Flying Site Assistance - 2015/04
Consider applying for a Flying Site Improvement Grant
Flying Site Assistance by Tony Stillman, Flying Site Coordinator
Better weather is coming — I hope! Hello again. As I write this, it is early February in Indiana — much colder than what this Florida boy is used to. However, I am learning how to deal with the cold and the snow. Spring really is just around the corner and soon the flying sites will start filling up on the weekends. People will start bringing out their new creations from the model shops and showing them off at the field.
I hope your club took advantage of the Flying Site Improvement Grant this year. The grant is available to all AMA-chartered clubs and only requires that you complete the application and turn it in to your AMA district vice president (VP). The deadline to turn these in was March 1, 2015, so that time has already passed. If you didn’t take advantage of it this time, make a note to look into it next year.
The Flying Site Improvement Grant is designed to help clubs with improvements to their flying sites and can be used for almost anything that is flying-site related. You can go to the AMA website, download the grant application, and review it so you will understand how it works and what you can do to plan for 2016. Remember, your club can apply every year! Make sure your club gets a portion of the approximately $35,000 that AMA annually awards.
The grant is only one of many programs that AMA offers to its chartered clubs. If you are a club officer, take the time to find out about them and contact your VP or associate vice president for additional information. You can also contact AMA Headquarters with your questions, or visit the AMA website for more information.
As part of improvement efforts to the flying site at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana, I have obtained a roll of US Fabrics Aeromodeling Geotextile 230 that will be installed at Site 8, which is dedicated to park flyers. Thank you to US Fabrics for donating the material for us to use!
We will create a 30 x 100-foot runway that will make takeoffs for small models with small wheels much easier. If you visit AMA this year, drop by and check out the runway. Bring a park flyer and try it out. This might be something your club wants to consider for your home flying site. By testing it yourself, you can report back to your club members with your findings. We hope this will improve the site and give members the opportunity to test a fabric runway for themselves.
For more information about US Fabrics, visit www.usfabricsinc.com/products/us-230-aeromodeling-geotextile.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
