Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed a New Year’s Day flying event!
I hate to start 2019 by complaining, but I must. I am writing this in late October and I have not received information for any Camp AMA applicants. This forces me to extend the deadline to February 1, 2019. Applicants need to be between the ages of 13 and 19. They can be female or male, and can be any flying level including beginner. Email information to me with Camp AMA in the subject line.
The following is from the Blacksheep R/C Modelers in Danville, Indiana: We presented our big check to the Hoosier Veterans Assistance Foundation (HVAF). The total from our National Model Aviation Day fly-in was $12,177.24. This amount will be tough to top next year!
On Saturday, the event officially started with three of our own veterans, Harold Etling, Tom L. Hatfield, and Dave Miller, presenting the flag as our national anthem played over the loud speakers. The CEO of HVAF, Brig. Gen. Brian Copes, offered opening remarks to the club members and guests.
Despite light fog early, the day became comfortably overcast. There were more than 130 airplanes of all types and sizes represented on the flight-line for the crowds to look at. There was a model in the air from 9 a.m. until after 5 p.m. We also had several Apprentice airplanes providing introductory flights. My guess is the club logged more flights on this day than on any other day in our club’s history!
To raise funds, we sold more than 160 barbecue lunches and took lots of raffle donations. We gave away an RTF Apprentice 15E and several other RC airplanes that were donated by members and our local Hobby Town USA, and model rockets courtesy of Estes Model Rockets. We also had more than $4,000 worth of items donated by local retailers to raffle off.
The crowd enjoyed the noon air show. A variety of aircraft and flying styles were presented. The air show started with a candy drop for the 40 or so kids who were willing to chase a parachute with a piece of candy tied to it. Next up was an RC skydiver demonstration. We had a thrust-vector jet and a sport jet perform, a 1/3-scale Pitts Special, a couple of Laser X airplanes flying together, a 42% Sukhoi Su-26, a fast delta-wing Outlaw, a 700 mm electric helicopter, and a 120 mm EDF jet flight.
The following was submitted by John Chorak: The Streator RC Flyers in Illinois hosted the club’s Fall Scramble Warbirds and Classics event on September 28-30, 2018. This was the event’s ninth year. There were 59 pilots in attendance from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and, of course, Illinois.
The event was supported by a variety of vendors from the RC industry. Awards were distributed for the different classifications of aircraft.Despite being cool and somewhat breezy, there were plenty of warbirds ranging from World War I and World War II to the present and classic aircraft from before 1975.
More photos from the event can be seen on the club’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/StreatorRcFlyers.
If you enjoyed this month’s submissions and would like to share an event from your own club, email me a short write-up with the word “magazine” in the subject line and attach a few high-quality digital pictures!
Gary Himes
Vice President District VI