In The Air-2013/04

During the six-week exhibit, groups of all ages
visited. These girls were interested in the
airplanes. One was really quite surprised that
the huge glider, floating above, could actually
fly! Photos by John Groves.
A 1/4-scale ASK 18 Glider was suspended in front of the historic church’s
stained-glass windows. Seeing models displayed as art was a unique
experience.
The 2013 Indoor Free Flight Nats
As we gear up for the 2013 Nats,
we are excited to announce that the
Indoor FF Nats event has moved to
the University of Illinois Armory in
Champaign, Illinois. This year’s event
will be held August 7-11, a departure
from the traditional Memorial Day
weekend contest. You can read more at
www.modelaircraft.org/fi les/natsindoor.
pdf.
—2013 Nats team
2012 Hall of Fame Inductees
Congratulations to the 2012 Model
Aviation Hall of Fame inductees. The
list includes Paul Beard, James “Jim” H.
Bennett, Hal Cover, Robert “Bob” Forbes,
Ken Myers, James “Jim” Newman, and
Frank Tiano. More information about
these men and their contributions to
model aviation can be found on the MA
website.
—MA staff
Aviation as Art
In May 2012, our club received a
telephone call from a representative
of the Phelps Art Center (PAC). We,
the members of the Sky Rovers Flying
Club of Phelps, New York, were asked
if we would be interested in displaying
our airplanes at the center. At fi rst we
thought this would be a one-day event;
instead we were surprised and honored
to learn that that PAC wanted our
model aircraft for a featured exhibit!
The six-week exhibit was an aviationthemed
art show.
PAC Trustee, Marion Donnelly,
attended our June club meeting to
explain to our members what PAC has
to offer and how we could participate.
Our members were enthusiastic to have
the opportunity to show the community
what the club does.
A committee of three visited the
beautiful, historic PAC building. It is
located in what had been St. John’s
Episcopal Church between 1850 and
1955. The Gothic structure is listed on
the National Register of Historic Places
as a signifi cant example of early English
Parish architecture. After the church
closed, it served Phelps as the public
library until 2005 when it was taken
over by Phelps Art Center.
Club members displayed more
than 15 unique RC aircraft. A
complementary display of plastic models
was also included. The RC models on
display ranged from basic trainers to
Scale aircraft, and
there was even a
1/4-scale glider.
We are
privileged to have
as a club member
a well-known
aviation artist
and historian,
Ted Williams,
who displayed 23
original paintings.
His display
opened two days
before our annual club air show, and
many out-of-town pilots attended the
reception given by PAC.
Throughout the six-week display, PAC
was visited by local residents—some
of whom had never visited before—
and tourists in the area. Many great
comments were made about the display.
Guests began to appreciate that we all
have “art” within us! We even gained a
new club member.
Working with PAC Executive Director
Edward Phillips and Marion Donnelly
was a rewarding experience. Their
willingness to help us display our aircraft
in a manner that is interesting for the
viewers and safe for our models was
appreciated. Having people who work in
the world of art and who can appreciate
the level of skill and dedication in our
projects was a boost to our collective
self-esteems.
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime
Supporters
The Academy recently welcomed
Life Members Jeff D. Fluegeman,
Canal Winchester OH; John P.
Barros, S. Dartmouth MA; Joan
Anastasio, Issaquah WA; and Charles
W. Kirkland, Woodstock IL.
For information about becoming
a Life Member, contact AMA
Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.
—AMA Membership Department
www.ModelAviation.com APRIL 2013 Model Aviation 13
Membership news and updates
from AMA Headquarters intheA ir
013-014_InTheAir.indd 13 2/20/13 10:16 AM
All works were identified with interpretive
posters. We were fortunate to have an original
postcard image (lower left-hand corner) signed
by Orville Wright! Art? Yes, of course! It added a
personal, visual touch to our exhibit.
The Madman in the National Model Aviation Museum CL
Aerobatics exhibit.
A close-up of the Y&O logo on the Madman’s
propeller.
