District IX
Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming
This report comes from our South Dakota Associate Vice President Jim Tiller, who helped at the UAS4STEM Finals at the EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, this past July.
“I have attended the EAA AirVenture many times. I usually volunteer to help the AMA presence there, but this year, I volunteered to be one of the judges at the UAS4STEM Flight Readiness Reviews. After that, I went out to the corner of Camp Scholler, where the aerial competition was held.
“In a few words, I can tell you I was blown away by the technical expertise and skills that these young people possess.
“Every team amazed me with in-depth understanding of their aircraft. Most are building custom parts, modifying internal electronic components, writing complicated programming, calculating stress analyses, and even running risk-mitigation assessments. Alongside me at the judges’ table were members of the aerospace industry, NASA, and FAA management.
“The flying competition was intense. Each team had to do a waypoint search and identify targets. The Advanced Division must then pick up and carry one of the targets. This year’s new wrinkle was dropping that load on a moving target.
“Winners in both the Beginner and Advanced division received serious scholarship money ($2,500 for first in Advanced), and three winners received Skydio drones. Winning teams were announced before the Wednesday night air show to a crowd of thousands of attendees.
“My message to you is that this competition has matured and is one that our members in District IX should promote. To my knowledge, in this year’s competition, there was only one District IX team, the Watermelon Warriors, from Stillwell, Kansas. I think there should be more.
“To take part in UAS4STEM, each team of four to 10 students has to have a mentor and a financial buy-in for equipment. I think our clubs can supply both of these essentials. For many years, our district raised enough money to send kids to Camp AMA. After seeing the level of interest, expertise, and enthusiasm in these competitors, I think we need to be nurturing more teams in our area.
“For some of you, the word ‘drone’ is a dirty word, but if this is an avenue to get kids building a flying machine, we are creating a new generation of aeromodelers, plus giving them skills to succeed in technical careers.”
I echo what Jim shared. We already have many great educational programs in our district. Look at what we report in this column about educational events, from Free Flight to Control Line to RC. There is room to build on these already successful programs.
If you look at the roster of UAS4STEM teams, most are from large Eastern metropolitan areas, I think we can field teams here in the Heart of America that can surely hold their own.
The registration for the 2025 UAS4STEM will take place this fall. I’d like to suggest that you do two things: First, look at the young fliers in your club and bright students in your local schools for potential team members; Second, when we find them, let’s figure out a way to generate some scholarships for the teams. At least send me a message and give me your feedback on this issue.
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
Brian Blois, Winter Park CO; (720) 333-2720; brian.blois@outlook.com
Tyler Brown, Lincoln NE; (402) 617-0444; tylerzx9@yahoo.com
Mark Dennis, Longmont CO; (951) 203-7776, MarkDflyer@gmail.com
Zac Heskin, Underwood ND; (701) 340-2039; zheskin23@yahoo.com
Rick McCaskill, Frederick CO; (303) 682-0440; rickm147@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; jtil1rt@hotmail.com
Terry Wiles, Harrisburg SD; terryscustom@yahoo.com
EVENT SANCTION COORDINATOR
Troy Hamm, Gardner KS; (913) 744-5745; funflyr@juno.com
