In the Air-2012/04

If only one thing could be said about
the jacket, it is pink—very, very pink.
The pink jacket was a hallmark of the
Trans-America Relay Race held in
1979 and the Trans-America Rally in
1981.
Former AMA president, Johnny
Clemens, dreamed of the possibility of
a race across the US while flying model
airplanes. The dream became reality
after Bob and Doris Rich completed
their cross-country model airplane trip
in 1975. The Trans-Am Relay Race
consisted of multiple, short-distance
flights between overnights and pit
stops.
Teams were made up of smaller local
teams that competed while in their
part of the country. Each smaller team
was responsible for its own airplane,
equipment, and race vehicles.
Pilots flew the models with the help
of a spotter, while seated in a car that
another team member was driving.
Drivers were not allowed to exceed
55 mph and CDs ensured that the
rule was followed. A lead car radioed
information to the car with the pilot.
The 1979 race drew 427 official
entrants, 46 CDs, and covered 3,300
miles.
With the number of people
involved, the color of the jackets was
a necessity. A March 1982 article
describing the 1981 rally noted, “Pink
jackets everywhere. It made the rally
members very identifiable, a very
definite help to the officials.”
The jackets allowed other motorists
to see them when they had to make a
Membership news and updates
from AMA Headquarters intheA ir AMA Thanks Its
Lifetime Supporters!
The Academy recently welcomed Life
Members Juan Fernando Yoshikay
(Douglas AK) and David Thompson
(Waxahachie TX).
For information about becoming
a Life Member, contact AMA
Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.
—AMA Membership Department
This jacket from the 1981 race belonged to John Worth.
Left: Bliss Teague donated his jacket from the 1979
Trans-Am Relay.
History Preserved
pit stop along the highway. Printing,
decals, and patches on the jackets
helped advertise Circus Circus Casinos
which sponsored the event, and the
Muscular Dystrophy Association,
the beneficiary of the funds raised in
1979. The National Easter Seal Society
benefited from the funds in 1981.
Bliss Teague, a CD for the 1979 race
and a donor of one of the jackets in
the collection, noted that the jacket
was “not something I would wear
anywhere else, but it was fine during
the event.” Judging by the condition
of the other donated jackets, this was
probably a common sentiment.
The museum is proud to have
the jackets that represent the Trans-
America races, but it still is a lot of
pink.
—National Model Aviation
Museum staff
www.ModelAviation.com April 2012 Model Aviation 11
First on the list of spreading holiday
cheer was the Skymasters RC Club
of Michigan, which participated in
Trees for Troops on December 2,
2011. This is a nationwide effort
to make sure that every military
family has a Christmas tree. A
large contingent of Skymasters
members loaded trees from fellow
member Frank Genovese’s Candy
Cane Christmas Tree Farm into a
waiting FedEx semitrailer for further
distribution around the country.
On December 3, Skymasters
members again participated in
Operation Good Cheer. This program,
in place since 1971, distributes toys
to abused and neglected children
throughout Michigan.
This year the need is greater than
ever; more than 4,500 Michigan
children received Christmas gifts.
Toys and bikes were flown by private
aircraft to distribution airports across
the state. Local organizations got the
presents to the foster care, residential
treatment facilities, and group homes
where the children live.
Copilot Gary Weaks and his wife,
Phyllis, both employees of DuPont
Automotive Paint, made it a family
affair. DuPont employees sponsored
50 children, obtaining and wrapping
gifts from the children’s wish lists. At
the Pontiac Airport, Phyllis worked
at Pentastar Aviation, loading some of
the larger aircraft to take gifts to the
Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
The backseat was removed from
the Cessna 182 and Gary loaded bikes
and presents for the flights he made.
Gary and a fellow Skymasters pilot
flew three flights, more than 4.5 flight
hours—500 air miles—delivering
“Good Cheer” to some Michigan
children.
Each Tuesday all winter, area
modelers have the opportunity to fly
in one of the best indoor facilities in
the country—the Ultimate Soccer
Arenas in Pontiac, Michigan.
During the holiday season,
Ultimate Soccer sponsors a local
community organization. This year
it was Lighthouse Path, a facility
that provides shelter and support for
abused women and children.
On Tuesday, December 20, the
modelers who flew during the indoor
flying session provided 40 gifts and
$1,000 in cash. One anonymous
modeler contributed an additional
$250 after the event was over.
Photos are by Greg and Alyssa
Cardillo, Fred Engelman, and Joe Hass.
—Joe Hass
Skymasters Radio Control Club
of Michigan
Left: Skymasters’ outgoing president Greg Cardillo, lower
right, was part of the presentation at Ultimate Soccer.
