Education Through Aviation - 2011/05

AMA News
May 2011 137
Announcements, news, and information from the
Academy of Model Aeronautics and the elected district representatives.
OUR LIVES take many twists and turns,
and being involved in model aviation
certainly provides many additional people,
stories, places, and opportunities to learn.
I recently returned from Denver,
Colorado, and the Wings Over the Rockies
Museum. This is one of the coolest
aviation venues I’ve ever seen! Utilizing
an enormous Air Force hangar left from
Langley Air Force Base, “Wings” is a huge
venue displaying an amazing collection of
mostly military aircraft.
I was fortunate to attend the annual
model aviation expo and represent the
AMA’s educational offerings with the
chair of the AMA Education Committee,
Travis McGinnis. The event is in its
seventh year.
Our great AMA members in the Denver
area are to be congratulated and thanked!
There were many model clubs,
organizations, and vendors of model gear
available to the nearly 2,000 paying guests
who were given an impressive introduction
to model aviation.
Bill at work in Denver’s Wings Over the
Rockies.
Travis McGinnis had a great-looking mini
TriSquire on display!
Turbine run-ups, CL demos, 3-D foamy
aircraft, spectacular FF demos were all
available. Denver area modelers brought in
Countless great models. It was truly an
expo for all to be proud.
Mike Harrington and his TeamAMA
Colorado Xtreme Airshow Team had a
great-looking display, and AeroWorks, a
Denver company, was there to support
Wings as well.
We have people in our organization
who move, and so does Wings! I had the
pleasure of meeting with its administrative
staff and am proud to announce that model
aviation and the AMA will have a
permanent presence in Wings!
The organization’s education offerings
are wonderful; we both concentrate on
STEM requirements and look for every
possible opportunity to connect
educational activities and aviation.
The Wings facility is nearing
completion of a major renovation and will
have a 35-foot-high entryway with a
mobile of—you guessed it—model
aircraft. It will be one of the first things
every guest to Wings will see. Wings
people move!
Much effort has gone into Wings for
many years, as has much work for the
celebration we’re having this year for the
AMA’s 75th Anniversary. To step back and
consider the collaborative effort of Wings
and the AMA represents countless years
and people—people who move.
I’ve mentioned people who move and the
twists and turns our lives take. Jim Rice,
AMA District VIII vice president, shared
the following story from his district Web
site. I was so moved by it I wanted to share
it with all of you:
“As you may know if you read the Last
Flights section of this Web site, Kyle
Foote, a very likeable and talented young
AMA member and full-scale pilot passed
away in October after a car accident. His
father, Terry, continues to post on a blog
that I subscribe to and I found the below
note that I thought we could all appreciate
and grow from.
“Terry continues to go through Kyle’s
things and finds amazing glimpses into his
personal life and his insights about the
world around him. This piece is priceless
in my opinion.”
—JR
“You ever watch that eBay commercial
on TV where they say ‘shop victoriously?’
Well ... I feel like I won the lottery or
caught the pass for the winning
touchdown! I found an old paper Kyle
wrote for one of his classes. It seems he
was supposed to write a paper that told
what set him apart from others.
“I can sit and write about him hour after
hour. I suppose Moms and Dads can do
that sort of thing because they really know
their kids better than anyone else. Well,
here ya have it, straight from Kyle:
“What sets Kyle Foote apart from the
rest? I set out to get my education just like
all the rest in my class.
“I tried sports at the lower levels. I
competed in little league baseball and
basketball at the local YMCA. Junior high
basketball caught my attention next.
Education Through Aviation Bill Pritchett | [email protected]
“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable,
those that are movable, and those that move.”
5161 E. Memorial Dr.
Muncie IN 47302
(765) 287-1256, ext. 515
[email protected]
—Benjamin Franklin
To step back and
consider the
collaborative effort of
Wings and the AMA
represents countless
years and people—
people who move.
Education Through Aviation
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138 MODEL AVIATION
HI, AGAIN! I’m writing this in early March after returning from
my annual visit to the Southeastern Modelers Show in Perry,
Georgia.
The weather is finally thinking about warming up! Hopefully
things are starting to get better in your area as well and you will
soon be able to go flying!
Many club members must be thinking the same thing, because
I am getting busy with club flying site issues. I will be happy to
assist in any way that I can, so don’t be shy! Give me a call or email
and let’s see what we can do.
