October is the time of year when many of us are putting away aircraft and preparing for winter, but I would encourage you to dust off those flying witches, ghosts, and such and host a Halloween party at your flying field. What better way is there to get both young and old to the flying field and introduce them to our hobby?
Blake McCall reported that the Indianapolis South RC Club installed a brand-new geotextile runway. The club had been researching about adding one for close to six months and had consulted District VI clubs about installation and maintenance, as well as the lessons that they had learned during the installation process. A few of the clubs that provided a wealth of tips and tricks about the install included the Indianapolis RC Modelers in Morristown, Indiana; the Northeast Side Taildraggers in Noblesville, Indiana; and the Belleville RC Flyers in Belleville, Illinois.
Approximately 15 members showed up to help install the fabric. It was stapled down and ready to use in a little more than two hours. One of the club’s youngest members, Franklin Crane, took the inaugural flight on it. Since the install, quite a few members of the clubs that were consulted have come to see and fly off of the new runway. The club believes that it made a great choice by installing the geotextile runway, and it has seen quite a few more aircraft flying that wouldn’t normally be seen on the grass.
The next move was to hold one of the club’s many Ticket Flys that it hosts throughout the year. This one was unique because it was the club’s first event since installing the new runway. Neighboring clubs, including the Indianapolis RC Modelers and the student-run Center Grove RC Flying Club from Greenwood, Indiana, knew that adding the runway was a large expense, so many of their members came out to support the event. Thanks to the good weather, it was also one of the strongest turnouts the club has had for a Ticket Fly, with 18 registered pilots!
Tim Burks shared that the Elkhart Flight Masters in Elkhart, Indiana, held its annual club fly-in this past June.
We had a tremendous turnout! The club gave out a lot of little, wooden glider airplanes and screw helicopters to all of the kids that showed up. A flight simulator and buddy-boxing were available for everyone to try, and they remained quite busy. This hopefully will create interest for new pilots and club members.
Bill Biermann will have information about the Saint Louis RC Flying Association’s Charlie’s BELIEVE Fly-In and RC Air Show in the December issue.
To see your club in print, send me pictures and a short article. Email it to amadistrictvi@modelaircraft.org. Keep in mind that the pictures must be at least 500 KB stand-alone JPG files.
Gary Himes
Vice President District VI