Winter is here and events have died down. For those who can brave the weather to go fly, some parts of the district are still warm and flying is still going strong.
You will read this in mid-January and we will have put new stuff together during the holidays to take out and show our friends. Many new people may come out to your field to share in our hobby with new stuff they got. Remember to be friendly and respectful to those new individuals because they may not know the rules of the field.
I mention this is because I had an experience a couple of weeks ago where a man and his kids came to the public site where I occasionally fly and he was standing in front of the pilot stations instead of behind them. He was flying electrics, and in most parks and other places there are no pilot boxes.
I went to talk with the man and he seemed to be a nice person. While I was talking to him, another person who was flying at the time landed and came over acting confrontational.
Needless to say, he went home shortly after and has not returned (that I have seen). I regret not getting to talk to him again before he left and I hope that if you have people come to the field to fly, remember that they may not know all of the site rules or may be a newcomer. Make a good impression and maybe you’ll gain a new friend to share your building and flying experiences with in the years to come.
Randy Ritch attended the Bomber Field event in Texas this year and sent me this report.
In September every year, I look forward to the annual Bomber Field event. Bomber Field was started by the late B.B. Webber. His goal was to have the premier flying site in the USA. For more than 20 years B.B. has had some of the largest fly-ins in Texas.
B.B. passed away, but the club is trying to continue without him. B.B. started the club with one annual event and it has grown to several. B.B.’s love for the B-17 prompted him to hold an annual B-17 fly-in every September. I have attended all of these events and have some fond memories of Bomber Field.
This year’s event was as awesome as those in the past. Throughout the years, I have met some outstanding modelers and this year one was recognized. For those who follow Scale, you know I am referring to Sam Snyder. He is one of the greatest modelers I know.
In August, Sam learned that he was going to be an AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame member and that he was going to be recognized at Bomber Field. I had the honor of saying a few words about Sam at the presentation.
Congratulations, Sam, for your accomplishments! For those who have never been to Bomber Field, come visit this awesome facility.
Jim Marshall attended the Texas Small Model Aircraft Society of Harlingen (SMASH) club’s Warbirds Over the Valley event. While extreme cold weather was slamming into most parts of the US, the same cold front did a slow, lethargic slide through the subtropical regions of south Texas, dropping early morning temperatures to the mid-50s. The weatherman had promised balmy temperatures and low wind speeds by midmorning—ideal warbird flying weather.
Several pilots had expressed their dismay at having to miss the event because of business distractions or family get-togethers, and they asked me to pass on their good wishes to the event organizers.
As the sun began its peek over the palm tree-studded skyline, trailers and vehicles were seen streaming in to unload. Tex Long was busy shouting orders and registering pilots, the field was freshly mowed and looked great. The pilots arranged jets and propeller-driven warbirds of every size and description into the pits.
Bruce Landsman and Bert Hahn welcomed participants and spectators to the event. Tex called for a pilots’ meeting and explained the flying format for the day and opened the field for operations.
The SMASH barbecue pit was soon smoking and a quick check of what the midday feed was to be revealed—freshly caught, tasty fried king mackerel with all of the trimmings was on the menu—these guys always do it right for visiting pilots and spectators. The newly opened HobbyTown USA, located in McAllen, was the headlining sponsor for the event and graciously donated a large table full of hobby items to be given away to participants.
On the last weekend in October, Brian Regan took a trip to see the Los Alamos Aeromodelers in New Mexico, for one of the club’s monthly get-togethers. Twelve 12 fliers came out that day and had a great time.
We are accepting applications for the District VIII Camp AMA scholarship. If you know someone who might be interested, contact me for details. The deadline for the essays is March 31.
District VIII needs a contest coordinator for Control Line and Free Flight. If you are interested, let me know via email.
I am starting to fill in weekends on my calendar for the coming year. I want to make it to events that I have not previously attended. If you have dates for an event, let me know so I can try to get it on my schedule.
Hope to see you all at the field![dingbat]
