District XI

Edition: Model Aviation - 2023/02
Page Numbers: 105

District XI

Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington

Hi all. It’s deep in building season for me, I’ve been working on several projects and I pulled out the Der Jager and got past my “stumbler,” so I should progress much faster now. Below are pictures of it with most of the parts.

I need to start sanding and don’t like doing that indoors because of all the dust, but I think I have solved that problem.

I took a 20 x 20 furnace filter and put it on the input side of a box fan with masking tape. I put it near where I’m sanding, and it pulls most of the dust away. I also have a small shop vacuum that I used to pick up the piles. I’ll let you know how well this works after I use it for a few weeks.

Partially built model airplane in a workshop

Close view of a partially built model airplane

Dick Weaver, from the Lake Sawyer Hawks Radio Control Fliers, sent me an email with information on their float-flying on Lake Washington in Seattle. They also have a club field in Hobart, Washington. See the picture and visit the club’s website at www.lakesawyer-hawks.org for more information.

Model airplane event at a covered flying field

Tracy Erdman, of the Inland Empire Quiet Flyers in Spokane, Washington, sent in this:

The first weekend in October, 10 pilots from District XI made the journey to Visalia, California, for the 49th annual Central Valley RC Fall Festival Soaring Competition. We arrived to find beautiful flying weather with the temperatures in the 90s, which lasted the whole weekend.

In our group, we had pilots flying winch-launch and electric-powered gliders with a few flying multiple classes. The contest classes were 2M, Open, ALES, RES, and Woody. We flew six rounds on Saturday and wrapped up with four rounds on Sunday. Three of our pilots placed in the top 10 in RES, two in the top 10 in ALES, and one in the top 10 of Open. There were roughly 100 pilots for the event. In our hangars, we had Explorers, Volos, Maxas, Prestige 2PKs, and an AVA.

It was a well-run contest with a great area in which to fly. There was good lift on both days, with Saturday being slightly breezier. We are looking forward to the 50th anniversary contest next year.

Pilots and model aircraft gathered at a flying field

I am putting together my calendar for the year. The first events I plan to attend are the McMinnville Aircraft Modelers Swap Meet on March 18 in McMinnville, Oregon, and then the NW Model Hobby Expo in Monroe, Washington on April 14-16. I hope I see you at one of these events!