In the Air - 2012/08

As we develop the AMA Flight School
website, the conversation at our last
Education Committee meeting centered
on the idea that content is everything.
One of the best types of content we can
have is video, so we’re holding a video
contest of material generated by the best
in model aviation: our members!
Here’s how it works:
Categories:
• Best Youth member 3-D extreme
• Best beginners’ how-to videos for RC,
park fl yers, CL, helicopters, and FF
• Best Indoor RC video
• Best Indoor FF video
• Best club promotional video
• Best AMA recruiting video—club
or individual
• Best aeromodeling safety video
The deadline is September 30, 2012.
Each category winner will receive
a “beginner” radio system and be
recognized in Model Aviation. Judging
will be done online by the Education
Committee. Dave Gee, MA safety
columnist and member of the Education
Committee, will offer a demo video for
you to refer to. Search for “StukaDave”
on YouTube.
Send an email to billp@modelaircraft.
org, with “video contest” in the subject
and the YouTube link in the email body.
Everyone loves a good contest. Get
started!
—AMA Education Committee
Sonoran Desert Flyers’ Buy, Build,
and Fly Event
An Arizona club has found a way to
introduce new model aircraft owners
to the world of aeromodeling and the
AMA, while raising money for charity.
The concept of the Buy, Build, and Fly
event is the brainchild of the Sonoran
Desert Flyers club of Oro Valley,
Arizona. After holding two successful
events, the club created a guide to
encourage and help other clubs do the
same.
The inaugural Buy, Build, and Fly
event was held January 15 and 16,
2011. The event was designed to help
those who received model aircraft as
Christmas presents assemble, trim, and
fl y them.
There were 10 participants and
40 spectators at the fi rst event. The
second year it was held, the number
of participants and spectators more
than doubled and they collected 230
pounds of food and $73.20 in cash for
the Interfaith Community Services food
bank.
The event is designed to assist
potential pilots in making the right
purchases in terms of appropriate trainer
aircraft and radio systems; to assist in the
assembly, setup, and trim of the aircraft;
and for qualifi ed fl ight instructors to
teach the pilots how to fl y.
“It’s a simple idea, but really, it’s a
brilliant idea,” said Lawrence Tougas,
District X vice president. “It’s [a] smart
way to expose more people to model
aviation.” Lawrence added that he
believes an event,
such as the one
created by the
Sonoran Desert
Flyers, could
also be held for
potential CL or FF
modelers.
Robert “Bob”
Schumann, vice
president of the
Sonoran Desert
Flyers, explained
how the concept
of the AMAsponsored
event
was formed:
“I had seen a few folks come to our
fi eld with Christmas presents of radio
control model aircraft and they and their
parents/grandparents were stumped by
the project after they opened the box.
As we develop the AMA Flight School
website, the conversation at our last
Education Committee meeting centered
on the idea that content is everything.
One of the best types of content we can
have is video, so we’re holding a video
contest of material generated by the best
in model aviation: our members!
Here’s how it works:
Categories:
• Best Youth member 3-D extreme
• Best beginners’ how-to videos for RC,
park fl yers, CL, helicopters, and FF
• Best Indoor RC video
• Best Indoor FF video
• Best club promotional video
• Best AMA recruiting video—club
or individual
• Best aeromodeling safety video
The deadline is September 30, 2012.
Each category winner will receive
a “beginner” radio system and be
recognized in Model Aviation. Judging
will be done online by the Education
Committee. Dave Gee, MA safety
columnist and member of the Education
Committee, will offer a demo video for
you to refer to. Search for “StukaDave”
on YouTube.
Send an email to billp@modelaircraft.
org, with “video contest” in the subject
and the YouTube link in the email body.
Everyone loves a good contest. Get
started!
—AMA Education Committee
Sonoran Desert Flyers’ Buy, Build,
and Fly Event
An Arizona club has found a way to
introduce new model aircraft owners
to the world of aeromodeling and the
AMA, while raising money for charity.
The concept of the Buy, Build, and Fly
event is the brainchild of the Sonoran
Desert Flyers club of Oro Valley,
Arizona. After holding two successful
events, the club created a guide to
encourage and help other clubs do the
same.
