Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Hi all! It’s New Year’s Eve as I write this in the middle of our off season. I don’t have any current district news to share, so I’ll give you an update on me and promote some events that are coming.
I retired from my for-pay job at the end of 2025. I’ll have more time for my play job now and more time to play with our great hobby. I’m going to attend more events and do more flying than before. I bought myself a retirement gift (or two) and have them pretty much ready to go. I now have added a Boomerang RC Jets Atom Squared and replaced my Boomerang Sprint with a new version. I’m really excited about attending a few turbine jet events this year; it’s going to be fun. Here are some pictures of my projects:
Now for the upcoming events. I am the contest director (CD) for the NorthWest Scale Aero-Modellers spring opener event on May 29-31, which will be held at the Silver Hills R/C Flyers field in Athol, Idaho, right across the highway from Silverwood Theme Park. This is a great place to fly on a long and wide grass runway—one of my favorite fields.
RC Scale competition is a lot of fun, with great camaraderie, and it greatly improves flying skills. Making your aircraft do exactly what you want it to, when you want it to, is a fun challenge. Please try to attend and join us in competition. We have a great beginner’s class that makes it easy to get started. Visit nwscale.org for more information.
Next, I’ll be the CD for a new event in our area, Weaver’s Jet Stampede, on June 12-14 at Weaver’s Field in Othello, Washington. We have few fields that can support gas turbine operations in our area; this is certainly one of the best. Gary Weaver is a great host, and the field has the best grass runway you have ever seen at 650 feet long. There is ample room for RVs and there are hotels nearby. We will have a lot of attendees, a lot of flying, good food available, and a raffle. Be sure to put this on your calendar—you won’t want to miss it.
That’s all for now. I hope to see you during my travels and at our events. Keep building and flying!
Nominations for AMA executive vice president and vice presidents in Districts III, VII, and XI are due at the Headquarters of the Academy of Model Aeronautics by May 29, 2026. Any AMA Adult member may submit a nomination. All nominations must be electronically submitted to AMA Headquarters via email to Katie Perry at katiep@modelaircraft.org.
To be eligible to discharge the duties of AMA vice president, a nominee must be a Leader Member of the AMA and must reside in the district.
To be eligible to discharge the duties of AMA president or executive vice president, a nominee must be a Leader Member of the AMA and must previously have served as a member of the Executive Council or associate vice president or as a Contest Board member for at least one (1) year.
(Nominees and nominators will be notified by HQ confirming receipt of nomination. If confirmation is not received within two weeks after you have sent your document, contact Katie Perry at [765] 287-1256, ext. 203.)
A letter of acceptance from the nominee must be submitted by June 13, 2026, 15 days prior to the published nominating committee meeting. A résumé of professional qualifications and model aviation experience from the nominee must be on file at AMA Headquarters by June 18, 2026, 10 days prior to the published Nominating Committee meeting.
Nominating Procedure Document
Relating to Article IX
Candidate Guidelines:
(a) No person may nominate himself/herself for office.
(b) No person shall simultaneously hold two positions on the Executive Council. In the event a person holding an office is elected or selected to a second position on the Executive Council, that person must choose which of the two positions he/she will continue, such decision to be made within 48 hours of the announcement of the selection, or else the person so affected will be deemed to have selected to remain in the first office held.
(c) Incumbent is automatically placed on the ballot, provided that he/she has been properly nominated and accepted, except that a 3/4 vote against may with hold the incumbent’s name from the ballot (see Bylaws, Article IX, Section 2).
(d) All nominations must be received at AMA Headquarters thirty (30) days prior to the convening of the Nominating Committee Meeting. All information must be submitted by electronic means.
(e) Candidate must be a legal resident of the district in which the election is being held; this does not apply to the office of the President or Executive Vice President.
(f) Candidate must be a current AMA member with Leader Member status (other qualifications apply to the office of the President and Executive Vice President, Article IX, section 3).
(g) No person elected to and serving as an active member of the Executive Council shall be paid for any regular column or article in Model Aviation magazine. Exception may be made for such articles as the coverage of special events provided prior arrangement was made for said article. Articles and columns printed in the “AMA News” section are not paid contributions. No paid columns may be submitted after the individual has been placed on the ballot.
Candidate Acceptance:
All correspondence must be submitted electronically to AMA Headquarters Muncie, Indiana. Failure to meet all requirements will disqualify said nominee.
(a) A letter of acceptance by the candidate must be electronically submitted 15 days prior to the meeting.
(b) Along with a résumé of professional qualifications and model aviation experience, résumé should include, but not be limited to, the below areas of con sideration. Information must be received at AMA Headquarters 10 days prior to the Nominating Committee. Campaign statements will not be read by any person until it is determined who will be placed on the ballot.
- Management experience.
- Financial background.
- Insurance employment and/or expertise.
- Legal background.
- Technical background, including areas of aeronautics, electronics (especially in radio frequency propagation and usage), acoustics (as related to noise studies and analysis), and other areas of engineering.
- Aeromodeling background must be noted. The individual will be required, if elected to national office, to deal with questions related to all areas of aeromodeling and should have a broad-based background.
