Safety/Technical Director’s Corner
UPCOMING EVENTS
By Tony Stillman, Safety/Technical Director | tonys@modelaircraft.org
Hi again! Time flies when you are having fun! As I write this, it is mid-May, and the Joe Nall Week fly-in is taking place in South Carolina. This event has been missing from the calendars of many AMA members, and they are so excited and happy to be back at the gathering!
AMA Executive Director Chad Budreau attended, along with several AMA district vice presidents. Unfortunately, I was here at AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana, this week. I hope everyone had a great time celebrating the return of Joe Nall!
I will be attending the Horizon Hobby Giant Scale warbird event, Warbirds and Classics Over the Horizon, in May. I’m looking forward to getting outside and flying with the many new friends whom I have met. This event is the 2022 kick-off event for the Warbirds and Classics Alliance (WAC), an organization created to foster these types of events that work with the local clubs to create standards under which these events operate.
The WAC has been around for many years and has partnered with various events throughout the Midwest. Chuck Hamilton is the WAC president and described it as an organization of like-minded individuals with a passion for Giant Scale, warbirds, and classic aircraft.
The generally accepted definition of Giant Scale is that aircraft must have a minimum 80-inch wingspan for monoplanes, a 60-inch wingspan minimum for biplanes, and 140 inches (wingspan plus length) for jets. Aircraft that are a 1/4-scale minimum that meets all criteria except wingspan/length are also acceptable.
This year, there are eight events scheduled for the season:
Warbirds and Classics Over the Horizon (new) Monticello IL May 19-22
Warbirds and Classics Over Michigan Grand Ledge MI June 2-4
Windy City Warbirds and Classics St. Charles IL June 16-18
Air Supremacy Over Goshen Goshen IN July 14-16
Northern Alliance Military Fly-IN Owatonna, MN August 11-13
Warbirds and Classics Over the Midwest Fond du Lac WI August 18-20
Air Power Over the IAC Muncie IN September 1-3
Warbirds and Classics of the Bluegrass Rosewood IN September 22-24
Many of these events often include 75 to 100 pilots or more! They are typically run on a Thursday through Saturday timeframe, which offers plenty of flying time for the pilots and allows for some driving time on Sunday to get home by the end of the weekend.
You can find out more information about each event and how to register at www.warbirdsandclassics.com.
This brings me to the topic of large models and AMA’s Large Model Airplane Program. This program is designed to allow an AMA member to fly a model that weighs more than the 55-pound weight limit. There are lots of cool airplanes out there, and many of the big ones are more than 55 pounds.
In order to legally fly these, they must go through a waiver process with AMA. This consists of a flight in front of a credentialed AMA member who checks the airframe, witnesses the waiver flight, and signs off on it. The required paperwork and the waiver process can be found on the AMA website at www.modelaircraft.org/system/files/documents/520-A.pdf.
The Large Model Airplane Program outlines the processes and requirements, and also includes the required forms that must be completed and turned in to AMA. There is a $25 fee for each airplane to go through the process to obtain the waiver.
It is important for every AMA contest director and event manager to review all of the large airplanes at their events to be sure that any exceeding 55 pounds have gone through this process.
If you have any questions about this, please feel free to contact me!
