SAM 27 Goes in a New Direction

Lots to celebrate in 2011. Everyone was so happy for Rich Minnick for his BIG WIN – not just the winner of the RC class -- but Snow White was the overall winner, of the SAM Champs Concours.

You can’t mistake the difference between the solid applause for a job well done, and the TUMULTOUS APPLAUSE for Rich at our last monthly evening meeting.

But to get the full flavor, just look back a few years. You could go to the field for weeks in a row without seeing an Old Timer fly. You could’ve wondered what kinda club is this?

Then heavy promotion of Speed 400 got a lot more Old Timer planes built. Then Rich Minnick inspired everyone by bringing more and more and bigger and bigger planes to the field. It took a whole team of test pilots -- Andrew Tickle, Mike Clancy, Don Bekins and Chip Buss to flight test them for him.

Last month new members watched Chip make the maiden flight of Rich’s Snow White. They see him as a veteran Old Timer flyer. But the facts are that both Chip and Rich competed at SAM 27's main event, Crash & Bash, for the very first time this September. Then in October they both went to the SAM Champs, for the first time.

Doing things for the first time inspires others to do things for the fist time too. This year at Crash & Bash half of the competitors were from SAM 27 – much higher than in recent years. And the number of spectators and competitors from SAM 27 at the Champs was way up too. Of course it’s well known that SAM 27 will go a long way for a good party.