District X Report - 2007/11
Marc Karpowich, Associate Vice President (Utah)
Where did the summer go? As I write this, it seems as though we just left winter behind and now Labor Day is but a week away.
This flying season has been a whirlwind of events in the great state of Utah, kicking off with the Desert Helis April Fool's Day fun-fly. The event was held north of Saint George, Utah, at a private turf farm. This was an ideal location except for the removal of the turf before the event. More than 30 pilots attended, many with two or three helicopters.
Thanks go to Doug Reese and his wife for putting this fun-fly together.
I always wanted to fly myself to some of these contests or fun-flies and I had the chance to fly down to Price, Utah, to the Desert Wings R/C Club and deliver its Leader Club award. Rich Hanson flew up from Scottsdale, Arizona, to be present at the occasion.
This club has a fantastic flying site with the continuing help of the county and city. Christopher Rigert did a great job getting the information together to claim the award.
Wayne Hamada (with Rodney Sato) — Paradise Flyers (PFRCC), Hawaii
Like the mythical Phoenix, the Paradise Flyers RC Club (PFRCC) evolved after the original club lost its flying privileges at Marine Corps Base Hawaii (MCBH) in 1999. Shortly thereafter, the Leeward Aeromodelers RC Club also lost its Ford Island flying site.
Both clubs joined forces to find a new site and eventually obtained permission from the Bellows Air Force Base (BAFB) command to fly from an abandoned runway. The clubs chartered as the born-again PFRCC.
Today, MCBH is home to roughly 16,000 Marines, sailors, family members, and civilian employees. It maintains key operations, training and support facilities, and provides services that are essential for the readiness and global projection of ground combat forces and aviation units.
With the Koʻolau Mountains as a backdrop, the PFRCC flying site provides virtually unlimited airspace adjacent to and away from the base's active runway. The field is an inactive runway that provides an excellent platform for a wide variety of aircraft.
A typical day at the field usually finds a large contingent of turbine-powered models, which has arguably positioned PFRCC among the largest turbine clubs in the U.S.
Because MCBH is an active military base, the majority of PFRCC's membership must be active-duty military, dependents, or otherwise associated with the Department of Defense. Formal dues are not collected from the 70-plus membership, but members are assessed from time to time to cover club expenses.
The club is authorized to fly on Sundays and federal holidays only, and is occasionally grounded when full-scale operations are conducted on the active runway.
In 2004, PFRCC and AMA's Birds of Paradise Airshow Team performed during MCBH's Blues on the Bay airshow, which featured the Blue Angels, Patty Wagstaff, and other aerobatic performers. The Blue Angels will return in October and PFRCC plans to attend.
Until next time ... keep 'em safe and keep 'em fly'n.
District X
Rich Hanson, District X Vice President [email protected]
States: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
