As you are reading this, it is nearly the first of February and probably quite cold outside and maybe there’s even snow on the ground. However, I am writing this the day after Thanksgiving with my belly still full of turkey and ham from yesterday.
I tell you this to set the picture for last Sunday. It was a beautiful fall day with the temperature in the 60s, and little or no wind. I must admit that after becoming vice president, I haven’t made it to the flying field as much as I used to. Anyhow, I had an hour to kill, so I dropped by my local club to see what was happening.
I have been a member of this field for more 35 years. (When did I get so old?) I have seen a lot of members come and go throughout the years. Sometimes, as lives change, people come back into the club’s fold again.
This day was one of those days. Mark Nuetzmann recently rejoined the club after raising his three beautiful daughters. I had not seen Mark in a few years, and we talked while he was flying his Somethin’ Extra with a nice four-stroke engine on it.
I mentioned that I had not flown for a few weeks and had not brought a model to the field for my short visit. Mark landed his aircraft, refueled it, restarted it, and handed me the transmitter. He told me to have fun.
Thank you, Mark! That was a fantastic flight and it made my day!
If you have not figured it out by now, no one sent in a submission to me for the magazine this month. Therefore, I am going to punish you by sharing my own ramblings and publishing pictures of my mug!
Back to my story. On my way home, I got to thinking about all of the lifelong friendships I have created through this hobby of building and flying model aircraft. It boggles my mind to think about the camaraderie I have had with these friends for all of these years. Then I start to think about my friends who have already passed away, some of whom were way too young. One of these friends is Richard Bahmann of Wrong Way RC.
Sometimes we allow our friends to become extra close. Randy Cameron, AMA’s executive vice president, is an example of this type of relationship. Randy (on the left in the picture of us below) is like my brother—as much as my blood siblings.
By the way, it was Randy’s dad, Bob Cameron, who taught me to fly more than 35 years ago, so I guess it is Bob’s fault I am writing this today.
The last picture for my column this month is yours truly, once again eating chili last year at my club’s Frozen Thumb Fun Fly Event.
Let me challenge you. Send me a short report from your club’s New Year’s Day gathering along with a digital picture or two. We would love to see some snow flying!
Remember, to see your club in the magazine, simply send me a submission of your club’s event from this past year!
I encourage you to email me at AMA DistrictVI. modelaircraft.org with the word “magazine” in the subject line and attach some pictures! This is the time of year when submissions are nonexistent, so get to writing! Don’t forget to introduce someone to model aviation!
Gary Himes
Vice President District VI