District IV
Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland,
North Carolina, Virginia
Jay Marsh
Vice President
jaymarsh@ama-d4.org
3227 Pine Needles Rd.,
High Point NC 27265
(336) 687-0973
www.amadistrict-iv.org
www.facebook.com/amadistrictIv
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENTS
Nic Burhans, VA; (540) 219-9646; nic@ama-d4.org
Bob Burnett, Washington, D.C. SFRA; (703) 742-9682; bobl@ama-d4.org
Rick Cawley, NC; (919) 630-1649; racbcg2@yahoo.com
Jack Hamilton, NC; (828) 206-5281; scorpionjacks@hotmail.com
Rusty Kennedy, VA; (757) 812-2812; rusty k716@gmail.com
Richard “Rick” Moreland, MD; (301) 261-7366; rmoreland@verizon.net
Mark Smith, NC; (704) 798-2776; marksmithsmitty@yahoo.com
Terry Terrenoire, VA; (412) 760-4593; terry@ama-d4.org
Mark Weiss, DE; (302) 547-4917; ama82824@yahoo.com
EVENT SANCTION COORDINATORS
CL AVP: Jack Rosemere, 609 William St., Cambridge MD 21613; (410) 330-4663; jrosemere@verizon.net
FF AVP: Bob Sowder, 84 Misty Hills Ln., Troutville VA 24175; (540) 525-7086; bsowder@rrnet.com
RC: John Bergsmith, 1438 Piney Church Rd., Concord NC 28025; (704) 699-6977; RCcoordinator@ama-d4.org
GOVERNMENT RELATIONS AVP
Ray Stinchcomb, (443) 618-8998; govrelations@ama-d4.org
WEBMASTER
Jack Upchurch, webmaster@ama-d4.org
SOCIAL MEDIA ADMINISTRATOR
Douglas LeRoy, social@ama-d4.org
The theme of last month’s, this month’s and next month’s columns is to demonstrate ways to get youth and their friends involved in our hobby. Consider adding a Control Line (CL) circle to your field. It only takes a very small amount of room. Give Free Flight (FF) and/or rockets a try, particularly from the STE(A)M education level.
All require hand-building and seeing your accomplishment work. It’s addictive and will show up when they are in their 30s with their own kids.
Model rockets? I started off my first adventure into aviation with rockets. They were available via mail order and required building something, and then having fun flying it. Next was FF, CL, and so on.
I recently returned from the 2023 World Spacemodeling Championships near Austin, Texas, where 460 competitors of all ages from
2023 US Spacemodeling Team of 26 Juniors, 27 Seniors, and three team managers.
17 countries competed in nine event classes. For those who have never witnessed a world championship or been a part of a US team, I’m going to give you a feeling for what it was like to be there and compete. The best part is that it is all about the camaraderie.
Driving from North Carolina to Texas was a 3,017-mile round trip, and my anticipation and fear made it hard. Upon arrival, everything was in full swing with registration, moving into a dorm room, and trying to organize and sift through all of the information given out, including the schedule. The next day was a team meeting and opening ceremonies, followed by pictures, turning in my scale entry, and then finding and greeting all of the friends that I’ve made throughout the years.
After one practice day, the competition began with a wake-up call at 5 a.m. and dinner at 6 p.m. every day. After a short recovery period, the night work began to prepare for the next day’s events and hopefully there was a little time to relax and be with friends.
My days to compete came up, so I proceeded to the field early and set everything up with final model preparation when the motors were passed out to begin each round. There were four members on both of my event teams and, in streamer duration, all were required to fly within the 1-hour round. It was imperative to launch into a thermal to do well, so there was a lot of anxiety. My launch time arrived, and after getting clearance—5-4-3-2-1 launch!—it was in the air and out of my hands doing what was programmed into the flight profile. Two more rounds and we packed up. I’m through with that event. Relief.
On July 4, we all went to a 3A baseball game with fireworks, which spoke of the US. At the end of the competition came the banquet. This time, with the world championships in the US, we were served great Texas brisket and barbecue chicken with all of the sides imaginable. Closing ceremonies and saying goodbye to friends was all that remained.
The US Spacemodeling Team won the 2023 Gold World Spacemodeling Championships, beating out Romania and Slovakia. Appreciation and kudos to the organizer, James Duffy, on a job well done.
Go fly and have fun safely.
