Southwest Aeromodeling Conference
Jim Haught
The facilities were fabulous. Members were very pleased that we attended. Hours were a little long, but I think that Sandy Frank and his crew should get a big applause for all the work and time put into this effort.
AMA president Dave Brown commended the organization of the Convention, and noted that the Convention's ingress and egress were "the best I've seen" among modeling trade shows.
Indoor flying—mainly RC—attracted a great deal of attention, with all-day flying demonstrations of everything from scale models to indoor pylon racers to blimps of various sizes. Spectators were often lined up several rows deep to get a look at the activity. And since it rained throughout much of the first day (Friday, May 19), indoor flying was the only type possible.
A number of seminars, workshops, and meetings, including an open AMA Membership Meeting, were held in the Grand Ballroom and seminar rooms. Featured speaker/moderators included engine man George Aldrich, AnnMarie Cross of Great Planes, Riley Wooten of Lone Star Balsa, Michael Smith of the AMA Museum, and others.
Seminar topics included:
- Artificial runway construction
- Foam-cutting techniques
- Flight-instruction programs
- Club newsletters
- Public relations
AMA president Dave Brown and Executive Director Joyce Hager cochaired the annual Membership Meeting, which covered a wide array of topics from flying-site issues to Model Aviation. A number of AMA Executive Council members attended, including District IV's Chuck Foreman, who said, "that was the best Membership Meeting I have been to. In other years there was more Council present than there were members."
A static model display and competition/voting took place in the area of the Main Hall. Such disparate entries as RC scale models, free-flight duration models, and a fishing trawler were recognized with peer-choice Top 20 awards (not ranked or otherwise categorized), voted on by member attendees.
The swap shop featured plenty of wheeling and dealing of kits, airframes, engines, and accessories. A Honda CT-70 (potential free-flight chase bike) was one of the more unusual items for sale ($2,400).
Zero-commission auctions were held at the end of each day, ably handled by Terry Purdy and Scott Justice.
SWAC 2001, scheduled for May 17–19, will benefit from lessons learned this time. There is room to expand to 157 booths if necessary, and there may be some environmentally friendly outdoor flying demos (for vendors only).
Exhibitors will have a full setup-only day on the 17th, and show hours will be shortened to 9 a.m.–5 p.m. on the 18th and 19th. There will be an increased emphasis on the trade-show aspect of the Convention.
A number of attendees and vendors I spoke with felt that the Convention would be helped with attendance from more of the major "players" in the aeromodeling industry—somewhat like the "anchor stores" in a shopping mall.
Additional effort will be made to increase attendance from AMA members in the region. "With 12% of the District VIII membership in attendance for a first effort, I was relatively pleased with the turnout," Frank said. "Twenty percent of the membership will be a realistic goal" for 2001.
The Frank V. Ehling Museum and the AMA Scholarship Fund were equal beneficiaries of the proceeds from SWAC 2000.
"We wanted to maximize attendees, and maximize our exposure," said Frank. "We are in the black—and we had a heck of a good time." MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
