Author: Lawrence Tougas
Edition: Model Aviation - 2014/02
Page Numbers: 156

District X—Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah

Contact

Central Valley Radio Control Club (CVRC) — Fall Soaring Festival, Visalia, CA

I attended the Central Valley Radio Control Club’s (CVRC) Fall Soaring Festival in Visalia, California. CVRC was formed in 1970 to promote RC soaring. This was the club’s 43rd annual event.

There was a huge turnout — more than 200 entries this year, split between the following classes:

  • Two-Meter
  • Altitude Limited Electric Soaring
  • Open
  • Rudder/Elevator/Spoiler
  • Woody

In addition to three great days of soaring, CVRC raised $1,000 for the Miracle League. The Miracle League constructs baseball fields so children with disabilities can play ball.

Claude Turner, CVRC president and the event’s contest director, said, “Everyone had a lot of fun over the weekend. There was great lift and very close scores.” I’d have to agree.

Arizona Free Flight Championships — Eloy, AZ

I attended the Arizona Free Flight Championships in Eloy. The contest is hosted by the Phoenix Model Airplane Club (PMAC), which has a long history in District X — it originated in 1934. The club holds a number of free-flight (FF) and Old-Timer RC contests each year, of which the Southwest Regionals is the largest.

I went primarily to represent the AMA and to cover the event for this column, but I had a secret mission.

Elmer Nelson — Carl and Beth Goldberg Vital People Award

Elmer Nelson, PMAC president, was selected to receive the Carl and Beth Goldberg Vital People Award. This award recognizes modelers who have made a large impact on our sport at the local level, and Elmer certainly fills that bill. It was my pleasure to surprise him with the award during the contest. Congratulations, Elmer.

Larry Wolfe — AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame

Larry Wolfe was a 2013 inductee of the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame. Larry was a pioneer in producing scale models of jet aircraft. In the 1970s, he and Bob Violett produced the first successful scale ducted-fan kit in the U.S., the A-4 Skyhawk.

He and his wife, Tracy, went on to found Jet Hangar Hobbies. Larry perfected the use of glow-powered ducted fans to give a true jet look to models. He later worked with turbines and today’s electric-ducted-fan propulsion systems.

Larry produced a number of proof-of-concept models for the aerospace industry, as well as models used in motion-picture production. He is a noted scale model competitor and judge, and he conducts youth outreach in support of aeromodeling. Congratulations, Larry, and welcome to the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame.

Photos

I again have more photos to show than space allows. To see all of them, go to the District X website: www.ama10.org.

Until next month, may you have nothing but happy landings.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.