AMA District X Election

We Have Moved

2011-01-01T00:01:00.000-08:00

That's right, it's a New Year and time for a new website to celebrate District X's accomplishments. The good news is that it is only one click away. It is right here. Come along for the fun.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T23:54:00.001-08:00

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the model room

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse;

The stockings were hung by the building board with care,

In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there;

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of new planes danced in their heads;

And mamma in her 'kerchief, and me and my Zap,

Had just settled down for a long winter's nap,

When out at the engine test stand there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the window I flew like a kit bash,

Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of mid-airs to objects below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a miniature C-17, and eight tiny reindeer,

With a little old pilot, so lively and windy,

I knew in a moment it must be Lucky Lindy.

More rapid than Christen Eagles his coursers they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name;

"Now, Basher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the model trailer! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky,

So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,

With the sleigh full of models, and St. Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof

The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

Down the chimney St. Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his shoe,

And his clothes were all tarnished with nitro and glue;

A bundle of models he had flung on his back,

And he looked like a hobby shop owner just opening his pack.

His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!

His cheeks shown like glo-plugs, his nose like a cherry!

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,

And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow;

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,

And the smoke it loopdy-looped his head like a wreath;

He had a broad face and a little round belly,

That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly.

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself;

A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,

Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And filled all the stockings; then turned with a jerk,

And laying his finger aside of his nose,

And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose;

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,

And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,

"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night."

Former AMA Executive Director Passes Away

2010-12-06T06:24:00.000-08:00

Former AMA Executive Director James Ashley Cherry died unexpectedly at his home on December 2nd.

Our President Dave Mathewson, had the following to say about Jim, “During his nearly four years as the Academy’s Executive Director beginning in 2006, Jim launched a number of important initiatives for AMA. The entire model aviation community will miss him, and all of us at AMA extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife Lynn, and his family.” I certainly echo Dave's sympathies, and want to add that the times I spent interacting with Jim were all positive.

As an expression of sympathy, memorial contributions may be sent to the Homeless and Hunger Coalition of Northwest Florida, Inc., P. O. Box 549, Panama City, FL 32402-0549. Ph: 850-819-2173.

The Election Results

2010-11-27T08:55:00.000-08:00

Its been a long time coming but the election results are in. The final tally is Michael Brown 1,428, and 2,057 for myself. I am honored that the membership has chosen me to be the next District X Vice-President.

My hat is off to Michael for running a good campaign and filling in as our interim Vice-President after the untimely death of his close friend Jim Giffin.

I want to thank all of the clubs that supported my campaign, they ran information in their newsletters and reminded their membership to vote which I am grateful for.

I'm looking forward to hitting the ground running in January my first undertaking as DVP will be to attend the AMA Expo in Ontario January 7th through the 10th, I hope you can make it and if you do please stop by the AMA booth I would love to meet as many members as possible.

Best in the West Jet Rally

2010-10-21T22:59:00.001-07:00

I attended the Best in the West Jet Rally last weekend. The event was held at the Antelope valley Tailwinds field in Lancaster California.

To say that there was a large assortment of beautiful jets would be an understatement.

This BVM Ultra Bandit put on quite a show. He really put it through its paces at some of the lowest heights I had ever seen.

I wasn't quite quick enough to capture one of the lowest inverted passes I have ever seen so you'll just have to enjoy the ones I did get.

There were some jets at this meet I had never seen before and some I had just read about in magazines, there was something for everyone.

This A-10 pilot is ready to do some tank busting.

This F-14 was particularly interesting. It had two engines and articulating wings.

Here's a closer look at the wing mechanism.

The CD's Joe Castelao, and Lowel Wexler put on a great show. If you fly jets or would like to see the best in action you have to come to this event it was fantastic.

Results from the Bud Garric Pattern Classic

2010-10-19T12:34:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the Bud Garric Pattern Classic two weeks ago. Everyone involved said it was one of the highlights of the season, and I would have to agree. Frank Capone and Robert Obregon put on a great show.

Frank and Bob made the trophy's themselves and they were some of the nicest ones I had seen

NSRCA President Derek Koopowitz is putting his Neptuno through its paces.

Bill Sneed brings in his Integral for another 10 point landing.

Bob Obregon made a special presentation to FAI pilot Don Atwood. Don's nick name is Woody so the hat fit him well.

Here are the results;

Sportsman

Lawrence Tougas 4000

Jerry Hays 3918

Mark Alexander 3892

Dave Shirley 3765

Intermediate

Jacob Boracca 4000

Dave Wick 3466

Ron Davies 2972

Advanced

Dale Olstinske 4000

Bjorn Lenhardt 2338

Masters

Chris Fitzsimmons 4000

Bill Sneed 3771

Luke Peng 3750

Jon Carter 3675

Dick Belden 3558

FAI

Don Atwood 4000

Derek Koopowitz 3957

Robert Obregon 3576

The event was truly fantastic and in some once in a lifetime alignment of the planets I manged to score a Hanger 9 Phoenix 7 in the huge raffle that was the end cap to the event.

All I can say is Frank and Bob did a great job and this will be a must attend event for me in the future.

Best in the West Jet Rally

2010-10-13T12:23:00.000-07:00

The Best in the West Jet Rally 2010 will be held this weekend at the Antelope Valley Tailwinds field in Lancaster California. Event organizers Joe Castelao and Lowell Wexler invited me down to attend the event which I happily accepted. If you are anywhere near Southern California this weekend you owe it to yourself to attend this mammoth jet meet.

Here's a map to help you find the Tailwinds field. Click on the view larger map link to get a new window that you can put your starting point in and receive driving directions. Hope to see you there.

View Larger Map

Spanning the Globe

2010-10-08T06:22:00.001-07:00

It's amazing how many folks around the world are interested in our little election. While most of the people reading the site are from the United States we do have a fair share of international readers. This week alone we've had visitors from Australia, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. I just want to say thank you to all of you who are reading my Blog.

Fall Soaring Festival 2010

2010-10-06T20:39:00.001-07:00

The Fall Soaring Festival is in the books. There was 300 sailplanes registered for the event, in several categories.

There was 2 beautiful days of competition. For those unfamiliar with thermal duration soaring the goal is to fly as close to the required time for a given round which could be 4 to 10 minutes whatever the CD decides and then to land as close to the target as possible.

Markdowns are given for each second above or below the given time and a landing score is given based on distance from the target zone.

The Central Valley R/C Soaring Club of Visalia are the hosts of the event. This year was the thirty-seventh annual contest.

I met an awful lot of wonderful people at the event and had a great time. The CVRC has endorsed me in the election which is an honor. I'm looking forward to next year's event already.

Twenty-First Annual Bud Garric Pattern Classic

2010-10-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be flying in the Twenty-First Annual Bud Garric Pattern Classic hosted by the Sacramento Area Modelers.

If you're in the area please come by and say hello. The field is located off of Florin Rd. Here's a map to help you find your way to the field.

View Larger Map

Just click on the view larger map link to open a window that you will be able to put your starting point at and receive driving directions. See you there.

Fall Fest 2010

2010-10-01T06:34:00.001-07:00

This is the big weekend for thermal duration soaring. The thirty seventh annual CVRC Soaring Festival is upon us.

You owe it to yourself to get down there and enjoy two very full days of fun. This is the biggest soaring meet in the United States and attracts pilots from all over the world.

I'll be there and you should be too. Just use the map below to find your way to the field.

View Larger Map

I hope to see you there.

Active RC Clubs in Livermore

2010-09-29T10:48:00.000-07:00

On Sunday I visited with two great clubs in the Livermore area. The first one was the Livermore Flying Electrons. The LFE's are another forward thinking club that goes out of its way to build ties to their community through their community appreciation day.

The club has a lot of great modelers. This is Mario with his Big Boy. The Big Boy is Mario's own design. He built is over 50 years ago and has recently converted it to electric power.

I saw this beautiful p-51 last year when I visited their field, it was as beautiful then as it is now a real joy to see fly.

The LFE's President Lenny Farin is shown with the Golden Transmitter Award that is named in his honor. I'm not sure what it takes to earn it but the results of a rough landing adorn it so maybe it is a dubious honor.

Just down the road from LFE is the East Bay Radio Controllers. EBRC has been around since the beginning of radio controlled flight. Two former EBRC members are members in the AMA Hall of Fame. They are currently celebrating their 61st year of modeling. I feel a close kinship to EBRC, my Father was a member of the club prior to my birth.

Under Ken Busse's leadership EBRC has prospered. Like many clubs they need to be sensitive to their neighbors and local officials; in that regard they recently made a decision to convert to an all electric powered field. Members have converted their nitro models to electric and are enjoying themselves.

One of the biggest issues facing EBRC is a renewal of the conditional use permit for their field. EBRC's field sits on Bay Area Rapid Transit land, and on occasion they must receive approval from BART to continue in their current location. I'm sure that their sensitivity to their neighbors and their choice to go to silent flying will be large factors in their favor when the decision is made by BART.

This last photo is from their 60th Anniversary party at the Oakland Aviation Museum. It's not often you see a club that has made as big a mark on modeling as EBRC, I wish Ken and all of the EBRC members continued success.

Trabuco RC Flyers

2010-09-29T10:01:00.000-07:00

I had the good fortune last Saturday of visiting the Trabuco RC Flyers. The Flyers have a great field located in the hills on the east side of Orange County. Eric Nelson the President of the club was kind enough to pick me up from the John Wayne Airport and take me to their field

They have a well developed facility. Their paved runway and pit area was inviting as well as a permanent cover to the pit which provides plenty of shade. This field is one of the few I've come across with a clubhouse boasting full utilities, a kitchen and two restrooms.

The Flyers go out of their way to engage their community. They have a Memorial Day Weekend Pig Roast that brings in 100's of neighbors. They also have a great training program, in fact each weekend their is a rotating set of club members who have a trainer and a buddy box ready to go in case some folks interested in RC drop by.

It was a pleasure visiting the Trabuco RC Flyers they are progressive club that is building ties to their community and through that members to their ranks.

Wave Masters Pattern Contest

2010-09-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had the pleasure of competing in the Bob Whitacre Memorial Pattern Contest. The contest was held at the San Jose Wave Masters field. Bob Whitacre was a much beloved member of the modeling community in the San Jose Area, after his too early passing this contest was started in his honor.

This is the perpetual trophy that is awarded to the winner of whichever class has the closest margin of victory. This is above and beyond the awards for placing in each of the five classes Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, Masters and FAI.

Jon Carter the Contest Director, and National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics (NSRCA) Vice-President for our District did a great job of putting on a fun contest. He kept the action moving, the atmosphere light and provided a great lunch for us to enjoy.

Here's Carlos Tripodi a competitor along with myself in the Sportsman Class and what I'm sure will be a future World Team Member.

Here are the results;

Sportsman

4000.000 Lawrence tougas
3984.061 Jean Greear
3628.217 Dave Shirley Jr.
3155.642 Carlos Tripodi

Intermediate

4000.000 Jacob Boracca
3724.358 Greg Meierhoff
35553.603 Dave Wick
3428.134 Maurice Culverwell
3401.947 Daniel Culverwell
3190.782 Joe Alves

Advanced

3985.916 Dale Olstinske
3952.622 Jarvis Johnson
3917.119 Jon Bruml
3812.053 Mike Greear
3764.368 Bjorn Lehnhardt
3583.344 Tak Takayama
3130.104 Robert Hixson

Masters

4000.000 Krishlan Fitzsimmons
3976.420 Jerry Budd
3736.826 Greg Frohreich
3593.093 Jim Oddino
3573.079 Bill Sneed
3566.544 Luke Peng
3330.299 Dick Belden
3324.922 Steve Kaneshiro
2454.982 Roy Speights

FAI

3987.730 Jim Kimbro
3968.153 Don Atwood
3936.860 Tom Messer
3548.015 Derek Koopowitz
3464.422 Adrian Wong

After announcing the results from each class Jon made the award for the Whitacre Trophy. I was not paying close attention to each of the scores when he was announcing the class results so it was a complete suprise to here that I had the honor or receiving the Whitacre Trophy for 2010.

I'm shown here receiving it from Jon Carter and Bob's wife Lori. I will keep this award in a place of honor in my house until I return it for next year's contest. I had a great time at the contest and encourage modelers of all types to try a competition in their area of interest if they haven't had the opportunity; I believe you'll enjoy it.

Welcome

2010-09-16T13:23:00.000-07:00

AMA ballots are starting to arrive in members hands this week. Many of you are probably becoming aware of the District X election for the first time. Thank you for taking some time to become informed about my campaign. I was a candidate in the 2009 District X election. I'm proud to say I made it the closest election in the AMA's 75 year history. In the end I lost the election but by only 34 votes; that is in a District with 28,000 modelers. Normally the gentleman who won would be serving his 3 year term, sadly one month into his term he passed away. I've decided to throw my hat in the ring for this special election and I would be honored to receive your vote. Please take some time to read about my background and some of the modelers I have met over the last 2 elections.

