AMA Ambassador Promotes Aeromodeling
The AMA has announced that Robert "Hoot" Gibson, a NASA astronaut and AMA Lifetime Member, is its first AMA Ambassador. He will promote the organization and aeromodeling as a fun and educational activity for all ages. Hoot has volunteered his time to represent the Academy in this capacity, and he has agreed to do so indefinitely.
Hoot will be featured in AMA marketing materials, make appearances at events, support educational initiatives, and fulfill tasks on an as‑needed basis. This program will take the Academy and its new representative time to plan and develop.
Requests for appearances by Hoot have started to arrive at AMA Headquarters. Please send those or any questions to Jeff Nance at [email protected]. Although subject to change, the Ambassador's appearances for 2010 have been identified and discussed. Hoot's first engagement on behalf of the AMA will be June 25–27 at the National Electric Fly‑In, at the AMA's International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana.
You can learn more about Hoot in the April "AMA Today" membership newsletter. Watch his Expo 2010 presentation and read the articles and his biography on the "AMA Today" landing page. The Academy is fortunate to have Hoot Gibson as its Ambassador.
—Jeff Nance Director of Marketing and Programs
In the Air
The AMA is pleased to announce the appointment of Tony Stillman of Brunswick, Georgia, as its new Flying Site Assistance Coordinator (effective June 1). Tony has been the Academy's District V vice president (VP) for the past five-and-a-half years. The interim District V VP is Jose Soto of Apopka, Florida.
"According to surveys conducted by the AMA staff, concerns about flying sites is the number-one issue for our members," said Tony, a native of Pensacola, Florida. "I really want to help club officers procure and keep those flying sites."
Tony intends to put much emphasis on helping clubs with best practices, such as being good community citizens and all the things necessary to position them within their communities as viable, recognized, and respected hobbyists.
"I want to help clubs look down the road, plan ahead," said Tony. "In case of trouble, they should have the dollars, people assigned, and the desire to create options for themselves before something negative happens, not just after."
He cites both proactive and reactive reasons to be on top of this issue.
"I'd also like to thank Wes De Cou and Joe Beshar for doing such good work as my predecessors—especially in the area of EPA Superfund work," said Tony. "They did a great job."
Tony has been flying RC since 1971 and doing so competitively since 1974. He has earned two second-place finishes and one third in national competition. He was a four-time manager of the F3A RC Aerobatics team and has twice been a contest director (CD) for World Championships competitions.
Tony owns Radio South (www.radiosouth.com), which is one of the Southeast's most recognized radio repair and supply businesses.
Cloudbusters Honors Member for Aviation Accomplishments
The Cloudbusters of Sterling Heights, Michigan, have been giving a Life Achievement Award since 1990. It honors living Americans who have distinguished themselves in aviation—both model and full scale. The club is proud to announce the 44th recipient of this award: Steven E. Kanyusik.
Steve’s contributions to aviation photography, aviation history, and model aviation began in Pennsylvania in the 1920s and continued through his US Navy career, his residence in Minnesota, and his current ongoing activities in Sterling Heights.
In the 1920s and 1930s, as a student in Pennsylvania, Steve was a pioneer in aviation photography. He lived several miles from Allegheny County Airport and went there on foot whenever he got word that an interesting airplane was on the ground. Those trips were documented in his article, “Hey! Let’s Go to the Airport,” published in the January 1990 Model Aviation. Steve’s portfolio of historic aircraft photos has been a valuable asset to scale modelers.
By the time Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Steve was old enough to join the US Navy. He was assigned to a crew of a quadruple 40 mm anti‑aircraft gun. The crew commander immediately deduced that Steve had a superior knowledge of aircraft identification and made him his pointer. Steve was responsible for instantly determining if a target was friend or foe.
He saw the ship’s photographer taking a picture one day and went down to the photo lab when he was off duty. He asked permission to use the negative to make some copies for his own use. It was instantly realized that Steve knew more about photography than anybody else on the ship; he was reassigned to the photo crew and never went back to the guns.
During Steve’s Navy career, he served aboard the USS Ranger (CV‑4) in the Atlantic Ocean; the USS Manila Bay (CVE‑61) in the Pacific Ocean; and the USS Antietam (CV‑36) in the Korean War. His photos of the kamikaze attacks in the Battle for the Philippines are some of the best on record.
Steve was armed with a 7x7 aircraft camera, which weighed 41 pounds and carried 250 rounds of Kodak film. He stayed on deck during an attack in which two kamikaze aircraft hit the carrier. Steve was wounded and received the Purple Heart and Bronze Star.
