District XI Report - 2012/05
In February, many modelers from District XI gathered at the Northwest Model and Hobby Expo at the Washington State Fairgrounds in Monroe. There was a huge swap meet, a large group of vendors, and demonstrations and contests throughout the weekend, including RC acrobatic flying, battling robots (Saturday), a model boat pond, model trains, RC car races, and model tank competitions. This event was originally conceived and organized by John Foglesong; he was the driving force behind it until his untimely death from cancer in 2011. Many thanks to Justin Foglesong, Ron Swift, and Sandy DuVall for carrying on John's work and helping make the event a great success once again. The weather was relatively kind this year, which likely contributed to one of the largest crowds ever. Many swap meet participants sold out early and used their proceeds to buy aircraft and accessories from the vendors.
On Saturday afternoon, I invited all District XI members to a short meeting to update the status of several initiatives and to answer questions. Bruce Nelson was thanked for his service as long-time District XI vice president. An update on the FAA rulemaking was presented—this came right after Congress passed a law that protects aeromodeling from FAA regulations. More will likely have happened on that subject by the time you read this. A brief status on the automation of sanction requests was presented. The main work that still needs to be done involves additional computer coding and resolution of the GPS location requirement. Until recently, the automation process was held up pending accurate GPS coordinates for all event venues. Although that was a good idea in theory, alternative solutions are now being pursued.
A question was raised about the committees of 2011. I explained that all committees were disbanded and are in the process of being reconstituted, in many cases with fresh members. Finally, a representative of the Scale community asked what it would take to get material into Model Aviation. It is quite simple: send it to the appropriate author/editor and it may be printed as space, timing, quality, and relevance permit. Typical responses from column authors emphasize timeliness—there is a long lead time for magazine publication. The material must be of general interest and accurate. The best approach is to contact the person who puts together the relevant column and find out the timeline. Remember: the author takes the heat when information is wrong, not the provider.
Saving the best for last, I spoke with the event coordinators at the end of the Northwest Model and Hobby Expo and they indicated they will hold the event again in 2013. Good news!
Associate Vice Presidents
- Rick Allison, Issaquah, WA; [email protected]
- Darrell Anderson, Great Falls, MT; [email protected]
- Bryan Batch, Spokane, WA; [email protected]
- Chuck Bower, Langley, WA; [email protected]
- Al Culver, Wilder, ID; [email protected]
- Bruce Harlow, Myrtle Creek, OR; [email protected]
- Jerry Holcomb, Vancouver, WA; [email protected]
- Reeves Lippincott, Wasilla, AK; [email protected]
- Chris Rankin, Bend, OR; (541) 330-5692; [email protected]
Coordinators
- Frequency Coordinator: Phil Tallman, Medical Lake, WA; [email protected]
- RC Coordinator: Steve Cook, 500 E. 7th Ave., Apt. 10, Ellensburg, WA 98926-3195; [email protected]
- FF/CL Coordinator: Dick Salter, 3126 184th Ave. SE, Tenino, WA 98589-9524; [email protected]
- Webmaster: Chris Rankin
District
District XI — Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Mike Mosbrooker Vice President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