Perris in the Summer Time

2010-09-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

I traveled to Perris last week. I'm not talking about France but California. No Eiffel Tower but a lot of great Free Flight modeling was on display.

This is the home field for the Southern California Antique Model Plane Society or as everyone calls them the SCAMPS.

The SCAMPS are Chapter 13 of the Society of Antique Modelers, and have many champion free fliers in their ranks.

In addition to visiting with the SCAMPS I stopped in to visit with the Harbor Soaring Society. They were kind enough to let me attend their meeting and address their members it was an active group and a great meeting.

Three Clubs in One Day

2010-09-07T09:29:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday I visited three clubs here in the San Francisco Bay Area so I could meet the modelers and let them meet me.

The first club was the Southern Alameda County Radio Controllers.

One member had this RC duck that seemed fitting since their club setting is on the edge of the Bay.

The same gentlemen is shown here launching his foam jet.

The SAC Rats mascot was this beautiful grey parrot named Charlie shown with my campaign staff.

Next stop was Bayside RC in Union City they are unfortunately losing their field to expansion of our Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system. Their field is slated to become a station.

They are currently in the midst of removing their equipment from the field to meet the end of month deadline they have. My number one priority as District VP will be to work with Bayside and clubs like them to help find and retain fields.

My final stop was the Santa Clara Tomcats. The Tomcats were running an all electric fly-in.

They had all sorts of aircraft all the way from this foamie T-28.

To this big scratch built B-17.

This chopper was interesting. It carried a video camera that was on a remote controlled head that would pan and tilt with the operators head movement.

Here is the camera operator with the motion sensing helmet with integrated viewfinder.

I'll wrap it up today with this beautiful model of the Blue Angel's C-130 support aircraft. It was great meeting all of the modelers and giving them a chance to get to know me.

Tomcats Electric Fly-In

2010-09-02T07:37:00.000-07:00

The Santa County Model Aircraft Skypark Tomcats are holding an electric aircraft fly-in this Saturday at their field in Morgan Hill. I'll be there visiting with the Tomcats and their guests. If you're in the area please come by and say hello.

Here's a map to their field;

View Larger Map

click on the, "view larger map" link to get a new window in which you can put your starting point and get driving directions to the field.

Visit with the Napa Valley RC Club

2010-08-26T10:23:00.000-07:00

I will be visiting with the Napa Valley RC Club this Saturday August 28th. If you are in the area please stop by and say hello.

This map will help you find the field.

View Larger Map

I hope to see you there.

Report from Pearl

2010-08-26T07:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I attended the Biggest Little Airshow on Ford Island. Ford Island is located in the middle of Pearl Harbor. It fronted Battleship row and the Arizona the morning on December 7th.

Some of the structures there today bear the scars from the attack.

There were more than 50 aircraft on display at the event.

It was obvious that there are a lot of accomplished modelers on the Islands.

They all seemed to be enjoying the morning and meeting the public who came to watch the action.

There were a lot of scale aircraft present, some on static display and some flown for the show.

This Edge put on a great demonstration of IMAC and 3-D style aerobatics.

This F-22 wowed the crowd turning and burning.

A high point for the children in attendance was the candy drop.

Don't get in their way!

After the morning show I took some time to go through the Pacific Aviation Museum.

Understandably they had a focus on the attack on Pearl Harbor and the war in the Pacific in general.

They even managed to fit an RC airplane into their display.

The event was a big success with about 1000 spectators there enjoying the show. The Birds of paradise put on quite a show and should be proud of the result.

Pearl Harbor Airshow

2010-08-18T07:28:00.001-07:00

I will be traveling to Hawaii this weekend to attend the Biggest Little Airshow on Ford Island. The airshow will be performed by the Birds of Paradise Airshow Team. The Airshow will benefit the Pacific Aviation Museum.

I would certainly enjoy meeting any modelers attending the show so please say hello if you'll be attending.

Soaring & Control Line

2010-08-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I went to two events. The first one was held at the Sacramento Valley Soaring Society's field in Davis, California.

Each month on the second Saturday SVSS holds a club contest. Last Saturday's was a 40 minute add-em-up. Which means a pilot's 6 flights had to add up to a total of 40 minutes. The kicker was that each flight had to be longer than the last or it would not count. In addition points were earned for landing accuracy.

It was a really tough contest but the SVSS members rose to the occasion. One member was kind enough to loan me his sailplane so that I could try a couple of flights.

This field is a beautiful public owned facility. SVSS have been such good stewards of the land that they may be given a 20 year lease on the property.

I spent the afternoon at the Woodland Davis Aeromodelers Field. They were holding the Ted Goyet Control Line Stunt Competition.

The field was full of some of the most attractive models. The following model was chosen at the Nats as having the best finish of all control line stunt models at the event. That's eight separate colors covered with a clear topcoat that was rubbed to a shine.

The modelers had a great time and WDA Board Member Doug Barton took me to the sight of their future field. The stakes had been set and work was commencing on getting it ready to become the club's new home. It will be a great sight and I wish Doug and the rest of the Aeromodelers all the best.

Report from Orange County

2010-08-17T08:33:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago while on my family vacation I took a Saturday morning to visit two fields in Orange County. The first was at the Great Park which is formerly the El Toro Naval Air Station. The Orange Coast Radio Control Club has developed a great all electric field at the end of one of the property's former full-scale runways.

Dave Meriwether the OCRCC's President told me that they have welcomed 70 new RC pilots to their club so far this year. That's not 70 people from other clubs that have joined but 70 people who had never flown RC before joining. That is an amazing accomplishment. One way they attract new people to the sport is to staff a both at the Orange County Fair, this gives them exposure to 100's of non-modelers and naturally some are going to be bit by the bug. Joannie Whitsitt organizes this booth they provide a number of static displays as well as a simulator and video to attract people to their booth. One evening motion picture star Johnny Depp stopped by with his children to take in the exhibit.

After a very pleasant visit with the OCRCC folks I drove out to Irvine Lake where the Orange County Modelers Association OCMA has a field in Black Starr Canyon. The OCMA is a group of 12 Clubs that share the facility and work to together to maintain it.

The facility has separate aircraft and helicopter flying areas. It is well maintained with paved runways and an expansive pit area.

There was a diverse group of modelers there the morning of my visit enjoying the clear skies and low wind.

All in all it was a great Saturday morning that allowed me to meet more District X members and discuss the issues important to them.

Campaign Statement

2010-08-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

The following is a Campaign Statement that I prepared for inclusion in District X Club Newsletters. Please pass it on to your Newsletter Editor so that it can be run in your newsletter prior to our September election.

Campaign Statement from Lawrence Tougas

Greetings,

I want to introduce myself to you so that you can make an informed decision when you cast your vote for AMA District X Vice-President this September.

I was a candidate in last year’s District X election. I ran against our interim Vice-President Jim Giffin, who had been appointed by outgoing District Vice-President Rich Hanson. A lot of people told me I was crazy to run against the establishment; that there was no chance of breaking into the AMA Leadership as an outsider. Well I guess they were right because Jim won the election, but it turned out to be the closest election not only in the history of the District but in the entire history of the AMA which is something I am proud of. When the votes were tallied in a District with 28,000 members there was a 34 vote difference between Jim and I. It was a virtual tie but as I’ve told everyone those 34 votes did count and Jim was our new VP and I wished him all the best.

Normally Jim would be serving his three year term, but sadly one month into his term Jim passed away. We are now conducting a special election to determine who will lead District X.

I feel I am the best qualified candidate to serve as your Vice-President and I would like to give you some information on my background, goals, and the critical issues affecting the AMA as well as how to keep in touch with me so that you can decide for yourself who is best suited to be the next District X Vice-President.

Background

I have been a Design/Project Engineer for 23 years in the Aerospace Industry. I have worked in the Defense Industry, and am currently working at a major domestic airline. In Defense I designed parts for two missiles used in the “Star Wars” program, and produced parts for the Space Shuttle as well. In the airline industry on the maintenance side I have been the Primary Engineer, on flight control systems, aircraft interiors, and aircraft structure. On the Operations side I was the Operational Engineer on a wide-bodied aircraft, and as such worked with our Chief Pilots to maintain and modify the aircraft flight manual used by all of our pilots. During my career I have worked a number of long-term projects that required supervising multiple participants to ensure project goals and time lines were met. I believe that translates directly in to skills that an effective District Vice-President would need.

In addition I have owned and operated my own Video Production Company and understand the skills need to be a successful entrepreneur. I know how to market my products, which I think are the skills that our local clubs need to employ to market themselves to their communities to win and retain flying sites.

I’ve been modeling since I was a child. I’ve built and flew free flight, control line, and radio control models. I’ve spent my whole life enthralled by all aspects of aviation. It was this love of aviation that prompted me to secure a Bachelor’s of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of California. I also have a Commercial Multi-Engine Pilot’s License with Instrument Privileges.

Goals

There are three primary goals that I will pursue as your District X Vice-President. First is to help clubs keep and obtain new fields. Next is to leverage the power of the Internet to cover District events and issues of interest to the membership. Last and certainly not least I would like to develop an AMA owned field in District X for the benefit of our membership.

Flying Fields

Modeling begins and ends with a place to fly. That is why my top goal will be to help keep and find new fields. Modelers are a self-reliant group who typically handle all of their needs amongst themselves without asking for others to help. We need to not be hesitant to ask for support. We need to build ties with our community

My ideas about helping clubs in this area revolve around being proactive. I believe the most important Officer in a club is not the President or Treasurer, but the Community Relations Officer. If your club doesn’t have one you should seriously consider electing one. This position would be responsible for your clubs dealings with your neighbors and if you’re on public land the entity that controls it or on private land, your landlord. This person should be a real schmoozer, someone who has the ability to charm our neighbors and the decision makers who control our field’s futures.

Having a Community Relations Officer puts one name and number in place for your neighbors to contact if they have concerns. This person could organize your Community Appreciation day. One club in District X the Livermore Flying Electrons goes around the surrounding neighborhood knocking on doors and leaving fliers inviting their neighbors to join them at their field. While there they serve a free lunch and provide demonstrations as well as opportunities to try flying on a buddy box and simulators. The LFE’s have reported to me the great success they’ve had because they got out, knocked on doors and made the first move to introduce themselves.

The Community Relations Officer would issue press releases to alert your news outlets of the positive actions your club has accomplished and events the public can attend. Recently the Trabuco RC Flyers in Orange County California had a community day and it was covered both before the event and after the event by the Orange County Register. This is a Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper that is one of the most significant in Southern California. The reason they were covered was because they made it a priority and they kept in constant contact with a reporter at the paper, their hard work paid off.

Perhaps the most important thing your Community Relations Officer would do is maintain the club’s relationship with your public officials that control your land or a landlord on private land. This is an election year. In many parts of our District the Decision makers that control your field are up for election. Clubs can do several things to take advantage of the opportunities that this presents. Many times we feel that the only thing that we can offer a candidate is money, while it is true that money talks we also have a valuable resource, manpower. Running a local campaign takes a lot of volunteer manpower and we should be aligning ourselves with candidates that are friendly to our cause and help elect them. They need people to put up signs, go door to door asking for votes and leaving literature and manning phone banks calling voters asking them to vote for the candidate. If your club can deliver that kind of help the Official will remember it and take your call when you need to talk to them and be sympathetic to you when others raise issues about your field.

Many clubs run fund raisers, why not choose a charity that is important to your public officials or landlord and involve them in the pictures and press releases detailing the money raised or help provided. If we are going to help our community we should double up by selecting a beneficiary that our field’s decision makers support.

Find out the Birthdays of these decision makers and acknowledge them with a card from the club. Another way to keep in touch is to take them out to lunch on an on-going basis as a friendly informal meeting, not necessarily to bring up issues each time but to just keep an open line of communication. If you have a Christmas banquet you should invite the decision makers and their significant others to be guests of the club.

I have a lot of ideas in this area and it is one of the reasons I want to move coverage of events from our District X column in the magazine to the Internet and use the magazine space to discuss the techniques that clubs have found successful to protect their fields.

The Internet

We can do a better job of covering District events than we currently do in the magazine column. Last year while I was campaigning I pointed out the opportunities that we were missing by having such a static website for District X, and how we could better cover events on the Internet. I discussed how the Internet gives us unlimited space. We can publish color photos, and even video of the events. Imagine a District wide mailing list that alerts members when new information is published. A club could have a weekend event, write it up Sunday night and it could be on-line Monday morning for members to read with their morning coffee.

The District X establishment did nothing of mention regarding the Internet until they came within 34 votes of losing their control over the District. Suddenly we have a newsletter. I think it’s well produced and a good read but you have to ask yourself, if it didn’t exist until the closest election in AMA history happened; what is their long-term commitment to it? I believe its primary purpose is to campaign for the election and when the election is over it will die out.

