District VII Report - 2004/07
Bill Oberdieck, Vice President
July is the middle of the flying season for most of us in District VII. I hope it has been an enjoyable and safe season so far.
For those who read this column, you will notice I keep bringing up safety and our District VII website at www.amadistrictvii.org. Safety issues are at the top of my list.
How can I help our members be more safety conscious? One way is to point out some of the simple things that we do or don't do that can result in accidents. Whether it is an injury or a property incident, the question is: why did it happen?
As AMA members, we are asked to abide by the Safety Code, but what about carelessness on our part? This includes things such as not tying down your RC airplane or attempting to start it by yourself.
Lack of attention is often the reason for an incident and you won't find that addressed in the Safety Code. Paying attention will be promoted by all the District VII associate vice presidents (AVPs) for they are all Chief Safety Officers. These people will be responsible for helping clubs and the membership to take a closer look at reducing accidents.
We will be considering training programs, field layouts, and areas in general. We want to plug up any gaps without being a police force or reducing the level of fun we enjoy.
New AVP
I want to introduce and welcome the newest District VII AVP to our team, Guy Barber. Guy brings to the table a varied background in aeromodeling as well as being a current full-scale pilot. Guy's current interest is in giant-scale models. He will be covering the northern part of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and is based in Eldon, Michigan.
Mall shows
This month's column is my mall-show issue. I was fortunate to be able to cover a number of mall shows this year. This is one of the best ways we can promote our hobby/sport to a large number of people in a short period of time without having to worry about getting rained out at an air show. More clubs should get involved in mall shows.
Again this year, the Radio Control Club of Detroit drew a large number of interested people during its annual mall show held at the Oakland Mall. This was the event where Guy Barber was introduced to members in District VII. Also in attendance was Tom Pierce, the local AVP.
The Monroe Area Cloudbusters held its annual mall show at the Frenchtown Mall in Monroe, Michigan. Attendance appeared to be down from last year, although weather may have been a contributing factor.
I was fortunate to be a first-time attendee at the Jackson RC Club mall show in Jackson, Michigan. I had a chance to meet many of the members; they were some real nice people. This was my first opportunity to meet this club, but it won't be my last.
Closing
Remember, fly safely and have fun. See you at the field. C.A.V.U.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
