OCTOBER 2005 DISTRICT 1 REPORT:
Andy Argenio, District I Vice President

I STARTED my summer with a trip to the AMA flying site in Muncie, Indiana, on the third of July to attend the International Miniature Aircraft Club (IMAC) competition. This was the first week of the outdoor Nats.

RC Scale Aerobatics featured 73competitors in Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, and Unlimited classes. They flew practice sessions July 4-5 and July 6-8, they flew known and unknown sequences. The most exciting performances were on July 9 when the pilots flew their Freestyle program demonstrating high-alpha 3-D aerial artistry with smoke on and choreographed to music.

For a detailed description of the competitions check out the newsletters, NatsNews, at www.natsnews.org

I had the opportunity to see the best IMAC pilots in the country fly their sequences and talk with a number of them. As a hobby shop owner, I was most interested in their choices of equipment, aircraft, and setups. Although the aircraft ranged in size from 30% to 47%, most predominate were the larger 40-42%. This year Extra and YAK aircraft were the Scale models of choice.

I visited both flightlines and counted the aircraft construction types. Roughly half were ARF or all-composite construction and the rest were kit-built conventional construction. As expected, the popular engines were the DA-150 and 3W150QS. Mark Leseberg had a prototype DA-200 four-cylinder and Andy Kane had the ZDZ 210.

I was surprised to see as many Futaba 14MZAP radios as there were JR10X radios. More three-bladed propellers and canister mufflers which reduce sound levels were used compared to last year.

As a noncompetitive flier of giant aircraft, I wanted some insight into what factors contribute to becoming a championship flier. From the IMAC group of 2005 winners, the average age of the champion was 31 years old. The youngest entrant, Mathew Laine, was 13 years old and the oldest; Ivan Kristensen was 58 years old. They averaged eight yoars as AMA members.

Seven of the 21 winners were from Florida and 80% of the winners live in states with mean daily temperatures above 65 degrees. Now we know why, no one from District I participated in the IMAC competitions. We don’t have enough warm days and most of us are just too old!

Kyle Woyshnis, 17, took first place in the IMAC Advanced class at the Nats.

Getting serious again, I did spend some time talking with Kyle Woyshnis who, at the age of 17 and in just three short years of flying, won every single round in the Advanced Class to take first. Kyle was flying a 40% Carden Extra and only a short time ago his aerobatic model was a Funtana .40 ARF.

Besides being born with 3-D genes and spending considerable time on the simulator, I attributed much of Kyle’s success to the support of his mother and father. They not only provided the funds for Kyle’s aircraft but the whole family travels to events together in their motor home to support and cheer for their son

I enjoyed and learned many things from my first IMAC Nats experience and commend the contestants, officials and the AMA for running a great event.

Promoting aeromodeling at flying events which can accommodate huge crowds of spectators is a difficult challenge. Most club flying events take place at the club’s flying site. Often the sites in District I can only accommodate small groups of spectators, club members, and pilots. One way to overcome size restrictions is to look for larger facilities and existing events such as air shows, craft fairs, carnivals, and festivals.

More than 27 years ago, my RC club offered to be part of the University of Rhode Island (URI) Festival. The nice thing is that we benefit from the draw created by all of the other activities that take place including hot air balloon rides, carnival rides and games, ultralite flying demonstrations, classic car and motorcycle displays, craft exhibits and sale items, numerous food concessions, live music, kite-flying shows, and other entertaining activities.

The 27th Annual URI Balloon Festival, July 23-24, was hosted by the North Kingston Rotary Club. One of the main highlights and draw of the Festival is the RC aircraft flown and displayed by the South County RC club for the enjoyment of the thousands of spectators who attend. Pilots are admitted free and all proceeds are donated to charity.

This year we were blessed with two comfortable days of weather. We had 42 registered pilots. The grass flying site is roped off from the spectator area and is large enough to accommodate all sizes and types of RC aircraft. A variety of aircraft was flown including small electric-powered foamies, Scale and Aerobatic helicopters, and 3-D midsize to giant gas smoker airplanes. The crowd was pleased and applauded pilots for their performances.

The University of Rhode Island’s 27th Annual Balloon Festival, July 23-24 afforded thousands of spectators the opportunity to view the RC air show.

The friends that we have made throughout the years at events such as this help ensure our club’s future. Try to find some group activity to partner with in your area for an event and let me know how things turn out.