I hope everyone has had a great modeling year and is having a wonderful holiday season with friends and family. I also hope that Santa has been or will be good to you all with plenty of new airplanes and good toys.
Please congratulate Donald Way, who has accepted an Associate Vice President position in addition to being the District VI webmaster. Also please watch http://www.amad6.org/ for updates and changes in the district. Thanks for your work, Donald.
Along with the cooler weather comes what many in the Midwest refer to as the building season. I hope everyone has the opportunity to put a few new aircraft together for the spring flying season.
In October, the AMA held a webinar about building. The webinar was recorded, and can be seen at: http://www.amaflightschool.org/video/recorded-plans-build-webinar. There are plans for additional webinars in the future, so if you enjoyed this one, stay tuned.
October was a busy month for me. I helped with the AMA booth at the iHobby Expo in Chicago. I also attended a Profile Brotherhood event in Columbia, Missouri, which is always a good time, with a bunch of fellow fliers and friends.
My wife and I attended an open house the Bolivar Municipal Airport, of Bolivar, Missouri, where we handed out and helped assemble gliders and rubber-powered Gillow’s airplanes, and helped man the static display. The highlight of the day was getting to fly a couple of demonstration flights at the airport taxiway with Bolivar Sport Flyers members Steve Prewitt and Jim House.
Lastly, the quarterly AMA Executive Council meeting was held in October in Muncie, Indiana. During the council meeting, the success of inaugural National Model Aviation Day was discussed, and we established the date for 2014 event as August 16. It was decided to always have National Model Aviation Day on the Saturday prior to National Aviation Day, which is always August 19.
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed August 19 to be National Aviation Day. The day coincides with the birthday of Orville Wright, who piloted the Wright Flyer. Orville and his brother, Wilbur, built the world’s first self-propelled airplane with controls that enabled them to steer the aircraft. Orville’s first flight took place on December 17, 1903, in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and lasted 12 seconds and 120.
Each year, the president may issue a proclamation to designate August 19 as National Aviation Day, to call on government officials to display the US flag on all government buildings on the day, and to invite those living in the US to observe the day with appropriate exercises to further stimulate interest in aviation in the United States.
Additionally, a few states issued proclamations in 2013 to establish National Model Aviation Day. Thanks to Dusty Riley of the Kansas City Northern Knights Model Airplane Club for having Governor Jay Nixon sign a proclamation to establish National Model Aviation Day in Missouri.
I feel this has been a successful first year as a new AMA vice president and I look forward to another fun year of modeling. I plan to continue to attend events, and to be involved with and meet the fantastic members who make up our District VI.
Program of the Month: Mall Shows
The AMA Headquarters staff will ship free handout materials to chartered clubs and award a commemorative pin to workers. Clubs need to notify AMA Headquarters 30 days prior to their planned show to allow time for shipping.
Happy Flying!
