Mark Overmier reported that the Champaign County Radio Control Club 2024 New Year’s Day Chili Breakfast in Champaign, Illinois, was a success!
After putting out the word that we needed chili for the breakfast fly-in, club members stepped up! We had six different kinds of chili and fixings to go with it! The temperature was 32°, with wind between 15 and 20 mph. A handful of members flew, and there were no crashes or lost airplanes this year! This was the biggest turnout of members that we have seen in a long time.
John Midgorden, from the Kansas City Radio Control (KCRC) club, reported that on New Year’s Day 2024, KCRC had its annual Icicle Fun Fly at the club’s flying field in Fleming Park, Missouri. KCRC has had this flying site since roughly 1958. This year was a memorial to a longtime member and promoter of these January 1 events, Max Klotz. The club was honored by a visit from Max’s kids, who came to this event as children.
During this event, we always fly regardless of the weather. Temperatures were in the low 30s with light wind. There were 32 participants. Max and his wife always brought chili and all the trimmings to this event in the past. This year, club members provided three pots of chili, hot chocolate, and other goodies for the fliers and attendees. All of the pilots who flew earned a certificate.
Darwin Evelsizer decided to do something a little bit different this year for the New Year’s celebration. He provided the following report:
I planned to fly my E-flite Night Timber X, taking off at 11:58 p.m. and landing 4 or 5 minutes later. This would give me the last flight of 2023 and the first flight of 2024 for my club, the Midwest Air Wing, in Pontoon Beach, Illinois. I took off on time and the flight duration was in accordance with the flight plan. A problem ensued when the airplane decided to land about 200 yards out in an adjacent cornfield stubble.
The unscheduled, off-field landing broke the propeller and bent the landing gear. I claim the last flight of 2023 and first flight of 2024 for our club and probably for anywhere in the Central Time Zone.
I will include your club’s event or even just a fun day of flying in my column. Simply write a 150-word description of the event, along with a couple of pictures. Email it to AMAdistrictVI@modelaircraft.org with the word “magazine” in the subject line. Keep in mind that pictures must be at least 500KB standalone jpg files.
I am finishing this month with information for you. The AMA Government Advocacy Coalition is a group of aviation associations, hobby shops, and manufacturers that advocate for the model aviation community.
The Coalition advocates against harmful restrictions to the hobby to help protect the several jobs, businesses, and STEM educational programs that help to keep our great hobby thriving. To learn more about the Coalition and see all of our great supporters, please visit www.modelaircraft.org/govcoalition.
Gary Himes
Vice President District VI