I want to lead this month’s column with a safety reminder. The West has been experiencing an unusually dry winter. I hope we get some late rain, but even if we do, we typically have large expanses of dry grass near our fields.
Please develop a safety plan to extinguish fires if they occur at your flying site. Know how to reach the fire department and clearly describe your field location with a street address, cross streets, nearby landmarks—anything you can think of to expedite a response.
Have some method of fighting a fire available to club members while waiting for the fire department and a way to get it in position to be effective. Finally conduct fire drills to hone your club’s response to potential fires. Being prepared can make the difference between a minor annoyance and a major catastrophe.
In my December column, I summarized the contributions District X clubs made to National Model Aviation Day. I left out the Reno Radio Control club that raised $657 for the Wounded Warrior Project. My apologies.
Any club that operates on public land needs to be thinking about how they can be considered an asset by their community and not a liability. Let’s see how the Inland Soaring Society (ISS) accomplished this.
The ISS of Riverside, California, was invited to participate in a Veterans Day air show at the Flabob Airport during the Veterans Day weekend. The ISS currently uses a parcel of land courtesy of the City of Riverside Parks and Recreation Department and one of the terms of their agreement is the requirement to make a public model aviation demonstration at a city-sponsored event.
What a great opportunity this was for the ISS. This private airport is home to a large population of military veterans who may have been involved in military aviation and they annually return to Flabob for this event.
Although the ISS is primarily a sailplane club, they also allow electric-powered models to fly from the field. There were plenty of active club members who were able to pitch in to make the display and demonstration flights a success.
Flabob Airport Management provided a 30-minute window for the flight demos. The highlight was a 3-D freestyle flight put on by championship pilot, Jeff Szueber Jr., and assisted by his dad, Jeff Sr. As Jeff brought his 40% Extra 300 down on the deck into a hover, the announcer began daring Jeff to perform a tail touch, and the crowd got into it as well. When Jeff pulled off the stunt, the crowd went wild for him!
It was a great time and the club pulled off the display and demo with professionalism and efficiency. Roughly 40 aircraft were spread across the assigned display area ranging from park flyer size electrics to sailplanes with 12-foot wingspan and a turbine-powered Viper jet. The display had a high level of interest going all day long. Congratulations to the ISS for a job well done!
Las Vegas Associate Vice President (AVP) Greg Clemensen and I attended the International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) Southwestern Regional Championships. CDs Gil Torzo and Rusty Fried put on quite a show. It was held at the Las Vegas Radio Control Club, formerly home to the Tournament of Champions. Here are some of my favorite photos from the event.
My thanks to AVPs Michael Lee and Greg Clemensen for their contributions. Please go to the District X website at http://ama10.org to see more photos.
Until next month, may you have nothing but happy landings.
