From the copilot's

Being the
executive vice
president affords
the opportunity to
travel to national
events representing
AMA and working
in our booths.
It is the third
week of May as this is written, and
I have had the pleasure of meeting
with members at the AMA Expo in
Ontario, California; the Westchester
Radio AeroModelers’ (WRAM) show
in Secaucus, New Jersey; the Weak
Signals’ show in Toledo, Ohio; Top
Gun in Lakeland, Florida; and at Joe
Nall in Woodruff, South Carolina.
The common denominator at these
events is people coming together
and having fun! For the average
modeler, meeting with friends from
around the corner, or from the other
side of North America is a common
occurrence at these national events.
The 2012 Top Gun was well
organized and efficiently run. I guess
we have come to expect that from
model aviation’s premier event
promoter, Frank Tiano.
The invitation-only pilots hailed
from Argentina, New Zealand,
Venezuela, England, Brazil, Canada,
Australia, Thailand, and of course,
most of the contestants were from
the US. The venue is a snap to get to
with wide open spaces. The people
are friendly and readily offer advice or
even parts to help another competitor.
I had the chance to talk and renew
old friendships with many AMA
members who came to watch the best
of the best in Scale compete. This is
one of those bucket-list events that
most modelers want to attend.
The 2012 Joe Nall event, held every
year at the Triple Tree Aerodrome, set
new attendance records with nearly
1,100 registered pilots. Site owner
Pat Hartness, together with the Triple
Tree Aeromodelers, are outstanding
hosts and are the most friendly people
you’ll meet.
Buses run from morning until
night to ferry visitors to the different
flying sites, which include a 3-D site
located a mile from the main runway,
an all-electric site, an outstanding
lake for float-flying, and of course,
the immaculately manicured primary
flying site. The noontime show is
one of a kind and put on by many
of the names you read about in this
magazine.
The annual AMA Membership
Meeting was held Thursday evening
and AMA provided dinner for
everyone afterward.
Friday evening’s barbecue dinner
is famous. I had the honor of being
asked to help collect dinner tickets.
There were eight food lines and
everyone—hundreds of people—were
served dinner in 141/2 minutes. What a
monumental task the club achieved!
Last year, the Executive Council
voted to raise the weight limits of
our aircraft. Our Safety Committee
analyzed the various components
involved, including designs, building
materials, radio systems, servo
strength, batteries, piston, turbine, or
electric power plants, and determined
that increasing the weight limit could
be done safely when our rules are
followed.
We agreed to leave our standard
weight limit at 55 pounds, and create
a new class called Large Model
Aircraft 1, and Large Model Turbine
Aircraft 1, in which weights range
between 55.1 pounds and 77.2 pounds
for propeller- and turbine-driven
aircraft.
This maximum weight matches
the Canadian and European limits,
which helps to simplify domestic
and international events. Approval
is subject to the requirements of
the Large Model Aircraft 1 (LMA1)
program, which is found on AMA’s
website.
The Experimental Class was
changed to Large Model Aircraft 2
(LMA2) and has 125 pounds as its
weight limit for propeller aircraft,
and Large Model Turbine Aircraft 2
(LMTA2) at 100 pounds for turbines.
Qualification in this class is subject to
inspection by an LM2 Inspector.
Some of our members are beginning
to take advantage of these changes,
increasing the size and quality of their
building projects. It was interesting to
see the number of larger turbine- and
propeller-driven aircraft at Top Gun
and at Joe Nall.
Until next month, help secure our
future and take a youngster flying.