By Brandon Koch
Best wishes to all of you this holiday season.
This was contributed by Mark Duff, who reported on two Riley County Flyers’ events that were held last June in Manhattan, Kansas.
Our club, the Riley County Flyers, has held an annual fun-fly for more than 30 years. We invite clubs from around the area and invite our local community of Manhattan. We put on some demonstrations of various electric- and gas-powered airplanes and supply food for those attending.
This year was special, in that we unveiled a new sign to officially name the field after one of our founding members, Gary Niehaus. Gary was instrumental in getting the club started, and many of the current members were his students. Gary was also a tireless advocate for model aviation in our area.
One week later, our club held its inaugural Flyers Bootcamp for new pilots. We recruited youth from the area for a two-day flying adventure. We started them out on a RealFlight simulator, and then buddy-boxed them on trainers with our instructors. Twelve young fliers attended, and three joined the club as new members. The event was a great success and we are planning the next Flyers Bootcamp.
The Rapid City Propbusters, in Rapid City, South Dakota, usually holds its Air Rally in July. In 2024, because of high temperatures and fire danger, it was moved to the end of September. That turned out to be a great change because more pilots made the trip. This is an event that I often attend. In 2024, the pilot count included fliers from five states, and included a few of the District IX associate vice presidents.
The Propbuster field is not far from Rapid City. The space is large and conducive to all kinds of flying. There is also parking for those who want to stay on-site, as I did. Another big plus is a visit to Who’s Hobby House in downtown Rapid City. This hobby shop opened its doors 75 years ago and is one of the best I’ve seen. Owner Clancy Kingsbury provided on-site delivery for parts and pieces during the four-day event and donated a couple of airplanes to the raffle.
Speaking of the raffle, it was loaded. Among the many prizes the club offered was a Horizon Hobby Cub Crafters Carbon Cub FX-3, including a 120cc motor.
Great job, Propbusters. I believe this was the 16th year of this event.