was limited to 60 contestants—15 in each
of four classes—but that number had
already been exceeded well before the
end of 2004. Last year a number of
people were left out by the limit, so
contestants registered early for this
year’s event. Increasing the entry limit
was not possible because of conflicts
with other events scheduled on the same
days.
Cooperation between categories is one
of the highlights of the Nats, and this
situation was no different. The solution
was to swap the dates between the Scale
Aerobatics events and the RC Combat
events, allowing Scale Aerobatics to use
more flightlines. This permits an increase
in the number of contestants in each class
of Scale Aerobatics.
It’s great to see how well the different
event planners cooperated to make the
Nats work. Thank you to all of those
involved for working out this solution.
The new dates for Scale Aerobatics
are July 5-8, 2005, and RC Combat has
been rescheduled for July 13-16, 2005. If
you plan to fly in either of these events,
please note the date change from the
original schedule.
I seem to be getting more E-mails from
people who are encountering restrictions
to what types of models are allowed on
their club flying sites. Often this seems to
HEY, it’s me again. I’m baaack. The
AMA election is over and the
membership has elected me to another
term as AMA president.
My opponents in the election are
strong supporters of AMA and conducted
themselves in an appropriate manner
during the election; however, the runnerup
in the election, Dave Mathewson,
stated that he was sending lawyers to
Florida and Ohio; I guess one wanted to
go to Disney World and the other wanted
to spend Thanksgiving in Ohio.
I was able to spend Thanksgiving with
my family for the first time in several
years because we convinced CIAM (the
International Aeromodeling Commission
of the FAI) to schedule its meeting
during the week after Thanksgiving
rather than conflicting with this
American holiday.
With the election and the recent hiring
of Don Koranda as Executive Director,
we will have four new faces sitting
around the table at the next Executive
Council (EC) meeting. This is healthy for
the organization.
The new vice presidents (VPs)—Andy
Argenio in District I, Tony Stillman in
District V, and Mark Smith in District
IX—will bring fresh perspectives to the
leadership of AMA. Welcome aboard.
We owe a debt to those outgoing VPs
who have served the members well. The
next time you see Don Krafft, Judi
Dunlap, or Russ Miller, thank them for
their hard work on your behalf.
RC Scale Aerobatics, or IMAC
(International Miniature Aerobatic Club),
events are growing by leaps and bounds.
Scheduling for the Nats has been changed
to accommodate a greater number of
contestants.
In the past, entry in Scale Aerobatics
Dave Brown AMA president
President’s Perspective
February 2005 5
This is healthy for
the organization.
involve clubs that exclude helicopters
from flying at their field, but an
occasional situation crops up with gliders
as well.
I encourage clubs to try to provide for
all of their members’ interests in
aeromodeling by exploring ways in which
the incompatibilities between disciplines
can be overcome.
Sometimes a slight adjustment in the
field layout can accommodate the
“minority” categories. Scheduling of days
on which those activities are allowed can
be another potential solution. Working
together to effect a solution would be the
best remedy, but for a variety of reasons
this is sometimes impossible.
It’s funny that if the number of club
members involved in the “different”
activity is just one or two, it seldom
creates a problem; nor is it a problem if
half of the club flies that type of model.
The problem seems to lie between those
two extremes.
Restricting the flying site to certain
types of models is a common requirement
in order to allow for use of that site.
Many sites are restricted to Sailplanes,
electric models, or CL models, and some
to helicopters. This is a matter of
practicality and is often a necessity.
In any case, it is not a matter of
discrimination. AMA does not support
any form of discrimination, particularly
those involving the federally protected
categories of people. Restricting a site to
certain types of models is common, and it
is not a violation of the nondiscrimination
requirements for an AMA charter. MA
Til next month ...
SINCE 1936
Dave Brown
AMA president
[email protected]
Edition: Model Aviation - 2005/02
Page Numbers: 5