District V
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands
Welcome back to District V!
On the morning of January 6, 2021, I received the most unwelcome news that Frank Tiano had passed away. Nearly everyone in the aeromodeling community is aware of Frank and his world-class events. When I was a young airman stationed in California, I had read about Frank and the big-time events going on in Florida in the modeling magazines, so when I received orders to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, two things came to mind: 1) No state income tax! 2) I will be close enough to attend some of these events I’ve been reading about for so long and meet Frank!
Fast-forward a few years and I was living in Florida and working for RCUniverse (RCU) at the time. I was asked to cover Top Gun for the RCU events section and I readily agreed. By then, it had moved from the Palm Beach Polo Grounds in Florida, to the Lakeland Linder International Airport, and I finally got to meet Frank.
He was a grouchy curmudgeon, but while there, I was on the flightline during the kids candy bomber candy drop. After seeing Frank dealing with the kids during the candy drop, I realized what was going on. I was seeing the real Frank Tiano—the one behind the grumpy old man act, the one that his friends know, and the one I eventually came to know. I was better for knowing him.
Frank was the first to take a small jet meet in Florida and turn it into an international bucket-list event that draws pilots from across the US and many countries from Europe, South America, Australia, and others. He also took Scale judging to a new level and created Top Gun, where truly the best of the best compete in Scale competition each spring in Lakeland.
Given his lifetime of devotion to the hobby, I was honored to nominate Frank for an AMA Lifetime Achievement Award. I arranged to present the award to his widow, Carol Tiano, at Florida Jets. Carol graciously agreed to carry on Florida Jets and Top Gun this year, and tentatively in future years, but it was a bittersweet moment for me because I would have preferred to present it to Frank before he passed. You never know how much time you or your friends have left, so try not to waste any.
If you’re into Senior Pattern competition or just like a good-flying classic model, the following tidbit might be of interest to you. Jacksonville, Florida-based Aero Composites is run by my longtime flying buddy, Mitch Robbins. The company obtained the molds for several classic designs, such as the Dirty Birdy, Curare, LA-1, and others that it produces as kits with fiberglass fuselages, foam wing cores, and canopies. It’s awesome seeing these models available again, and it’s nice to see custom schemes showing up at the field and not just a bunch of cookie-cutter ARFs that all look the same.
I’m seriously considering taking one of these kits on and seeing if I can still build. Contact information is on the company’s website at https://aerocompositesrc.com.
Andrew Griffith
Vice President
barracudahockey@aol.com
12258 Bucks Harbor Dr. N.
Jacksonville FL 32225
(904) 993-4956
www.amadistrict-v.org
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENTS
Mickey Avery, AL; (334) 247-7123; district-V-AVP@email.com
Joe Dolliver, FL; (239) 218-2677; Joe33914@gmail.com
Rick Grim, AL; (256) 656-0859; uavpilot@bellsouth.net
Keith Hall, FL; (813) 928-3861; wingman@verizon.net
Jose Melendez, FL; (321) 412-3078; rcjets12@hotmail.com
Bill Barbee, GA; (912) 660-2155; awbarhee@hotmail.com
Bob Dixon, GA; (478) 960-5200; rldixon3@cox.net
Nick Ray, GA; (865) 368-3820; lasray@gmail.com
Darrell Sprayberry, GA; (706) 280-5848; darrellhub@optlink.us
Dave Wenzel, GA; (912) 754-9619; davevfrguy@hotmail.com
Paul Verger, MS; (228) 826-4892; cpaulverger@yahoo.com
Edwin Medina, Puerto Rico; (787) 525-7768; captmedina@gmail.com
Don Wise, SC; (803) 534-8164; d7wise@sc.rr.com
Scott Anderson, TN; rcfoamy@hotmail.com
Dick Tonan, TN; (615) 995-6291; dtonan@mac.com
SAFETY COORDINATOR: Red Schofield, Johns Island SC; (843) 494-5225; redsch03@gmail.com
RC AND FF EVENT SANCTION COORDINATOR: Dick Tonan
CL EVENT SANCTION COORDINATOR: Dave Wenzel
WEBMASTER: Glenn Bond, d5amaweb@gmail.com