Is there a local arts council in your
area? Approach it, because art is
infectious and everybody benefits from
such a community-based initiative.
—Dave Reid
[email protected]
PAC Trustee Marion Donnelly added
the following:
Art, defined, is the human ability to
make things through creativeness and
skill. Art is all around us in our daily
lives. We take the design of a product
we use for granted, migrating toward
that which we find most pleasing
for the function we are seeking. The
houses we buy, the automobiles we
drive, the magazines we subscribe to,
the clothes we wear, are all designed
by humans to please others enough to
entice purchase and ownership.
There is a saying in industrial
design: Form follows function. In our
technological age this is especially true.
Steve Jobs, ever striving for the simple,
convenient, elegant product proved
that with sales.
There are products which seem to
serve no other purpose than to please
the senses: sculpture, paintings, jewelry,
photography, books, etc. These things,
created by the skilled and gifted, do
serve a function other than to please.
They are the tangible expression of
the creator’s thoughts and ideas in
the materials used and the design
executed.
We build special places to house
such arts: museums, galleries, churches,
etc., and those buildings are examples
of man’s creativity. We treasure those
examples of earlier civilizations’
remnants of their art.
Model building is an art. It requires
skill and patience. It teaches attention
to detail, an appreciation for the
original builder/craftsman, and the
satisfaction that comes when a task
is completed and functioning. The
finished product is art; it is a tactile
product of human activity.
—Marion Donnelly
PAC trustee
SOURCES:
Phelps Art Center
www.phelpsartscenter.com
Sky Rovers Flying Club, Inc.
www.skyrovers.com
Ted Williams Aviation Art
www.tedwilliamsaviationart.com
Madman
J.C. Yates was nicknamed “Madman”
for a reason. When CL Aerobatics was
more showmanship than precision
flying, Yates did whatever he could to
keep people in the crowd on the edge of
their seats.
A National Model Aviation Museum
volunteer was 14 when he watched
Yates compete at the 1947 Nats. He
remembered the day and shared that,
“watching him fly it, just knocked my
socks off. I couldn’t believe he could
really fly an airplane like that [and] at
that speed. It seemed like almost every
maneuver he did looked like he pulled
out about three feet from the ground.”
Sixteen-year-old Charles Mackey was
also impressed. In Pioneers of Control
Line Flying, he wrote that he “will never
forget Madman’s takeoffs that went
directly into inverted flight, or how he
laid on his back and flew little circles
directly overhead.”
He flew a model of his own design,
appropriately called the Madman.
The Madman model in the museum’s
collection was built by Yates in the late
1950s. The 48-inch wingspan model is
painted white and red. Madman donated
it in 2000, along with an Orwick .64
engine and a Y&O propeller (J.C. Yates
was the “Y” in Y&O).
Although this Madman was not the
original that flew at the 1947 Nats, nor
did J.C. Yates fly it in competition, it
was flown at the Nats by CL pilot Bob
Whitely. Bob befriended Yates after
meeting him in a local hobby store.
During a visit to Yates’ workshop, Bob
discovered the Madman model and they
decided to get it flying again. Afterward,
they realized how great it would be
to demonstrate it at the 1977 Nats in
Riverside, California. The model ended
up in the Old-Timer CL Aerobatics
competition. Bob attempted to fly the
model twice then offered Bart Klapinski
the chance to try. Bart went on to win
the event flying the Madman model.
Remembered as a
showman in the flying
circle, J.C. Yates is
remembered outside of it as
a consummate gentleman,
a nice guy, and a design
pioneer for his iconic
Madman design.
Many thanks to Charles
Mackey, Bart Klapinski,
and Bob Whitely, who
took the time to share
memories of J.C. Yates and
the Madman. For more
information, visit http://
amablog.modelaircraft.org/
amamuseum/2013/03/20/madman_
yates.
—National Model Aviation Museum staff
14 Model Aviation April 2013 www.ModelAviation.com
013-014_InTheAir.indd 14 2/22/13 12:59 PM