Author: Mike Mosbrooker
Edition: Model Aviation - 2014/05
Page Numbers: 152

District XI—Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington

Mike Mosbrooker, Vice President

A week ago I thought I would be putting my column together at this time, but I didn't think it would be my last column. I went in for a quick angiogram and wound up with a triple bypass. It went okay, and at the rate I am recovering I should be good to go on my 97th birthday.

Your district vice president for the rest of this year is Chuck Bower. Next month he will have replaced my ugly picture with his handsome one. Chuck is a great guy in all respects and I hope you will treat him as you have treated me.

Acting Vice President — Chuck Bower

  • Email: [email protected]
  • Address: 6075 S. Coles Rd., Langley, WA 98260
  • Tel.: (360) 632-9211

Earlier this month, another fine NW Model Hobby Expo was held at the Evergreen State Fairgrounds in Monroe, Washington. Attendance was slightly down, and getting there from the south was questionable. Ron Swift sent me a few notes and I will add a couple of my own at the end. I heard nothing but positive remarks from attendees and vendors.

NW Model Hobby Expo (Monroe, WA)

Ron Swift and Sandy DuVall coordinated the 8th NW Model Hobby Expo, continuing the legacy started by the late John Foglesong. Ron and Sandy both worked with John and wanted to continue the great event he started.

The idea is to provide a venue for modelers and the public for R/C and modeling. This year, participants numbered between 1,700 and 2,000 people and the event was a success. There was an indoor fun-fly area, BattleBots, drift-car racing, crawlers, R/C carpet-car racing, a pond with R/C boats, and more.

Event features included:

  • Indoor fun-fly area (large enough to hold a competition)
  • Quadcopter demos and open flying (helicopters, fixed wing, quads)
  • BattleBots, drift-car racing, crawlers, carpet-car racing
  • Pond with R/C boats and scheduled demonstrations
  • High-quality vendors and many swap tables
  • AMA booth and a Saturday AMA meeting with discussion of upcoming changes

Some planned features did not make it to the Expo because of snowy weather, but there was still much to see and great bargains available. Inside the Expo you were greeted with warm indoor bright natural light, lots of color, and sounds from the various activities. Wide aisles and perfectly polished concrete made it easy to get around.

The indoor fun-fly competition was won by Kody Knutson. Second place went to Zach Sweetser and third to Garrett Hanson. Much of the weekend offered open flying and numerous demos. The R2D2 R/C scale model was on the floor Friday and Saturday and was a great crowd pleaser.

The scale competition concluded with Sunday’s awards ceremony. Twenty-five awards were presented across aviation, boat, and car/land categories. Michael Jones won Best of Show.

There was plenty of activity on the pond again this year. Guests were invited to pilot the tugs on the pond and demonstrations were scheduled throughout the event. The AMA booth was well attended and the Saturday meeting covered news about upcoming changes and opinions about future directions.

Plans for the 2015 event are already underway. More information is available at www.nwmhe.com.

Judging

I should mention that a group of associate vice presidents and I did the judging. Most of us are aircraft guys, so it was with mixed feelings that we decided Michael Jones’s U.S. Army Corps of Engineers snag boat W.T. Preston was the Best in Show over some beautiful entries. See the bonus pictures at www.modelaviation.com/nwmhe2014 and in the digital edition.

And for you guys who sent your fire boat over to where I was taking pictures and hosed my trousers—I know who you are and where you live!

Club bylaws and UAV law

Do you belong to a club? Does it have bylaws? Have you read them? Please read them and, if anything needs changing, take appropriate action before something happens that you disapprove of.

If you fly in Washington state, there is a new law in place regarding UAVs. Fly by AMA rules and you should not have a problem.

See you at the field—eventually.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.