I have demonstrated I am firmly committed to use of the Internet. For over a year I’ve been publishing my own site;

http://ama-district-x-election.blogspot.com/

As your District Vice-President I will publish a similar website covering past District events, alerting members to upcoming events, create a District Hall of Fame to give the many deserving members of our District who go above and beyond the recognition they deserve. We can publish building and flying articles and use it as a call to arms when one of our clubs is threatened. Members will be able to subscribe to email alerts that will tell them when new articles have been published so they can read about them as soon as they are on-line. The possibilities are literally endless, and I look forward to doing much more than has been done in the past and in a more timely manner than what we are currently doing.

West Coast AMA Flying Site

I believe that the majority of our members should have access to an AMA owned and operated field like the one we have in Muncie Indiana. Past District X Vice-Presidents have championed a West Coast Flying Site, I believe it is time to take up the task and work until we have a site District X members can enjoy.

If we set a criteria that, say 75% of a District’s membership should be within a 2 day drive of an AMA owned facility, and we define a 2 day drive as 10 hours each day, certainly long but doable let’s take a look at what we have now.

Using Google maps with Muncie as our destination here are the drive times between various cities in Districts I-IX. Starting with Denver and moving around the map clockwise we have Denver at 18:46, Rapid City SD. 18:12, Bismarck ND.17:55, Minneapolis, MN. 11:19, Milwaukee, WI. 5:48, Detroit, MI. 4:09, Buffalo, NY. 7:38, Boston, MA. 14:44, Bangor, ME. 18:21, Philadelphia, PA. 10:29, Greenville, NC. 11:20, Charleston, SC. 11:57, Miami, FL.20:09, New Orleans, LA. 13:47, and Houston, TX. 18:13

Now let’s look at Districts X and XI. Starting at Tucson, AZ. driving times are 29:00, Phoenix, AZ. 29:00, San Diego, CA. 34:00, Los Angeles, CA. 34:00, Las Vegas, NV. 31:00, San Francisco, CA. 37:00, Eugene, OR. 38:00, Seattle, WA. 36:00, Billings, MT. 23:40, and Salt Lake City, UT. 25:00.

I have not decided where our AMA West flying site should be, in fact I’ve said before that a group of modelers working on the question taking into account geographic center of the district, population center of the district, a welcoming city, accommodations for visitors and more should be considered. That being said let’s compare the District X, and XI cities to the city chose last time this effort was pursued, Visalia, CA. The driving time from those same DX and XI cities to Visalia are, Tucson, AZ. 11:01, Phoenix, AZ. 9:04, San Diego, CA. 5:11, Los Angeles, CA. 3:13, Las Vegas, NV. 6:03, San Francisco, CA. 3:57, Eugene, OR. 11:02, Seattle, WA. 15:49,Billings, MT. 21:14, and Salt Lake City, UT. 12:34.

So you can see most of the Midwest, Eastern Seaboard, and South is within our definition of a 2 day drive to Muncie, while none of the cities in Districts X and XI are. With the addition of only one additional site we can serve all AMA members in a more equitable fashion.

We would have a site available to host major competitions, a portion of the Nats could rotate out to the west coast as has been done in the past, and large fun flys like the Joe Nall event would be possible. We would have a site that will be a capital asset for the AMA and since land is at a 10 plus year low we should see long term appreciation of this asset. As I meet members on my visits around the District easily 9 out of 10 people find the idea of an AMA West site exciting, and something that they would support.

My opponent has stated that he will not push for a West Coast flying site. He even went as far as to call it a, “BAD idea.” To be honest with you I just don’t understand that way of thinking. This is something that the majority of members I meet feel is a good idea. They look at how they are limited by distance from using the Muncie property and see a west coast flying site as something to point to as a tangible benefit from the AMA, for the dues they pay. As your District Vice President I think it is a worthy goal and one I will pursue. Speaking of goals, Wayne Gretzky the famous hockey player once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” As your District Vice-President this is one shot I will take for you.

Critical Issues

Small Unmaned Aircraft System NPRM

I want to touch on the Small Unmanned Aircraft System (sUAS) FAA rule making that has the potential to affect our sport. This is the most critical issue modelers have faced in over a decade; we need to marshal all of our assets to respond to the upcoming FAA Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM). As an Aeronautical Engineer a significant part of my job is responding to NPRM’s, we need to be prepared to demonstrate to the FAA that any alternate rules we proposed will provide the same or higher level of safety than the wording in the NPRM. I do not believe the FAA has any desire to harm modeling, in fact I’m sure a higher than average percentage of FAA staff have been or are modelers themselves, but we need to be ready to respond. As your District Vice-President I will bring my experience to bear on protecting your right to enjoy modeling and pass it on to the next generation.

Meeting the Members

I have made it a priority to get out and meet with members all over our District. One of the advantages I have that helps me to travel the District is that I work for a major airline and enjoy employee pass travel privileges. This has allowed me to travel up and down California, as well as out to Arizona, and Utah. I’ve covered a lot of miles, including my upcoming trip to an event on Ford Island on Oahu, I’ll have clocked over 12,000 miles on the road meeting members. I will be at events in Nevada too before the election is over. Everywhere I go I hear the same thing, members simply are not meeting our District Vice-President and Associate Vice-Presidents as often as they would like. I am committing to continuing to travel the District as your Vice-President and I will meet with my Associate Vice-Presidents as soon as I am elected so that we can map out the major events in the District and build a plan so that myself or one of my Associate Vice-Presidents will be at these events to show the flag, meet the members and let you know that you do matter.

How to Stay In Touch

There are several ways for you to stay in touch with me. First you can visit my website it is at;

http://ama-district-x-election.blogspot.com/

I send out an email discussing events I have attended or am planning to attend and items of note. It comes out about once a week to a growing number of District X members. If you would like to be added to the list please send an email to;

AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com

Finally I can’t do this all by myself, I need members who support me to represent me at their club. All you really need to do is bring up the subject of the election and let people know where they can find out more about me. You can share this letter with them and discuss the issues raised in it and let them know why you support me. The most important thing you can do is remind them to vote. Last year we had 15% of eligible voters return their ballots, that is high for an AMA election but we can and will do better this year. If you would like to represent me at your club send me an email and I will add you to a special email list that will allow you to receive election bulletins.

Ultimately the members of District X will choose the candidate that they feel is best qualified to be elected. If the Members choose me I would consider it an honor to serve District X as their Vice-President.

I wish you all the best, and may you have many safe, and happy landings.

Sincerely,
Lawrence Tougas
AMA 232

P.S. You will receive your ballot with your AMA renewal in September. The ballot is a post card that you simply detach, mark your choice and drop in the mail, it even has the postage on it for your convenience. Do not, I repeat do not send your ballot with your dues renewal they go to two different places and if you send your ballot with your dues your vote will be invalidated.

Please cast your vote for Lawrence Tougas today.

Meetings in Southern California

2010-07-26T14:07:00.001-07:00

I will be visiting family in Orange County next weekend so I thought I'd take the opportunity to meet modelers in the Southland. I'll be at two locations on Saturday July 31. The first will be at the Great Park formerly El Toro Naval Air Station. I'll be there from 8:00 to 10:00 in the morning. Here's a map to help you find the field.

View Larger Map

From about 10:30 to 12:30 I'll be at the Orange County Modelers Association field at Black Starr Canyon. Here's a map to the field.

View Larger Map

I hope you'll take some time to come out and say hello I'd love to meet you.

Simple & Smart

2010-07-25T15:10:00.000-07:00

After the Wings of Victory on Saturday I went down the road to the Sacramento Valley Soaring Society's field. I must have just missed them because no one was there shortly after 1:00PM but what I saw really impressed me.

This photo is from their website and gives you a good idea of their commitment to thermal duration soaring. Now it wasn't their beautiful field or picnic benches and BBQ's under a large shade structure that had the largest impression on me. It was something much simpler, it was this information box.

It had never occurred to me to do this. As you know I'm a big proponent of clubs marketing themselves to their community. This simple box does so much. If I had been a prospective new member and was out looking to talk to someone I would not have went home empty handed I would have had this flier to review while I planned another visit. Notice the simple invitation in big letters, "Come fly with us." Dudley Dufort SVSS's webmaster and newsletter editor had told me how hard they work to build ties to their community it's clear they are doing all the right things. I'll be out at their field August 14 for their monthly club competition. If you want to visit them here's a map to their field.

View Larger Map

Wings of Victory

2010-07-25T14:26:00.000-07:00

The Woodland-Davis Aeromodelers have had another successful Wings of Victory fly-in.

I attended on Saturday. The weather was picture perfect and the scope and breadth of models present was impressive.

The models spanned a range from WWI to the Vietnam War. The only requirement for this fly-in was that your model had to be a war bird.

There were about 30 pilots registered and three times as many spectators enjoying the flying.

This Corsair had a five cylinder radial engine. It sounded awesome making its way around the pattern.

These young aces looked happy watching the action.

This L-3 was doing some spotting for the attack aircraft.

Monty Welch was the CD for the event. He had scratch built one of the more unusual models at the event. Can anyone name it. No fair if Monty has already told you.

Here's a second look, note that it is an inline twin.

Here is an ME-262, with two gas turbine engines. I would have loved to see it fly but I had to leave before it took to the air.

Now we move into the post WWII era. This is Dan Avila's P-80.

He also has an F-100 Super Sabre done up in similar high visability markings that is a sight to see.

Here's a MIG to mix it up with the P-80.

The Aeromodelers have a big piece of property and on the far side I saw several turbine helicopters flying the first is my good friend Gonzalo's turbine Lama. Gonzalo told me some YouTube videos of his chopper have over 100,000 hits. It is a beautiful model.

Gonzalo introduced me to Dan who had a turbine Huey that was top notch too.

Well that's it for the Wings of Victory. If you're in the area and the Aeromodelers are having an event you should go because they always deliver.

Woodland Davis Aeromodelers Wings of Victory

2010-07-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

The Woodland-Davis Aeromodelers are holding their annual Wings of Victory Fly-In this weekend. This event is open to all appropriate finished warbirds.

I will be there on Saturday. They put on a great show so if you're in area come by and say hello I'd love to meet you.

I've included this map to help you find their field.

View Larger Map

Just click on the "view larger map" link and you'll be able to get directions to the field. Hope to see you there.

Tomcats Open House

2010-07-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

The Santa Clara County Tomcats have put on another one of their successful open houses. They hold these annually as a way of giving back to the community.

This is the second time I have come to their event and I am very impressed with the polish that this show has.

The morning started off with the national anthem while radio control parachutists descended around an rc helicopter towing the stars and stripes.

The first group of fliers were the South Bay Soaring Society who demonstrated winch, and discus launch gliders. Next were electrics of all sorts, followed by a control line demonstration, and several categories of racing.

They did a great bit with a lawn mower getting away from someone "mowing" the field only to become airborne. Along with things that shouldn't fly like a stop sign and school bus.

They took an hour long break at lunch and invited their guests to try flying an RC plane or helicopter themselves. They had one line for the helicopter and a second one feeding the 5 or 6 stations set up for airplanes. During this hour a lot of people maybe 200 got time at the controls. This was a textbook example of getting the public involved in flying and I'm sure won them several new members.

After lunch snoopy took to the skies flying his dog house.

This didn't last too long, just as it was getting started Snoopy made a "kill" on the Red Baron and a beautiful large scale bi-plane met an inadvertent end.

One of the keys to success that they used was having an announcer describing the action in non-modeling terms so that lay people could appreciate the activities. The Tomcats President Mike Luvara shown above did most of the announcing assisted by other club members.

One of their members scratch built this B-17 which was a featured plane in the giant scale warbirds segment.

The airplane was modeled after one that his father had flew in during World War II.

They had a whole host of fighters providing cover including this beautiful Corsair. The warbirds were followed by jets and finally some IMAC and 3-D flying.

It was a full day of flying and the crowd turn out was phenomenal. This picture shows only about a third of Saturdays spectators. The Tomcats did a great job and any club looking to put on a show of their own would benefit by following their lead.

Santa Clara Tomcats Open House

2010-07-08T08:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend is the big open house and airshow at the Santa Clara County Model Aircraft Skypark. The Skypark is the home of the Tomcats. The Tomcats are one of the largest and best run clubs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Each year they put on a tremendous open house. It's one of the best organized shows you'll see anywhere and a model for how to put on a fast paced spectator friendly event.

The flying is divided in groups from soaring to Jets with no down time between acts and an announcer that does a great job of explaining the event to spectators who may not have a modeling background. I spoke with Mike Luvara the Tomcats President yesterday and he told me they will have live television coverage Friday morning to advertise their event which will run both Saturday and Sunday.

