District III - 2008/09

September 2008 159
LIN REICHEL, who was the commander of
the international Flying Aces Club (FAC),
passed away on June
12, 2008. He was
well known and
respected for his
leadership of those
around the globe
who pursued quality
craftsmanship and
good-natured
competition of Scale
FF model aircraft.
Lin was the chief
editor of the Flying
Aces News, a bimonthly newsletter mailed to
members of the FAC and others including
members of other FF organizations,
newsletter editors, and members of the hobby
industry. Each issue contained an editorial,
announcements for contests across the
country, results of contests, building tips,
photos, several full-size plans, kit reviews,
aircraft histories, news of the membership,
and much more.
When Lin accepted the head position of
the FAC in 1980, there were approximately
80 members, mostly in the northeastern part
of the country. Members would send in items
of interest, plans, and cover drawings. Each
article was retyped and then placed in the
newsletter format via the cut-and-paste
method. Copies were collated, folded, stapled
closed, hand addressed, and postage
applied—all on Lin’s dining room table.
For the past several years, with many
thanks to the PC and other advances in postal
automation, much of the manual labor had
been reduced. Today nearly 1,500 newsletters
are mailed to members around the world.
In 1978 Lin organized the first biennial
FAC Nats: a national contest flown to FAC
rules near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was
a success with 78 contestants. Recent FAC
Nats have had as many as 180 contestants,
more than 200 scale models, and more than
1,000 official flights in addition to all the
non-scale models and flights.
The last 10 FAC Nats have been at
Geneseo, New York, home of the 1941
Historical Aircraft Group Museum, of which
Lin was a member.
Several years ago FAC members wanted
to get together on the off year for a largescale
version of the nationals so Lin created
the biennial “Non-Nats.” Attendance and the
number of flights grew to nearly match those
of the regular Nats. The FAC also meets at
the AMA site in Muncie, Indiana, each
September with the FAC Outdoor
Championships.
Early in Lin’s command, he created the
“Kanone Awards.” This is a system of
keeping track of FAC-event wins to compare
one’s success with other FAC members
across the country.
Most recently, Lin accepted a position to
represent the FAC on a national Free Flight
commission with National Free Flight
Society and Society of Antique Modelers
representation to help keep the AMA aware
that FF is alive and well.
The FAC will miss Lin, but his legacy
will soar each time another stick-and-tissue
model heads for the clouds.
Thanks to Ross P. Mayo, the new FAC
commander, for providing this information.
On May 31, 2008, the Greater Cincinnati
Radio Control Club (GCRCC) held its first
AMA TAG (Take off And Grow) event at its
club field. The event was cosponsored by a
grant from the AMA.
Twenty-one people registered for the open
house-style event, which was chaired by
GCRCC member Steve Shedroff. The club
publicized the event through handbills,
churches, schools, and word of mouth. Each
guest registered and was given a list of
seminars to attend. At the conclusion of each
seminar the spokesman signed off and the
guest moved to the next seminar.
After all seminars were attended, the guest
was approved and readied for a flight lesson
with a qualified instructor and buddy-box
trainer. The seminars included PC-based
flight simulators; building tools and
techniques; explanation of the difference
between an ARF and kit; and basic flightcontrol
surfaces and aerodynamic theory.
The steady 20-mph wind down the
runway was not kind, but all flights were
made without incident. Two people signed up
with both the club and AMA during the
event. One GCRCC member commented that
“the most rewarding thing [I] saw was that
two families attended and it was nice to see
that they were looking for a family hobby.”
District III Vice President Bob Brown and
former AMA President Dave Brown also
attended.
All ages enjoyed the challenge of a flight
simulator.
Doug Cox demonstrated flight control.
Richard Kuns instructed on the buddy box.
Bob Brown
Vice President
35 Sanford St.
Bradford PA 16701
Tel.: (814) 368-7655
www.amadistrictiii.org
Associate Vice
Presidents
Randy Adams, Fairfield
OH; (513) 858-3154;
[email protected]
Mike Barbee, Delaware OH;
(740)362-5545;
[email protected]
Jeff Black, New Oxford PA; (717)
965-5634; [email protected]
David H. Ellis, Cross Lanes WV;
(304) 776-1408;
[email protected]
Nelson Gould, Macungie PA;
(610) 395-9159; [email protected]
Ken Karpinski, Philadelphia PA;
(267) 474-3575;
[email protected]
Dan Luchaco, Sayre PA;
(570) 888-1856;
[email protected]
Jim Martin, Franklin OH;
(937) 260-0143;
[email protected]
Mark Radcliff, Saint Marys WV;
(304) 684-2133;
[email protected]
Leo Rodriguez, New Stanton PA;
(724) 925-0159;
[email protected]
Matthew Turowski, Drums PA;
(570) 788-0661;
[email protected]
Joseph S. Vislay, Monclova OH
(419) 878-8843;
[email protected]
Frequency Coordinator:
Ron Morgan, Scotland PA;
(717) 264-7425;
[email protected]
D i s t r i c t I I I Volunteers
District III
Bob Brown, District III Vice President; [email protected]
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
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