District X — Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
One of my favorite things to do as your district vice president is to attend monthly meetings and flying events in our district. I was happy to oblige Mike Stone and the Gilman Springs RC Flyers when they invited me to the club’s World War I fly-in.
When I arrived, the skies resembled Europe in 1915. A cavalcade of beautiful scale models traded blows in mock aerial combat. Twenty-four pilots flying 33 models resulted in plenty of fun. I noticed a substantial group of spectators enjoying the event.
A full-scale Fokker Dr.I flyby was a big crowd pleaser, along with an FF demonstration during the noon break. I love to come to events such as this, so if you have something exciting, please let me know and I’ll do my best to be there.
Donnie Leseberg Memorial IMAC Event
A new tradition was started with the Donnie Leseberg Memorial International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) event, held April 20–22 at the Tucson International Modelplex Park Association flying field.
Donnie was involved in an automobile accident traveling home from last year’s Tucson Shootout. Both of Donnie’s children were in the car with him. They survived, but sadly Donnie did not.
Tony Russo from Desert Aircraft organized the program, which attracted 30 pilots from across the Southwest. The Leseberg family was grateful for the support and generosity of everyone who attended, and for the outpouring of kindness from the RC community, including all the businesses that sponsored the event and the individuals who donated their time to make it all happen.
Noteworthy was that it was the first time Donnie’s son, Cole, competed. He placed fifth in Basic. All proceeds from the event were donated to the Donnie Cole Leseberg Fund.
If you would like to donate to this fund, which benefits Donnie’s young son and daughter, you can do so at any Wells Fargo Bank. The donation should be made to:
- The Donnie Cole Leseberg Memorial Trust
- Trustee: Mark E. Leseberg
- Account number: 55934667638
You can also donate online at www.donnielesebergmemorial.com.
Club outreach and learn-to-fly sessions
Something I’ve discovered as I travel our district is that clubs involved with their communities tend to be the most secure. An excellent way to connect with your neighbors and build your club’s membership is through regularly scheduled learn-to-fly sessions. I’d like to help your club accomplish this.
The AMA has taken delivery of a large number of basic four-channel Zebra brand FM radios through the generosity of Hitec RCD USA. They come in two versions:
- One with a standard receiver and three servos.
- One with a lightweight receiver and two microservos for small foamies.
They include a trainer jack and are compatible with a JR instructor’s transmitter. I will provide these to any club that requests them for its trainer fleet for the cost of shipping. In addition, if you have a young, underprivileged member who needs a radio system, I will extend the offer to them as well. Contact me if you are interested.
Grants and club news
Congratulations to the Kona R/C Flyers and the Conejo Valley Flyers. Both of these District 10 clubs were awarded AMA Flying Site Assistance Grants to cover 10% of the cost of improvements to their fields. Take advantage of this benefit the AMA provides and improve your own field. Next year’s grant requests will be due in spring 2013.
I’d love to receive coverage of your events for the column and website, so please send in your reports and let everyone know how much fun we’re having. Don’t forget to check out the District 10 website at www.ama10.org, where you’ll find an expanded version of this column with more pictures and all the news that’s fit to print about our district.
Until next month, happy landings.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
