The PROPS RC Club (#1181) held an AMA sanctioned event called, “Community Fly-In Day”. The event was focused on exposing as many people as possible from our area to our beloved hobby and the AMA. Pilots from several clubs (Buffalo and ARKS) brought an array of planes. The president of PROPS donated her Hobbico Hobbistar 60 trainer for use. The PROPS Club was one of at least 20 clubs participating in the AMA's TAG program this year. One of the ways that the AMA promotes the growth of our hobby is through their Take Off and Grow (TAG) program, a program designed to encourage members and clubs to promote modeling in their communities with hands- on approach. Clubs selected to host a TAG Model Aviation Day are given ideas promoting the event and an outline of activities for the event. The AMA graciously granted the PROPS Club a $325 Take off and Grow grant. The grant could be used for whatever the club needed to hold the event. It was decided the funds would best be used for the following. $200 towards a Sky Viper v2400 HD Drone, Hanger 9 Alpha 40 ARF and Champ RTF to raffle off. $125 went towards advertising. The event was listed with The Borger News Herald, Pampa Newspaper and Facebook. The Facebook advertising exposed our event to 1,400 people. Of those we received 20 event responses. That is 5 x more than any of our other events have received. The event went better than expected. We estimate 20 + spectators showed up throughout the day. 3 people signed up to fly for the first time ever. On Sunday June 25th, the first ground school started, a short course covering the basics. We covered how the controls work, we discussed how the instructor pilot has control for takeoffs and landings and would take control if a student got into trouble, instructed on body positioning (to keep their body and the transmitter facing the same way as the plane) and taught basics on how turns are made. We finished the ground school with information on the flight line - where a person should and should not fly. Throughout the day we had several pilots providing demo flights. Club Member Steve Collins flew his glider and electric Escapade. ARKS member Jarred Hayes brought the new Ultra Stick. Club member Amanda Coke flew a Hobbico Hobistar trainer. Club Member Louice Bichsel flew his 40 cc Stick, Tony Stewart flew his 55 Yak and Katana. We also had Angelia Collins help a few kids drive her Traxxas truck, Zach Wolfe and Dakota Wilson brought their racing drones and shared this new hobby with everyone. The TAG program has been a success for our club members and our community. The AMA has already picked up some new members via this program and our event. Young drone racing pilots, while not are only participants, have been our biggest demographic. We have gained new members and a Drone racing track. We are grateful to the AMA for creating an active program to help our club share our great hobby with others in a hands- on way. We hope it will help our club, as well as the AMA, grow. -PROPS RC Club
