District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Jim Tiller
Vice President
jtiller@hotmail.com
Box 828, Custer SD 57730
(605) 390-3878
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENTS
Craig Bastian, Casper WY; (307)577-6463; craigb1961@msn.com
Tyler Brown, Lincoln NE; (402) 617-0444; tylerzx9@yahoo.com
Brandon Koch, Mandan ND; (701) 471-9575; kochbrandon471@gmail.com
Rick McCaskill, Frederick CO; (303) 682-0440; rickm1947@aol.com
Zachary Roller, Rapid City SC; (605) 519-0815; zroller28@gmail.com
Arend Schuurman, Elkton SD; (605) 695-2122; arend.schuurman@gmail.com
Terry Wiles, Harrisburg SD; terryscustom@yahoo.com
EVENT SANCTION COORDINATOR
Troy Hamm, Gardner KS; (913) 744-5745; funflyr@juno.com
Propbuster President Dan McKeag (second from R), with his F-22 EDF and the Air Force F-22 Demonstration Team crew.
The Rapid City
Propbusters RC Club in Rapid City, South Dakota, staffed a booth at the Ellsworth Air Force Base open house in May 2022. Both the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force F-22 demonstration teams were there to entertain the large crowd. Propbuster President Dan McKeag asked if he could get an autograph on his airplane. The Air Force representative, thinking it was one of the toys for sale at the event, said sure.
A few minutes later, Dan was back at the booth with his EDF F-22. Slightly amazed at the size and detail of his model, the Air Force representative made a call and Dan ended up with the autographs of the entire F-22 demo crew, including the pilot.
A Blue Angels crew chief took notice and started asking questions as well. Not by chance, Dan also had an F-18 at the show, and this airplane was soon in the hands of the Blue Angels crew. Dan went home with signatures from the Blue Angel team as well, including all seven pilots.
What a remarkable story!
The Bismarck Airplane Modelers
in Bismarck, North Dakota, met Mary Cooper, one of the
Zac Heskin mentors the AMA ALPHA building session at Little Heart School.
teachers at Little Heart School in St. Anthony, North Dakota, when she brought her daughter to the club’s indoor fun-fly in February 2022.
When the club let her daughter fly an AMA ALPHA, a conversation began about how she might expand the experience with her rural school class. Ms. Cooper teaches 23 kids from first to eighth grade.
Under the leadership of Brandon Koch and Zac Heskin, plans were made, a date was chosen, and the club arrived at the school with enough ALPHAs for each of the students. Under the club’s guidance, each student got a lesson in basic aeronautics and hands-on assembly instruction before trimming and test-flying their new airplanes. Not long afterward, the whole group went outdoors for some more ALPHA flying and a few demonstration flights with a couple of small, electric-powered airplanes by members of the club.
Brandon shared, “The kids were super excited. We had so many questions and they all had smiling faces. The best part was to see them pack up the ALPHAs to take home. We are invited back when they share activities with their sister schools. We plan to be there.”
At the end of the activities, each student boxed up his or her ALPHA and headed home with great memories of this introductory flying experience.
