Over 12,000 attendees were on hand for the 2-day event held at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA on March 18 & 19. This was the second year for the event reboot which combines the world of Model Aviation along side a host of other outdoor activities from the Overland Adventure & Power Sports Show.
The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) was on hand along with 5 local AMA Clubs, and a group of RC related exhibitors, to help introduce and connect attendees with the wonderful world of Model Aviation in the southern California area.
The outdoor experience, managed by AMA’s District X VP Greg Stone, included several local pilots performing and introducing attendees to the recreational side of the hobby. Wing brought a fleet of delivery drones and provided demos each day which was a very impressive and popular part of the event.
Wing’s CEO, AMA life member, Adam Woodworth brought some of his unique creations to entertain and inspire the crowd. Adam mentioned that his favorite creation of late is the flying toaster.
Fairplex Building 4 event exhibitor hall
Show Management Associates has managed the reboot of the show. The Show Management team has a passion for Model Aviation and has been working closely with the AMA team to help grow that part of the show. Plans are already in the works to add an RC swap meet and static competition to help increase the Model Aviation experience.
Show managements support of AMA included a donation to the AMA Foundation after the successful show!
If you would like to share your ideas for the show or want to get involved in some way next year, please let us know!
Mark Benson
markb@modelaircraft.org
Academy of Model Aeronautics
Senior Director of Marketing
If you went for an RC experience, RCX was a total disappointment. Barely any vendor and/or technical participation. Seventeen dollars to park for 20 minutes of walking the booths. Everything RC seemed to be buried by the coincidental Outdoors expo that was held in the same space. The floor area was probably 85% Outdoors and 15% RC. I have always gone to these expositions to both learn about new technologies and products and stock up on staple items like cables, batteries, servos, etc. Both were sorely lacking this year. I felt ripped off.
Sorry you had a bad experience.
This was only the second year for this new approach.
We certainly have some work to do!
I’m hoping we can make many improvements on the RC side for next year.
thank you for sharing your experience.
Please Consult with Bana Hobby, Horizon and other RC manufacturers as they have been very successful with their participation with the fly show around the country. Maybe let them get back to showcasing their products as they did prior to the pandemic. Just my suggestion
You surely could use the AMA Convention as a template. Those are usually very immersive and well attended events. They usually include a large trade booth area, instructional courses, a swap meet type of trading area and plenty of hands on demos.
Pomona may not be the best place for this kind of event. I realize that there is tons of space there and the horse track can be used for demos but the location is a real trek for most of us in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. The Long Beach Arena or the OC Fairgrounds might be a better option. Both offer interior and exterior areas for exhibitors.
Thanks for posting this. I live in the middle of the country.
Since it will cost me a lot to go, I guess I’ll wait until they get this back to it’s original vendor support before I go.
I’m sorry but I am absolutely disappointed with RCX. The local vendor that I deal with anyway was the main vendor. No Heli’s, No quads, no camera drones. Thankfully the Outlander show was there to take over. If you aren’t into overlanding, this is a show to avoid.
Hope to change your mind for next year. We are working on adding more to the RC experience.
This was only the second year for this “combo” event.. yes, we have some work to do.
I share the same level of disappointment as most of us die hard R/C enthusiasts.
The lack of RC vendors was heartbreaking. changes are needed. I am not into camping or anything outdoors/ sportsman related except finding a few hundred feet of smooth asphalt, dirt or grass in an open field so I can takeoff fly and land. How can we fix this?
This event was a complete disappointment. Totally agree with Chris Roades assessment. Even worse, model aircraft representation was probably about 1%. 99% was cars.
My advice is do NOT combine two expo genres into one. The aeromodelimg world is so niche, it will always loose out to other things. This was painfully evident this year.
AMA should ditch Event Brite, and go back to the old AMA convention style when it was in Ontario Conv. Center.
You can count me out for next year if Event Brite is hosting and its combine with outdoor expo.
I have to agree with what everyone else has said. My wife and I had an amazing time at the final AMA Expo West and were heartbroken to hear that it would not be returning. The last 2 years for RCX were terrible with minimal major brand representation. The “flight demos” are a joke as well compared to the AMA Expos. If RCX remains attached to the Overland Expo, I will not be returning either.
Thank you for the feedback. Hope to make some improvements for next year that will be more “AMA EXPO” like.. we are already talking about adding a swap meet and static competition for example.
Cheers to your launch of RCX and growing thru the kinks. We look forward to joining you at future events!