time and hope to make it back next year.
The last event on Saturday was drag racing. And with the event done, some backward inverted drags were in order. If you have the Model Aviation app you can see them.
Triple D RC Club Fun-Fly (Dumas, Texas — April 20–21)
April 20–21 I visited members of the Triple D RC Club of Dumas, Texas, and went to the club’s fun-fly. The event attracted 37 pilots and the weather was outstanding. I was amazed that the wind did not blow while I was there.
Cliff Town was the CD and did a great job. He also serves as an associate vice president for the Texas Panhandle. I saw many members of the Amarillo club and it was good to see them again. Cliff had several events for everyone to try throughout the weekend. All of the events had good participation.
Johnny Cavitt won the Top Gun Trophy and Cliff gave a Making a Difference Award to Terry Widick and Tim Trayler for the hard work they do for the hobby and the club.
Hope to see you all at the field!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
