Time Is Running Out for AMA’s Membership Drive!
There is less than a month left for you, your club, your hobby shop, or your district to participate in the AMA’s inaugural membership drive: Bringing Modelers Together Begins With You. The program will expire on September 14.
Not only is this an opportunity to strengthen your organization by recruiting new members, but it is also an opportunity for you, the AMA member, to make a difference—and you will be rewarded for doing so.
For bringing new modelers into the AMA, awards will be given in four divisions: members, clubs, districts, and hobby shops. Prizes include individual Life Memberships, recognition in MA and Park Pilot magazines, free advertising in MA for hobby shops, and more!
Leaders (as of July 15)
- Member to Member: 898437 of District IX
- Club to Club Alpha Division: Seldom Seen Flyers Club of Kentucky (District VI)
- Club to Club Bravo Division: Gulf Coast Gulls of Texas (District VIII)
- Club to Club Charlie Division: Kankakee Valley Model Flyers of Illinois (District VI)
- Club to Club Delta Division: Sun Lakes Model Airplane Club of Arizona (District X)
- Club to Club Echo Division: Johnson City Radio Controllers of Tennessee (District VII)
- District to District: District XI
- Hobby Shop to Hobby Shop: Walt’s Hobby Shop of Syracuse, New York (District II)
Congratulations to the leaders. To see the full listing of the results so far, go to www.modelaircraft.org/membershipdrive/leaders.aspx.
There’s still time left. Get out there and remember that Bringing Modelers Together Begins With You!
—AMA Marketing Department
Educational Facility Groundbreaking at AMA Headquarters
The National Model Aviation Museum broke ground Monday, July 6, 2009, at 10 a.m. for the new Claude McCullough Educational Facility at the Academy of Model Aeronautics in Muncie, Indiana.
The museum, which houses the world's largest collection of model aircraft, recently received a $152,000 bequest from Model Aviation Hall of Fame member Claude McCullough to enhance its educational and community outreach programs, according to a press release.
"This new facility will be a terrific resource for us to better reach and teach school-age children with hands-on learning activities," Museum Director Michael Smith said in the release. "It will also allow us to host a variety of other events, including offering meeting space and tours for area community organizations."
The new 2,120-square-foot addition will serve up to 100 people at a time for general instruction, building models, demonstrations, and learning about aviation.
Donor Claude McCullough (1922–2008) bequeathed more than three-quarters of the expected $200,000 cost for the facility. The museum is seeking additional donors to support the full cost. McCullough was a writer, photographer, designer, competitor, and experimenter in model aviation dating back to the 1930s. He was inducted into the Model Aviation Hall of Fame in 1991.
—From The Star Press, Muncie, Indiana
World Tour Tiger Moth on Display
A world tour that included at least one stop in every state required the involvement of the police and ended with an exhibit in a museum. It was the Tiger Moth World Tour.
In January 2004, the idea of flying a GWS Pico Tiger Moth in every state in the country was born on RCGroups. The plan was to mail the airplane, with all the gear required to fly it, to each registered pilot, who would then log the flight in the included book and sign the model.
Gene Carr and Luis Hoyos in Thonotosassa, Florida, began assembling the Tiger Moth and gear while a sign-up list was started on RCGroups. Pilots enlisted online and used the honor system.
As pilots received the aircraft, they were to notify the trip coordinator, Keith Wilson. Once the model was flown, it was to be repackaged in the shipping box and mailed to the next pilot on the list. Each flier was responsible for the shipping costs needed to get the package to the next person.
The first flight was made on March 7, 2004, in Thonotosassa, and it would be one of 86; the last one took place July 13, 2007, in Honolulu, Hawaii. During that time, the Moth traveled throughout the U.S. and Canada.
In slightly more than three years, it had 42 entries in the repair log and a stint in jail. Most of the repairs were minor and understandable for a foam airplane that was being constantly flown and transported. However, the stint in jail was not foreseen.
When the Tiger Moth reached a pilot in Kahoka, Missouri, all contact was lost. Many attempts were made, but a few tense days ended with Officer Ryan Lewis’s intervention. The model was turned in to the police department and spent the night in jail before Officer Lewis shipped it to the next person on the list.
It was hoped that once the tour finished, the National Model Aviation Museum in Muncie, Indiana, would accept the aircraft. This dream was realized when the Tiger Moth, logbook, and everything related to the tour were donated to the museum on June 24, 2008.
The Tiger Moth now sits on display, wearing the signatures of all who flew it. It is a testament to the imagination and fellowship that aeromodelers can share, however far apart they are, via an online forum.
—Jay Smith, MA Assistant Editor
Greater Southwest Aero Modelers TAG Day Report
The Greater Southwest Aero Modelers of Fort Worth, Texas, held its third annual TAG Day on Saturday, April 4, 2009. The TAG, or the Take Off And Grow Program, is an opportunity for your club to partner with AMA to host an extensive one-day introduction to model aviation; the intent is to draw friends and neighbors into our hobby.
The temperature was mild for the event, in the high 70s, but the wind was another story. It blew a steady 15 mph out of the southwest, with gusts up to 30 mph.
Greater Southwest Aero Modelers members started arriving before 9 a.m. to prepare for the guests, who were invited to attend at 10 a.m. As the visitors showed up, Tom Russell signed them in and club members put on RC aerobatic and CL demonstrations. The final guest count was 44.
After the attendees' arrival, we held a ground school instructed by Chuck Rovell. When he finished, Lawrence Harvell demonstrated a toilet-paper drop. That was followed by a more serious demonstration of 3-D maneuvers with a 40%-scale Extra 300 by JJ Jennings and his son, Jonathan, of the Texas Heat Wave Aerobatic Team.
Joey Ducet performed a thrilling demonstration of helicopter aerobatics. All the while, Bill Wilson and his crew demonstrated CL airplanes and gave instruction.
At close to noon, a hamburger and hot dog lunch was served free to guests by Lee Rice, Jim Keller, Herb Roundy, and a very nice lady whose name I failed to learn.
Buddy-box training began after lunch. We had four trainers in the air for almost three hours. Each guest flew at least twice. Max Ficken, Joel Jerabeck, Walt Fisher, and I conducted this part of the program. Several club members, including Chris Proctor, Bruce Gifford, Lawrence Harvell, and others, assisted each instructor.
Our guest of honor was Jack Hogan, AMA's District VIII associate vice president for east and north Texas. Roy Baker and Walt Fisher took pictures to record the day's events.
During a break from the activities, we held a drawing for a Hangar 9 FS One flight simulator, which was donated through Roy's Hobbies. The winner was 11-year-old Megan Harshaw of Fort Worth.
We had a great day of introducing youngsters to our hobby. We hope they had a good time and will remember their experience. To learn about the AMA TAG Program, go to www.modelaircraft.org/education/09tagannounce.aspx.
—Frank Rovell, District VIII
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
