Southwest Aeromodeling Conference
THE SOUTHWEST Aeromodeling Conference (SWAC) was held for the second year in Arlington, Texas, at the Arlington Convention Center, a large climate-controlled building next door to The Ballpark—home of the Texas Rangers. The Conference was May 17–19.
Surrounded by a park (complete with a lake and a Little League ballpark with its own grandstand) and acres of parking, the area is adjacent to the Six Flags Over Texas theme park. The complex is near the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and is surrounded by excellent, affordable motels and hotels that run regular shuttles to the airport.
Everything is sparkling clean and inviting, and a mecca for family vacations. To top it all, the middle of May is a beautiful time in North Texas!
The term "conference" in this context is really another term for a trade show, and, judging from the attendance of hobby manufacturers and their products, it means a rather large one.
There were more than 100 booths on the main exhibit floor, filled with new and interesting kits, hardware, electronics, building materials, tools, accessories, literature, and good, plain advice from some of the best and biggest firms in the business. The booths did a busy business from the time the doors opened until they closed. Some ran out of items before the Conference was through.
AMA was well represented by Executive Director Joyce Hager, who handled the AMA booth and was still smiling at the end of the second day. AMA Historian Norm Rosenstock was in attendance, asking and answering questions from all comers. He is doing a fine job of keeping track of the road aeromodelling has traveled.
An area the size of three basketball courts was set aside for flyin' indoor models and park flyers—mostly Radio Control (R/C). There were some competitive events, but the activity was mostly fun-flying by roughly 50 pilots who registered and flew for two full days! This was a very popular area for the conference visitors, and the spectator area was usually three deep.
To the delight of many, three blimps flew over the main display area for the length of the Conference.
Three long tables in the middle of the main exhibit floor held an array of airplanes that were entered in the "Modelers' Choice" competition. Attendees voted for their favorites, and the top 20 received awards.
Mr. Huang-Hsueh Lin, president and CEO of Grand Wing/Senerco Tech Co. Ltd. of Taiwan, gave the keynote address. He flew in from Taiwan specifically to attend the Conference. Houng-Wen's speech was about the future of aeromodeling. His aim is to provide top-quality product at a price young modelers can afford, thus keeping the hobby vibrant and alive. Remembering his memory problems as a grade-school student trying to support a modeling hobby contributes to his company's success today.
Three interesting and informative 90-minute seminars were held each day:
- Wes De Co spoke about how to get and keep flying fields; Wes is the AMA Western Region Flying Site Assistance Coordinator, and he knows whereof he speaks. One thing Wes stressed was that once a club has acquired a flying site, it is time to keep an eye out for the next one—just in case.
- Seminars by Bob Czaplewski and Clay Ramskill on improving club newsletters were well attended.
- Joe Duffield presented on radios and electronics.
A roundabout indoor R/C and park flyers session included some of the most prolific and creative people in the scene of modeling—Houng-Wen Lin, Bob Selman, Jerry Small, and Ed Couch, to name just a few. It was a how-to session on airplanes, motors, and batteries.
There was also a large area set aside for a Swap Shop and a free Friday night auction.
Plans are under way for next year's conference. Come if you can, and bring the family, too.
L.L.S.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
