District VII
Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Live from Oshkosh, it’s Friday night! Curious about my opening? Friday night, February 10, was full of excitement in one of the most wonderful places to hold an event: the EAA Aviation Museum at the EAA Headquarters in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
As part of EAA’s 2023 Winter Flight Fest, an indoor Free Flight competition was held. This event has been held for more than two decades, and this one was a great success, with many competitors of all ages participating. I enjoyed meeting the participants and watching the beauty of such a simple, yet intricate, model airplane fly. To see a propeller spinning at such a slow revolution and seeing the airplane fly for 20 minutes or more is incredible.
The National Free Flight Society was involved in this event and worked with EAA to oversee the activities. Also participating were the Winnebago RC Flyers club of Pickett, Wisconsin, showing some skillful flying of RC foamies, and the Circle Masters of Sussex, Wisconsin, showing that clearly, a Control Line (CL) airplane can do more than fly in circles. Watching Circle Masters’ club President Chris Sterner hover a CL airplane was impressive, to say the least.
Guys, remember, I will be seeing you this summer and making my attempt at flying a CL airplane! District VII members and friends, I hope a video of my attempts won’t leak out!
Another aspect of the model aviation hobby is the passion and willingness to help fellow modelers. A great example of this happened during the event. As I walked around, enamored by the skill required to build such a lightweight model, I met a family of three generations participating in the event: Al (the grandfather), Josh (the son), and James (the grandson).
The enthusiasm that James had was so awesome, as well as his knowledge and explanation of the tools used (I never realized they used a counter and a torque meter to measure the turns on the rubber band—excuse me, the motor).
James wondered why I did not have one to fly myself, and at his urging, he helped me assemble an AMA ALPHA. After we built it, he took me out to test-fly it. I can tell you that the initial flights were more splats than flights, but James was not going to let me fail and helped me tune it. Watching the three generations work together just warmed my heart and proved to me the joys of the hobby. James had success himself, with a third-place finish in Catapult Glider.
As usual, I have much to say but little space to write. I want to get your opinion. I had the opportunity to attend Hazel Sig’s 101st birthday, where she was presented with the NAA Wesley L. McDonald Distinguished Statesman and Stateswoman of Aviation Award for all she has accomplished not only in aeromodeling but in full-scale aviation as well.
Many of you know that Sig Manufacturing will be moving its facilities from Iowa to Illinois and with that, the potential ending of the Sig Fun-Fly. What are your thoughts on hosting a District VII fun-fly to continue the tradition? Send me your thoughts, ideas, and willingness to assist.
Until then, be like James and share the passion!
