District V
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands
Andrew Griffith
Vice President
amadistrictv@modelaircraft.org
12258 Bucks Harbor Dr. N.
Jacksonville FL 32225
(904) 993-4956
www.amadistrict-v.org
Welcome back everyone! I received a nice note from David Cutaia of the Manatee Country RC Club in Palmetto, Florida.
The club recently installed a 350-foot geotextile runway at its nice facility and wanted to invite me and any members to visit their Carl Wegner Field at 7315 71st Ave. E., in Palmetto. New members are invited to buddy-box flight with a trainer and club instructor. Thank you for the invitation!
The Gateway RC club in Jacksonville, Florida, held a Dawn Patrol event on August 10-11. The club hosted 20 pilots and all manners of beautiful aircraft from the World War I era and other classic aircraft.
I took advantage of Contest Director (CD) Peter Jackson’s invitation to “fly any era Cub” with my Hangar-9 X-Cub. I had planned to tow my vintage glider, but my tow pilot was not present.
Finally, we had a National Model Aviation Day and club appreciation Barbecue and Fly-In at the RC Club of Jacksonville, Florida. Jax RC is my home club. The more clubs I visit and the more people I talk with at clubs across the country, I find I’ve been spoiled. Not just by the annual barbecue,
but because there are so few problems. People fly foamies, gas 3D, turbine-powered jets, gliders, helicopters, and there’s a drone course that is regularly used. We just don’t have any issues. Everyone respects others’ passion for their segment of the hobby, and even when it’s a busy weekend, we take turns flying different styles of models.
I met these great kids, Greyson (L) and Max, at the club. The key to getting kids to the field is having other youngsters to hang out with. These two were either flying, tinkering, or flying a simulator the entire day they were out there with Max’s dad, Jay.
My advice for your club. Have good bylaws and do your best to follow them. AMA has bylaws examples, as do other clubs. If you call me for a problem, the first question I’m going to ask is “Did you follow your bylaws?”
Don’t make rules for the sake of making rules; make rules that make sense and truly enhance safety. If someone breaks a rule, discuss it privately and address it, don’t invent more rules.
Make sure that the club votes on expenditures and that the treasury isn’t in the hands of one person who thinks it’s their private kitty. If you put the account in charge of one person and they do something nefarious, there isn’t much we at AMA can do to help. Promote having fun and welcoming new members.
