In the Air

June 2010 9
The Academy 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 me
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. MA
—Jeff Nance
Director of Marketing and Programs
INtheAIR
AMA HEADQUARTERS AND MEMBER NEWS
AMA Ambassador Promotes Aeromodeling
AMA Staff Members Earn Award for MA
The Indiana Society of Association Executives (ISAE) presented the
Academy’s Publications Department with an award for the April 2009 MA
magazine. It was chosen from among entries in the category for a magazine
or newspaper with a budget exceeding $750,000.
The purpose of the ISAE is to support and strengthen the success of
association professionals. To fulfill that objective, it does the following:
1. Develop programs and services designed to support the career of
association professionals.
2. Serve as a knowledge broker to benefit the individual member.
3. Develop leadership skills of its members that will benefit the ISAE
community.
4. Develop partnerships with appropriate entities to increase resources
and access.
Congratulations, Publications team! MA
—AMA Staff
The Academy recently welcomed Life Members Timothy
Garman (Visalia CA), Reuben Johnson (Tomball TX), Brett
Sanborn (Montrose MI), Shazam Kianpour (Littleton CO), Mateo
Rossini (Prior Lake MN), Ronald Frenzl (Olathe KS), William
Ranucci (Caldwell NJ), Mark Jenks (Beaver Creek OH), Fred
Ortman (Anaheim CA), James Sims (Plano TX), Raymond Brown
(Miami FL), Thomas Clemens (Grand Forks ND), Donald Grissom
(Conyers GA), Frank Chang (Las Vegas NV), and Felix Davila
(Levittown PA).
Also Cory Rossi (South Salem NY), Chris Miller (Boulder CO),
Krisna Kommini (India), James Lederman (Port Jefferson Station
NY), Thom Stilwill (Plainville CT), Subhra Bose (Ossining NY),
Christopher J. Blanchard (Running Springs CA), Scott Charnes
(Nantucket MA), David Porter (Greensboro MD), James C. Correll
(Albuquerque NM), Huey Falgout (Toledo OH), Lawrence Glifort
(Bridgeport CT), Giri Sonty (Summit NJ), Eric Geiske (Grants Pass
OR), and James Bristle (Gainesville VA).
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA
Headquarters at (800) 435-9262. MA
—AMA Membership Department
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
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10 MODEL AVIATION
INtheAIR
History Preserved:
T h e C o l l e c t i o n o f t h e
National Model Aviation Museum
This 1:1 scale Pensuti-
Caproni Triplane is
the largest model, in
overall size, in the
museum’s collection.
In 1919 Giovanni Battista Caproni, an
avid and prolific airplane designer from Italy,
built what he hoped would be the bicycle of
the air: the Pensuti-Caproni Triplane. It was
intended to be lightweight, simple to fly, and
able take off easily from short runways.
Soldiers were to employ this aircraft for
reconnaissance and aerial infantry.
The aircraft flew but the idea did not, and
Caproni moved on to other projects. Emilio
Pensuti, the other person involved with the
design and designated test pilot, died before
he got the opportunity to fly the triplane.
In the July 1991 Radio Control Modeler
magazine, Henry Apoian claimed that one of
the reasons why he built the 1:1 scale
Pensuti-Caproni Triplane was for a
challenge. The project challenged him to
overcome problems in construction, design,
assembly, and transportation.
To make the aircraft fly well for radio
control, he had to move the CG, modify the
thickness of the airfoil, and come up with
usable, lightweight wheels. Henry joked that
his building techniques had to change too.
Since the aircraft couldn’t be turned over, he
had to crawl under it.
Henry built the Pensuti-Caproni as if it
were a model, using balsa wood and Micafilm
covering with Styrofoam-and-pipeinstallation-
foam wheels. It has two 40-size
AstroFlight Cobalt motors using 28 1200
mAh batteries. A 12:1 belted drive gears the
system down to turn a hand-carved wooden
propeller.
Despite the different building materials
and changes that were necessary to make the
triplane into an electric-powered RC aircraft,
it does retain the profile of the original. It took
Henry 575 hours to build the airplane, and he
lost track of the cost after $1,500.
With a flight weight of 44 pounds, three
wings, a height of 2.4 meters, a wingspan of 4
meters, and a length of 3.8 meters, the Pensuti-
Caproni is the largest aircraft in the museum’s
collection. Its size poses a challenge for the
staff, because it is difficult to exhibit and store
properly.
The aircraft is currently disassembled and
in storage. The wings come apart in sections
and the wheels and tail are removable, but the
fuselage is one long piece.
The museum’s storage space is tight, so
finding a spot for 12.5 feet of airplane was
difficult. But with some creative
organization, we managed to find a proper
place for it when it was taken off of exhibit
in 1998.
Henry Apoian ended his article about the
aircraft with, “Was it fun... Yes!” We
certainly agree that this aircraft, which his
wife, Lucille, donated to the museum in
1994, is a fun addition to the collection,
despite the challenges it presents. MA
—Maria VanVreede
Museum Registrar
My wife and I spent a day at the Prescott Valley Arizona Boys and
Girls Club last year, showing kids how to make the FPG-9 (Foam Plate
Glider), which was developed at the AMA. This simple, inexpensive,
fun project introduced the children to a new way of learning about
aerodynamics and provided an avenue for competitive flying.
