District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Red River Flyers President Brian Dorff gives Kasey Johnson instruction with the club trainer.
Sawyer Helms won the Red River Flyers trainer giveaway.
District IX had three Take off And Grow (TAG) grant recipients in 2022. I have already reported on the great results from the Casper Aeromodelers club in a previous column. Here are a few words about the other two recipients.
The Red River Flyers RC club in Grand Forks, North Dakota, received its first TAG grant and the club made great use of it. Here are a few words from Club President Brian Dorff:
“As a medium-sized club that has been tasked with the cost of developing a new flying site, the AMA TAG grant has helped us put money into our training program that we wouldn’t have been able to budget for otherwise.
“Having club-owned equipment available for regular instruction night and for youth groups, such as Cub Scouts and even schools, has helped us grow. Getting some experience before investing in equipment is a real benefit for newcomers, plus, when they do buy, they make better decisions.
“If we get them to a second training night, we have a good chance of signing a new member who now brings his or her own airplane to use. This program helps to ensure that a potential new club member’s first experiences are positive.”
The Rapid City Propbusters RC Club in Rapid City, South Dakota, worked in partnership with Who’s Hobby, the local hobby shop, to put on a Learn to Fly Day promoted both by the club and the hobby shop.
Club training instructor Aarsh Mather headed the flight training, using two AeroScouts purchased with TAG money from Who’s Hobby. Aarsh commented:
“With the AeroScouts, we just got the airplane in the air and handed over the controls to the youngsters after a short ground school. In the protected mode, they got along fine. What a great way to introduce the hobby to these kids!
“We also gave an introductory flight to a gentleman who saw our hobby shop ad and came out to check us out. After speaking to our group and looking at the airplanes, we signed him as a new member within a week.
“We think we made good use of the AMA money, and we had a great time doing it.”
TAG grants are a great incentive to work your magic on the young people in your area. There is no better way than to organize some activities using TAG money. The online application is on the AMA website. Let’s see if we can get more than three events in District IX next year. The deadline for the 2023 TAG grant applications is February 1.
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
