District III
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Several District III clubs have swaps shops as part of their yearly club events. Some are long-standing events, and some are in the beginning stages. We were invited to attend three such events in Ohio during March and April.
Mad River Flying Association club member Daniel Kubler submitted the following:
On March 16, the Mad River Flying Association held its 10th annual Swap Shop at the Champaign Aviation Museum, located on historic Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio.
This swap meet is unlike any other swap meet because all of the vendors and spectators are surrounded by vintage warbirds in static display, reconditioning, and flying models. Guests can get up close and personal to the various airplanes, such as a B-25 Mitchell or B-17 bomber.
This year, the attendees and vendors numbered nearly 400 for the one-day event. The Mad River Flying Association celebrated its 25th anniversary last year and was awarded an AMA certificate to commemorate the achievement.
April 5 and 6, at the Glass City Center in Toledo, Ohio, was the third edition of the new brand of “Toledo,” called the Toledo R/C Swap Shop and Expo. Several guests we spoke to were excited to see the spirit of the new event, held in the same location, maturing into an annual pilgrimage to Toledo.
A highlight of the weekend was that AMA President Rich Hanson, EVP Randy Cameron, and a few AMA vice presidents (VPs) were on hand to present Mark Radcliff a Presidential Achievement Award for his 12 years of service to the AMA as District III’s VP.
On April 26 and 27, the Dayton Wingmasters held its 25th annual ModelRama at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds in Dayton, Ohio.
This is billed as one of the largest swap shops in the country with more than 42,000 sq. ft. and two buildings of vendor and modeler merchandise. The show concluded on Saturday with an auction of more than 75 airplanes.
