District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
In September 2022, the Magnificent Mountain Men (MMM) of Denver held the 57th annual Rocky Mountain Free Flight (FF) Championships. Rick Pangell shared his summary:
The high cost of travel held the number of entrants down slightly, but 20 contestants, plus numerous supporters, were in attendance from six states.
Forty events, plus five Junior events, were held throughout the three days, which made for plenty of airtime. Some of the greatest FF fliers in the US displayed their skills. One example was Skilly DeLoach, who set a new Junior AMA Catapult national record with a score of 318 seconds!
Darold Jones summed up the event well: “Every
time I go to one of our contests, especially the larger ones, the one thing that always stands out is the people. Everyone is focused on competing, but gives good advice to anyone interested.”
It was great to have some spectators visit us from Valor Christian High School, and a few of them were put to use timing flights.
The MMM outdoor season is over, but indoor flying opportunities are on the schedule too. Visit themmmclub.com for the upcoming events.
Nick DeGenarro reported on a new event at the RC Barnstormers in Hillsdale, Kansas:
The Barnstormers held the inaugural KC Helicopter Jamboree on October 8-9, 2022. The weather was perfect. More than 20 pilots and more than 40 helicopters attended. We hosted everything from hard-core 3D pilots to beginners who were still learning how to hover. There were also a couple of beautiful Scale helicopters.
The club was encouraged by the turnout in this inaugural event, so we are already looking forward to hosting it again next year. Save the date for the first weekend of October.
Brandon Koch
Vice President
kochbrandon471@gmail.com
Mandan ND
(785) 252-3282
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENTS
Craig Bastian, Casper WY; (307)577-6463; craigb1961@msn.com
Tyler Brown, Lincoln NE; (402) 617-0444; tylerzx9@yahoo.com
Mark Dennis, Longmont CO; (951) 203-7776, MarkDflyer@gmail.com
Rick McCaskill, Frederick CO; (303) 682-0440; rickm1947@aol.com
Zachary Roller, Rapid City SC; (605) 519-0815; zroller28@yahoo.com
Arend Schuurman, Elkton SD; (605) 695-2122; arend.schuurman@gmail.com
Jim Tiller, Custer SD, (605) 390-3878; jtillr@hotmail.com
Terry Wiles, Harrisburg SD; terryscustom@yahoo.com
EVENT SANCTION COORDINATOR
Troy Hamm, Gardner KS; (913) 744-5745; funflyr@juno.com