Three days were spent working on the gliders. We used the first day
to construct the models with the help of the Boys and Girls Club staff.
We provided foam plates with the glider outlines marked on them.
The kids cut the glider parts from their plates using kid-safe
scissors. With the adults’ help, the parts were taped together with
Scotch tape and each child marked the aircraft with his or her name.
On the second day, the kids decorated their gliders with markers.
Some of the designs were extremely well done!
During the third day a test range was set up inside the club
building, and the kids competed for the longest flight and most
accurate glide. The competitions were separated into age groups,
and the participants had a blast!
My club, the Chino Valley Model Aviators, used FPG-9s at an
EAA Young Eagles event at which EAA members give children
their first rides in light aircraft, free of charge. The kids built their
model gliders while waiting their turn to get into the air.
This year we have been asked to bring our glider-building
classes to the Chino Valley Public Library and Humboldt
Elementary School. This is a great way for your, or any, club to
get involved in community activities and provide positive
publicity when it’s time to get your flying field lease approved.
You can download the FPG-9 glider information from the
AMA Web site—at www.modelaircraft.org/education/fpg-
9.aspx—and have a hand in starting a kid on the road to an
aeronautical career. It’s also a lot of fun! MA
—Randy Meathrell
District X
Left: Members of
the Boys and Girls
Club assemble
their FPG-9
Gliders.
Right: A student
gets instruction on
building the FPG-9
while waiting for a
ride in a full-scale
airplane.
The FPG-9 Gets Kids Involved in Aviation
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June 2010 11
INtheAIR
The Cloudbusters of Sterling Heights,
Michigan, has 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 MA. Steve’s
portfolio of historic aircraft photos has
been a valuable asset to Scale modelers.
Cloudbusters Honors Member
for Aviation Accomplishments
Steve Kanyusik in his early days. He can
still fit into the uniform!
The Life Achievement Award that the
Cloudbusters presented to Steve Kanyusik.
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 40mm antiaircraft 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 7 x 7 aircraft
camera, which weighed 41 pounds and
carried 250 rounds of Kodak ammunition.
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 of 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 WW II monument in
Washington DC.
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
WW II photos to the Air Zoo in
Kalamazoo, Michigan, where they are
stored in the library.
Steve authored more than a dozen
articles for MA, including a story about
old-time FF in March 1987. His writing
and photography has also been featured
in R/C Report, Live Steam, Warbirds,
and probably more publications than
have come to our attention. In 2000, he
won Macomb County’s photo
competition; his entry was used on the
cover of the county directory.
Steve also did some nice photography
for Classic Aero: a limited-edition producer
of extremely high-quality RC models,
based in Oxford, Michigan. MA
—Cloudbusters Life Achievement Award
Committee (Mike Bilotta, Tony Lang,
Ralph Kuenz, Paul Smith)
District VII
Brandon Xue is a proud young American who is living in
China, and he is also an accomplished model aviation pilot.
Model Airplane, China’s official aeromodeling magazine,
published an interview with Brandon in its 2010 New Year’s
issue. Then Radio Control Technique magazine, a joint venture
between China’s Model World and the Japanese Radio Control
Technique magazines, interviewed Brandon in December 2009
and published the interview in the same month.
This is the first time that the two magazines interviewed the
same pilot during a one-month period, and it is the first time that
Model Airplane published an interview with a pilot. Each
publication dedicated two full-color pages to these features.
Another national magazine, Campus Life, also organized a
two-page article about Brandon and featured him on the cover of
its February 2010 issue. This publication is geared toward
school-age readers.
Although these magazines are published in Chinese, this is a
landmark occasion. It’s a delight to see that a young boy’s
dedication is recognized by key media in China. Brandon’s
achievement and recognition have inspired young people in that
country to join and enjoy this great hobby.
To learn about Brandon’s recent key flying events, go to his
Web site at www.brandonxue.com. MA
—Information Provided by Brian Xue
Photograph Courtesy www.brandonxue.com
Young Modeler Double-Featured
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12 MODEL AVIATION
INtheAIR
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 we RAMS
members attend a Cub Scout Pack
meeting and present ourselves 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 readied 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, one
of which
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; he
was told to only concentrate on the right
stick, which would provide 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 of it 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 the slack times of getting the
next would-be pilot ready to fly, Dmitiry
Tesler, Dixon Garner, and Richard
Bauman, all of whom are club members,
put on flight demonstrations. Sometimes
it was hard to keep the Scouts’ attention
during the flight preparation; the flying
exhibitions dazzled them. Dmitiry 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, Weblos 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 MA
—Dick Daniels, RAMS Member
District V
Flagler RAMS Take Off And Grow
L-R: Chief Fl ight Instructor J im
McClel lan, a Cub Scout, Fl ight
Instructor Connie Johnson.
L-R: Club President/Flight Instructor
Bob Thierwechter, Flight Instructor
Bill Semenovick, and Cub Scout.
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