District VII—Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Tim Jesky
Vice President
timjesky@charter.net
2886 E. Country Ln., Monroe MI 48162
Tel.: (734) 384-6085;
www.amadistrict-vii.org
Now that fall has set in, the days to pick and choose when to head out flying have gone out the window. Between the unpredictable weather conditions the season brings and the time change, that window gets much smaller. I doubt if I’d get much of an argument on that from the people who live in the upper reaches of Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Yoopers (Upper Peninsula of Michigan), or almost anyone else in the district.
If you’re planning to build a new aircraft, it’s a time to get your workbench cleared and stock up on the supplies you’ll need for your project. It’s also the time of year when the indoor flying season starts allowing us to keep our thumbs limber all year long.
Our indoor aircraft are generally lightweight, smaller, and less powerful than the models we take to the field, but they can still cause injury and damage. Proper maintenance and safety inspections are no less important on your micro fliers than they are on a Giant Scale aircraft. Let’s keep it fun, and let’s keep it safe.
This story comes from Joe Hamp from Jackson, Michigan. It seems that Jackson RC Club members Dave Curtis and Doug Hilleary decided last year to see how many days in a row they could fly. It kind of reminded me of when Forrest Gump decided one day to start running. I’m sure you’ll find Dave and Doug’s story entertaining and it will be appreciated by the people who live in the northern latitudes.
In early August of 2015, Dave Curtis and Doug Hilleary, members of the Jackson RC Club and the Irish Hills RC Club, started a string of consecutive days flying, mainly because of a lot of good weather—at first. At some point, they decided that flying 100 days in a row was possible, so that goal was set and reached, but why stop there?
So on they went into the Michigan winter continuing to meet each day and get a flight in at one of the club fields or a local park when the fields were snowed in.
On August 4, 2016, Dave and Doug completed the ultimate goal of one year—366 consecutive days (leap year)—of flying. They both used their QQ Extra 300s for most of the flights, with Doug logging 600 flights on his Extra. Dave said that the stabilization system made it possible to fly on the windiest days and snow skis were installed when needed.
Associate Vice Presidents: Bruce Baier, Oshkosh WI; (920) 233-1127; buzssr@gmail.com; Lee Frederickson, Ada MI; L1520@comcast.net; David George, Riverview MI; (734) 284-9017; indiancity5129@yahoo.com, Randall Gibson, Lansing MI; (317) 698-4346; rgibson@mmrcha.org; Bud Gorman, Knife River MN; (218) 834-5797; bgorman@frontiernet.net; Don Held, Elmira MI; (231) 584-2662; edge540m@gmail.com; Noel Hunt, Shelby Twp. MI; (586) 677-1540; hunt4it@comcast.net; Bob Johnson, Fond du Lac WI; (920) 922-6705; bobj54935@yahoo.com; Mark Robotti, Lindstrom MN; (651) 257-6792; mgrobotti@frontier.com; Marc “Doc” Shelstrom, Lancaster WI; (608) 732-4077; shelstrm@uwplatt.edu; Kent Woods, Ames IA; (515) 232-8180; woods229@msn.com. Contest Coordinators: Wayne Yeager (RC Michigan), (517) 260-0132; yogi1931@comcast.net; Michael J. Haller (RC non-Michigan), Fond du Lac WI; (920) 979-9452; mrhaller2460@att.net. Frequency Coordinators: Al Schwartz, Roseville MN; (651) 633-2286; alberts@comcast.net; Pete Waters, Northville MI; (248) 924-0223; petewaters@charter.net.