Below: Some of the Skymasters
taking a well-deserved break
during the Trees for Troops
project.
Left: Gary Weaks and volunteers
delivered toys for Operation
Good Cheer.
Skymasters Spread Holiday Cheer
12 Model Aviation April 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
inthe A ir
During October 21-24, 2011, a grassroots
partnership of the primary
sporting soaring associations in the US,
with the help of Kitty Hawk-based
First Flight Foundation, celebrated the
centennial of Orville Wright’s 9-minute,
45-second record soaring flight, set on
October 24, 1911. Soaring100 attracted
more than 10,000 visitors to the Outer
Banks, North Carolina, venues of
Jockey’s Ridge State Park and Wright
Brothers National Memorial.
“We were overwhelmed by the
attendance,” remarked John Harris,
president of the Rogallo Foundation.
“People are still enthralled by the Wright
brothers’ story and excited about sport
soaring, whether with sailplanes, hang
gliders, paragliders, or models.”
“The goal of Soaring100, to complete
the story of the Wrights’ experiments
on the Outer Banks and instill greater
interest in the role of gliders over
the last century, was well received,”
added event chairman Jim Short. “This
was a remarkable grass-roots effort
that happened because of generosity,
volunteerism, and enthusiasm of all
involved.”
Aviation Group Attracts 10,000
to Wright Soaring Centennial
Youth activities
included handlaunched
gliderand
kite-building
workshops, with
opportunities to
fly them. Photo
by John Moody.
Art Greenfield, NAA Director of Contest and Records, addresses
attendees at the dedication of Jockey’s Ridge State Park in Nags
Head NC as a National Landmark of Soaring, with (L to R) John Harris,
president of Fight Flight Foundation; Rich Hass, president of USHPA; Al
Tyler, chairman of the Board SSA; and Bliss Teague, AMA District IV vice
president. Photo by Phil Umphres.
Crowds gather for the official centennial ceremony on Monday morning, October 24, at the Wright
Brothers Memorial Pavilion. A 1911 glider replica sets on the right with historic hang gliders
suspended above. Photo by Wolf Elber.
Kicking off
the event was
the dedication
of a National
Landmark
of Soaring,
coordinated by
the National
Soaring Museum
at Jockey’s Ridge. The Landmark plaque
honors those who have flown the Outer
Banks dunes, including the Wrights,
Francis Rogallo, father of the modern
hang glider, and modern hang glider and
paraglider pilots.
Dr. Tom D. Crouch of the National
Air and Space Museum coordinated
a historical symposium focusing
on the role of gliders in the earliest
development of the airplane, possibly
the first such event. A Legends of Hang
Gliding symposium, organized by John
Harris, was another first at which hanggliding
pioneers gathered to discuss the
development of their sport.
“We were indeed pleased that these
unique events occurred at Soaring100,”
said Lola Hilton, executive director of
the First Flight Foundation, the lead
partner for the event. “And there was
more,” she added. “Individual speakers
included the NASA Space Shuttle pilot
Susan Kilrain, National Park Service
Interpreter Darrel Collin, who was the
National Soaring Museum’s prestigious
Barnaby lecturer, and Amanda Wright
Lane, great-grandniece of the Wrights,
and featured speaker at the October 24
formal recognition of the Wright record.”
The flying of sailplanes at Wright
Brothers National Memorial and hang
gliders at Jockey’s Ridge State Park
dominated much of the program on
Saturday and Sunday. At the Wright
Memorial, a flying Showcase of Soaring
History featured 15 historically significant
sailplanes and motorgliders taking off
from the First Flight Airstrip and landing
on the nearby historic grounds of the
national park. After landing, the pilots
discussed soaring and showed their
aircraft to visitors.
Static displays included a just-completed
replica of the Wright 1911 glider built by
Rick Young of Richmond, Virginia, and
another, as-yet uncovered, version built
by family and friends in honor of the late
Jim Dayton of Mechanicsville, Maryland.
Other displays included significant
sailplanes and hang gliders and a World
War II military gliding exhibit.
A video explaining the history and
reasons for the Wright 1911 soaring
experiments, commissioned by the Fight
Flight Foundation and sponsored in part
by a grant from the Outer Banks Visitors
Bureau, premiered at the Wright Brothers
pavilion.
Formalities and speakers including Mike
Murray, superintendent of the Outer
Banks Group of the National Park Service,
concluded the ceremonies on October 24.
For more information, visit www.
soaring100.com.
—Jim Short
Event Chairperson