AMA News: District II
LAST MONTH'S COLUMN featured a report on the 2006 Northeast Electric Aircraft Technology (NEAT) Fair held each fall in Downsville, New York.
Indoor Micro Flying Event
There has traditionally been another part of the weekend that hasn't received the attention given to the outdoor flying activities during NEAT. For the last several years the Boston Micronauts have hosted an indoor flying event for micro-sized models during the NEAT Fair weekend. The event is held only ten minutes away from the NEAT Fair flying site in the Downsville High School gym.
This year a couple of dozen pilots flew models with wingspans measured in inches instead of feet, and weighed in grams instead of ounces or pounds. The number of spectators filled all of the bleachers and several dozen more people stood along the gym walls. Most pilots came from the East Coast, but some traveled across the country to fly in this event. A few came from overseas to demonstrate recent creations.
Peter Muren came from Norway to fly his micro-size, electric-powered RC helicopters. While it wasn't ready to be demonstrated this year, Peter is working on a micro helicopter that will weigh only 1 gram. Rumor was that his Micro Mosquito RC helicopter will soon be sold at Radio Shack stores in the United States.
Jean-Marie Piednoir from France flew his micro flying wing, the Variante. This unique model used a JMP combo receiver, a Kokam 145 mAh Li-Poly cell, and an M20-based KP00 with gearbox. CD Gordon Johnson presented the annual Boston Micronauts Excellence in Micronautics Award for 2006 to Jean-Marie during the evening.
Plans for the 2007 edition of the NEAT Fair are already in the works. If you intend to make the trip to Downsville next September, consider visiting this indoor micro event — you likely won't be disappointed.
Awards and Recognition
During the halftime program at the Boston Micronauts fly-in, CD Gordon Johnson allowed me a few minutes to present the AMA Distinguished Service Award to longtime AMA member Ray Juschkus. Ray has been a member for more than 50 years.
In addition to a very successful modeling career, he has written for several major modeling publications. As many in our district know, Ray has served as an associate vice president (AVP) for several District II vice presidents dating back to John Grigg's first term. Ray has always been an excellent representative for our district and has recently completed 25 years serving as an AVP. Congratulations, Ray, and thank you.
AMA Programs for 2007
AMA plans to introduce several new programs in 2007 to help clubs reach out to potential new modelers in their communities. Many of you have already read about our flagship program, Take Off And Grow (TAG). This program is designed as an intensive one-day introduction to model aviation that includes:
- a brief ground school,
- an orientation session on a computer simulator,
- a hands-on flight experience under the supervision of an AMA Intro Pilot instructor.
AMA has also released a Quick-Start Guide to RC Modeling on CD written by Bob Aberle. This is an ideal item to hand to a potential new modeler because it answers many of the first-time questions most new modelers have.
By the time you read this column we will have released other programs that we believe our clubs will find interesting. For more information, visit the AMA website at www.modelaircraft.org. Notices will also be placed in future issues of Model Aviation (MA) and the AMA Insider.
After reading about any of these new programs, if you have questions or would like additional information, contact me by any of the methods in our column header and I'd be happy to help.
See you next time. DM
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
