AMA News District V - 2009/04
Indian River Kontrol Society (IRKS) Big-Bird Fly-In
I attended the Indian River Kontrol Society’s (IRKS) annual Big-Bird fly-in on January 24–25. The club is located in Cocoa, Florida, and enjoys a good relationship with the county; members are currently flying on the county landfill.
Site details
- The site is roughly a half-square-mile of grass.
- A 100- by 800-foot runway sits in the middle of the field.
- The site includes a sailplane and helicopter area, a park flyer area, and two control-line (CL) circles.
- The club also has a new, more permanent site in the works, though they have between six and eight years left at the current location.
Improvements and grants
IRKS has already spent more than $40,000 on the sites. The club received an AMA Flying Site Grant several years ago; the grant money went toward site improvements at both locations.
Event notes
This is a really great club, and everyone had a good time flying. The weather was in the mid-70s with light breezes all weekend, so everyone enjoyed it. I brought my Aeroworks 39% Yak and got some flights in as well. Thanks to Gerry Armstrong and the entire club for a great weekend!
As you can see from the pictures, attendance was very good. Did you notice people in shorts? Yep — January in Florida is perfect flying weather!
Executive Council changes
As we begin the new year at AMA, I want to welcome Jim Wallen to the Executive Council. Jim replaced Mark Smith as the vice president in District IX when Mark was elected to AMA’s new EVP position. Doug Holland moved over to the CEO spot. Congratulations to all — I look forward to working with these men during the next few years.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
