AMA and the
EAA signed a
document called
Memorandum of
Understanding
(MOU) a couple
of years ago. This
is an agreement
between the
two organizations to work together
in fostering the spirit of aviation,
especially with our youth.
I’m sure you will recall reading
articles in this publication about
AMA clubs partnering with the
nearly 1,000 EAA chapters to put
on the EAA’s Young Eagle Events.
Youngsters are invited to participate
and receive their first full-scale
airplane experience, typically in a
small, single-engine aircraft.
When an AMA club participates,
these youngsters often receive their
first exposure to model aviation. Each
youth who signs up and participates
in the Young Eagles program receives
a free AMA Junior membership.
This is a great opportunity to
entice new members. Often, the
young people’s families want to
support these activities. This equates
to growing your club’s present and
future membership needs.
See if there is an EAA chapter
or a full-scale aviation club in your
area that would be interested in this
type of cooperation. It can be a lot
of fun and the relationships that you
develop can last a lifetime. AMA’s
overall membership has grown by
more than 10,000 Youth members
this year.
The pilots who attended the CSFC fun-fly.
I attended a model flying event and
fly-in breakfast sponsored by the
Central Steuben Flying Club (CSFC),
a small EAA club located near Bath,
New York. The CD was Dave Lander.
This is the club’s largest annual
gathering.
The overfly area was amazing. CSFC
provided a well-manicured, full-scale
runway for the model pilots. The club
offered an all-you-can-eat breakfast,
plus lunch on-site. There was a display
of experimental aircraft to inspect
and talk with their owners about, and
of course swap the typical aviation
horror stories about hard landings, etc.
Some of these full-scale pilots are also
interested in model aviation.
In its third year, the event was
lightly publicized, but the pilot
turnout was good. Pilots flew from
four flight stations and there was no
landing fee. The threat of weather kept
many of the spectators from attending,
but those who were there had a great
time.
AMA has a hobby shop program,
providing businesses with AMA
membership information and
encouraging the owners to sell the
benefits of belonging to AMA. At no
cost to hobby shops, AMA provides
materials including applications,
handouts, brochures, and counter
displays used exclusively for this
program.
There is a small financial incentive
for the owners to help us, but the real
value to both hobby shops and AMA
is if this new member becomes a local
club member. If the new member
successfully learns to fly, he or she
becomes a repeat customer of the
hobby shop and a renewing member
for the club and AMA.
Erin Dobbs, AMA staff member,
has done a great job of increasing the
number of hobby shops that partner
with us. Our members need to support
local hobby shops. When doing so,
take a look around to see if you can
find that AMA brochure. If you can’t,
why not ask that shop to join the ranks
of hobby shops that support AMA?
I want to expand on Dave
Mathewson’s August 2012 column.
Are our charter clubs welcoming to
potential members? Not all are. The
number of calls from new members
unwelcome at some clubs has grown.
Is it that the entire club is
unwelcoming? Not typically.
Generally only a few don’t want to be
inconvenienced by a series of questions
and requests for help.
In an earlier column, I asked,
“Do you remember how you got
involved in this wonderful hobby?”
Was it because one individual took
you under his or her wing, and the
club welcomed your innocence and
tolerated your lack of ability?
You likely weren’t shunned by
uncaring members, but rather taken
in and taught how, what, and where
to fly. Over time you became that
valuable club member. Have you or
will you make the investment of time
to mentor that new person? When
you do, you help your club, the local
hobby shop, AMA, and aeromodeling’s
future. Every person can have a major
impact, either negative or positive.
The choice is yours; the future ours.
Until next month, help secure our
future and take a youngster flying.
Partnering with local hobby shops helps spread the word of AMA and model aviation.
Edition: Model Aviation - 2012/11
Page Numbers: 135
