District XI
Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Hi all. It was still kind of wintertime as I wrote this. Our season is just getting ready to warm up (pun intended). I’m also getting ready for the springtime swap meet activity and getting models ready to go for the season. I’m going to get my turbine waiver this spring—a new and interesting aspect of the hobby for me.
Remember to join us at the AMA Northwest Jamboree in East Wenatchee, Washington, at the Red Apple Flyers field. It’s going to be a great time, and this is an excellent venue! Check out www.amanwjamboree.com for more information.
Bob Stevens, our District XI associate vice president (AVP) in Alaska, sent me this:
The annual Chili Fun Fly was held at Mosquito Field near Peters Creek, Alaska. This event is held each year a week after the Super Bowl and is sponsored by the Frontier Fun Flyers. Because of the cold temperatures, the fun-fly was moved to February 25, 2024.
This year, we had more than our fair share of snow (more than 100 inches to date), and digging out was more labor-intensive than usual. The club managed to build a perfectly smooth runway of ice and packed snow. In fact, it was better than summer conditions when the runway is gravel. Flying small wheels and even EDF airplanes was not a problem.
The temperatures were in the 30s and there was absolutely no wind! A crowd of more than 20 fliers and a few spectators were on hand to enjoy several kinds of chili with all the fixings, along with coffee and cookies. It was a great day, with some folks getting introduced to model aviation.
AVP Joe Miller told me about this:
I assisted a team of students from the University of Portland with a test flight of an airplane of their own design that they are entering in a competition in California in April. I flew the airplane at the McMinnville Aircraft Modelers field for a short and not a very pretty flight. It did give them feedback on several things to enhance their next flight.
That’s all for this month. I hope to see you soon. Keep building and flying!
