District VIII Report - 2009/08
I can't seem to get every place I want to go! I keep meeting myself at intersections around the district. Many round trips are well beyond 1,000 miles.
Joe Nall 2009
Just a quick note on the 2009 edition of Joe Nall: it was superb — more than 800 pilots, five flight areas, and many vendor booths. My friend Bob Sawyer calls it the Disneyland for modelers.
- You can have a great time and be entertained without even having an airplane.
- Many District VIII people attended: some flying, some helping with the event, and some were just spectators (as I was).
Put it on your schedule for next year!
Crescent City RC Club Big Bird Fly-In
San Antonio, Texas, to New Orleans, Louisiana, is one of those long round trips. Jack Matlock and I attended the Crescent City RC Club Big Bird event in Edgard, Louisiana. What a great facility for modeling and a nice welcome for weary travelers.
Ray Miller ran a great show! Attendance was down some because of the threat of rain, but everyone had a good time. Jack and I helped select best-of-show awards. Barry Breaux won first place, but the picture didn't turn out.
Alamo Radio Control Society (ARCS) Swap Meet and Fly-In
ARCS held a swap meet and fly-in on Sunday after I got home from Louisiana. I attended and the weather was beautiful for most of the day. It started raining around 2:30, but we had a great time and much air was stirred.
- Approximately 30 pilots attended.
- There was a great concession stand with free popcorn for the kids (I was a kid too!).
The event was organized by Jim Noblett and CDed by Gene Trevino.
Bill Shupe Memorial Fly-In
The annual Bill Shupe Memorial Fly-In was held in Kingsbury, Texas, with 36 pilots in attendance. Although it was a fly-in for anything, special recognition was given to Cubs because they were a favorite aircraft of Bill's.
Andy Clapp did a great job as CD, and the weather was excellent.
Unfortunately, club president Chuck Krupczak won best of show with his low inverted pass (read: crash) of his Cub and then got called away as his father was failing. We lost his father, Ed, the following day. Ed had become family to everyone in the club and will be missed by all of us.
Membership Drive
The Membership Drive continues until mid-September. We need everyone's support to get our membership numbers back above 150,000. You or your club could be winners in the competition, and you stand the chance of making new friends and having new flying buddies.
- Find grandparents and have them bring their grandkids out to fly — you get two or three for one that way.
Shawnee Thunderbirds and Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center
Les Barry, associate vice president for Oklahoma, has been sending stories about the Shawnee Thunderbirds and the club's work with the Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center. He reports that they are about to fly a trainer that the kids built and plans to share photos with us.
Les had a recent appointment with his cardiologist; he is weak but doing well. I look forward to his report and wish him well.
Have fun and fly safely! See you on the flightline.
District VIII Jim Rice, District VIII Vice President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
