irVenture Oshkosh 2000, the Experimental Aircraft
Association’s (EAA’s) annual convention, was held
July 26-August 1 at Wittman Regional Airport in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
AirVenture is the world’s largest gathering of
recreational aviation enthusiasts. The seven-day event
offers the public thousands of aircraft displays, nearly 800
commercial exhibitors, aviation forums, daily air shows, and an
activity center for children.
The year 2000 marked the 15th year of Academy of Model
Aeronautics (AMA) participation in the convention.
Volunteer Gino Ferrario (Kelseyville CA) greeted visitors and
answered questions at the AMA KidVenture exhibit.
n Randall Trumbull
AMA At AirVentureOshkOsh 2000
January 2001 55
Sig Manufacturing’s Mike Gretz visits with youngsters at the Sig booth.
AMA Education Committee member Rocco Ferrario (Napa CA)
demonstrates construction techniques to a group of teachers at
a model-building presentation.
EAA’s AirVenture Oshkosh 2000, the 48th annual event, welcomed approximately 765,000 visitors from around the world.
Continued on page 61
Education Committee chairman Gordon Schimmel shows a group of KidVenture
visitors the flight principles of the SlingWing Hand-Launched Glider.
Oshkosh AirVenture attendees had the opportunity to tour various types of aircraft,
including NASA’s Super Guppy, which is shown towering over guests.
56 M ODEL AVIATION
Education Committee member Charles Kelley
gives Diane Visintainer pointers on winding her
rubber-powered model.
Volunteers facilitated nearly 400 Control
Line fl ights on their busiest day,
averaging one flight every three minutes.
Member Wes McKinney’s (inset) North
American AT-6 Texan was displayed at
AMA’s exhibit. Model AT-6 is under its wing.
January 2001 57
Bill Hartman (L), Chip Mull spoke to a group of youngsters about
their experiences with full-scale and model aviation.
More than 70 volunteers helped make KidVenture modeling activities a great success.
KidVenture was not only a place for
children, but was a place for families to
share in aeromodeling activities.
Even repairing broken models was fun for CL-area volunteers.
This Sig Skyray took a beating, but was back in the air in minutes.
Wes De Cou (L), Jim Krueger congratulate Spencer Doren—the
1,000th CL participant. He earned a Sig kit and an AMA membership.
Rae Underwood (L) and Dolly Wischer urged those who visited
AMA’s main booth to locate and mark their hometowns on maps.
Photos by the author Graphic Design by Carla Kunz
AMA At AirVentureOshkOsh 2000
AmA’s main booth featured member Wes
McKinney’s full-scale AT-6 Texan.
After being used as a trainer for
English and South African pilots in
World War II, the Texan was the
number-three airplane for the South
African Aerobatic Team. The Texan was
purchased and returned to the United
States for restoration in 1997.
Displayed underneath the full-scale
Texan’s wing was a model Texan with a
101-inch wingspan, which was built by The
Stump Jumpers club of Middlebury Center,
Pennsylvania.
The AT-6s were painted to match,
including original nose art by R.T. Foster.
This eye-catching display was
augmented by several types of models, a
Radio Control flight simulator, and AMA
literature.
“The show went quite well,” said AMA
president Dave Brown. “There were a lot of
people going through the booth.”
AmA was heavily involved in
KidVenture—a part of AirVenture centered
around aviation—which featured hands-on
activities for children, near the EAA
AirVenture Museum.
“It was another year of cooperation
between the modeling and full-scale
aviation communities—especially at
KidVenture,” said AMA Programs Director
Jay Mealy.
More than 1,300 children—including
kids from 46 states and seven countries—
were introduced to Control Line flying on
four circles located at Pioneer Airport. (Sig
Manufacturing donated all aircraft that were
flown.)
“It was a record-setting year,” said Jim
Krueger, chairman of the Control Line
flying area. According to him, participation
was up 50%.
In the KidVenture tent, volunteers greeted
guests and handed out SlingWing handlaunched
gliders at the AMA exhibit area.
Seventy-three volunteers from seven
states and three countries helped out. They
signed in Control Line pilots, fueled and
launched the airplanes, repaired crashed
models, and took turns instructing.
KidVenture also had support from those
involved in full-scale aircraft. “Even
notable pilots such as Burt Rutan have
taken the opportunity to come out and
serve as mentors to the kids,” said AMA
Coordinator, West Coast Region, Districts
7-11, Wes De Cou.
“Overall, KidVenture was very well
done under the leadership of Sean Elliot,”
said De Cou.
Many visitors gathered for the daily
model air show, looked at model
airplanes, tried their hand at aviation art,
built rockets and rubber-powered
models, and listened to speakers on the
“Aviation Heroes Stage.”
Chip Mull and Bill Hartman took the
stage, and explained how modeling
influenced their careers. Chip is a captain
for US Airways, and Bill serves as a flight
instructor for TWA.
Chip and Bill spoke fondly of how
model airplanes fostered their interest in
full-scale aviation.
Thursday, July 24, AMA Education
Committee members Gordon Schimmel,
Rocco Ferrario, and Charles Kelley gave a
model-building presentation to teachers and
children.
Diane Visintainer, a kindergarten teacher
from Green Bay WI, attended the session to
gain experiences to share in the classroom.
“It’s really important for the children to
know what’s out there, and be able to form
dreams,” said Diane.
“We really exposed a lot of kids to
aeromodeling … I think it will bear fruit,
not only for model aviation, but for aviation
in general,” said Brown.
The next edition of AirVenture Oshkosh
will take place July 24-30, 2001. MA
Continued from page 55