I was recently made aware of an update EPA video of AMA’s
EPA relationship and how the EPA sees model airplanes as a great
use of Superfund sites that have been remediated. The new video
can be viewed here at www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/recycle/
info/amapartners.html.
By the time you read this, a link will be on the AMA Flying
Site Assistance Web page that will take you directly to the video.
This clip can help you to convince local officials of how model
airplane flying sites can be a positive use of land, even if it is not
a Superfund site. Local county or city governments can benefit by
partnering with a club to use greenspace that might otherwise go
unused.
Sometimes showing local officials that a division of the
Federal Government sees our activity as a positive one and
actually recommends lands to be designated for our use can really
work in your favor!
Clubs can serve as a security force to ensure that the site is
secure and undamaged. Any issues can be noted and the local
officials informed.
Site usage can also result in positive economic impact to the
local economy, because of the influx of modelers heading to the
field for an event. These visitors purchase gasoline and hotel
rooms and keep the local restaurants busy. This is music to the
ears of any local official/politician. Bringing dollars to a local
economy in need of a boost is on their minds all the time.
I have heard from many of you who received a letter or e-mail
from me regarding contact from a local official who would like to
speak to club members about providing a flying site! If you
remember from previous columns, these contacts were obtained
during our efforts at the National Recreation and Parks
Association (NRPA) Expo, and the National League of Cities
Expo in 2010.
This is exciting and I am hopeful that many new sites will be
created as a result. Having a site available can help clubs grow
and even be the spark for starting a new club!
I will be following up with these clubs over the next month or
so to find out the results of these contacts.
This coming winter, I will be attending the National League of
Cities show in Phoenix, Arizona, and the NRPA event in Atlanta,
Georgia, to continue working to find new sites for our clubs.
Based on the results of our current push, we will modify our
efforts to improve our chances of gaining new sites.
See you at the field!
Tony Stillman
Flying Site Assistance
Coordinator
102 Cherrywood Ct., Brunswick GA 31525; (912) 242-2407;
[email protected]
Having a site available can help clubs grow and
even be the spark for starting a new club!
Flying Site Assistance
Tony Stillman | www.modelaircraft.org/membership/clubs/fsap.aspx
“When I became a freshman in high
school I found myself gravitating to the
marching band. I lettered all four years and
became a section leader in my senior year. I
had found my niche and I succeeded in
doing something I really liked.
“My academic studies were acceptable
and I made grades that were really good in
most areas but my math and foreign
language were a challenge. During all of
my academic years I had a hobby that
would one day get me to think about using
it as a career path.
“I started flying radio controlled model
airplanes as a hobby and pastime when I
was seven years old. It wasn’t until I was
about half way through high school that I
thought about pursuing a career in aviation.
I was busy building and designing different
models of planes from the very small to
large-scale heavyweights and all the while
my skills in math were coming up. I was
using complicated measurements, angles of
incidents, weights and measures, etc.
“During this time of building and
designing there came a transformation of
my flying skills. Members of my model
airplane club started coming to me to test
fly their planes. I started entering
competitions and surpassing the flying
skills of just about everyone including my
Dad. While this would appear to be a
normal course of events, one had to
remember that there were about 160
members of the club.
“My Dad had been one of the club
experts in training others and doing a lot of
test flying for the membership. As I gained
experience and skill these same members
were coming to me to do these piloting
chores. My Dad acknowledges that I have
surpassed his skills and is very proud of
me.
“My first flight in a friend’s Cessna 182
found me doing the actual piloting with
relative ease. My instructor was glancing at
my Dad in the back seat with raised
eyebrows. It seems that my models were
actually playing the part of a simulator
when I got to the controls of the real plane.
“My skills bolstered my confidence and
brought about a desire to fly for a living.
My Dad said that anyone could fly but an
educated pilot was going to be well paid.
After all, a modern plane was a complex
series of mechanical and electronic
systems and it was going to take an
educated individual to operate it. This
became my goal. My early success at
models was going to be my ticket to
becoming a pilot. I had to make a decision
to raise my grades and use my talent to do
what I love to do ... Fly!
“This was my defining moment to make
my dream of flight possible. I feel that this
is what sets me apart from others. I felt the
need to succeed at my hobby and take me
to the next level of my dream of becoming
a pilot.”
My guess is that Kyle would have gone
on to fly bigger and better things in his
life. I’m glad he was who he was!
Fly and have fun!
Education Through Aviation
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