The inaugural Buy, Build, and Fly
event was held January 15 and 16,
2011. The event was designed to help
those who received model aircraft as
Christmas presents assemble, trim, and
fl y them.
There were 10 participants and
40 spectators at the fi rst event. The
second year it was held, the number
of participants and spectators more
than doubled and they collected 230
pounds of food and $73.20 in cash for
the Interfaith Community Services food
bank.
The event is designed to assist
potential pilots in making the right
purchases in terms of appropriate trainer
aircraft and radio systems; to assist in the
assembly, setup, and trim of the aircraft;
and for qualifi ed fl ight instructors to
teach the pilots how to fl y.
“It’s a simple idea, but really, it’s a
brilliant idea,” said Lawrence Tougas,
District X vice president. “It’s [a] smart
way to expose more people to model
aviation.” Lawrence added that he
believes an event,
such as the one
created by the
Sonoran Desert
Flyers, could
also be held for
potential CL or FF
modelers.
Robert “Bob”
Schumann, vice
president of the
Sonoran Desert
Flyers, explained
how the concept
of the AMAsponsored
event
was formed:
“I had seen a few folks come to our
fi eld with Christmas presents of radio
control model aircraft and they and their
parents/grandparents were stumped by
the project after they opened the box.
Richard L. Smith: 1924-2012
“Overall, it has been a wonderful
life being an addict for aviation,”
wrote Richard Smith, in his 2003
autobiography.
Richard “Spider” Smith was born
in Rochester, New York, on June 3,
1924. Throughout his aviation career,
he achieved many accomplishments
including the development of fl ying
sites, forming clubs, and even initiating
contests.
Richard’s fi rst model was a Spirit of St.
Louis, carved by his father in the 1930s.
In approximately 1938, his parents
bought him a Junior Brown engine
and his godfather gave him a kit for a
Megow’s Commander. He attended his
fi rst contest in 1939 at the Bell Aircraft
Field in Buffalo, New York, where he
became an AMA member.
In February 1944 Richard went
overseas as a B-17 pilot. He completed
35 missions in the B-17 with the 303rd
Bomb Group, 8th Army Air Force. He
12 Model Aviation AUGUST 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
inthe A ir
volunteered for a second tour piloting
P-51s as a combat scout, completing 25
missions before he was forced to bail out
when his P-51 engine caught fi re over
Belgium in 1945. His pilot experience
earned him the Distinguished Flying
Cross, seven air medals, and the Purple
Heart.
In 1952 Richard left the Air Force to
raise his six sons and returned to work
at Eastman Kodak as a toolmaker. He
also worked at Fender and Northrop
as a manufacturing engineer. In his
work career, Richard had nine patents
at Kodak, two at Fender, and two at
Northrop. He fi nally had enough of the
workload, and retired in 1988.
In 1954, Richard approached Kodak
personnel about forming an RC model
club. The company agreed and offered
the club a fl ying fi eld that was also open
to non-Kodak employees. The site was
aptly named Kodak Field.
Richard was involved in many
facets of model aviation. He fl ew FF,
CL, gliders, and RC—participating
in many Pylon events. His club, the
Radio Control Club of Rochester, held
the inaugural New York State Radio
Control Championships in 1960, fl ying
Aerobatics and Pylon. Along with his
club, Richard bought 200 Delta Darts
and started a program with the city
playgrounds department, teaching kids
to build and fl y.
Using his
experience as a
manufacturing
engineer,
Richard
built his own
vacuumformed
plastic sheet
system that he
demonstrated
at club
meetings.
He also built
one of the
fi rst hot wire
foam-cutting
systems and
demonstrated
it at the
Buffalo
Symposium in
1964.
Richard was a major force in starting
fi ve fl ying sites and also helped form the
United Pylon Racing Circuit in 1968,
consisting of
members from
Canada and
upstate New York.
After a move
to California,
Richard sparked
an interest in
Giant Scale. He
cofounded the
Century Flyers
and fl ew with
the Southern
California
Airplane Model
Pilots’ Society.
