District V

District V

Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, US Virgin Islands

Welcome back everyone! I had the pleasure of attending HeliStorm 2025, a Scale RC helicopter event that took place on the front lawn of the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. The event brought nearly 100 registered pilots together with full-scale industry professionals, STEM-program schools, and the public to showcase our hobby.

Regular readers will know my thoughts on sharing our hobby with the public, so I considered this an excellent opportunity to highlight the sport. The industry professionals acted as judges for the various competitions that took place, including Best Military Flight, Best EMS Flight, and best Team Flight.

Tim DiPeri holding a trophy beneath an aircraft at the National Museum of the United States Air Force — District V Associate Vice President Tim DiPeri won the Precision Hovering award at HeliStorm with his Bell 206 Jet Ranger. This was no mean feat, considering there was a 20-plus-mph wind all day long.

The North Georgia Model Aviators club is doing a fantastic job with its school system, bringing students to the field for demonstrations and buddy-box flights. Newly elected Club President

April Sledge is doing a great job of integrating flight training and STEM outreach.

Young pilot standing behind a large red-and-white model airplane — Our featured youth this month is Wesley Anderson, from Enterprise AL, who flies on the US Junior Fédération Aéronautique Internationale AI F3A RC Aerobatics team.

Our featured youth this month is Wesley Anderson, from Enterprise AL, who flies on the US Junior Fédération Aéronautique Internationale AI F3A RC Aerobatics team.

Family members posing outdoors with model airplanes — Family fun! April Sledge (bottom R) with her daughter, Evelyn. Standing (L-R) are Crystal Barr, Denisa Coblentz, Jayden Barr, and April’s dad, Richard Barr.

Until next month, stay safe!

Three people standing beside a large model aircraft — Congratulations to Brandon Drummer, from Powell TN, for achieving his AMA turbine waiver.

Andrew Griffith
Vice President
amadistrictv@modelaircraft.org
12258 Bucks Harbor Dr. N.
Jacksonville FL 32225
(904) 993-4956
www.amadistrict-v.org

ASSOCIATE VICE PRESIDENTS

Mickey Avery, AL; (334) 247-7123; district-V-AVP@email.com
Rick Grim, AL; (256) 656-0859; uavpilot@bellsouth.net
Joe Dolliver, FL; (239) 218-2677; Joe33914@gmail.com
Keith Hall, FL; (813) 928-3861; wing-man@verizon.net
Randy Leapley, FL; (813) 277-6862; randy.leapley@yahoo.com
Jose Melendez, FL; (321) 412-3078; rcjets12@hotmail.com
Andre Smith, FL; (850) 980-3724; andresdsmith@gmail.com
Bill Barbee, GA; (912) 660-2155; awbarbee@hotmail.com
Bob Dixon, GA; (478) 960-5200; rldixon3@cox.net
Nick Ray, GA; (865) 368-3820; lasray@ymail.com
Darrell Sprayberry, GA; (706) 280-5848; darrelluhb@optlink.us
Paul Verger, MS; (228) 826-4892; cpaulverger@yahoo.com
Edwin Medina, Puerto Rico; (787) 525-7768; captmedina@gmail.com
Scott Anderson, TN; patternpilot1@hotmail.com
Tim DiPeri, TN; (615) 591-7399; caseco@comcast.net
Dick Tonan, TN; (615) 995-6291; dtonan@mac.com

RC, CL, AND FF EVENT SANCTION COORDINATOR: Dick Tonan, (615) 995-6291; dtonan@mac.com

WEBMASTER: Glenn Bond, d5amawb@gmail.com