Here's a map to help you find the event just click on "view larger map" to go to a page that will allow you to enter your home address and receive directions to the field;

View Larger Map

I'll be attending the event to meet the Tomcats, if you're in the area please stop by enjoy the show and say hi.

CVRC's Endorsement

2010-06-30T09:11:00.000-07:00

I was recently sent some good news. It read as follows;

Lawrence, The attending club members of CVRC in Visalia voted last Wednesday evening to endorse your campaign for District X VP. We are hopeful for your success, and hope to see you back here soon. Remember our Fall Soaring Festival is probably the largest event of its kind in the World and is coming October 2^nd and 3^rd. Keep up the good work. John Wilson

I was thrilled to hear from John. I visited the Central Valley R/C Soaring Club in May to enjoy their Aero Tow event and I am looking forward to their Fall Fest in October. If you have the chance you shouldn't miss it.

Thank you to the Members of the CVRC for putting their faith in me, with help from them and other clubs I'll be your next District X Vice-President.

If your club chooses to endorse my campaign let me know and I'll post the good news here.

Results from Oakdale

2010-06-30T07:33:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I competed in the Fourth Annual Oakdale Pattern contest. What a great time was had by all. The weather was warm but a nice breeze kept everyone comfortable.

NSRCA District VII Vice President Jon Carter

The event was held at a Stanislaus County provided field operated by The Radio Control Flyers Unlimited.

CD's Chris Fitzsimmons & Dick Belden

Our Contest Directors Christ Fitzsimmons and Dick Belden worked very hard to make sure the event ran smoothly.

Ron Davies makes a smooth landing

Four rounds of competition were flew on day Saturday and two rounds were flew on Sunday.

Mike and Jean Greear

Ron Davies the NSRCA Treasurer and his wife cooked a great meal for lunch both days

Chris Fitzsimmons' Neptuno

It was great having two other pilots flying in the Sportsman Class. We had a very close competition with the difference between first and second being only 11 points out of 3986 or less than 0.3%.

Jacob Boracca and his Father

The final results were;

Sportsman

Lawrence Tougas 3986

Jean Greear 3975

Dave Shirley 3916

Intermediate

Jacob Boracca 4000

Ron Davies 3658

Mike Callas 3574

Chris Belden 3185

Dave Wick 2697

Advanced

Jon Bruml 3997

Mike Greear 3987

Masters

Chris Fitzsimmons 4000

Jon Carter 3799

Greg Frohreich 3770

Bill Sneed 3719

Luke Peng 3570

Dick Belden 3470

Roy Speights 3426

Rich Mendonsa 3005

FAI

Matt Kimbro 3989

Don Atwood 3937

Jim Kimbro 3863

Tom Messer 3837

Adrian Wong 3314

Many thanks to Chris and Dick for putting on such a great contest and to all those who helped call for me and provided suggestions on how to improve. If you are an intermediate pilot with virtually any aerobatic plane I encourage you to try Pattern flying. You don't need a full on Pattern Plane to have a great time. The next NSRCA Pattern Contest will be August 7 and 8 at my home field in Napa, hope to see you there.

Oakdale Pattern Contest

2010-06-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

I will be attending the Oakdale Pattern Contest at the Woodward Reservoir in Oakdale California this weekend. I will be attempting to keep my streak of first place finishes in tact. Go here to learn how I came in first place at my first contest.

Here's a picture of the beautiful field that the Radio Control Flyers Unlimted have at Oakdale. Virtually everyone who has had the opportunity to visit consider it one of the best fields they've been to.

I would enjoy meeting any modelers who are in the nearby area. If you would like to come out to the contest to meet me or just enjoy the flying I've enclosed the following map to help you find it. Just click on, "view larger map" to get a screen that you can use to enter your starting point and Google will map your route to the field.

Hope to see you there.

View Larger Map

Happy Fathers Day

2010-06-22T06:10:00.001-07:00

I first made this post last year. In light of Fathers Day I think it deserves another run.

I came across this photo today and it brought back a lot of memories. This photo was taken in 1966 at Buchanan Field in Concord, California. That is a 1939 Stinson 105. My Father restored this airplane from the ground up. It came to our house as a huge aircraft kit. The previous owner had torn it completely apart and it came to us in box after box of parts with no directions on how to reassemble it. My Father rebuilt it in our garage, a task I loved to watch. To give you an idea of how much times have changed, after the engine was hung on the bare fuselage we rolled it out into the street, tied the tail to a telephone pole and started the engine to test it right in front of our house; how do you think that would go over with the neighbors today? Back then nobody cared.

My Father is on the right, his partner Jack Linginger is next to him with me on the left. Jack is a fantastic painter who put the finish on the Stinson. That aircraft went on to win multiple trophies at fly-ins on the West Coast, and is a testament to the craftsmanship that my Father displays in everything he does.

UTE's Electric Fun Fly

2010-06-16T17:53:00.000-07:00

I had the distinct pleasure of traveling to Salt Lake City last weekend. The occasion was UTE Radio Control Association's Electric Fun Fly. The UTE's led by Contest Director Douglas Dorton invited all the area pilots to bring their favorite electric models out for a day of fun, friendship, and good food.

Steve Wilson the UTE's resident chef had a great little J-3 that he was giving a full work out to.

This Park Zone micro Cub looked like it was an awful lot of fun.

One of the UTE's favorite contests is combat using GWS Slow Sticks.

They really were mixing it up and it looked like a lot of fun. Judging by the smiles and good natured ribbing I'd say for sure they had a good time.

The pilots from left to right are Ken Gardner, the UTE's President Tom Winter, and the event's CD Douglas Dorton. You can see that Tom and Doug cut more than ribbon but they assured me a little glue and tape and they'd be back in the air.

One of the more prolific builders in the club is Wade Joos who scratch built this B-29.

It really was a site to see. He used four bladed props on the ground and in the air to add an additional touch of authenticity.

He modeled it after the original, "V Square 50", that a good friend of his flew in during WWII. Here is a photo of it in Saipan.

Let's enjoy one more look at it in flight. It was a pleasure to travel to the Beehive state. I met some great modelers and had a wonderful time.

Salt Lake City Event

2010-06-09T07:33:00.001-07:00

The UTE R/C Association is holding their Electric Fly at Jordon Model Port. I'm going to travel to Salt Lake to visit with the modelers attending this event. If you're going to be in the area please come by and say hello. More information about the event including a flier is here.

The following map will help you find the event, just click on the, "view larger map" link to bring up a page you can use to enter your address and receive driving directions to the event.

View Larger Map

I look forward to seeing you there.

The Scale Squadron puts on a Winner

2010-06-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

The Scale Squadron of Southern California had an outstanding event last weekend. They held the first annual Jerry Ortega Scale Fly-In.

Jerry was a founding member of the Squadron and his recent passing prompted the event to be named in his honor.

The Scale Squadron are the founders of the U.S. Scale Masters. You have to go to their website and click on, "about us" to read an account of the first Scale Masters in 1980.

As you read the article from the April 1981 issue of Scale R/C Modeler it is like taking a trip back in time. There were some well known names involved in the event.

The club itself was founded in the early 1970's and called historic Mile Square Park home.

There were over 100 pilots and many more aircraft in attendance. The event was held at the Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club's field at Prado Dam in Chino. The facility is top notch and only added to everyone's enjoyment.

I think the event was a great success and earned perfect static and flying scores.

I'm doing my very best to get all around our District to meet modelers and let them ask me questions and get to know me so they can make an informed choice when they vote. If you have an event you would like me to attend please let me know

The Jerry Ortego Memorial Scale Fly-In

2010-06-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

This will make it the fourth week in a row I've been out meeting modelers in our District. During these 4 weeks I will have attended 6 different events. I couldn't be happier. Working for United gives me a great opportunity to get around the District and see our members face to face. I have an event in Hawaii in August that I'm looking forward to, and more in California. If you live in Arizona, Nevada, or Utah I would love to hear about events in your part of the District that would let me meet more modelers.

This weekend the Scale Squadron of Southern California is having their Jerry Ortego Memorial Scale Fly-In. It will be held at the Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club's field at Prado Dam. I'm going to be out there Saturday visiting with as many modelers as I can.

This map will help you find the field;

View Larger Map

Just click on the link below it that says, "View Larger Map." This will give you a map you can put your address in and get directions to the field.

To find out more contact the Contest Director Randy Wilbur at 949-683-9662, or rwilbur@videotecheng.com.

I hope to see you there.

West Coast Festival

2010-06-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

A Beautiful Comp ARF at Sunset

Well the 13th Annual IMAA West Coast Festival is in the books. From my perspective on Saturday and Sunday it was a resounding success.

A Perfect Landing

I was told there were 400 aircraft at the event and it looked like it. Heck there was over 100 RV's camped out on the Ramp, as well as plenty of Vendors selling a wide array of items.

The Campaign Staff

We arrived at 10:00 in the morning on Saturday and the place was packed. The pilots were 10 deep waiting for a flying station to open up.

Les Mason's Hawker Hurricane

There was an enormous flight line that was lined shoulder to shoulder with spectators. Many of them modelers but a good percentage local folks enjoying a great day in the sun.

A beautiful model of the fastest home built around

There was every type of model imaginable. They ranged from WWI bi-planes to modern day jets.

A perfect Stinson Reliant

We were very fortunate to be allowed to tent camp at the Castle Air Museum. They have a fantastic collection that is worth a special trip to take it all in.

Strega

The organizers of this great weekend were our own Associate Vice Presidents Rick Maida, and Scott Malta they did a great job and had a lot of help from a whole group of volunteers. I can't wait until next year.

Big Bird Fly-In

2010-05-28T08:10:00.001-07:00

The International Miniature Aircraft Association is having their Memorial Day Fly-In at the Former Castle AFB. It has been four years since the IMAA had an event at Castle. It has always been considered a must see if you're on the West Coast. I'll be there Saturday and Sunday, so if you see me please say hello.

View Larger Map

This map will help you find the event. If you come plan on staying for their dinner on Saturday night.

The event flier is here.

For more info call the Event Directors;
Scott Malta 209-617-5789 or
Rick Maida 408-460-1526

Pictures from PVMAC & SVF

2010-05-28T06:50:00.001-07:00

Last Weekend I spent the day in Southern California visiting with District X members. My first stop was with the Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club. PVMAC is an active club that boasts many outstanding modelers.

PVMAC was hosting its first annual Full-Deflection 3D fun-fly. There were aerobatic aircraft from 0.40 size to 40%.

I counted over 60 aircraft participating in this two day affair.

Two dedicated PVMAC members Matt Robison, and Sean Canavan organized this event. They put a lot of time and effort in to ensuring a smooth running event. I have a feeling this will become an annual event to look forward to.

The next stop on my swing through the Southland was at the San Fernando Valley Flyer's Apollo XI Field. SVF are celebrating their 60th anniversary.

Like PVMAC the Valley Flyers are another good example of a well run club that is an asset to their community.

This club is the only place you can fly turbine models in the greater Los Angeles area. SVF's President Jason Pakfar works very hard with his members and the community to keep the field available for jets.

Jeff Tolemeo did a first rate job as CD. There were so many jets there I honestly lost count. The event ran great SVF were excellent hosts. Their next LA Jets event is July 23-25 so mark your calender and plan on having a great time.

3-D Flying at Prado & LA Jets at Apollo XI Field

2010-05-19T07:45:00.001-07:00

Full Deflection

This Saturday May 22nd I will be at two events in Southern California. The first one is the Full Deflection 3-D competition at the Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club's field at Prado Dam. PVMAC is the largest and one of the most active clubs in our district they have two fields one at the former Norton AFB and the second at Prado Dam .

You can find directions to the Prado field here. The contest starts on Friday and continues through Saturday. I will be there Saturday morning until about noon. Please check out the event and if you do say hi.

LA Jets

Then Saturday afternoon I'll be at the San Fernando Valley Flyers spring jet meet, LA Jets.

The San Fernando Valley Flyers is one of the Districts oldest and best known clubs. They are celebrating their 60th anniversary. They fly at Apollo XI field in the Sepulveda Basin in Encino. The LA Jets website can provide you with more information and directions to the field. This is the premier Jet meet in Southern California and is not to be missed.

Lost Hills and Visalia Events

2010-05-19T06:11:00.001-07:00

The Free Flight Bonanza & National Cup

Last weekend I traveled through the Central Valley to two events. The first stop was for two free flight contests in one put on by the San Diego Orbiteers, and the Fresno Gas Model Club. It was held at the Lost Hills Model Airfield.

This field was donated to the free flight community by the founder of Fleetwood RV's John Crean. It is maintained by the Lost Hills Free Flight Association.

These two contests had a little bit of everything. There were catapult launched gliders that had 18" wing spans, classic gas powered models with both spark and glow engines, as well as state of the art carbon fiber models with folding wings and geared reduction drives turning 4 blade folding propellers.

