Focus on Education
Jack Frost AMA Education Coordinator Tel.: (765) 287-1256 Ext. 515 [email protected]
I was fortunate enough to be a timer for Juniors in Towline Glider this year at the National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats) in Muncie, Indiana. My friend Art Ellis had asked me earlier this year to help out and I agreed. I am so glad that I did!
The kids participating in all of the events are awesome. Not only are they accomplished, but their attitudes are fantastic. Sunday was a particularly brutal day, with gusty winds that claimed more than a couple aircraft.
While I heard a few kids exclaim their frustration at the conditions, I never heard one complain or suggest that the contest should be modified because of the weather. On the contrary, I overheard a conversation between two Juniors commiserating about the weather in which one of them said, "It sure is tough today, but I guess you have to learn to fly in a lot of different conditions."
Talk about grace under pressure! And even though not every kid said this, they were all surely thinking it, as evidenced by the way they flew and conducted themselves. I'm not surprised at their attitudes, but I certainly am impressed.
The turnout was good as far as numbers go as well. The photo was supplied by Chuck Markos.
Congratulations to all who participated! You should all be very proud of your efforts!
Volunteer Spotlight: Wayne Jones
For quite some time, Wayne Jones has been promoting the benefits of model aviation in classrooms, libraries, and museums across Indiana and the surrounding area. Wayne is often assisted by his son David, making this a family affair.
The following is an excerpt from a letter I received from DaleAnne Cantrell, Children's Librarian at the Brownsburg Public Library in Brownsburg, Indiana:
"I am very pleased with the program that Wayne Jones and his adult son presented at the library for students and their parents on November 16, 2002. The parent-child team built the Delta Dart and viewed a video on flight while the glue dried. They also had a chance to fly these airplanes.
"We had twelve students sign up, but fourteen students attended the event with a parent. This was a successful program and this community is enriched because of volunteers like this family."
I talked to Wayne and found out that he provided another program for the Danville Public Library. Pictures and the flyer from the event are shown.
Thank you for your dedication, your perseverance, and your efforts in promoting model aviation, Wayne. We are fortunate to have people like you in our ranks.
Build and Fly.com
The Academy of Model Aeronautics Education website, www.buildandfly.com, is the work of the Education Committee. Our mission is to promote model aviation as an educational tool in formal classroom and non-formal, after-school settings.
We seek to assist classroom teachers to integrate aerospace education concepts into:
- math
- science
- social studies
- language arts
- technology education programs
Curriculum support and materials for science classroom programs may be found in the Inventing Flight Schools curriculum, written to celebrate the centennial of flight of the Wright brothers.
Support for non-formal after-school programs such as Science Olympiad or Technology Student Association competitions may be found in the program search.
If you are seeking mentor assistance with any of these initiatives, you may find the details about how to locate one in your area in the modeling educator listing.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
