District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Our midwestern weather was mild enough this past winter that I was able to attend the premier indoor flying event in our region. The Red River RC Flyers (RRRCF) hosted its annual International Indoor Fun Fly on January 27, 2024. The event takes place at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks, North Dakota. As you can see from the picture, that this is a huge space, dwarfing those in attendance. You certainly don’t have to share space or wait your turn here.
The club has a wonderful working relationship with the University of North Dakota, which allows them to rent the space at a huge discount for the event and a few other dates throughout the winter months. This year’s event featured 50 pilots from North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Canada.
Here is another in my series about what our associate vice presidents (AVPs) are building and flying. Arend Schuurman is an AVP serving South Dakota. Arend is raising a family but still finds time to serve his community. He is a volunteer on his city’s ambulance service and serves on the school board. He represents District IX on a few AMA committees as well.
Somehow, Arend still finds time to build and fly. His latest interest is vintage airplanes. The picture shown is his new Cloud Cruiser.
Arend took the opportunity to fly his Cloud Cruiser on the first official day of winter in eastern South Dakota. This airplane is a Ben Shereshaw design that first appeared in 1937 in Flying Aces. It has an 8-foot wingspan and was originally a gas-powered Free Flight model. The redesign for RC was done by Bob Olsan. This model is powered by an Enya four-cycle engine and flies with modern electronics.
Arend stated, “This one is a fun-flying ‘floater’ design that hails from the Golden Age and it kind of speaks to me.”
Brandon Koch
Vice President
amadistrictix@modelaircraft.org
Mandan ND
(701) 471-9575
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 SD; (605) 519-0815; zroller28@gmail.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