Richard built a
Giant Scale Zero,
which he fl ew with the
Southern California Show
Team.
Richard was a CD, the
president of several clubs,
a newsletter editor for 43
years, and served as District
II contest coordinator for
eight years.
Read more about
Richard’s life and
accomplishments from
his point of view in his
autobiography available
through the AMA History Program
at www.modelaircraft.org/museum/
whatshere/history.aspx.
—Ashley Rauen, Communications
Specialist
An Evening with a Legend
Elizabeth McConkie is the precocious
11-year-old daughter of Skymaster
member Fred McConkie. Elizabeth saw
the movie Red Tails, about the Tuskegee
Airmen, and had many questions about
the experiences of African Americans
during World War II. She wondered how
she could get the answers.
The Detroit area is blessed with
having a Tuskegee Airman nearby.
Nintey-one-year-old Lt. Col. Alexander
Jefferson (Ret.) was a P-51 pilot. He was
shot down and became a German POW.
He authored the captivating book Red
Tail Captured, Red Tail Free about his
experiences. Jefferson was featured in
the Model Aviation article “A Tuskegee
Airman Flies Again” in the April 2007
issue.
(L-R) Skymaster Fred McConkie, Katie
McConkie, Elizabeth McConkie, and Lt.
Col. Alexander Je erson.
Elizabeth and Lt.
Col. Alexander
Je erson.
www.ModelAviation.com AUGUST 2012 Model Aviation
By special arrangements, Elizabeth
and her family had a private dinner
with Jefferson on Tuesday, March
20, 2012. Elizabeth heard firsthand
about Jefferson’s experiences. Jefferson
presented her with an autographed copy
of his book and autographed the picture
Elizabeth had created.
Elizabeth used the evening’s
information to complete a class project.
The memories will last a lifetime.
—Joe Hass, Skymasters
[email protected]
History Preserved: Magazines and
the Library
The museum’s Lee Renaud Memorial
Library is filled with a vast collection
of books, magazines, and newsletters
devoted to modeling and full-scale
aviation. As of June 1, 2012, we have
486 magazine titles.
Sometimes our magazine count
can be tricky because magazines
occasionally change titles, some more
frequently than others.
Air Trails had at least 13
variations and changes of its
title before it finally became
American Modeler.
Even Model Aviation has
changed. It was first printed
as a news bulletin under the
same title, starting in June
1936 when AMA came
into existence, and ending
in June 1966. In July 1966,
AMA transferred to just a
section called “AMA News,”
published in American
Modeler, which changed its
name to American Aircraft
Modeler in January 1968.
March 1975 was the last
issue of that magazine, and
so AMA began producing
Model Aviation again, this
time in the magazine format
much as it is today.
Although we have many
full runs of magazines, we
still have spaces to fill. There
are even a few missing issues
of MA. AMA Headquarters
moved a number of times
and editions were lost. There
was even a story run in a
1950s MA about needing misplaced
copies—and they’re still missing.
Following is a list of MA issues we need.
Please contact the museum if you have
any to donate:
• Volume 1, Numbers 4, 6, 10, 12, 13,
14, 15, 16, 17, and 18
• Volume 7, Number 10
• Volume 10, Numbers 1 and 2
• Volume XI, Numbers 5 and 9
• Volume XII, Number 1/2
• Volume XIV, Number 7/8
• Volume XVII, Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4
and 10
• Volume XVIII, Numbers 1, 4, and 8
• 1954: March (our issue is missing
pages)
For any magazines you may want to
donate, please contact Jackie Shalberg
([email protected]) with a list of
titles, including month and date, and she
will let you know if we need them for
our collection.
Please do not send magazines
without checking. We have a number
of duplicate issues, and despite the
rumors, we do not currently sell excess
issues. MA back issues are available
for purchase through the Membership
Department and the museum offers a
few duplicates from the library for free.
Many years ago a large sale of duplicate
magazines, donated specifically for that
purpose, was held, but we don’t have
sufficient staff or storage room available
to do that again.
We appreciate your help making our
collection as complete as possible. Stop
in during our normal business hours and
see for yourself how many magazines we
have for your research needs.