Edition: Model Aviation - 1985/12
Page Numbers: 40, 41, 42, 43, 132, 133
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IMAA Festival '85

Text: Les Hard Photos: Jerry Smith

Overview

True to its heritage, the 5th Annual Rally of the Giants — IMAA Festival '85 — was held July 18–21 at Mobile, Alabama. The four-day event was a relaxed, enjoyable celebration of fellowship and big-bird flying. Mother Nature cooperated, and the emphasis was on safe, fun flying rather than competition.

Site and facilities

  • Location: USS Alabama Battleship Memorial Park grounds, Mobile, AL.
  • New paved runway: 36 x 300 ft.
  • Facilities: control tower, chain-link fence for crowd control, large pitting area, two taxiways, several pilot boxes, extensive grass and wide open spaces.
  • Amenities: ample parking for cars and RVs and plenty of room for shade canopies.
  • Layout: well above recommended minimums for safe flying.

Schedule and operations

  • Tuesday (pre-festival): IMAA President Don Godfrey and others attended Chapter 29’s final preparations meeting.
  • Wednesday, July 17: Chapter 29 members arrived early to prepare the site and tried early flights on the new runway.
  • Thursday (first official day): participants assembled aircraft, underwent airworthiness safety inspections, and affixed assigned transmitter numbers. Several pilots brought multiple Giant Scale aircraft (one brought nine).
  • Friday: a light shower caused pilots to cover planes or shelter under canopies; flying continued where possible. Friday night picnic: ~250 attendees; menu featured seafood and chicken; entertainment by a genuine Dixieland band.
  • Saturday: beautiful weather and a very large crowd; many crowd-pleasing model flights and static attractions. Saturday evening banquet at the Sheraton Inn Mobile (Mardi Gras theme): ~180 attendees, costumes, dancing to a four-piece orchestra.
  • Sunday: another grand day for flying; activities wound down as many departed.

Event operations and staff

  • IMAA Field Headquarters: set up in a small pavilion.
  • Don Godfrey — registration
  • Mel and Dorothy Nypuik — IMAA accessories and souvenirs
  • Les and Mary Hard — information and safety inspection forms
  • Announcer: M. (Bumper) Lyons, Chapter 29.
  • Event director: Bobby Archer (Chapter 29).
  • Local support: Boy Scouts assisted with car parking.
  • Manpower (Chapter 29 members): Bob Archer, M. (Bumper) Lyons, Jerry L. Bates, Larry E. Brown, Bruce Lund, Dick McKenzie, Mike Richardson, Rolf Skinner, Robert Sholes, Bart Waltman, James Waltman, Scott Chest, Nolan T. Gray, Arthur Chadwell, James McGovern, Charles Moses, John Swope, Henry Waltman, Jeff Williams, Mark Hilton.

Notable aircraft and flights

  • Stinson Trimotor (16 ft. span) — flown by Al Feeley and Ian Senior (Jacksonville, FL). Operated with two pilots; performed multiple crowd-pleasing flights. The Trimotor logged its 25th successful flight at the festival and was retired in honor of builder Arlie Kline (deceased).
  • Many model types were flown or displayed, including:
  • Corsair, Cub, Bristol, Mustang, Fly Baby, Laser, Seafury
  • P-47, Cessna, Cosmic Wind, Zero, Decathlon, Chipmunk
  • P-82, F7F, BD-5, Vultee BT-13, Waco, Great Lakes
  • Lazy Ace, Emeraude, Eagle, Skybolt, Moth, Kingfisher

Attendance and participants

  • Registered Giant Scale RC aircraft: 214.
  • Registered pilots (over four days): 175+.
  • Over 700 flights recorded during the four days.
  • Radios reported in use: Futaba — 55; Kraft — 42; JR — 34; Ace — 19.

States represented included: Alabama, California, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Michigan, Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, North Carolina, Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Kansas.

Notable attendees (selection, with locations where provided):

  • Jerry Rhodes and Martha — Eagle Pass, TX
  • Mel Santmyer and wife — Anaheim, CA
  • Joe Utas and group — Cincinnati, OH
  • R.C. (Dick) Garnhausen and Miles Reed — Canton, OH
  • Bob Campbell (Dist. III IMAA director) and group — North Canton, OH
  • Howard Motin and group — Sterling Heights, MI
  • Dick Bennett and family — Granger, IN
  • Tom Wilkinson and group — Montgomery, AL
  • Wendell Roberts, Glenda and group — Little Rock, AR
  • Bud Atkinson — Blue Springs, MO
  • Burns Fields — Jacksonville, FL
  • Bob Dean (IMAA Dist. IV director) — Charlotte, NC
  • Don Godfrey (IMAA president) — Binghamton, NY
  • Jerry Smith (official photographer; IMAA Dist. II assistant director) — Osceola, IN
  • Les Hard (IMAA Central Control) and Mary — Lansing, MI
  • Mel and Dorothy Nypuik (IMAA Accessories) — Canton, MI
  • Pat Massey and wife — Pampa, TX
  • Al Willaert — Carrollton, TX
  • Sam Hopkins — Folsom, LA
  • Rusty Allen — Lago, TX
  • John Vogel and wife — Gibsonia, PA
  • John Violette — LaPlace, LA
  • Chris Joiner — Columbus, GA
  • Bennie Aiken — Suwanee, GA
  • Warren Shea — Westfield, NJ
  • Dous Steed — Belle Mead, NJ
  • Al Feeley and wife — Jacksonville, FL
  • Ian Senior — Jacksonville, FL
  • Dick Koncle — Smyrna, GA
  • J.W. Jones — Dallas, TX
  • Dick Wrangier — Nashville, TN
  • Chuck Pumilia — New Orleans, LA
  • George Jordan — Cocoa Beach, FL
  • Bill Edwards — Picayune, MS
  • Sam Rosenbloom — St. Louis, MO
  • Dave West — Perry, OH
  • Budd Crane — Madison, OH
  • Bob Anderson — Lillian, AL
  • Larry Horbach — Brunswick, GA
  • Jim Barrett — Metairie, LA
  • Ben Beard — LaGrange Park, IL
  • Mario Yedrienkin — Boca Raton, FL
  • Bob Smolinski and group — Mt. Clemens, MI

(There were many more registrants, participating and enjoying the warm southern climate and the Giant Scale display.)

History and closing notes

  • The IMAA Festival is a non-competitive gathering focused on fellowship and flying big-scale RC aircraft.
  • Past IMAA Festivals: No. 1 (1981) — Louisville, KY; No. 2 (1982) and No. 3 (1983) — Ida Grove, IA; No. 4 (1984) — Van Nuys, CA. Location for No. 6 (1986) had not been chosen at the time.
  • The 1985 gathering reinforced the idea that, for many, big is better — and it’s a lot of fun. Plan early to attend future Festivals.

Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.