District XI—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Warbirds Over Whatcom — July 27–28, 2013 (Ferndale, Washington)
George Eckhardt of Bellingham, Washington, reported that 29 U.S. and Canadian pilots brought 63 airplanes and registered for the Bell Air RC Flyers 8th Annual Warbirds Over Whatcom, held July 27–28, 2013, in Ferndale, Washington. There was good weather, and more than 300 spectators contributed 200 pounds of food and $341 to the local food bank.
Guests of honor included three local World War II veterans who were on hand to tell stories, sign autographs, and sell books:
- Capt. Joe Moser — a P-38 pilot who was shot down on his 45th mission and subsequently spent time in Buchenwald.
- Mel Derry — a B-24 nose gunner who flew 52 missions in Europe, often without fighter cover until the Tuskegee Airmen in their Mustangs joined the battle. (Mel is 88.)
- Al Wackerbarth — served on a submarine in the South Pacific during WWII and, at age 88, is an active Bell Air club member.
On display, courtesy of the local WWII museum, was a large selection of World War I and World War II artifacts. The Heritage Flight Museum of Bellingham thrilled spectators and RC pilots by making three low passes over the field with an AD Skyraider, an AT-6, and Nieuport 17 replicas. Sunday featured a Snoopy versus the Red Baron dogfight flown by Jerry "Snoopy" McLean and Mike "Red Baron" Mosbrooker.
Thanks and donations were received from:
- Performance RC of Burlington
- HobbyTown of Bellingham
- Hannegan Seafood of Bellingham
- Heritage Flight Museum of Bellingham
- Tower Hobbies / Hobbico
- Balsa USA
- Troybuilt Models
- John Vanderhage (professional event photography)
- The Bell Air RC Flyers Club members who devoted many hours, time, and money to support the event
Great job, guys and gals!
Maple Valley Kids Festival — July 20, 2013
Richard Weaver, vice president of the Lake Sawyer Hawks R/C Club in Hobart, Washington, described the club’s efforts in conjunction with the Maple Valley Kids Festival held on July 20, 2013. It took many club members considerable time to organize the activity, and such an effort reflects well on the model aviation community.
With the help of volunteers from the Lake Sawyer Hawks, children (and their parents) were able to build more than 300 small rubber-band-powered airplanes. The free airplane build used AMA Cub (Delta Dart) kits and supplies made possible by donations from:
- AMA District XI
- RC Hobbies
- Vanderpas Enterprises
- Alaska Airlines
- Maple Valley Sign Shop
The kids had a great time building and then watching their airplanes fly. It was a fun day for all involved.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
