District X—Arizona, California, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, Utah
Lawrence Tougas
Vice President
ama.district10@gmail.com
Box 276, Fairfield CA 94533
Tel.: (707) 480-2053; www.ama10.org
Thirty-seven years ago, a handful of modelers from Salt Lake City decided to hold an annual Presidents’ Day Fly-In in southern Utah at sunny St. George. They wanted to leave the snow and cold behind for a weekend of fun and flying. This event was carried along for seven years by the same group until the Remote Possibilities RC Club (RPRCC) was founded by some local St. George modelers in 1986.
RPRCC decided to carry on the tradition of inviting area fliers to come, defrost, bring their RC airplanes, and have some fun for three or four days at an annual event. Small at first, this has grown to be recognized as one of the premier RC events in the intermountain region. This year there were aeromodelers from Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, and California for a total of 76 pilots and 193 airplanes and helicopters. The club did some advertising. With the help of an article from the local newspaper, on Saturday alone the huge parking area was filled with 187 cars and 29 trailers.
On Saturday, the halftime show featured a dual performance treat of Andrew Taylor flying his Extra 300 while Kyle Dahl flew his helicopter in formation with him. Mark Leseberg flew a beautiful freestyle routine with Rich Mathis’s Gee Bee R3. Darin Pearce from Lehi, Utah, really dazzled everyone with a marvelous flight of his Futura jet as well.
Joe Mitchell from Layton, Utah, won the Pilots’ Choice award with
his scratch-built Breitling CAP 232. Paul Bradshaw from Midway, Utah, flew his turbine-powered L-13 Blanik sailplane to the delight of the crowd. It was a real treat to watch as he did slow rolling circles and vertical climbs followed by long glides to set up for his next surprise maneuver.
I have visited RPRCC and can tell you that the club has a wonderful field in a beautiful desert setting. There are amazing red rock mesas surrounding the area, making it a pleasure to visit. If you want a real treat and want to fly on a nice field, plan to visit the Remote Possibilities RC Club in St. George.
Thank you to Dan Johnston for helping with this month’s column. Until next month, may you have nothing but happy landings.
