District VIII Report - 2007/11

162 MODEL AVIATION
IT’S TIME to celebrate Thanksgiving!
Please take a moment to reflect on our great
hobby/sport and be thankful that we live in a
land where we can easily pursue our interests.
Remember our soldiers deployed
worldwide who will miss this holiday with
family and friends so that we can enjoy it
ourselves. We need to be thankful for the
many volunteers whom we have that keep
our flying fields, clubs, and our association
running smoothly; providing us with places
and opportunities to fly and enjoy each
other’s company.
Happy Thanksgiving to all and a special
thank you to our hard-working volunteers!
I attended the National Competition Fun Fly
Association’s (NCFFA) Fun-Fly
Championships in Alburquerque, New
Mexico, July 28-29. The 35 participants
resulted in 65 registrants in five different
events.
CD Chuck Andraka kept everything
running smoothly and safely with the
assistance of co-CD Mark Johnston and the
entire Alburquerque RC Club. All of the
NCFFA officials were there including Rocky
Rachau, president; Jeff Black, vice president;
Dan Luchaco, secretary/treasurer; and Chuck
Andraka, newsletter editor and webmaster.
The Masters Class attendance was down
some, but competition was still keen and the
skills and aircraft impressed everyone. You
can’t believe 10 touch-and-gos on a 100-foot
square with a 360 between touches in less
than 15 seconds!
There were six “East Coast types”
(anything east of Louisiana is East Coast to
District VIII) including three from
Pennsylvania, two Georgians, and one from
Alabama. I was the only Texan and I
borrowed an airplane from Mark Johnston to
fly. The rest were from New Mexico.
David Grantham still reigns as king of the
Masters. I think he’s a three-peat in Fun-Fly
and more than that in Unlimited. Everyone
flew hard, many airplanes were wounded,
and some were killed over the weekend.
Magic Class was fun and probably started
some new pilots into the Fun Fly circuit.
Competition was tight and pilot skills
became the key since everyone flew the same
aircraft. The photos capture the event’s spirit.
Above: Judges
Marlin Smith,
Chuck, and Randy
Wysoki score a
Masters inverted
climb-and-glide/spot.
Left: Rocky Rachau
makes a limbo pass
in ROOP Limbo: five
limbos with roll-andloops
between
passes, all timed.
The rainy summer we have had across the
district makes it appropriate to report on
float-fly events since they seem to be possible
even on our normally dry, grass runways.
The River City Club in San Antonio has a
ramp into the adjacent lake and float-flying is
held the first Sunday of every month. The
August float-fly was conducted from the
parking lot of the flying field rather than at
the edge of the lake at the ramp. Pilots taxied
past pit signs and tables to the area of the
main runway that was well under water. The
field was still useable to these pilots while it
remained closed to land aircraft.
The Highland Lakes Flyers (HLF) hosted a
one-day float-fly event at the Llano City Park
on the Llano River in Llano, Texas, on
August 4. It was the club’s first event. More
than 30 pilots enjoyed the beautiful site and
most asked that the event extend to two days
the next time.
HLF enjoys an excellent relationship with
the County of Llano and is lucky to have such
a fine venue to host a float-fly. The
accompanying pictures capture the beauty of
the river and the participants’ enjoyment.
Mike McDougall conducts a pilots’ briefing.
This shows the pits and river area of the Llano
City Park.
Winter is upon us as you read this column.
Make sure you conduct a thorough safety
check of your workshop as you settle in on
your building projects.
Have fun and fly safely! See you on the
flightline. Jim.
Jim Rice
Vice President
118 E. Wright Blvd.,
Universal City TX 78148
Tel.: (210) 213-0299
(evenings)
www.AMA-Dist-8.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Buzz Averill, Albuquerque NM;
(505) 298-6870
Lester L. Barry, Bethany OK;
(405) 789-5373
Max Blose, Waco TX;
(254) 662-5587
Bill Fulmer, Gretna LA;
(504) 392-3620
Jack Hogan, Chandler TX;
903) 849-4193 (Evenings)
Jim D. Marshall, Mission TX;
(956) 585-6446
Douglas E. Powell, Wichita Falls
TX; (940) 691-8348
Ron Stanfield, Maumelle AR;
(501) 851-1697
Pat Willcox, Kingwood TX;
(713) 358-1750
Frequency Coordinator
North: Joe DuMond, Ft. Worth
TX; (817) 457-6685
South: Gene Kent, Tomball TX;
(281) 255-4805
AMA Display Coordinator
David Johns, Deer Park TX
(713) 476-4820
Safety Coordinator
Chuck Waller, Canyon Lake TX;
(210) 563-4246
District VIII Volunteers
District VIII
Jim Rice, District VIII Vice President; [email protected]
Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Left: David
Grantham
of Georgia
receives an
award from
Chuck
Andraka.
Right:
Alabama’s
Trey Hooten
won musical
pylons.
Norm Elliott
(L) of
Alburquerque
sponsored the
“Next-to-
Last” award
for the Magic
Class.
Johnston
wins!