District III
Bob Brown, District III Vice President; [email protected]
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
In Memoriam: Lin Reichel (d. June 12, 2008)
Lin Reichel, who served as commander of the international Flying Aces Club (FAC), passed away on June 12, 2008. He was widely respected for his leadership of those who pursued quality craftsmanship and friendly competition in scale free-flight (FF) model aircraft.
Lin was the chief editor of Flying Aces News, a bimonthly newsletter mailed to FAC members and others, including members of other FF organizations, newsletter editors, and representatives of the hobby industry. Each issue contained an editorial, contest announcements, contest results, building tips, photos, several full-size plans, kit reviews, aircraft histories, news of the membership, and more.
When Lin accepted the head position of the FAC in 1980, membership was approximately 80, mostly in the northeastern United States. Early newsletters were produced by contributors sending in items, plans, and cover drawings; each article was retyped and assembled via the cut-and-paste method. Copies were collated, folded, stapled, hand-addressed, and postage applied—often all on Lin’s dining room table. With the advent of personal computers and postal automation, the workload decreased; by the time of his passing, nearly 1,500 newsletters were mailed worldwide.
In 1978 Lin organized the first biennial FAC Nats, a national contest flown to FAC rules near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which drew 78 contestants. Recent FAC Nats have seen as many as 180 contestants, over 200 scale models, and more than 1,000 official flights, in addition to numerous non-scale models and flights. The last ten FAC Nats were held at Geneseo, New York, home of the Historical Aircraft Group Museum (1941), of which Lin was a member.
Several years ago FAC members wanted a large-scale event on the off year, and Lin created the biennial "Non-Nats." Attendance and flight numbers grew to nearly match those of the regular Nats. The FAC also meets at the AMA site in Muncie, Indiana, each September for the FAC Outdoor Championships.
Early in his leadership, Lin created the Kanone Awards, a system that tracks FAC-event wins so members can compare successes across the country. More recently, Lin represented the FAC on a national Free Flight commission with the National Free Flight Society and the Society of Antique Modelers, helping keep the AMA aware that free flight remains active.
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.
GCRCC TAG (Take Off And Grow) Event — May 31, 2008
On May 31, 2008, the Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club (GCRCC) held its first AMA TAG (Take Off And Grow) event at the 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 received 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 completing all seminars, guests were approved and readied for a flight lesson with a qualified instructor and buddy-box trainer.
Seminars included:
- PC-based flight simulators
- Building tools and techniques
- Explanation of the difference between an ARF and a kit
- Basic flight-control surfaces and aerodynamic theory
A steady 20-mph wind down the runway made conditions challenging, but all flights were completed without incident. Two attendees signed up with both the club and the AMA during the event. One GCRCC member noted that the most rewarding outcome was seeing two families attend and looking for a family hobby.
District III Vice President Bob Brown and former AMA President Dave Brown also attended.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
