Education through Aviation - 2012/09

Yogi reminds us
of how we must
listen to learn.
We’ve recently
finished our second
year of Camp
AMA. We had
17 young pilots
attend. They
all listened and
learned, and were anxious to improve
their knowledge and understanding of
aviation. They also wanted to grow as
model aircraft pilots.
RJ Gritter and Nick Maxwell are
two shining examples of how great
our young people can be. They were
the lead instructors and the campers
just couldn’t get enough of what they
had to say and watching them fly.
Jim Rice and Jack Matlock traveled
from San Antonio to assist and were
invaluable in their contributions to
the camp. Jim serves as our District
VIII vice president and Jack is Jim’s
longtime friend. If there are two pilots
who are more passionate about getting
the younger generations involved
than Jim and Jack, who are more
fun to be with, and who are more
knowledgeable, I’ve not met them!
The entire staff simply understood
the importance of the fun factor in
learning.
I always step away from an event
and try to develop a picture in my
mind of what happened, in an attempt
to improve the next one. In the
included photo is this year’s diverse
group of campers who developed great
friendships during their time together,
and who couldn’t get enough of flying.
I have to single out Jessy Symmes.
She was absolutely “the deal” with
the kids, parents, organization, and
leadership. I can’t thank her enough.
At the end of something such as
this, it seems only fair to challenge
even more youth to attend next year,
and for additional clubs to sponsor
a young pilot who wants to attend.
Please check AMA Today and our
youth newsletter, Flightline, for links
to the amazing video these students
made, and photos of the camp.
Although this was an encouraging
moment for the youth movement of
model aviation, it also pointed out one
of our real shortcomings: where are
the females? I’ll tell you where more
than 300 of them were this summer—
at two Science, Technology, and
Engineering Preview (STEP) camps in
Michigan and Minnesota.
Jessy and I attended the final night
of the Grand Rapids, Michigan, event
and were so impressed that we plan
to offer scholarships to one girl from
Michigan. These campers learned
to love aviation, fly RC models, and
will give the boys a challenge next
summer! STEP focuses on girls in the
sixth grade.
Grand Valley State University in
Allendale, Michigan, is one of the two
universities that uses model aviation
the vehicle to address the AMA’s
mission statement.
Camp Director Sara Maas is a
wonderful example of someone who
knows only a little about model
aviation, but is quick to embrace the
learning opportunities we have. The
Grand Valley State group accepted 84
girls for its two summer camps, and
still has a waiting list.
The campers are in the sixth grade
and the goal is to promote interest in
science and math classes, and related
technological fields. The girls take
CAD design classes and design, build,
and fly their airplanes. We were
amazed by their progress in a few
short days and their obvious interest in
things that fly! Bravo, STEP!
Here are a couple photos of kids
having a great time with model
aviation. Our gratitude goes to those
who make this possible, and who
continually challenge others to make it
happen!