District V

District V

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

Welcome back everyone!

Not everyone knows this, but District V includes Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Frankie Mirandes invited me to the Borinquén Remote Control Model Club in El Pueblo de Toa Baja in Puerto Rico to attend the club’s Warbirds and Jets event. The club is roughly 40 minutes from San Juan, and the plan is for the event to become an annual one.

Group of five people standing outdoors in Puerto Rico — During my trip to Puerto Rico, I got to hang out with this great group. (L-R): Edgar Perez, Gustavo Diaz, myself, CD Frankie Mirandes, and Richard Prann, safety officer and club vice president.

Most jets don’t fit in my carry-on bag, and the club provided a container to ship properly crated models to the island and back to the port in Jacksonville, Florida.

The nearby town of Bayamón has a nice hotel, shopping, and restaurants (both local and national), and if you’re not already broke, a casino. The club features a 750-foot paved runway with a large pavilion that provides plenty of shade. Mid-January temperatures were in the 80s and, although there was lots of wind, it was steady and straight down the runway.

Group of people standing with model jets on a runway — BVM Jets had a large contingent of employees and team pilots on hand in Puerto Rico, including Generali, Bob Violett’s daughter. They used the container service provided by the club and had several jets that flew all weekend.

I want to thank Contest Director (CD) Frankie Mirandes and his entire club for the hospitality that they showed me on my first visit to their beautiful island since my days in the U.S. Navy. I can’t wait to get back there!

Turbine Changes

Thanks to the hard work of the Safety Committee, the Executive Council approved the use of purpose-built fuel bags in model jet aircraft at the January meeting. As of this writing, the changes are pending approval by the FAA but should be approved for use by the time you read this.

Part of the process of attaining community-based organization (CBO) status with the FAA was a review of our safety programming, so any changes to the safety program must get an approval stamp before they can be published.

If you fly turbine jets and are interested in using fuel bags, please review the new 510-A turbine document on www.modelaircraft.org to ensure that you’re complying with the new requirements.

Until next month, stay safe and keep ’em flyin’!

Two men with a model F-86 jet aircraft — Jorge Escalona (L), with Sal Becherano and his Tomahawk Aviation F-86 at the Borinquen RC Warbirds and Jets event.