District VIII—Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas
Mark Johnston
Vice President
districtVIIIVP@modelaircraft.org
6608 Beck Dr. NE, Albuquerque NM 87109
Tel.: (505) 823-0158;
www.amadistrict-viii.org
In early April, I attended The Toledo Show: R/C Model Expo in Ohio. The show gets better every year. If you get the chance to go, you will not regret it.
I awarded our District VIII Camp AMA scholarship to Gryphon Downey from southern Texas. Gryphon will join five other District VIII Camp AMA participants this summer. Look for a short report from him in my column in a month or so.
I also partially sponsored a second youth for Camp AMA. Andre Simas will be attending the camp in Muncie, Indiana, as well. The Tri-City Flyers club in San Antonio split the cost with me.
I want to thank all who sent in essays. I will plan to award a District VIII scholarship again next year.
The Flying Site Assistance grants were awarded as well. All of the clubs in District VIII that submitted applications this year received money. These grants help our district clubs and could help yours, too. They are a worthwhile option for all AMA chartered clubs. Consider applying for the grant next year.
Another good program that our district does not utilize efficiently is the Take off And Grow (TAG) program. In the last three years, District VIII has not given a TAG grant. If you are interested in it, contact me, AMA, or one of the association vice presidents (AVPs) for more information.
On April 25, 2015, I attended an event
At all of the events I have been attending, I get a photo with all of the pilots so everyone there can see their smiling faces in the magazine. Of course that means they have to smile for the picture!
Many nice aircraft were on the side of the flightline.
Approximately 40 pilots attended the SPADS event, including Bill Holland, AVP for Oklahoma, and pilots from Kansas, Texas, New Mexico, and, of course, Oklahoma. A big thanks to the club and the officers for inviting me!
in Enid, Oklahoma with the SPADS R/C Club. Boomer Field was a great place to visit. It has a nice layout and all of the members and visitors were wonderful hosts.
Jim Marshall traveled to Rio Hondo, Texas, for the Small Model Aircraft Society of Harlingen (SMASH) Spring Fun-Fly held March 28, 2015. Members from AMA chartered clubs in southern Texas, and one club from Monterrey, Mexico, were present. There were several pilots from Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, and Iowa, as well.
Forty-five registered pilots and a large number of spectators were on hand to have a grand day of celebrating model aircraft and the arrival of spring. The weather was comfortable with a light southern breeze off of the nearby Gulf of Mexico. There were demonstrations of several types of multimotored drones with excitingly intense and aggressive 3-D flying action by some of the fliers from Mexico.
SMASH served a delicious noon meal of Texas-style barbecue. Pilot comments ranged from “nom, nom, nom, nom,” to “this is the best darn barbecue I’ve ever eaten!” The Harlingen crew really knows how to make a successful fly-in even better with award-winning cooking.
Brian Regan went to Las Cruces, New Mexico, for a fun-fly. The Mesilla Valley Model Airplane Club changed this event from a Scale meet to a fun-fly. It was well attended.
This was a free event. The club had a raffle and door prizes, as well as field prizes. The weather was good, although the wind blew hard on Friday. There was plenty of flying and a whole lot of hangar talk. Sometimes the hangar talk is as much fun as flying.
Bill Grigaliunas did a great job and the club helped make this fun for all. Watching a young man flying on a buddy box was cool.
The Mesilla club will be moving to a new location this summer or early fall. It looks like it will be a great place to fly.
Hope to see you all at the field!
Associate Vice Presidents: Benny Behrens, Pearland TX; (832) 499-2043; cbbehrens@comcast.net. Tony Breyen, Wichita Falls TX; (940) 733-2803; Bill Holland, Prague OK; (405) 626-1386; Jim D Marshall, Alton TX; (956) 984-9474; Jerry Walters, Maurice LA; (337) 298-7755; jerome1w@icloud.com; Stewart Moore, Jefferson TX; (903) 665-7501; mooremas1@netscape.com; Brian Regan, Albuquerque NM; (505) 872-2661; brain23@centurylink.net; Randy Ritch, Magnolia TX; (281) 701-3121; Doug Staines, Belton TX; (254) 780-3512; Cliff Town, Dumas TX; (806) 935-3063; town_cliff@hotmail.com; Ed Valls, Schertz TX; (210) 957-2152; edwarda10pilot@aol.com. AVP for Safety: Jim Rice, San Antonio TX; (210) 657-6604; district8safety@satx.rr.com. RC Contest Coordinator: Douglas E. Powell, Wichita Falls TX; (940) 691-8348; chief2@sbcglobal.net. CL/FC Contest Coordinator: Contact AMA Headquarters at jamiec@modelaircraft.org.
