District X Report - 2008/11

BEST IN THE WEST Jet Rally, January 18-
20, 2008, was attended by 40 top-notch jet
pilots who enjoyed perfect weather all three
days. Pilots from as far away as Montana
came to enjoy the excellent facilities of the
Coachella Valley Radio Control Club, a Gold
Leader Club.
Pilots enthusiasticly praiseed the safe way
the event was run, the home-cooked, catered
Mexican cuisine, and the easy access they had
to restaurants and casinos.
Awards included Finish and Detail: Justin
Sands, MiG-15; Best Turbine: Billy Edwards,
A-10; Best Scale Flight; Doug Anderson,
Hawk; Most Spectacular Flight: Dave Presta,
T-33; Best Electric Ducted Fan: Ryan
Sherrow; Best Gas Ducted Fan: Mike
Thomson; Contest Director’s Award: Jason
Pakfar; Peoples’ Choice Award: Billy
Edwards, A-10; and Pilots’ Choice Award:
Billy Edwards, A-10 (in the following photo).
One of the special pilots at the event was
Lowell Wexler who was the originator of Best
in the West contest 19 years ago in 1989 and
was the CD in 1990. He said, “I was higher
than a kite for two days after the event, I had
such a great time. I will be looking forward to
attending the 20th annual Best in the West
next January at the CVRCC field.”
—Murry Ross, Vice President of the CVRCC
District X Associate Vice President Bob
Reynolds reported on Desert Jet Storm and
the passing of a popular young modeler, Ryan
Sherrow.
“Arizona has many electric ducted-fan
pilots. One of the most popular was Ryan
Sherrow. Ryan’s family is very involved in
model aviation. Mom, Debbie, and dad, Clay,
are active as CDs for warbird racing and jet
rallies. Ryan’s sister Breanna is an AMA
scholarship recipient and college student.
“Ryan has been flying electric models for
several years. The Electric Jet Factory has
been a sponsor for his many and varied jets.
“Ryan, at age 14, died February 4, 2008.
The jet and electric communities were
shocked and saddened by his sudden passing.
His family was going to participate in the next
weekend’s event, Desert Jet Storm, held at
Speed World, northwest of Phoenix.
“Ryan’s funeral was on Friday, the first
day of the event. Many at the rally carpooled
down to Tucson, adding to the estimated more
than 300 in attendance for the funeral, to pay
their respect to the young pilot who meant so
much to them and to his parents and sister.
Fourteen balloons carried his spirit of flight
into the sky from the cemetery.
I was asked, as a friend of the family and
an AMA District X associate vice president,
to attend the Desert Jet Storm rally on
Saturday. Having seen Ryan from when he
could barely walk, flying his first airplanes,
and progressing to bigger, faster ones with
obviously more flying skill than most adults
have, his passing was very hard to talk about.
“Ryan’s friends, the pilots of Desert Jet
Storm, stood in respect, some quietly
crying.Paul Stenberg flew Ryan’s favorite jet,
an EJF Sport Jet 70. Paul ended the flight by
flying ascending circles till the aircraft was
just a speck in the sky followed by a no-power
glide and landing. After a moment of silence,
a good round of applause was heard.
“Desert Jet Storm hosted 57 pilots and 140
jets. The field is on Speed World property that
includes drag racing, motorcycle activities,
and model flying. The weather was the kind
that we don’t write about because too many
people might move here.
“Flying was organized with the pilots/
spotters/field safety officers at either end of
the flightline (depending on wind direction).
There was one line of airplanes for takeoff
and after landing, the aircraft taxied to the
other end of the flightline to be recovered. It
was a smooth procedure.
“Flying stopped at noon when all of the
models were moved out along the centerline
of the runway for display. Before open flying
resumed, another tribute to Ryan was made.
“Joe McBride, along with Dave Presta,
Bill Edwards, and George Manning organized
a four-jet formation to do a missing-man
flight. This was the first time they had tried to
fly in formation and by the fourth lap they had
it down pat. The missing man pulled straight
up with smoke on and the crowd roared its
approval.
“One of the features of jet rallies is to have
a golden voice explaining to the spectators
who is flying and what they are doing. The
voice of Desert Jet Storm belongs to Al Pilon.
As emcee, Al did a fantastic job of keeping all
aspects of a successful
jet rally before the
spectators.”
Emcee Al Pilon, a shot of the flightline, and the
large crowd at Desert Jet Storm.
Till next time ... Keep ’em safe and Keep
’em fly’n.
District X
Rich Hanson, District X Vice President; [email protected]
Arizona, California, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Rich Hanson
Vice President
Box 3312,
Scottsdale AZ 85271
Tel./Fax: (888) 899-3548
[email protected]
www.ama10.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Tim Attaway, Chula Vista CA
(619) 427-6392
Darwin Barrie, Chandler AZ
(480) 946-8955
Greg Clemensen, Las Vegas NV
(702) 870-6242
Jim Giffin, Redding CA
(916) 760-8291
Wayne Hamada, Honolulu HI
(808) 521-7733
Marc Karpowich, Logan UT
(435) 752-3639
Rick Maida, Morgan Hill CA
(408) 778-6885
Scott Malta, Merced CA
(209) 617-5789
Bill Malvey, Ladera Ranch CA
(949) 481-8621
Jerry Neuberger, Santee CA
(619) 258-4477
Bob Reynolds, Tucson AZ
(520) 296-8183
Jon Wilson, Ryde CA
(916) 776-2797
Frequency Coordinators
George Steiner, Sacramento CA
(916) 362-1962
Eloy Marez, Santa Ana CA
(714) 540-4935
District X Volunteers
May 2008 181
Ryan Sherrow (L) and
his favorite aircraft
(above), the EJF Sport
Jet 70.
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