Executive Vice President - 2012/03

ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news ama news 146 Model Aviation March 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
To say that model
aviation is in the
fight of its life is
not exaggerating.
Much is being
written about
the need for our
members to write
to the FAA and to
their Congressional representatives to
express dissatisfaction with the content
of the Notice of Proposed Rule Making
(NPRM).
AMA’s staff is engaging modeling
industry leaders, modeling publications,
full-scale organizations such as Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Association, the
EAA, Civil Air Patrol, and numerous
others to rally their members to act on
our behalf with the FAA and Congress.
This is also your call to action.
We need to be able to demonstrate
that our members are also engaged in
this fight to avoid regulating model
aircraft. Each of you needs to become
educated about the message that has to
be conveyed. Commit to writing letters
to your Congressional representatives
and the FAA.
Handwritten letters command the
most attention and have to be read and
acted upon by the FAA. Please consider
asking your family, work acquaintances,
and other organizations that you may
belong to for help.
Several clubs in District II took it
upon themselves to schedule a letterwriting
meeting. At these meetings
the members used the talking points
that AMA provided and composed
handwritten letters that were sent to
Congress and the FAA. The completed
letters were collected and mailed last
spring and the club members knew they
helped our cause.
This is a terrific idea—one that
didn’t take much effort and produced
significant results. I challenge all of our
2,500 chartered clubs to schedule their
own letter-writing meeting night. We
can then follow up by sending emails to
Congressmen and the FAA officials. The
more they hear from us, the stronger
our position is!
The National Rifle Association (NRA)
has discovered that its membership
grows most when under attack and
the right to bear arms is threatened.
The NRA ask for and receive funds
to provide for legal defense. This is
AMA’s time of need and we want to
recruit those people who aren’t AMA
members, but fly model aircraft, into
our organization.
No other national or regional
organization is working to protect
everyone’s right to fly model aircraft.
That is a great reason to contribute
financially to AMA’s legal defense fund,
and to join the Academy! If you know
someone who is not an AMA member,
please explain to them why they should
join.
Do you remember that feeling when
you first went to the flying field and
flew? Do you remember your first solo
flight? Do you remember the name of
the individual who made your first flight
possible?
I remember that experience and the
person who helped make it possible 33
years ago. I was a new AMA member on
that clear and breezy spring day in May
1979. I brought my new, three-channel
foam MRC Hawk with an Enya .15
cu. in. glow engine and a Futaba fourchannel
radio to the Lockport, New
York, flying site.
I could ill-afford the cost of that
equipment back then much less absorb
the cost of smashing that new airplane.
Enter Clarence Ragland.
Clarence saw my apprehension and
inexperience and offered to help me
in my first flight. Letting him take the
transmitter to test and trim the aircraft
was wise and is likely the reason I’m
writing about it today. He asked if I had
ever flown before. I told him no but I
thought that I could do it.
He handed me the transmitter and
guided me through my first turns,
teaching me about overcorrection and
how to bring the sticks to neutral. This
was before the advent of buddy boxes
and trainer cords. Clarence did this
standing beside me.
The first flight lasted roughly 10
minutes, which is as long as that Enya
would run on a 2.5-ounce tank. When
the engine quit, Clarence took the
transmitter and landed. I had the hang
of it after four flights. Little did he
know the impact that his help had on
my modeling future. I went home with
airplanes in my blood.
When I saw Clarence again some 30
years later, I had been reelected as the
AMA District II vice president. After
I introduced myself he recognized me,
but didn’t recall anything about our first
meeting. He was an experienced RC
instructor and I was just one of many
people he has helped.
I explained to him that without his
assistance that fateful first day, I might
have been in and out of the sport in a
single day. Clarence explained to me
that he went on to develop his training
method which does not use a buddy
box or training cord. He claims that his
students will learn to control and land
his supplied aircraft in a single lesson.
Even with my first experience I found
this rather difficult to believe.
I invited Clarence and his wife, Mary,
to attend my club’s community open
house to demonstrate his technique
to the several clubs attending. Despite
windy weather, they came and brought
Clarence’s trainer aircraft.
I found four individuals who had
never flown RC before. All four flew
unassisted after only a couple of minutes
with Clarence. His technique uses a
calm voice, common sense, and no
buddy box while standing next to the
students and it seems to work.
Clarence recently became a new
AMA Leader Member.
Often, a single person means the
difference between prospective
members staying with or dropping out
of this sport. You can be that mentor.
We need to increase the number
of new Open members and the only
surefire way is if our current members
take the time to talk to and help
interested people get real flight time.
Thanks to all who currently do this.
Until next time, help secure our future
and take a youngster flying!
Clarence Ragland training.
From the Copilot’s seat By Gary Fitch, Executive Vice President
Remember Your First Solo Flight?