I think that all the regulars in this forum know where I stand with AMA and clubs. Since relocating to Oregon from California I have memberships in 4 different clubs. The social aspect of the hobby for me and many others is just as rewarding as the building/flying. As someone who has had a love for model aviation for as long as I remember and an AMA member for 45 years, I feel that it’s this social interaction that is the heart of the hobby that will keep it alive. I am reminded of this each time I attend an event that is hosted by an AMA club.

This brings me to one of my clubs annual events. Each year Typically in April ( we had a couple of rain postponements) we host a winter build challenge. The Idea is during the winter a participant will post pictures of their build progress on the clubs FB page. Then come fly them at the event. All participants win a prize of a new kit to build for next year. A good number of those kits get given to any of the youth members in attendance. This coupled with the enthusiasm that these types of events creates goes a long way to promote the hobby. Sadly we do loose some guys along the way and this year we had a moment of silence to honor a couple members who left us this year. A few random shots during the day.

A few more.

Love that new Era III. Good to see active clubs.

carl

Is that an ECOMRC Howard Ike in the first picture?

I believe so.

Thanks for the reply. Still have mine, and it is still a favorite. I take it to as many giant scale fly-ins in the Midwest as possible.

Looked like a nice turnout. Are you doing it again this winter?

Yes, this is an annual thing. Several club members have already posted progress pictures. I got an early start on mine as well.

NOW WAIT A MINUTE!!!! THAT'S NOT COMPOSITE!!!!!
What bipe is that? Looks good, so far anyway

LOL, I occasionally build something out of wood. It’s an old Bucker Jungmeister that started as a kit from the English company Complete a Pac. I started the build over 15 years ago and stopped at the wings because they had a flat bottomed airfoil. A few moves later and the box with all the wing parts was nowhere to be found. While building the red Aeromaster pictured above, t occurred to me that the Aeromaster wings if extended one bay would work great. So after cutting all the parts, I now have wings. Hopefully construction will get finished over the holidays and I can move forward with covering.

That's a nice looking biplane. Looks like you're almost ready to cover it.

It’s been covered and flown. It’s a keeper.