Flying season is finally here! Coming next month is the 2022 National Fun Fly, right here in our own district at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. The dates are June 24-26. There will be a large swap meet at the event.
On Saturday, we will hold the annual AMA Membership Meeting. For more information and to register, visit www.modelaircraft.org/funfly.
Roger Russell sent a photo of the Jacksonville, Illinois, Propkickers Model Airplane Club’s participants in the World Ringmaster Fly-A-Thon that took place on October 2, 2021.
Ken Larson reported on the Kankakee Valley Model Flyers that held a 50th anniversary open house and RC air show on August 14, 2021. There was a great turnout with 18 club members and 125 members of the public enjoying the air show. Admittance was free, as were raffle tickets for three new RC airplanes donated by area hobby shops, as well as other door prizes.
The club’s 50-year field provider, the Kankakee Valley Park District, allowed guests access to air-conditioned restrooms during the show.
There were flying demonstrations of 3D, World War I and II Giant Scale warbirds, Giant Scale classics with smoke skywriting, helicopters, and drones. The demo pilots did buddy-box sessions during the “Fly With Us” periods, with 10 children, ages 5 to 15, coming away with huge smiles.
Food vendors provided hot lunches and desserts. The local newspaper, The Daily Journal, featured the event with a front-page picture and story a week before the event. Public-service announcement interviews on two local radio stations took place a few days before the event. It was a great experience!
Brian Mitchell reported that the Radio Control Sport Flyers Club, in Kansas City, Missouri, could become home to the “big boys”—large RC airplanes. It’s not uncommon to see 27% to 40% RC airplanes flying there. The biggest electric flown is Sean’s FMS Extra 330 with a 78-inch wingspan.
The FMS Extra 330 has tons of power from two 4,000 mAh 6S batteries in series. Yes, it’s a foamie and it flies great! The biggest airplane flown is Paul’s Super Decathalon, with a wingspan of 15 feet. It’s powered by a 215cc gas motor. Paul warns that this big boy does not fly like the small, Cub-style airplanes because it requires much more rudder for flying.
Keep sending those submissions from your club’s event or even just a fun day of flying! Email AMADistrictVI@modelaircraft.org with the word “magazine” in the subject line. Remember that pictures must be at least a 500 KB standalone JPG file. Don’t embed pictures into documents.
Flying season is here, so please take time to introduce someone new to model aviation!
Gary Himes
Vice President District VI