District XI - 2012/02

February 2012 171
AS IN ALL things, there is a time to retire.
I made that decision last fall and talked to
several of my AVPs about it. Some
indicated that they were considering retiring
as well.
I had asked Mike [Mosbrooker] if he
might consider running for office. Mike
said he didn’t think so because he was
doing some traveling and enjoying it.
Sometime later, I asked Brian Batch if
he was willing to run and he said he would
think about it. As it worked out, Brian and
Mike both agreed to run for office. This is a
win-win situation, and I feel we ended up
with two good candidates.
I would like to thank all of my AVPs for
their help and advice, along with Bill Smith,
our contest coordinator. These people keep
things running.
As for me, I will see you at the flying
field.
—Bruce
My name is Mike
Mosbrooker and I
want to begin my
first column as
District XI vice
president by
thanking you for
electing me to this
office. I will do
everything
necessary to justify
the confidence you have placed in me. And
whether you voted for me or not, thank you
for voting! You did vote, didn’t you?
Next, I want to thank Bruce Nelson, our
outgoing District XI VP for showing me the
way. If I summarized how Bruce
represented the district, I would say that his
style represented “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix
it.” I am not sure how long Bruce was at the
helm, but portions of this district were
called territories when he started.
I don’t expect to match his longevity,
but I hope to continue his management
style. I look forward to meeting as many
people in the district as possible, but I am
being realistic when I say that it is a big
district, (I am told the largest
geographically in AMA), and I may not get
to see all of you.
Please attempt to get to know your AVP,
whichever one is closest to you, and tell
him or her what is on your mind—but
please be nice. You also have my email
address (my preferred way of
communication) and I will read and
acknowledge whatever you send me.
As I write this, the expected date for the
FAA to publish its rule related to unmanned
aerial vehicles for public comment is early
in 2012. You will be asked to provide
comments the FAA and to your government
representatives. Please do so!
Hopefully, your representative will
remember what the majority wants when it
comes time for a final decision. Please write
when asked or you might want to use the
paper to make a paper airplane because that
is what we all may be flying if we don’t get
our position across.
My position, which is shared by many,
is that model aviation as defined and
governed by the AMA should be conducted
in accordance with AMA safety rules, while
commercial UAV enterprises are more
suited to the rules applicable to manned
aircraft.
A Random Note: I hope you are in the
general proximity of a hobby shop that is at
least half as good as the one I am privileged
to enjoy (Performance R/C, in Burlington,
Washington, run by the capable Suzy
Thornton). Please take the time to express
your appreciation to the proprietor at your
favorite hobby shop as soon as possible.
You’ll never know how good it is until it’s
gone.
I still remember the first shop I visited in
California, run by Bill Sorenson. I’ve lost
track of Bill and he’s probably not in the
business anymore (he would be roughly 120
years old by now). Bill took the time to
explain anything to me and the rest of the
kids, although we didn’t have any money.
It’s belated but thanks, Bill.
By now, you’re probably tired of reading
philosophy and platitudes from me. So,
what you need to do is send me some
material that will be of interest to many of
us. I will then edit what you send, mostly to
make it fit into the space I am allowed, and
you will see it in MA. Please include
photographs.
Picture files should be roughly 300 KB
in size. I can work with larger files, but I
cannot make the desired size out of
something smaller. I can’t do gold out of
lead either, but I keep trying.
My total column space is roughly 5,000
characters and one picture works out to be
the equivalent of approximately 450
characters. I don’t like to be referred to a
website someplace and be told to use the
material there. That would mean I would
have to do work and that would interfere
with my building and flying. Can’t have
that, can we?
Until next month, remember to land with
the wheels on the bottom.
District XI
Bruce Nelson, District XI Vice President; [email protected]
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Bruce Nelson
Vice President
807 E. Vicksburg St.,
Spokane WA 99208
Phone: (509) 467 8348
[email protected]
Associate Vice
Presidents
Rick Allison, Issaquah WA;
[email protected]
Darrell Anderson, Great Falls MT;
[email protected]
Bryan Batch, Spokane WA
[email protected]
Al Culver, Wilder ID;
[email protected]
Bruce Harlow, Myrtle Creek OR;
[email protected]
Jerry Holcomb, Vancouver WA;
[email protected]
Gene LaFond, Wenatchee WA;
[email protected]
Reeves Lippincott, Wasilla AK;
[email protected]
Claude Tanner, Boise ID;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator
Phil Tallman, Medical Lake WA;
(509) 220-6513;
[email protected]
District RC Coordinator
Steve Cook, Ellensburg WA;
[email protected]
District FF, CL Coordinator
Dick Salter, Tenino WA
[email protected]
Website: www.amadistrict11.org
District XI Volunteers
Check out the
Distrct XI website
www.amadistrict11.org
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