District X — Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Contact
Lawrence Tougas Vice President [email protected] 1827 Santa Monica St., Fairfield, CA 94533 Tel.: (707) 480-2053 www.ama10.org
Bear Mountain Pattern Bash
The third annual Bear Mountain Pattern Bash is a wrap. CD, promoter, and jack-of-all-trades Chip Hyde put on a great show. Chip is a 13-time national champion, a two-time world champion, and three-time winner of the Tournament of Champions.
This contest attracts people from many parts of the country and many backgrounds. Notable attendees included:
- Mike Mueller (F3A Unlimited)
- Bobby Satalino (Chicago)
- Robert Green (NSRCA District 5 vice president)
- Richard Verano (U.S. distributor for YS Engines)
- Many members of the AMA District X Pattern community
The contest was spread across three days rather than two, allowing more time to visit.
Scoring innovation
District X Associate Vice President Peter Vogel, a software designer with Intuit, wanted to reduce the tedious, labor-intensive job of transcribing judges' scores for every maneuver into the scoring computer. At a contest such as this, that can mean more than 10,000 data entries.
Peter developed a solution combining iPod Touch devices, a wireless network, and his custom software. Each judge had an iPod and entered scores as the maneuvers were flown. At the end of the flight, the scores were transmitted to the scoring computer for tabulation. The system was a hit with judges because they could keep their eyes on the airplane rather than looking down to record scores. Peter continues to refine the system, and it has the potential to change how scoring is done across the country.
Evening events
Saturday evening featured some full-contact combat flying with Aerobeez Zagi flying wings. We enjoyed a catered dinner and a magic show from District X Pattern flier Jamie Schoolcraft, who produces high-quality magic items for some of the biggest names in entertainment.
Community outreach — La Mariposa Elementary Science Week
La Mariposa Elementary School in Camarillo, California, held its Science Week March 24–28, 2014. According to principal Erica Williams, this year’s theme was "Air." Natalie Swarts, a Science Week volunteer, invited the Camarillo Flying Circus (CFC) RC Club to display and fly RC models to introduce kindergarten through fifth-grade students to the basic concepts of flight.
CFC members:
- Displayed various RC airplanes, helicopters, and boats
- Flew a small electric helicopter
- Dropped candy from a quadcopter for a candy hunt
The students asked many interesting questions and enjoyed the candy hunt, making the event a great success and a good example of how an AMA club can get involved in its community.
Until next month, may you have nothing but happy landings.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
