District V

District V

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands

Welcome back everyone! As I write this, the new year is in full swing and the event circuit is heating up, even if the weather isn’t quite yet!

I headed south to Sanford, Florida, for my first event of the year, at the Sanford Aero Modelers club which hosted the Blue Max event on January 27-28, 2023. This was the first time I’ve had the pleasure of attending this gathering, and Contest Director (CD) Scott Lee made me feel at home.

The Blue Max is an event for World War I-era aircraft. Models of aircraft flown from 1903 through 1919 are eligible to fly. There is static judging and flight judging, and a number of awards are presented. The weather was perfect on the day I attended, and the sky was filled with beautiful vintage aircraft gracefully executing scalelike maneuvers, including the obligatory nose-over on landing, all day long.

Three men at the Blue Max event — The Michigan contingent stood out wearing shorts and T-shirts when it was 50°, while we Floridians were bundled up. (L-R) Roy Carrigan and Kirk Hall with local buddy Tim Len.

Three men attending a pilots’ meeting — Event sponsor Stephen Thomas (L) and CD Scott Lee (center) brief the pilots at the Blue Max pilots’ meeting.

Two men with a large model airplane — P.J. Ash (L) and Gary Ballard, with Gary’s 1/3-scale Balsa USA Fokker D.VII, shortly before its unfortunate demise after the engine quit right after takeoff.

In other news, we had an AMA Executive Council meeting in January and were briefed on a number of important topics. AMA Headquarters is reviewing and processing FAA-Recognized Identification Area (FRIA) applications for clubs that have filled out the form and forwarded it to AMA. We anticipate hearing the results from the FAA in a few months.

The FAA Reauthorization is upcoming. Our AMA Government Relations team is busy working with lawmakers’ staffs to educate them on what we do, and working toward getting favorable language for the AMA, aeromodeling, and education incorporated into the final bill.

That’s it for this month. Stay safe and get out and fly!

Man standing with a model biplane — Curtis Switzer, from Cocoa FL, with his 1/4-scale Balsa USA Fokker D.VII at the Blue Max in Sanford FL.