Don Bartick of the San Diego Orbiteers, and Doss Porter of the Fresno Gas Model Club were the CD's. Don said, "It was three consecutive days of the finest free flight weather I have ever seen." I had a great time not just because there were a lot of amazing models but because the modelers were a friendly and welcoming bunch of people who didn't mind if I asked questions about what kind of models they had and the techniques they were using. No matter what type of modeling you do if there is a free flight competition near you I recommend you check it out.

CVRC Aero Tow

After the lunch time ice cream social at Lost Hills I headed north to the Central Vally R/C Soaring Club's field in Visalia.

The CVRC has a beautiful field. It is situated in a catch basin for the irrigation district. The grass is green there are nice shade trees and occasional the field is intentionally flooded to turn it into a float flying field.

There were large scale model sail planes of every type. From WWII vintage to modern designs.

The largest of these models were 40 to 50 percent of full scale and weighed in the vicinity of 30 pounds.

It took some serious tow planes to heft these sailplanes into the air. This Wilga (above) had a 150 cc motor.

There is no question these modelers put a lot of time into building these sailplanes as well as learning how to tow and be towed. I'm looking forward to attending the CVRC's Fall Fest. This is the country's largest RC soaring event of the year. It will be held October 2 & 3 this year.

Well I put 550 miles on my car attending these events and it was well worth it I had a lot of fun and would recommend both to any modeler.

Two Events in California's Central Valley

2010-05-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

This Saturday May 15th I'll be traveling to two events in California's Southern Central Valley.

The first event is a pair of free flight contests. They are the Free Flight Bonanza, and the National Cup put on by the San Diego Orbiteers, and the Fresno Gas Model Club. They will hold two days of flying with a wide assortment of categories. I have it on good authority that an ice cream social will be held Saturday at noon. The contest is being held at the Lost Hills Model Airfield. I'll be there from 8:00 to 11:30. Here's a map to help you find your way there.

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I've been to several free flight contests and even if you don't have a model to compete with they're a lot of fun to watch so come by and have some fun.

The second event is the Spring Aero-Tow put on by Visalia's Central Valley R/C Soaring Club. Here you'll find scale tow aircraft towing scale gliders. It really is something to see. It is being held at 8400 Ave. 320, Visalia, CA. 93291. Here's a map to help you get there.

View Larger Map

I should be there from 1:00 to 4:00 please say hello if you're going to be there.

How I Won First Place at my first Pattern Contest

2010-05-05T10:57:00.001-07:00

Our Hosts

I'd like to share with you how I came in first place at the first precision aerobatic or Pattern contest that I ever flew at. For some time I have been thinking of joining the ranks of modelers who compete. Prior to this, I had been a sport pilot content to burn nitro or electrons at random flying in whichever fashion suited me.

Derek Koopowitz NSRCA President and our CD

In 2009 I entered an IMAC contest. I didn't have a traditional IMAC airplane so its performance put me at a disadvantage, but at the same time I enjoyed the process and the people I met were very helpful. Based on that positive experience I decided to fly Pattern in 2010. I choose Pattern because I felt I could assemble a competitive plane for less money than IMAC which is no knock against IMAC, it’s just that I already had a four-stroke 120 and I was given a Great Planes Venus II for Christmas.

Dick Belden Flying the Masters Sequence

I had heard many times before that Patten models fly better than most other types. I didn't really appreciate it until I started flying my Venus. It was stable with a great glide ratio; in fact the hardest thing is slowing it down to land. I was very happy with the performance of the airplane.

Dick landing his Focus Sport

In preparation for the season I joined the AMA's Pattern special interest group the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics or NSRCA. The NSRCA produces a monthly magazine the K-Factor, as well as providing a website with good information for the fledgling Pattern Pilot. The website has a section on setting your balance and trimming your airplane to make it easier to fly the sequences.

Ron Davies NSRCA Treasurer and Mike Miller in the Judges Seats

Once I felt my plane was trimmed properly I started practicing the entry level sequence. Pattern is divided into 5 levels of increasing difficulty which are Sportsman, Intermediate, Advanced, Masters, and FAI. The Sportsman sequence has as would be expected some basic maneuvers, such as level flight, stall turn, loops, variations on the Cuban-Eight, rolls, immelman turn, and split-S. These are all maneuvers you are probably doing already. Although these are well known maneuvers executing them flawlessly is difficult, but in a fun way. As I was practicing these maneuvers in the back of my mind I kept wondering if my interpretation of them was correct and was looking forward to my first contest to find out.

Dorothy & Roy Speights

The first contest I entered was the Bay Area Radio Control Society's (BARCS) Pattern by the Bay 2010. The BARCS field is right on the San Pablo Bay which is in the north eastern portion of San Francisco Bay. Prior to the start of the first days flying I got in a brief flight around the field to calm my nerves. Then we were off to the competition. We flew a total of 6 flights, 3 for each day of competition. During this time seasoned fliers volunteered to help carry my plane to the runway, call the maneuvers for me, and most importantly give me advice to improve my scores. I took all of the advice I could get, because now I wasn't doing this on my own but had veteran pilots to watch my flight and help me improve. Everyone involved was friendly and willing to help out a newcomer.

Another successful landing

Now in the interest of full disclosure I should let you know how I came in first place. I was the only Sportsman contestant, which was too bad. I was told that my flying would have held up well with the typical pilots in Sportsman, but I would have loved to see someone else fly the pattern.

Bill Sneed finishes another great flight

After finishing my first thought was, "I should have tried this sooner." I had held off because I didn't have a true pattern plane, but in retrospect just about any decent low or mid-wing aerobatic model would have been competitive. So my advice is to those of you thinking about competing to take the plunge you'll meet some great people and have a lot of fun. In fact I think that advice holds well for all aspects of modeling from free-flight to jets. Competition makes you a better modeler and keeps your interest peaked. I encourage you to join the ranks, who knows maybe I'll see you at the next contest and we can go head to head.

The Results

Sportsman

1. Lawrence Tougas 4000.000

Intermediate

1. Chris Belden 3000.000

Advanced

1. Dale Olstinske 4000.000

2. Jon Bruml 3714.849

3. Robert Hixson 3433.637

Masters

1. Bill Sneed 4000.000

2. Luke Peng 3915.464

3. Roy Speights 3804.940

4. Dick Belden 3788.287

F3A

1. Don Atwood 4000.000

2. Derek Koopowitz 3724.711

3. Adrian Wong 3600.591

AMA District X Special Election

2010-03-16T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today I announce my intention of becoming the AMA District X Vice President. As many of you know I was a candidate in last year’s District X election. Jim Giffin and I campaigned for the office. After all 23,000 members of District X had an opportunity to vote the election came down to 34 votes. Jim prevailed by those 34 votes in a 51%-49% split.

Sadly Jim passed away 1 month into his term. AMA by-laws require that a special election be held when a Vice President leaves office before the end of their term. This special election will be held in the October/November time frame concurrent with the National Election for AMA President.

I believe my background in modeling, aviation, and business makes me the best candidate for the office. My top 3 issues for District X are;

1) Helping clubs find and keep their fields.
2) Bring District X to the internet
3) Build an AMA Western United States Flying site

Any club that is on public land, rents their land from a third party, or is near a population that may object to their field needs to be proactive in protecting their field. Building strong relationships with your elected officials, landlord, and community are essential in protecting the long term use of your field. Clubs need to market themselves, and it is essential that this take place before your field is at risk. I have some specific ideas on how clubs can do this and will do everything in my power to protect our right to fly.

Our District X website is not up to snuff. It has little information on it and it almost never is updated. We can and will do better under my leadership. We will harness the power of the internet to keep our members well informed. We will share news of our events, tips for construction, and flying of our models. We will also collect historical information about the clubs, and modelers that make District X great.

I believe that the time has come for the AMA to build a western United States flying site. AMA West will be a place we can hold large contests of every type, R/C, C/L, and F/F. We would be able to host a portion of the Nats with the dedicated support of our members. This will be a place for us to gather and enjoy the fellowship of the modeling community. We could hold large fun flys like the Joe Nall event on the east coast. We are only limited by our imagination.

I need your help to achieve these goals. You can help by talking to your modeling friends and let them know about my ideas. You can help by having your club officially endorse me. You can help by contributing to my campaign.

As an airline employee I am able to get around our large district. I would like to start mapping out appearances at large gatherings of modelers. If you are planning an event and would like me to attend please contact me, I can’t promise to make it to every event but I will make my best effort. This weekend I will be at the RCX show in Pomona, California. If you would like to meet me please send me an email and we will coordinate.

Last year while running for office, I met some wonderful people, and received a lot of support for my campaign. I look forward to meeting more modelers, and will need all of your support to become the AMA District X Vice President.

Sincerely,
Lawrence Tougas
AMA 232

One Eighth Air Force

2009-11-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

I visited with the One-Eighth Air Force during their October Fun-Fly

They held the fly-in at the Superstition Air Park in Apache Junction Arizona.

They are a dedicated group of scale modelers who have a special affinity to military aircraft.

But they welcome scale aircraft of any kind.

I had a great time watching the flying, and an even better time at their BBQ in the evening. They put out a great spread, and had live music. It was a lot of fun. The best part was the awarding of crying towels, this is where they good spiritedly rib their friends who had bent their airplane to some degree. I wish I had some pictures of the towel ceremony, but I was enjoying the sight too much to remember to take a picture.

If you have a chance to attend one of their events you should.

Liberty Flyers Endorsement

2009-10-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

I just received the following message,

"The Liberty Flyers endorse and are in favor of Lawrence Tougas for Vice President for Distict X......
Sid Maxwell
President
Liberty Flyers"

My thanks go to the Liberty Flyers. I met Sid at the SAM 27 meeting in Novato last week. It is a great feeling to have so many clubs putting their faith in me. If your club would like to join the growing list of clubs officially endorsing my campaign please contact me to discuss your support.

The Full List of Endorsements

2009-10-29T07:08:00.000-07:00

The following are the clubs from District X that have endorsed me and are encouraging their members to vote for me.

The San Fernando Valley Flyers
The Wine Country Flyers
The Sun Valley Fliers
Bayside R/C
SCAMPS
The Livermore Flying Electrons
The San Diego Orbiteers
Sierra Foothills R/C Flyers
SAM 27
East Bay Radio Controllers
The Scale Staffel
The Liberty Flyers

I am grateful to them all if you would like to make your club the next to endorse me please contact me to discuss your support.

Control Line Scale and Navy Carrier

2009-10-27T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Central Arizona Control Line Club held their twelfth annual Navy Carrier and Scale Control Line Contest.

The event was held in Avondale Arizona which is on the west side of Phoenix.

The scale portion of the contest had some beautiful models. There were both single and multi-engine models.

These aircraft had multiple functions, controllable throttle, retractable landing gear, munitions/retardant drop, and much more.

The carrier competition had some very specialized models.

These models had throttle control too, but in addition they could drop an arresting hook, and cant themselves outboard to maintain line tension during slow flight.

The goal is to fly as fast as you can for 7 laps and then as slow as you can for 7 laps, your slow flight time is divided by your fast flight time to give you a score. This model is in the low speed portion of the flight, it is hanging on the prop and taking up to 40 seconds per lap. You can see the CD Ted Kraver judging the attitude of the model, it cannot exceed 60 degrees.

At the end you must land on a carrier deck complete with arresting wires.

This is a photo I borrowed from their website, it is from their February 2009 Southwick contest.

This was a great contest put on by some dedicated modelers. I enjoyed it, and makes me want to do some more C/L flying. My thanks go to Ted and all of the competitors who made my visit a joy.

Scale Staffel's Endorsement

2009-10-26T11:45:00.000-07:00

I am proud to announce that during my visit to the Scale Staffel's free-flight competition yesterday I received their endorsement. The Staffel is Flying Aces Club Squadron #41. They started in 1982, and have 70 members. At the contest yesterday they were flying FAC Rubber Scale, FAC Power Scale, WWII Combat, WW I Combat, Dime Scale, EMBRYO, Two-Bit Rubber + 1, and One Designer Event. Here are some photos from the contest that were taken by Mike Jester who has my thanks for providing them.

This is a mass launch done in the WWII combat competition, from left to right are Bob Overcash, Roger Willis, and Clint Brooks.

This is a closer look at Clint Brooks' P-51.

This is a good look at Bob Overcash launching his WWI bi-plane.

This is John Hutchison's beautiful ME-109. John is the President of the Scalle Staffel.

George Mansfield who was the CD launches his Chambermaid, which was a Greves Racer.

Mark Schulman releases his WWII Vintage "Tony" which was the Allies nickname for this Japanese Night Fighter.