He also flew on airborne photo shoots in the Grumman Avenger in World War II and on helicopters off Korea.
Steve has been an active veteran and attends major events for those who served our country. On Memorial Day in 2004, he represented US Navy veterans at the dedication of the WWII monument in Washington, D.C.
Some of his combat photos, featuring the kamikaze attacks on American aircraft carriers, were broadcast on nationwide television during the dedication ceremony. Steve donated his extensive collection of WWII photos to the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan, where they are stored in the library.
Steve authored more than a dozen articles for Model Aviation, including a story about old‑time free flight in March 1987. His writing and photography have also been featured in R/C Report, Live Steam, Warbirds, and other publications. In 2000, he won Macomb County’s photo competition; his entry was used on the cover of the county directory.
Steve also did photography for Classic Aero, a limited‑edition producer of extremely high‑quality RC models based in Oxford, Michigan.
—Cloudbusters Life Achievement Award Committee Members:
- Mike Bilotta
- Tony Lang
- Ralph Kuenzi
- Paul Smith
District VII
Flagler RAMS Take Off And Grow
One sunny day in late September, Assistant Cub Master Andy Rich showed up at our club’s flying field in Florida in his Scout uniform. He talked to our chief flight instructor, Jim McClellan, about the possibility of his Pack coming to the field and observing the flying activities.
“It was like asking me if I would like a free trip to the Nationals,” said Jim.
Jim knew that the Flagler County Radio Aero Modelers (RAMS) club officers would say yes, and he did so on the spot.
When the president, Bob Thierwechter, was approached with the proposal, he said that it would be great. Then he suggested that RAMS members attend a Cub Scout Pack meeting and present themselves and some model airplanes.
Several club members went to one of the meetings. They had a static display of some large airplanes, and Jim flew his miniature helicopter. The young Scouts were elated at the prospect of going to the field to watch. When they were told they would also get a chance to fly, they were excited for a date to be set.
Our club’s October 2009 meeting was terminated at 9:10 a.m. so we could prepare to host the local Cub Scouts, Pack 411, for some flying. It was an unusually chilly day, with winds of approximately 10 mph.
Jim McClellan readied the four new Spektrum transmitters and receivers in the trainers. A RAMS member, George James, donated two airplanes to the club for this event. We checked out buddy boxes and prepared models for the day’s activities.
At close to 9:30, Cub Master Don Delle Donne and Assistant Cub Master Andrew Rich arrived with 13 Cub Scouts who were raring to go. Most of the boys’ parents were there too, so we had a nice crowd.
Jim gathered the Scouts and described to them what was going to happen throughout the day. He had the students’ full attention, since they were eager to get their hands on the transmitters and try RC.
There were two teams of instructors. Team One consisted of Bob Thierwechter and Flight Instructor Bill Semenovick. Team Two was headed by Jim McClellan, Flight Instructor Connie Johnson, and Leon Kuzik. These teams did a great job with the kids.
Each Scout learned what the sticks did on the transmitter and, for his flights, was told to concentrate on the right stick only, which provided aileron control for left and right turns and up and down movement for the model’s elevation.
Each Scout was told that if the airplane got into trouble, the pilot with the master transmitter would take control to get it into an attitude that would allow the student to take control again. There were many such takeovers.
Most of the boys did a great job of flying the aircraft and had a blast. It was great to see those faces that expressed the feeling of “I can do this.”
During downtime between students, club members Dmitriy Tesler, Dixon Garner, and Richard Bauman put on flight demonstrations. Sometimes it was hard to keep the Scouts’ attention during the flight preparation; the flying exhibitions dazzled them. Dmitriy put on an amazing show for the kids.
Upon completion of flying, Ken Gordon, the club’s secretary—and chief chef—cooked hot dogs for everyone, and there was plenty to eat.
Cub Master Don Delle Donne wrote a letter of thanks to the RAMS, in which he claimed that “...some of the parents were just as excited” about the day of flying. He also included feedback from the Scouts; some of the comments follow:
- “It was really cool to be able to fly the remote control airplanes. I was able to turn the plane right and left and even up and down. Thanks for lunch too. When can we do it again?” —Devin, Wolf Cub, age 7
- “It was really cool to be able to fly these model airplanes. I can’t wait to do it again. They even fed us lunch; I’ll come back for sure.” —Shane, Webelos II, age 11
- “I was amazed at how high and far the planes were able to fly. It was really cool to fly them.” —Matthew, Tiger Cub, age 6
—Dick Daniels, RAMS Member District V
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
