Woo-hoo! May is here and flying is finally getting into full swing. For me, it is the best time of the year, because my hometown club always has a fun-fly on my birthday, and there is always a large turnout with lots of camaraderie!
The following, from Paul Geders, is my only submission this month.
The Spirits of St. Louis R/C Flying Club put on a “no entry fee” indoor fly-in, hosted by Dave Brown, and it was a complete success! There were 19 fliers in attendance. The gym was roughly divided into two airspace’s, a third for FPV, Vapors, Quad-copters, etc., with hoops, anchored balloons, gates, etc., to fly through, or against. The remaining airspace was for the 3D pilots.
Greg Bowles, ably assisted by the comedic Rich Taylor, ran a 50/50 raffle. There also was another raffle for attendance prizes. The Spirits owe a heartfelt thank-you to Dave Brown (second from right, kneeling) for renting the facility for the rest of the club to enjoy!
Because there was only one submission this month, you will have to read some more of my babble. One question I frequently receive is, “What are the benefits of sanctioning a flying event?”
The benefits are as follows:
- Sanctioning offers a protected draw area and date protection for similar events.
- To offer clubs an additional insurance for those who might decide to fly in an area other than what is already listed in the AMA’s club records as their club flying field, or additional sponsors who might require it for that particular event.
- To offer a written text listing advertisement in the “Sanctioned Event Calendar” section of Model Aviation (subject to lead time requirements).
There seems to be much confusion about FAA registration. When we registered, some used the free sign-up period, while others waited and paid the $5 fee for a three-year registration. The FAA automatically renewed everyone’s registration to December 12, 2020. To see this and to print your new certificate, you must log into the FAA website at www.dronezone.faa.gov.
The only exception to this is if you requested a refund. If you did, you were removed from the system. The following link offers a short video about how to register or check the status of your account: www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZYZQmO_7_I&feature=youtu.be.
If you enjoyed this month’s submission and would like to see an event from your own club here, email me a short write-up with the word “magazine” in the subject line and attach a few high-quality digital pictures! As noted, this month I only had one submission!
Please take the time to introduce someone else to model aviation!
Gary Himes
Vice President District VI