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
Although you’re likely reading this in June, printing deadlines have me writing this column in April. I hope all of us are seeing blue skies, gentle wind, and not too much needed repair work as we head into summer.
April was a busy time around these parts. The month started off for me with a weekend in Muncie, Indiana, for the Executive Council meeting, a quick trip up to Pontiac, Michigan, for new product demos, and a meeting with AMA President Rich Hanson.
From there it was on to The Toledo Show: R/C Model Expo and a combined District VII, VI, and III membership meeting. At the meeting, AMA staffers provided updates on programs, benefits, and initiatives. Rich also took to the podium to introduce himself and speak to the audience. We had one lucky winner walk away with a new Futaba 10J radio that was offered as a door prize.
Thank you to all who took the time to attend, and I hope you took some information back to share with your clubs. Special thanks goes out to my colleagues Mark Radcliff and Randy Cameron for their help in putting the meeting together.
On the surface it might not sound like all that much, but when you add the birth of my new grandson, Adam Jesky, born on the eve of the show, wedding anniversary number 39, Easter celebrations, and we’re still only halfway through the month, I need to catch my breath. Please allow me to hand off the rest of the column to Bob Johnson from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to take it home from here.
Family Flight Fest is an annual event that is held each year at the EAA AirVenture Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Several of the aircraft located in the Eagle Hangar are moved outside to provide a large area for youngsters and modelers to fly model airplanes. The weekend event focused on introducing kids and families to all aspects of aviation.
More than 1,700 people visited the EAA, which was an attendance record. The museum’s younger visitors enjoyed a variety of fun, hands-on activities to educate and spark their curiosity in flight. Among the many experiences available are flying in the Wright Flyer simulator; parachuting an egg safely to the ground; building a specially designed paper airplane to launch through various targets; flying a balsa glider provided by the EAA; RC airplane demos; and model-making demonstrations.
In addition to the activities for youngsters, there was a contest for modelers flying both glider and rubber-powered models. A total of 17 contestants from three states (Wisconsin, Illinois, and Ohio) flew in 15 events. The three-day contest ran from noon on Friday to early afternoon on Sunday. The host club was the Bong Eagles with Jeff Annis serving as the event’s contest director.
Contestants coming from out of town stayed at the EAA Lodge on the organization’s grounds for a reasonable price. The contest portion of the event was from 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday after the museum closed to the general public. Throughout Saturday and Sunday, contestants displayed their models for museum visitors, helped kids with their balsa glider kits, and flew their models in the air shows.
Free Flight models demonstrated during the air show both days included Double Whammy, Catapult Glider, F1D, Mash Up mass launch, and
Limited Pennyplane. Also during the air show, Al Stone demonstrated his around-the-pole racer event with two racer models simultaneously making laps around the pylon.
On both Saturday and Sunday, the Eagle Hangar was packed with kids having a blast flying balsa gliders that were provided by the EAA, and parents dodging airplanes coming from all directions.
Take a kid flying.
Associate Vice Presidents: Bruce Baier, Oshkosh WI; (920) 233-1127; buzzsr@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; 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; Peter G. Van Heusden, Bloomfield Hills MI; (248) 515-1071; petervh@malibutech.com; Kent Woods, Ames IA; (515) 232-8180; woods229@msn.com. Event Sanction Coordinators: Wayne Yeager (RC Michigan), (517) 260-0132; yogi931@comcast.net; Michael J. Haller (RC non-Michigan), Fond du Lac WI; (920) 979-9452; mike.haller60@gmail.com Frequency Coordinators: Al Schwartz, Roseville MN; (651) 633-2286; alberts@comcast.net; Pete Waters, Northville MI; (248) 924-0223; petewaters@charter.net
