SEMMA member John Coffman during ground school at the loop and roll seminar.
District VI Vice President Randy Cameron (L), Collections Manager Maria VanVreede, and Associate Vice President Gary Himes (R).
Today I was excited to have my first flight of 2017 at one of my local flying fields. It is a tradition for many clubs in our district to go out and fly—no matter what the weather—to ring in the New Year!
It was cool and breezy outside, but I have flown in much worse weather. It made the day on the field a short one, but it was well worth the trip to hang out with a few other like-minded individuals. What a great way to start the New Year.
I’ve been asked a couple of questions concerning club charters and renewal dates. Club charters and insurance policies for clubs expire annually on March 31. Renewal packets are sent from AMA to the club contacts in mid-January. To maintain continuous coverage for your club and property owner, I suggest submitting your charter renewal as early as possible
I’m sure most of you will understand that with more than 2,400 clubs nationwide, it is a massive undertaking to get them all processed in a short amount of time. If you have questions or concerns about AMA club charters and renewals, a good source of information is a YouTube video at https://youtu.be/HTl43pINIs. You can also contact AMA Club Secretary Lois Mock at clubs@modelaircraft.org or by calling (800) 435-9262, extension 291.
December 2016 was a busy month. On December 3, my wife and I attended the inaugural Santa Swap and Shop, hosted by the Mississinewa Skyhawks, held at the Miami County Fairgrounds in Peru, Indiana. I enjoyed the show and the opportunity to talk with many AMA members. Thanks to Matt Denham, and Barry and Larry Blanton for inviting me and being gracious hosts. I expect next year’s event will be even better, and I am looking forward to it.
The middle of December found me yet again in Indiana with Gary Himes. While we were there, we met with Maria VanVreede, the National Model Aviation Museum’s collections manager, and delivered two patches donated by the Northern Knights Radio Control Model Airplane Club of Kansas City, Missouri.
Mark McCoy provided the following information to share regarding what the Southeast Missouri Modelers Association (SEMMA) has been up to.
The leadership of SEMMA has been looking at ways to increase members’ enjoyment of the RC hobby. We have identified two ways to increase engagement with interesting meeting programming and flying skill seminars.
During the summer we held two seminars after our regular monthly meetings. We conducted a landing seminar and one on loops and rolls. Both seminars were held at Galaxy Park in Cape Girardeau following the normal monthly meeting. After the meeting, we held a short ground school, conducted an instructor demonstration, and then a member flying/coaching session.
For fall and winter meetings we are planning a series about choosing the ideal electric setup. We will discuss two or three points about the proper setup at the end of each meeting. At the end of the October meeting, we discussed how to determine the required wattage, propeller size, and propeller pitch. It was well received.
Interestingly, many non-electric power questions were asked. Next will be a discussion about determining battery pack size, which will include battery voltage and ESC determination.
Until next time, I hope you have a great building season. Please don’t stick your fingers together with CA adhesive, and make sure you use adequate ventilation when working with glue and paints. I’m getting the skis out.
Happy building and flying!