District VIII Report - 2004/04
Letter from Doug Garcia
Doug Garcia of El Paso, Texas, sent the following account and photographs about the Celebration of Flight Fly-in in Alamogordo, New Mexico, in November 2003.
I have been flying Radio Control (RC) for 20 years and only started traveling to fly-ins and other events during the last couple of years. I didn't know what I was missing.
I have made several friends throughout the Southwestern United States and have learned a great deal in the way of aircraft setup and flying techniques. I had the opportunity to attend a fly-in at a very nice facility in Alamogordo, New Mexico, on the weekend of November 15–16, 2003. The brief description below highlights activities of the fly-in.
An estimated 600 spectators witnessed "100 Years: A Celebration of Flight" Fly-In, an event commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers' first powered flight. The event was hosted by American Legion Post 34, Inc., and sponsored by Hal's Hobby Warehouse of El Paso, Texas, with the help of Horizon Hobby Distributors and the VMP Flyers Association.
Event details
- Date: November 15–16, 2003
- Location: American Legion Post 34, Inc., Veterans Memorial Park, Alamogordo, New Mexico
- Facility features: camper hookups, electricity, covered pit areas, and 800-foot paved runways
- Attendance: more than 85 participants from throughout New Mexico and West Texas, and an estimated 600 spectators
- Participating cities included Albuquerque, Socorro, Las Cruces, and El Paso
Guests and demonstrations
- Bill Brundle — a new member of Team JR who demonstrated the latest 1/3-scale Almost Ready-to-Fly (ARF) from Hangar 9: the Extra 330S.
- John Redman (JetCat turbines and Bob Violett Models Jets) — introduced the crowd to BVM Jets' latest model, the KingCat, flying with a JetCat P120 turbine engine. This entry-level jet could scream past at 200 mph and slow to 30 mph for landing.
- Quique Somenzini — four-time Tournament of Champions (TOC) champion and Team JR representative. Quique, the guest of honor, demonstrated his World Champion flying style performing precision aerobatics with his TOC aircraft, a Yak 54 built by Wayne Ulery. He flew two demonstration flights on Saturday and one on Sunday. The Saturday afternoon show included his TOC freestyle routine complete with smoke and music, giving many attendees their first exposure to extreme 3-D flying.
John and Bill hooked up buddy boxes and allowed spectators to fly both the Extra and the KingCat. I have already ordered my Extra, but the jet will have to wait.
Weather
Saturday's weather started with dense fog that grounded all but the electrics. The sun broke through about 10 a.m., and the rest of the weekend was excellent with clear blue skies and temperatures in the upper 60s. There was no wind on Saturday and a light wind on Sunday.
Flying, fun, and fellowship!
Sandy Frank
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