Last but not least is this flying shot of Roger Willis' Mr. Smoothie which was also a Greves Racer. The Greves Competition was held in years prior to WWII it required aircraft with in-line motors and that they not exceed 549 cubic inches in displacement. The Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Company was the sponsor of the Louis W. Greve Trophy Race. It consisted of 20 laps on a 10 mile course.

I want to give special thanks to Roger Willis President of WESTFAC, John Hutchison President of the Scale Staffel, and Don Bartick past President of the San Diego Orbiteers for their support. If you haven't been to a free-flight competition you owe it to yourself to attend. It is obvious that many hours go into building and trimming these aircraft. You really need to see it to appreciate it.

Had a great Weekend

2009-10-26T06:44:00.000-07:00

I was on the go this weekend. My flight home was delayed several hours so I returned home late last night I will have to make a complete post tomorrow along with pictures.

I spent Saturday in Phoenix Arizona. There were two events being held there. The first one was a control line event on the west side of town. The event included Control Line Scale, and Navy Carrier competitions. I had never seen a carrier competition before it's a combination of how fast you can go for 7 laps, and then how slow you can go for 7 laps ending with a landing on a carrier deck complete with arresting wires. These are specialized aircraft that were a lot of fun to watch.

In the afternoon I went to the east side of town and joined the One-Eighth Air Force for their scale fly-in. This was a fun fly type of event that brought over 150 aircraft to the field. The day ended with a steak BBQ and live music, it was a great time.

On Sunday I traveled to San Diego to the Scale Staffel's (Staffel is Squadron in German) competition at Otay Mesa, a large field the Staffel has near Brown Field which is a general aviation airport south east of San Diego. I had a great time watching the competition and was their guest for lunch after the event.

I'll have more tomorrow with pictures. In the mean time enjoy this video that has nothing to do with RC but is amazing.

Where I will be this weekend

2009-10-23T07:38:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I will be attending two events in the Phoenix area. The first is a control line event for carrier and scale aircraft. It is being held at the Avondale Friendship Park

View Larger Map

I plan to be there at about 11:00am. If you're in the area stop in to enjoy some control line flying, and please say hello.

Later Saturday afternoon I will be at the One-Eighth Air Force's Fly-In for Scale R/C models. I should get there in the early afternoon and I will stay for their dinner. The fly-in will be held at Superstition Air Park.

View Larger Map

Then on Sunday I will attend the Scale Staffel free flight event at Otay Mesa. If you haven't attended a free flight event you should come it is a lot of fun to watch and you might decide to participate at their next event.

View Larger Map

The field is near the intersection of Otay Mesa Rd. and Alta Rd. in the south eastern outskirts of San Diego. It is off the road to the south, come by and check it out.

EBRC Endorsement

2009-10-22T07:53:00.001-07:00

Just this morning I received the following,

"Larry, the Board of Directors of the East Bay Radio Controllers has voted to endorse your candidacy...Ken Busse, EBRC President."

My thanks and appreciation go to EBRC. I look forward to the chance of helping them with issues important to their club.

I was at EBRC's 60th anniversary party last weekend. I wrote about it here. This is a club that was active at the very beginning of radio control modeling.

EBRC is the tenth club to endorse my candidacy the others clubs are;

The San Fernando Valley Flyers
The Wine Country Flyers
The Sun Valley Fliers
Bayside R/C
SCAMPS
The Livermore Flying Electrons
The San Diego Orbiteers
Sierra Foothills R/C Flyers
& SAM 27

I am grateful to them all if you would like to make your club the next to endorse me please contact me to discuss your support.

S.A.M. 27 Endorsement

2009-10-22T06:36:00.001-07:00

I had the pleasure of attending the Society of Antique Modelers Chapter 27 meeting in Novato California last night. SAM 27 covers Napa, Sonoma and Marin counties.

These two photos are from their 32nd annual SAM 27 Crash and Bash. One of the advantages of flying with modelers from the wine country is at the end of the day their catered Tri-Tip BBQ included Napa Valley wines. Something to keep in mind for next year. Their 2010 event will be held in September of next year.

SAM 27 welcomes all types of modelers, they have free flight, control line, and old time R/C, modeling, but they aren't limited to those areas, they are happy to have any AMA member join their ranks. I was honored last night when after I discussed with them my plans for District X they voted unanimously to endorse me.

So my thanks go to SAM 27 you should take a look at their website they have some great photos and information. If your club would like to endorse me please contact me at AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com.

I'm going to close with some vintage modeling film enjoy.

District X's Top XI

2009-10-21T07:10:00.000-07:00

The following are some of the most common questions I receive when I meet with AMA members. I hope this provides you with some material to help you decide your vote.

Q: Is the District X Vice President a paid position?
A: No it is not, it is strictly voluntary, there is a small budget to cover the Vice President and Associate Vice President's out of pocket expenses for travel and other incidentals, but no salary.

Q: What area does District X cover?
A: District X covers California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Hawaii, and Guam. It covers almost 500,000 square miles. There are 285 clubs and 27,000 members in our district. It is the largest district in the AMA.

Q: Where is my ballot?
A: Your ballot is a postcard attached to your 2010 AMA renewal notice. You tear it off, fill in the square for the candidate of your choice, and drop it in the mail. It is already addressed, and has the postage on it too.

Q: Can I put my ballot in the envelope I return my dues renewal in?
A: NO, I'll say it again, NO, one more time NO, you cannot mail your ballot in with your renewal. If you do it will go to AMA Headquarters instead of Brady Ware, and Shoenfeld, the company that is paid to be a neutral third party tabulating the results, and it will be invalidated. So please mail the postcard separate from your renewal.

Q: I can vote online so I don't need my paper ballot right?
A: WRONG. You cannot vote online. You must use your paper ballot. It is a postcard attached to your 2010 AMA renewal notice, and you must mail it separately from your dues renewal. You can pay your 2010 AMA dues online.

Q: I lost my ballot what can I do?
A: You can get a replacement ballot by calling the AMA at 800-435-9262 extension 290 and ask Shawn Grubbs to send you a replacement ballot.

Q: Why do you want to be District X Vice President?
A: I enjoy all aspects of modeling. I have built and flew free-flight, control line, R/C both Gliders and Planes. I can find something in all aspects of our sport to enjoy. I can't imagine a more exciting thing than being able to partake in all of the fun there is in District X and make a difference for our modelers. I would be on the Executive Council and able to shape AMA goals and policy that affects District X members.

Q: What makes you different from the other guy?
A: I think the biggest difference is that I have a plan with specific goals. In the year since my opponent was appointed our Interim District VP he hasn't laid out a long term plan for District X. Without a plan how do we know if we're making progress or even traveling in the right direction.

Q: What is your plan?
A: I have three issues I want to concentrate on initially. First I want to help clubs find and keep their fields. I have some specific ideas on how clubs can market themselves to their community and local officials. This will build good will and a relationship with the people who decide the matters that affect your field. This will be better than scrambling at the last minute when your field is threatened, and it will also make it harder for an official to say no to you. Its always harder for them to say no to people they know than a faceless group.

Second I want to improve the District X website. Most members don't realize that one exists. We could take the typical coverage that is put in the District X column in Model Aviation magazine which is a summary of a flying event somewhere in the district and move it to this website. We would have more room to cover events, and enjoy color photos, and video of these events. We could have a district specific event calender that puts all of the events that occur in one location categorized and color coded by type with links to maps to the event.

Finally I want to create an AMA West National Flying Site. This would be a site where we could hold major competitions and gatherings on the West Coast. Muncie is a jewel of a site and I am glad the AMA has it, but it does not serve modelers on the West Coast. We need and deserve a field that is closer to our homes.

Q: Where will you put the AMA West Flying Site?
A: I would leave that to a work group of District X members to consider the issue. That being said I would imagine that factors such as the geographic, and population centers of the district along with the price of land, and proximity of commercial air service, and accommodations would all be factors.

Q: Why should I vote nothing ever changes?
A: All I can say is give me a chance to prove you wrong. I have definite stated goals for District X. I'm able to travel because of my job so I will be out showing the flag as often as possible. I'm interested in all forms of our sport, certain regions of District X, as well as C/L, free flight, and soaring modelers all feel under represented, I will change that. Only 5-10% of AMA members vote; that means of those who do their vote carries the weight of 10 to 20 votes. Your vote matters, you have a choice this year, make a difference and cast your vote.

If you have a question that you would like answered please email me at AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com.

Sierra Foothils R/C Flyers Endorsement

2009-10-19T13:37:00.001-07:00

This morning the President of the Sierra Foothills R/C Flyers Richard Plummer sent me the following,

"The Sierra Foothills R/C Flyers decided as a club to endorse you for VP of district X."

This group of fliers enjoys float and fun flies. They are located in Nevada County in the Sierra Nevada foothills

I want to thank Richard and all of the Sierra Foothills gang for their support. If you would like to add your club to the growing list of AMA clubs that are supporting my candidacy please contact me at AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com.

East Bay Radio Controllers at 60

2009-10-19T08:16:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of attending the East Bay Radio Controllers 60th anniversary meeting held yesterday at the Oakland Aviation Museum. EBRC as it is known has been around since 1949. It was a pioneering club in the then new world of remote control modeling. Situated in the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, EBRC has flown at Humming Bird Haven in Livermore, what is now Bishop Ranch in San Ramon, and currently in Livermore near highway 580.

Two of their members are in the AMA’s Hall of Fame. Dale Root co-founder of EBRC was the owner of a landmark hobby shop in Oakland aptly named Root’s Hobby Hut. Dale produced models of his own design including a pioneering low wing design named the Low Ender. He was one of the first to design and use pneumatic retracts, spoilers, and on-board smoke systems.

Ed Rockwood another EBRC alumni was the developer of the first multi-channel resonant reed decoder that triggered relays which in turn would power a servo. The thing is no servos existed so Ed created his own from DC motors, and the gear train from a toy car. Ed’s equipment was used to win the AMA Nationals in 1951, 1952, and 1954.

EBRC member Glenn Carter who unfortunately passed away recently, produced a video documenting the clubs history. The first half of the video was produced from 8mm film taken in the 1950’s. What a treasure it is to see this, it's one thing to enjoy still photos but, movies of early modeling bring it alive. Clubs should actively seek out material such as that and work to preserve their heritage. After all something we film today seems ordinary, but watch it 60 years from now and it will be priceless. Imagine what modelers 60 years from now will be using in their craft as they watch videos from today.

My thanks to EBRC and I wish them another 60 years.

San Diego Orbiteers Endorsement

2009-10-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

Just this morning I got the following email from Don Bartick past president of the Orbiteers,

"The San Diego Orbiteers, a premier Free Flight Club (1113), is pleased to endorse you for AMA District X Vice President. We look forward to your win and working with you in the near future. Good luck."

The following are some historical photos of the group. You can find more of them and learn more about the Orbiteers at their website which can be found here.

The Orbiteers were formed in 1959. They are the oldest, continuous organized free flight group in San Diego

This is the second free flight club to endorse me. I'm proud to have their backing. A common issue I've heard from control-line, free flight, and soaring groups is that they feel under represented.

I want to assure all District X members that I intend to be involved in all aspects of our sport. I will make it a point to attend gatherings, competitions, and meetings of all types if elected your Vice President.

I want to thank the Orbiteers for their endorsement. If you would like to discuss your club endorsing me please contact me at AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com.

Two Additional Endorsements

2009-10-15T07:27:00.001-07:00

I feel very fortunate to provide you with two additional endorsements. The first one is from the Southern California Antique Model Plane Society. Clint Brooks Board Member of SCAMPS says,

"The SCAMPS Free Flight Club Management Board fully endorses your position for Vice president of District 10."

SCAMPS flies from their field in Perris, California. There website is here.

They are a chapter of SAM, the Society of Antique Modelers.

They have been together for over 40 years and have several on-going club contests that their members can compete in.

As you can see free flight models come in all shapes and sizes.

I had the pleasure of attending the Livermore Flying Electrons (LFE) meeting last night. After discussing my ideas for District X, a motion was made to endorse me, and the motion was approved unanimously.

LFE's website is here. They have a diverse blend of modelers, who enjoy their 400' paved runway.

They are focused on building a good relationship with their community. To that end they recently hosted a neighborhood appreciation day.

At this party they had simulators available for their neighbors to try. They also served a free lunch of hamburgers and hot dogs to their guests.

That is the kind of smart thinking that will build the best possible relationship with their neighbors.

I want to thank SCAMPS and LFE for their endorsements and support. I would be happy to add your club's endorsement. If you would like to discuss it just email me at AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com.

Eye Candy

2009-10-14T12:32:00.000-07:00

This is Todd Bridges first freestyle flight on Saturday at the Tucson Shootout. Todd flew in an IMAC contest at my home field in Napa, California. He placed second in the Advanced category at the Shootout. He's a great guy and an even better pilot, watch this all the way to the end.

