District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
Brett Becker let District V Vice President Andrew Griffith fly his T-33 a few times at the AMA National Fun Fly.
This year’s summer Executive Council meeting was held the same weekend as the AMA National Fun Fly, so I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days with nearly 200 pilots who registered for this year’s model aviation celebration at AMA’s International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
The AMA National Fun Fly has grown every year and it’s not a surprise. The event is just “plane” fun. On Saturday, we invited the public, and staff and volunteers put on a bunch of introductory activities, including model boating, cars, and rockets. There were even a few other outdoor sports and service-related groups from around the Muncie area that set up booths to add even more things for interested folks to do.
I had a chance to meet quite a few AMA members and talked at length with some, including two or three father-and-son flying partners who made good use of the flightline. It is a refreshing reminder that ours is a family hobby.
I also indulged in a “few” raffle tickets to get a chance at more than $15,000 worth of prizes that were donated by our sponsors. I did score a couple of items, but the good news is that all of the proceeds went to the AMA Foundation.
Thank you to the AMA staff members who organized and made this aerial extravaganza come together, and a second set of thanks to the AMA members who volunteered to do the extra work that were required to host an event such as this. It’s a “fur piece” from District IX to Muncie, but I would encourage all of you to put the AMA National Fun Fly on next year’s calendar.
Wyoming Associate Vice President Craig Bastion sent this information about a Take off And Grow (TAG) July grant-funded event held by the Casper Airmodelers in Casper, Wyoming.
For the last seven years, the Casper Airmodelers have invited the public to come out to the club’s facility and try flying an RC airplane. The attendees use the club’s trainers and instructors to fly at no cost. To top this off, all participants had lunch prepared by our members.
After registering, each visitor received practice on a flight simulator before getting hands-on instruction from one of our certified club instructors.
We have three buddy-box trainer airplanes. Many of the new fliers were able to have several flights as the day progressed. Along the way, we gave out foam gliders to our guests and asked them to participate in a longest-distance contest.
This year, 10 participants tried their hands at flying, and two of them joined the club. Ages ranged from 8 years old to the young at heart. These pilots went away with smiles on their faces and dreams of more aerial adventures to come.
If your club would like to have some financial assistance to host an introductory event such as this, all you have to do is fill out a TAG Grant application on the AMA website (look under Programs and click on the TAG Grant icon). The deadline is in January.
Brandon Koch
Vice President
amadmin@modelaircraft.org
Mandান ND
ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENTS
Craig Bastian, Casper WY;
Brian Blois, Winter Park CO;
Tyler Brown, Lincoln NE;
Mark Dennis, Longmont CO;
Zac Heskin, Underwood ND;
Rick McCaskill, Frederick CO;
Zachary Roller, Rapid City SD;
Arend Schuurman, Elkton SD;
Jim Tiller, Custer SD;
Terry Wiles, Harrisburg SD;
EVENT SANCTION COORDINATOR
Troy Hamm, Gardner KS;
