Focus On Competition - 2012/06

If you ever wanted
to try something
different with
RC, or you’re
already doing other
categories of RC,
we are starting
to work on the
facilities for you
to do just that. Thanks to many hours
of local club volunteer labor and club
donations, the work on these new
facilities is ramping up with hopes of
being useable early this summer.
In a past survey, we found that 30%
of our members noted that they also
either owned or participated in RC
car/truck activity either around the
house or competitively. A somewhat
large number of our members might
make use of a facility if made available
and was properly set up. At the
International Aeromodeling Center
(IAC), we’ve had an RC car/truck
dirt track for many years next to the
“L” pad at Site One, but it has been
seldom used and has not been kept
in the best of shape. Plans are in the
works to resurface that dirt track with
new soil and probably a new layout.
We hope to attract more users of
that facility so that when members
come to visit who have RC cars or
trucks, or youngsters who have those
vehicles, they don’t have to leave
them behind. A local car/truck club
is presently using the track frequently
enough to attract onlookers and
visitors, so the spark of interest is
spreading.
We are also slowly making headway
on opening up a larger lake/pond site
for float flying and model boating. The
lake is located on property owned by
the AMA and is adjacent to the present
IAC, but up until now has been used
primarily for farming activities.
The lake is 2,000 feet long and 500
feet wide, and contains more than
12 acres of water, so float flying and
boating will easily be able to operate
simultaneously without
interference. Float
flying has always been
a popular endeavor,
but the venues where
that type of flying is
possible are scarce.
The pond in front
AMA Headquarters
has seen limited
boating and float
flying, but its small
size and proximity to
the buildings and road
frontage have made
using it difficult. The larger lake will
make float flying much easier and
provides a good overfly area.
In the same survey I mentioned,
it was noted that 26% of members
owned, participated in, or had interest
in model boating. As with model cars
and trucks, this will allow members to
enjoy many different categories of RC
in the same visit.
Whether your interests are
competitive racing or pleasure
boating, the lake is large enough to
accommodate both. We are presently
setting a legal race course on the south
end of the lake that will be useable for
testing and practice.
I’ve included a couple photos of the
new venues so you can get an idea of
what we’re working on for you the
members.
The next time you plan a visit to the
IAC, consider bringing all your RC fun
and enjoy a day or weekend with the
many different activities the RC hobby
has to offer.
Focus on competition by Greg Hahn, Technical Director
New RC opportunities available
at the IAC
[email protected]
Continued from page 141
View From HQ
release of the FAA Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking (NPRM) on small,
unmanned aircraft systems, it’s
important that we all continue to be
informed and as engaged as possible if
and when we need to respond to the
proposed rule.
As many of you are aware, the
release date for the NPRM has been
postponed several times since its
original expected release date in early
2011. The date changes make it nearly
impossible to keep our members as
informed as we would like.
The best way to get the most current
information is to regularly visit the
Government Relations page on the
AMA website. Please take a moment
to do that when you can.
See you next time …