Some Pictures from the Tucson Shootout

2009-10-12T12:15:00.001-07:00

My Daughter and I had the pleasure of attending the Tucson Shootout on Saturday. This is a competition that draws the best large scale aerobatic pilots in the world. I am going to show you some pictures my daughter Hailee took of the event while I was circulating around the crowd trying to give as many people as possible a chance to meet me and ask questions. So I have to apologize because I don’t have names to go with the planes, but trust me they were all top notch. I’ll also intersperse the results between the pictures.

Sportsman Final Results

1 Andrew Taylor, 2 Henry Piorun, 3 Kirt Campbell, 4 John Eell, 5 Howard Pilcher, 6 Dominic Grasso

Intermediate Final Results

1 Matthew Stringer, 2 Mark Hansen, 3 Kyle Goodwine, 4 Oliver Soto Gonzalez, 5 Jason Benson, 6 Spencer Nordquist, 7 Rusty Fried, 8 Joe MacGregor

Advanced Final Results

1 Cody L. McLean, 2 Todd Bridges, 3 Brendan Jones, 4 Nick Radle, 5 Marco Stephan, 6 Bill Adams

There was at least 300 spectators on hand enjoying the flying.

Unlimited Final Results

1 Ryan Archer, 2 Seth Arnold, 3 Will J. Berninger, 4 Eric Powell, 5 Daniel Rathbun

Invitational Final Results

1 Mark Leseberg, 2 Jason Noll, 3 Gernot Bruckmann, 4 Chris Brislin, 5 Andrew Jesky, 6 David Moser, 7 Frazer Briggs, 8 Kurt Koelling, 9 Adam Bry, 10 Chip Hyde

I do know these folks traveled from Australia to compete.

Freestyle Final Results

1 Gernot Bruckmann, 2 Chris Brislin, 3 Jason Noll, 4 Andrew Jesky, 5 Seth Arnold, 6 Todd Bridges, 7 Eric Powell, 8 John Glezellis, 9 Darren R Kuhn, 10 Spencer Nordquist, 11 Frazer Briggs, 12 Mark Leseberg

This is a 70% Clipped Wing Cub that put on a great show at lunch.

I do know who this last person is that’s our photographer posing for a self portrait.

These pilots put on a spectacular show. Some of these contestants were separated by only a few points out of thousands scored. They have clearly put in 1000's of flights to reach the level that they achieved. The offical results are here.

This was a first rate contest the Tucson International Modelplex Park Association or TIMPA as it is known is an outstanding facility.

They put a lot of effort into this event, and it serves as an example of what modeling is capable of.

Here's some video of that 70% Cub being put through its paces.

If anyone has some photos or video of the event they would like to share please send them to me and I'll try to post them.

Another Endorsement

2009-10-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

As I travel around District X I continue to meet great people. I am receiving a lot of positive feedback on the ideas I have for our District. I am meeting many for the first time and before I can finish introducing myself they tell me, “I’ve already voted for you.” They say they did because they agree with the vision I have for our District. I can’t tell you how wonderful that feels.

I’ve received another official endorsement this week. It is from the Bayside RC Club in Fremont, California. Bayside is a club in the San Francisco Bay Area with a lot of history. I received word from their Treasurer Will Sievert that the club had officially endorsed me. This is a picture of me with Will I want to thank Bayside for their support, and wish them great success in finding a new site as their’s is on public property that will be developed for mass transit.

This was the latest public endorsements for my campaign. I’ve received even more private endorsements from Clubs, Hobby Shop Owners, and RC Manufactures, but at their request I am not making them public, and allowing them to communicate it on their own terms.

I'll be at the Tucson Shootout Tomorrow

2009-10-09T08:55:00.000-07:00

I will be at the Tucson Shootout tomorrow October 10, assuming I'm able to get there standby on United. If you're able to come please look me up. Dave Johnson of Desert Aircraft has generously provided a spot in the vendor area for me. I'm not able to bring down equipment for a booth on the airline so it may not be obvious where I am located. If you're looking for me please call me on my cell at 707-480-2053 and we'll connect. I'll also be circulating around the area trying to meet as many AMA members as I can.

Hope to see you tomorrow,
Lawrence Tougas

Sun Valley Fliers Endorsement

2009-10-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

I received some great news today. Frank Moskowitz the President of the Sun Valley Fliers told me his club was backing my campaign. The SVF are the largest club in Arizona, and have been around for 35 years. This is a great way to start my weekend in Tucson. District X has a lot of fine clubs in Arizona, and it is an honor to be recognized by one.

Wine Country Flyers Endorsement

2009-10-08T06:33:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of meeting with the Wine Country Flyers Board of Directors Tuesday night in order to discuss the issues of District X. I was informed yesterday that the Board of Directors voted unanimously to endorse my candidacy. Board member Roy Domke, Jr. said,

"Thanks so much for taking the time and effort to make the presentation to WCF's Board meeting last night. I was very impressed with the goals you set forth and for your enthusiasm to accomplish them if you are elected as the new VP of our 10th District. After you left the meeting, the Board unanimously voted to endorse your candidacy for VP."

Board member Patrick O'Halloran said,

"Thank you for taking the time to visit with us last evening, we were all
very impressed; we wish you luck in the election and look forward to working with you in the future."

A link to their website that carries the endorsement is here.

I want to thank the Wine Country Flyers Board of Directors for their support and wish them continued success.

Flier to Post

2009-10-06T13:16:00.000-07:00

I have made a two page flier that clubs can post and share as they see fit. It is here (Please note you will have to sign up for a free google account if you do not already have one to access the document but it is easy to do). The flier contains my candidate statement and background. Please post it where your members will most likely see it. I hope by doing so we can increase the amount of members casting their vote in this election.

Sacramento and Bay Area Visits

2009-10-06T11:25:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I visited clubs in the Sacramento area on Saturday, and the Bay Area on Sunday. My first stop was at the El Dorado RC Fliers. They have a nice field in the rolling foothills between Sacramento, and the Sierra Nevada mountains.

I arrived early and met several members. I was told the majority of their members were participating in an open house at the Placerville Airport. At the airport they had a large static display of their models, and were planning a flight demonstration for the visiting public. They had an RC flight simulator hooked up to a large flat screen TV and were allowing visitors a turn at the controls. It was a great opportunity for the El Dorado RC Fliers to show their neighbors what modeling is about and they took good advantage of it.

Next stop was the Sacramento Area Modelers. They are located east of Sacramento, and have a large and well maintained field.

One of their passions is racing they had several members tuning up their planes for competitions that the club holds. All in all an active group of friendly fliers.

Nearby was the Mather Club. This weekend they were having a large helicopter fun fly. There were several hundred people in attendance from near and far.

It was a lot of fun watching the fliers demonstrate their skills. It looked like so much fun I may have to graduate from Real Flight to the real thing and add a helicopter to my stable.

Sunday morning I started at East Bay RC. This club will celebrate its 60th anniversary this month with a party at the aviation museum at the Oakland Airport.

My Father was a member of EBRC before I was born. He used a one button transmitter with a rubber band powered escapement to move the control surfaces. How times have changed. The EBRC members like to pick a model and many of them build it to compete with each other. Right now they are flying the Kaos 40. I got my Dad one for his birthday last July. Maybe we had better try it out with the experts.

Just 2 or so miles away were the Livermore Flying Electrons, so named because of their proximity to Lawrence Livermore National Lab. They have an immaculate paved runway and pit area, and even a dial up weather station on site.

They were telling me about a recent neighborhood appreciation day that they had. They invited the surrounding community out to watch the flying, they served a free lunch of burgers and dogs, and had several simulators set up so their visitors could give flying a try. More clubs should be as proactive as the LFE's are in building good community relations.

Last stop was Bayside RC in Fremont. This is a club that has thrived right in the heart of the industrial outskirts of Fremont. Unfortunately the land is owned by the Bay Area Rapid Transit District and BART wants to build a station on the site, so Bayside is actively looking for a new site.

They were having their monthly BBQ for their members. One of the smart ideas they had was openly welcoming RC cars on their site. They have a large race track and a sizeable amount of their members are car guys. This increased their membership, and at the same time built strong bonds with our ground based RC Brothers.

Well that's it for last weekend. I put over 400 miles on my car, but met a lot of great people. I wish I could cover every club in District X before the election but with 285 clubs, 5 weeks to go and only one of me I don't see me making it to everybody. So if I don't make it to your club before the election I apologize but as your District VP I will do everything in my power to get myself and the AVP's out in the field to show the AMA flag.

Meeting in San Jose Tonight

2009-10-01T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'll be meeting with the Santa Clara County Modelers tonight at 7pm. The meeting is here. Hope to see you there.

Valley Flyers Endorsement

2009-10-01T06:30:00.000-07:00

I have received the endorsement of one of the most significant clubs in Southern California, The San Fernando Valley Flyers. The San Fernando Valley Flyers have a long heritage in our sport. They are charter Club #152 and are celebrating their 59th year of promoting modeling. They operate from the Apollo XI Field in the Sepulveda Basin, it is a fantastic field, and is one of the only places in the area that allow jet operations. Their endorsement is here. I want to thank Jason Pakfar, Bob Joyce, and the rest of the Valley Fliers Board and members for their support.

My Weekend in Southern California

2009-09-29T06:49:00.001-07:00

I had a great time in Southern California. I met AMA members at four locations. I started with the Santa Fe Dam RC Modelers in Duarte. They were a great bunch of folks who made me feel very welcome. There was a large range of aircraft. Mark Thomas had a 150cc Yak that he was putting through its paces.

Mark was joined by his wife Jill.

Gary Stephens was flying a unique canard aircraft of his own design.

He also let me fly his 50cc Yak. It sure would have come in handy at last weekend's IMAC contest.

I met with Orange County Modelers at The Great Park. We had a good discussion and they had a lot of excellent questions. They are developing an RC field at the Great Park which is on the site of the former El Toro Marine Air Station. This is an artist's conception aerial view of the site. The tethered balloon is already there giving free rides. It appropriately looks like a giant orange floating in the sky. My thanks go to Joni Whitsitt for arranging the meeting.

On Sunday morning I started out at Prado Dam which is the site of the Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club. They have been around for over 50 years, and have two very active flying sites.

This is a club that is dedicated to bringing new members into the sport. They have a free learn to fly program that is first rate and just what we need.

There were all sorts of aircraft there ranging from small electrics to 40% models. It was great meeting Richard, Paul, Marty and all of the gang at Prado Dam.

Sunday afternoon was spent at Sepulveda Basin's Apollo XI field home to the San Fernando Valley Fliers. They have been around for almost 60 years! There was every type of model imaginable there. They had small foamies, scale models, trainers, and jets to name a just a few. I went over to their control line circle and enjoyed a lively discussion on that great sport. There was also a group of helicopters in action at their own flying area. They were having a combination swap meet, fun fly, and BBQ. The food was great thank you for lunch guys. Jason and all of the members of the SVF should be rightfully proud of what they have accomplished. After talking with some of the turbine pilots I learned that their field is one of the few for in the area that allows jets.

This field is a true asset to our community.

After spending a weekend in the South Land I was impressed with the dedication on display and the depth of history contained in the area in regards to our sport. I hope to spend many more enjoyable hours with my Southern California Brothers and Sisters.

How to Receive a Replacement Ballot

2009-09-29T06:01:00.000-07:00

In my meetings this weekend in southern California I was asked by some District X members if it was possible to get a replacement ballot for one that had been lost or destroyed. There is a procedure to get a replacement ballot, and it is simple. Call the AMA at 800-435-9262 select extension 290 and speak to Shawn Grubbs. Shawn will provide you with a replacement ballot.

To vote is like the payment of a debt—a duty never to be neglected, if its performance is possible. Rutherford B. Hayes 19th President of the United States

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Ballots are on the way

2009-09-25T09:10:00.001-07:00

Your AMA District X ballot is coming soon. The AMA sends the ballots with the renewal bill for your 2010 AMA dues. The ballots are mailed in batches from the east coast working towards the west. All ballots should be in the mail by October 2nd, and received by October 9th. If you don't get your ballot by the 9th give it a week and then if you still don't have it contact the AMA. The person handling the ballots is Shawn Grubbs and can be reached at 800-435-9262 (Ext. 290). Also if you receive a bill without a ballot you should ask the AMA for a ballot (assuming you live in District X of course). When you get your ballot be sure to vote, make your voice heard in choosing your AMA Leadership.

Any Questions

2009-09-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

Quite a few guests have wandered over to this Blog, but I haven't had many comments or questions. Each posting allows you to leave comments that I will respond to. You can also ask questions by emailing me at;

AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com

I'm very interested in hearing what you've got to say so don't be bashful let her rip.

How I Spent the Weekend

2009-09-22T09:32:00.001-07:00

This weekend I flew in an IMAC contest in Napa California. IMAC is typically large scale aerobatic models flying predetermined sequences in 5 different skill levels.

