District VII
Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin
Hello, District VII members. The season is fully in swing now, and despite the heat, District VII is so active with events and sharing the passion with others that it makes me proud to represent you. I enjoy your sharing of activities that are going on in the district.
I would like to start out this month by relaying how the Iowa City Aerohawks shared the passion of modeling with an assisted living facility in Iowa City, Iowa. Rich VeDepo, the floor is yours.
The newly opened Story Point Hickory Hill assisted living facility contacted our club, wondering if we would be willing to come and fly our airplanes for the residents. Nestled in a quiet, secluded area on the east side of Iowa City, the new facility sounded ideal over the phone, but a site visit revealed a classic misunderstanding.
Like many outside of the hobby, the coordinators assumed that RC airplanes were small, lightweight, and more like toys. After we explained the requirements to safely fly our models, it became clear to them that their property couldn’t accommodate our needs. After some discussion, we decided to bring static display airplanes to them—and follow up with an open invitation to come out to our field for flight demonstrations. They graciously accepted.
We packed three aircraft for a static display that showcased the hobby’s incredible range: a small, compact 24-inch-wingspan park flyer, a mid-size electric-powered model, and a gas 1/3-scale Decathlon with a 138-inch wingspan. Seeing the sheer size of a true Scale model in their small theater completely changed their perspective on what RC aviation really is or can be.
The afternoon flew by, filled with sharp questions, nostalgia, and genuine curiosity from a wonderful group of people. We again extended an invitation for live flying demonstrations at the Aerohawks field, and a week later, the Story Point van pulled up to our field, packed to its maximum 12-passenger capacity. The weather cooperated with low wind and cooler temperatures, something we don’t take for granted in Iowa! Six pilots took to the sky demonstrating park flyers, giant-scale gas models, helicopters, and EDF aircraft.
We capped off the afternoon with ice cream, storytelling, and laughter. The experience was extremely rewarding. Model aviation has a unique way of bringing people together, and seeing the smiles on their faces reminded all of us why we love this hobby.
Thank you so much, Rich and the Iowa City Aerohawks, for sharing your model aviation passions, providing joy, laughter, and smiles to the members of the assisted living facility.
On a sad note, the Aerohawks will be losing its field and will have held its last air show by the time you read this. I hope that we all will be able to assist the club in finding a new place that will also allow them to continue the air show. I attended it, and you will be able to read about it next month.
I attended the AMA Indoor Free Flight Nats, held in Pontiac, Michigan. This event came shortly after the FAI F1D World Championships for Indoor Model Aircraft, which was held in Moscow, Idaho, and some of those participants came to Michigan. The construction skills, reading the conditions (even indoors, attention is paid to that), and the technology involved were amazing. When not competing, the contestants shared their knowledge with me. I learned about building techniques, measuring and monitoring the rubber that is used to provide power, and using variable pitch propellers, where pitch is controlled by the torque of the rubber and is critical to performance. They use monocles to watch propeller rpm and graph climb rate, adjusting for the curves that are needed to maximize flight time, as well as not to climb too fast or too high and risk hitting the ceiling. What a spectacular art! Look in Nats News on the AMA website at nats.modelaircraft.org/nats-news for pictures.
I have much more to share, but space is limited. I will later report on the Aerohawks air show, club visits around Oshkosh, and, if space allows, the Hazel Sig Memorial Fun Fly. Until then, keep sharing the passion.
