I CONSIDER sport fliers the heartbeat of
our hobby. They fly day after day, at their
home fields, all across the country. It’s this
type of modeler that keeps everything rolling.
I also believe that events are the heartbeat
of the truly dedicated modeler. This type of
modeler can be both a sport flier and a
traveler. Possibly even more, he or she could
be a member of one or more SIG groups such
as the International Miniature Aircraft
Association (IMAA) or the National Control
Line Racing Association (NCLRA).
The events they attend are great places for
modelers and the public to enjoy our hobby
together. These days I go to events either as a
modeler, or as an associate vice president
(AVP) supporting the AMA and its members.
This past weekend I went as an AVP and
had the privilege of attending two club events
that just happened to be put on by the same
club and at the same field. The Woodland/
Davis Aeromodelers’ (WDA) Mavis Henson
Field is in Woodland, California. I was able
to attend a CL event, held July 25-26 and the
15th annual Wings of Victory on the 24-26.
Besides a beautiful grass runway and an
asphalt runway for the RC airplanes, the field
has five CL circles. Oh yes, they also have a
huge pond (or small lake) for float flying
when it is filled.
When I pulled onto the property, Channel
31, a local TV station, was just getting set up
for a live broadcast. I later found the event
was covered by channels 58, 3, and 31. I
want to say thank you, to the stations for their
coverage. It is an excellent way to promote
modeling to the public!
Monty Welsh’s 99-inch Dornier Do 335 on a
fly-by.
A smidgen of the crowd at the noon lineup.
This year’s Wings of Victory event was a
tribute to all WW I and WW II aircraft. There
were 35 pilots and approximately 60
airplanes. I was given a guesstimate of 250
spectators, but I would say more like 500.
Event responsibilities were shared by Jim
Adams and Forrest Barton, with lots of
cooperation from WDA club members. Art
Williams and his crew set up the field making
this event a great one. There were a few
demonstration flights flown just before the
airplanes were lined up on the runway for
spectator examination.
Most notably (to me anyway) was Monty
Welsh’s Dornier Do 335 seen in the photo. It
sounded as good as it looked in the air. This
year’s awards went to Chris Dellinger for
Best Pilot; Frank Banks and his P-61 for Best
WW II airplane; and Best WW I model went
to James Scott with his Dr.I tri-plane.
The CL event was CDed by Jim Aron
who also provided this coverage.
“The ARF-OFF is a Control Line
Precision Aerobatics contest that operates
under the standard AMA rules except for the
required use of a commercial ARF CL model.
This is a tongue-in-cheek affair that was
created two years ago to help diffuse some
hard feelings resulting from the debate within
our community on the place ARFs should
occupy in our event and the builder of the
model rule in general. We had 21 entries,
which was about right for the unusual format.
“In conjunction with the contest, was a
judging clinic held on Saturday. One of the
problems we have locally is the shortage of
qualified judges. Eighteen future judges
showed and were instructed by Brett Buck on
the fine art of judging Precision Aerobatics.
“The rules of the contest on Sunday
require that if you fly then you must also
judge. This was accomplished by dividing the
field into four pools of fliers/judges.
“Precision Aerobatics, or Stunt, is fairly
healthy in the Bay Area and you can expect
35-45 people at a normal contest. Typically
we will have between four and six local
contests per year. It doesn’t hurt that we have
some of the top pilots in the world: David
Fitzgerald, current World and National
Champion; Brett Buck, former National
Champion; and Ted Fancher, many-time
former National Champion and member of
the US FAI Team.
“Control Line Stunt is alive and well in
the Bay Area.”
The Bunny Hop … need I say more?
One of the nice, clean ARF CL models used in
the event.
I wish I had more space. I had a great time
at both events talking with pilots about the
AMA and their club and watching the
different types of flying. The next time you
pick up your MA magazine, look in the
Contest Calendar section and find an event to
go to, even if it isn’t your exact style of
flying. You might find a new interest.
—AVP Mike Brown
District X
Jim Giffin, District X Vice President; [email protected]
Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Jim Giffin
Vice President
Box 494688,
Redding CA 96049
Tel. (916) 760-8291
[email protected]
www.ama10.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Tim Attaway, Chula Vista CA
(619) 427-6392
Darwin Barrie, Chandler AZ
(480) 946-8955
Mike Brown, Bella Vista CA
(530) 549-3005
Greg Clemensen, Las Vegas NV
(702) 870-6242
Wayne Hamada, Honolulu HI
(808) 521-7733
Marc Karpowich, Logan UT
(435) 232-1873
John Lockwood, Clovis CA
(559) 298-1606
Rick Maida, Morgan Hill CA
(408) 778-6885
Scott Malta, Merced CA
(209) 723-4202
Bill Malvey, Ladera Ranch CA
(949) 481-8624
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
180 MODEL AVIATION
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/10
Page Numbers: 180