Although I don't have a typical IMAC airplane, I flew my Super Stearman. I had a great time.

It gave me a chance to meet modelers from all over California. I was exposed to the pressure of having to be ready to go right on cue.

Only a small fraction of AMA members participate in competitions. If you haven't done so yourself give it a try you'll have a great time.

Many thanks to Contest Director Mike Stoner, and the North Bay RC Club for putting on the show.

See you at the Tucson Shootout

2009-09-18T11:08:00.001-07:00

I will be at the Tucson Shootout on October 10th and 11th. I will have a space in the Vendor area and I will be circulating at the event. If you would like to set up a time to meet with me send me an email.

AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com

I'll see you in Tucson

Meetings in Phoenix

2009-09-18T10:53:00.001-07:00

I would like to organize a meeting similar to the Southern California Meetings in Phoenix on Friday October 9th. If there are any AMA members in Phoenix who would like to host a meeting at their field or clubhouse please contact me at

AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com

All you have to do is pick a time or times and I will get the word out to other clubs in the Phoenix area. I believe it is important for a District Vice-President to get around the entire District. Since I work for an airline that is going to make my opportunities to visit with my AMA Brothers and Sisters that much easier.

Southern California Meetings

2009-09-18T07:16:00.000-07:00

I am going to travel to the South Land on Saturday September 26 and Sunday the 27th. I will be available to meet AMA members. I will provide my plan to improve District X and give you a chance to tell me what issues are important to you, and to ask questions. The meetings are as follows;

Saturday the 26th in the morning from 9:30 to 12:30 I will be at the Santa Fe Dam RC Modelers field. Their website is

http://www.sfdrcm.com/

Directions to their field are;

North Entrance at Duarte Road and Highland Avenue

Start here

1. Get to the intersection of Duarte Rd. and Highland Ave. in the city of Duarte (about 0.3 mi. east of City of Hope)
2. Look for the 6 foot chain-link gate at the south-east corner of the intersection.
3. Unlock the silver padlock and drive through the gate.
4. Close and re-lock the padlock chain.
5. NOTE: If the gate is open when you arrive, leave it open.
6. Please observe the 15MPH Speed Limit inside the dam complex. It hurts, but do it.
7. Drive east 0.4 mile on the dirt road.
8. Just before reaching the overhead freeway transition lanes turn right at the stop sign.
9. Go 50 feet. Turn right again onto the paved dam-top road.
10. Follow this road 0.6 mile around the basin
11. Turn left onto the narrow access road and drive down into the basin
12. At the bottom, stay to the right (near the concrete dam) to avoid the runway and flying models.
13. Park on the gravel (if flying) or near the dam if only a spectator.

South Entrance at Arrow Highway South Bound on 605 Fwy

Start here

1. From the intersection of the 605 Fwy and Arrow Highway in the city of Irwindale, head east 0.3 mile.
2. Enter the small parking lot on the north side of Arrow Hwy.
3. Look for the 6 foot tall chain-link gate.
4. Unlock the silver padlock and drive through the gate.
5. Close the gate and re-lock the padlock chain.
6. NOTE: If the gate is open when you arrive, leave it open.
7. Please observe the 15MPH Speed Limit inside the dam complex. It hurts, but do it.
8. Watch out for pedestrians and bicyclist!
9. Follow the paved road westbound. It will lead you under the 605 Fwy.
10. After passing under the freeway, turn right on the service road and head northeast another 1.4 miles to the field.
11. As you drop down into the basin, stay to the left (near the concrete dam) to avoid the runway and flying models.
12. Park on the gravel (if flying) or near the dam if only a spectator.

South Entrance at Arrow Highway North Bound on 605 Fwy

Start here

1. From the intersection of the 605 Fwy and Live Oak Ave in the city of Irwindale, head east.
2. Turn left/North on Rivergrade Dr.
3. Turn West/left on Arrow Hwy and pass over the dam spillway.
4. Enter the small parking lot on the north side of Arrow Hwy (across from 1580 Arrow Hwy).
5. Look for the 6 foot tall chain-link gate.
6. Unlock the silver padlock and drive through the gate.
7. Close the gate and re-lock the padlock chain.
8. NOTE: If the gate is open when you arrive, leave it open.
9. Please observe the 15MPH Speed Limit inside the dam complex. It hurts, but do it.
10. Watch out for pedestrians and bicyclist!
11. Follow the paved road westbound. It will lead you under the 605 Fwy.
12. After passing under the freeway, turn right on the service road and head northeast another 1.4 miles to the field.
13. As you drop down into the basin, stay to the left (near the concrete dam) to avoid the runway and flying models.
14. Park on the gravel (if flying) or near the dam if only a spectator.

Saturday in the afternoon from 2:00 to 4:00 I will be at the Orange Coast Radio Control Club's field at the former El Toro Air Station their website is

http://www.ocrcc.com/

Their field is here.

Take the gravel road on your left leading to the runways it should be marked with a sign reading
“OCRCC”.

Sunday the 27th in the morning from 9:00 to 11:00 I will be at the Pomona Valley Model Airplane Club. Their website is

http://www.pvmac.com/index.htm

Directions to their field are at

http://www.pvmac.com/chino_direct.htm

Sunday in the afternoon from 12:00 to 2:00 I will be at the San Fernando Valley Radio Control Flyers Barbecue their website is

http://www.valleyflyers.com/

Directions to their field are here

If you are in Southern California please try to make it to one of these meetings. District elections come only once every three years, this is your chance to choose your AMA Leadership, to make an informed decision, and to make a difference. Ballots must be postmarked by November 13.

New Email Address

2009-09-14T09:20:00.001-07:00

I have created a special email address for anyone that would like to contact me regarding the election. Go ahead and ask some questions I'll post the question (unless you've asked me not to) and my reply here on the Blog.

It is;

AMADistrictXElection@gmail.com

I hope to hear from you soon.

Meeting Notice

2009-09-11T08:00:00.000-07:00

I will be attending the Woodland Davis Aeromodeler's meeting this monday September 14th. The meeting is being held at 127 Clanton Ave. Woodland, CA. at 7:00 PM. The Aeromodelers have invited anyone interested in meeting me in person to attend their meeting. So if you're in the area please stop by.

A meeting in Southern California is being arranged for September 26th. There will be several locations when the time and locations are finalized I will post them here. An October Meeting in Arizona is also in the planning stages.

Where It All Began

2009-09-08T06:32:00.000-07:00

I came across this photo today and it brought back a lot of memories. This photo was taken in 1966 at Buchanan Field in Concord, California. That is a 1939 Stinson 105. My Father restored this airplane from the ground up. It came to our house as a huge aircraft kit. The previous owner had torn it completely apart and it came to us in box after box of parts with no directions on how to reassemble it. My Father rebuilt it in our garage, a task I loved to watch. To give you an idea of how much times have changed, after the engine was hung on the bare fuselage we rolled it out into the street, tied the tail to a telephone pole and started the engine to test it right in front of our house; how do you think that would go over with the neighbors today? Back then nobody cared.

My Father is on the right, his partner Jack Linginger is next to him with me on the left. Jack is a fantastic painter who put the finish on the Stinson. That aircraft went on to win multiple trophies at fly-ins on the West Coast, and is a testament to the craftsmanship that my Father displays in everything he does.

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems

2009-08-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

The Small Unmanned Aircraft System or sUAS rulemaking by the FAA is clearly a significant issue for the AMA and the membership. When you read the FAA documentation it’s clear that their primary motivation is to avoid collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft.

What do I think the AMA should do? I think they are taking the right steps by first being involved in the Aviation Rulemaking Committee or ARC. A review of the ARC’s recommendation shows that the ARC members are in favor of granting more latitude to Model Aircraft operations that are conducted in accordance with an FAA accepted set of standards established and administered by a community based association. In other words an organization like the AMA and its Safety Code meet that standard. I haven’t seen any indication that a, “400 foot hard altitude limit at all times and in all locations” is being proposed. That doesn’t mean it is not possible that the AMA safety code would not require additional requirements.

We need to always remember the motive is to reduce the chance of a collision with a manned aircraft. If the AMA hasn’t already documented all known collisions between R/C aircraft and manned aircraft they should. They should identify any trends and determine if they resulted from ignoring the safety code or a lapse in the safety code. If it is the latter action should be taken to enhance the safety code. Having this information would provide analytical data for the cause of the collision, and I hope document how rare it is so the situation is put in perspective. That data will be important when responding to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking or NPRM. I respond to NPRM’s as part of my job. When the FAA receives responses they don’t give any weight to statements like, “this is unfair”, “we don’t need this rule”, and the like. They are looking for fact based responses that either disprove a point in the rule, or an alternative proposal that will result in the same level of safety. It sounds like the AMA is doing the right thing by reviewing the safety code, and preparing for the NPRM. We as members should be prepared to write our own responses to the NPRM, and to our legislature.

It is quite possible the AMA will need to add requirements to the safety code. I think a good one would be to require signage at fields alerting flyers of any known areas of manned flight in the area of the field. The AMA could start a new push to be vigilant about conflicts with manned aircraft, one that is featured in communication both written and on the internet. This could be similar to the membership drive that is now in full swing. That kind of proactive stance could not be faulted. In the end perhaps when we operate above some ceiling or speed an observer will be required to watch for conflicts with manned aircraft. We really don’t know it all depends on the NPRM.

Please feel free to post comments to this or any other post. If you have a question I'll do my best to answer it.

My Background

2009-08-25T06:42:00.000-07:00

The following are some of my experiences and accomplishments that I believe would make me a good District X Vice-President.

I've been modeling since I was a child. My Father got me started in modeling and it has held a special place in my heart ever since. I've built free flight, control line, and radio control models. I enjoy something in all aspects of our sport and I intend to represent all types of modeling with equal enthusiasm.

I have been a Design/Project Engineer for 22 years in the Aerospace Industry. I have worked in Defense, and am currently working at a major domestic airline. In defense I designed parts for two missiles used in the “Star Wars” program, and produced parts for the Space Shuttle as well. In the airline industry on the maintenance side I have been the Primary Engineer, on flight control systems, aircraft interiors, and aircraft structure. On the Operations side I was the Operational Engineer on a wide-bodied aircraft, and as such worked with our Chief Pilots to maintain and modify the aircraft flight manual used by all of our pilots. During my career I have worked a number of long-term projects that required supervising multiple participants to ensure project goals and timelines were met. I believe that translates directly in to skills that an effective DVP would need.

In addition I have owned and operated my own Video Production Company and understand the skills need to be a successful entrepreneur. How to market my products which I think are the skills that our local clubs need to employ to market themselves to their communities to win and retain flying sites.

I’ve spent my whole life enthralled by all aspects of aviation. It was this love of aviation that prompted me to secure a Bachelor’s of Science in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of California. I also have a Commercial Multi-Engine Pilot’s License with Instrument Privileges.

Ultimately the members of District X need to choose the candidate that they feel is best qualified to be elected. If the Members choose me I would consider it an honor to serve District X as their Vice-President.

My Candidate Statement

2009-08-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

The AMA By-Laws allow Vice-Presidential candidates to submit candidate statements not to exceed 1560 characters. This is mine, you'll see it in Model Aviation Magazine along with your ballot be sure to vote. If you would like to read a more in depth statement please click here.

As a candidate in last year’s District X election I met many outstanding modelers. It was the experience of a lifetime. Jim Giffin and I had the closest election in AMA history; we were only 34 votes apart, a virtual tie. It was 34 votes in a district with 28,000 members, but those 34 votes elected Jim. I wished him all the best. Sadly Jim passed away in January; we are now having a special election to determine who will lead District X.

I believe my combination of modeling, aviation and business experience makes me the best qualified candidate to be District X VP.

My top 3 issues remain the same; help clubs keep their flying fields, improve the District X web presence, and, establish an AMA western United States flying site in District X.

I value the support I got from all of you who voted for me last year and I will work to earn your vote again. Please ask your friends to vote for me too.

For those of you who voted for Jim please take another look at me. I have a website that details all of the reasons I believe I am the best candidate to be Vice-President and would sincerely appreciate your vote.

For those who did not vote last year because you feel it makes no difference who is elected, I understand your frustration. All I can say is please give me a chance to prove that the right person can make a difference. I have big plans for District X and can’t wait to pursue them. Join with me and cast your vote

Read more at;

http://ama-district-x-election.blogspot.com

Happy Landings,

Lawrence Tougas

AMA 232

P.S. Make a difference. Vote today!!!

Welcome

2009-08-18T06:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Blog. I was chosen as the challenger candidate for the AMA District X Vice-President election. I would like to use this as a way to communicate with AMA members about the upcoming election. The AMA will publish the formal Candidate's Statements in the October Issue of Model Aviation magazine. The problem with that is that space is limited and it is very hard to discuss all of the worthy issues in the available space. So that's what we are going to do here.