THE INSIDE LOOP - 2012/05

8 Model Aviation May 2012 www.ModelAviation.com
THE INSIDE LOOP
Jay Smith, Editor
[email protected]
Stan Alexander
Bob Angel
Bill Boss
Paul Bradley
Sal Calvagna
Lee Estingoy
Mark Fadely
Dave Garwood
Dave Gee
Greg Gimlick
John Glezellis
Jim T. Graham
Donald Grissom
Eric Henderson
Jim Hiller
Bob Hunt
Louis Joyner
John KaganRich
Lopez
Joe Malinchak
Dennis Norman
Richard L. Perry
Mike Riggs
Aaron “AJ” Seaholm
Red Scholefield
Gene Smith
ModelA viation
President Bob Brown
Executive Vice President Gary Fitch
Executive Director Dave Mathewson
Staff
Director of Publications Rob Kurek
Advertising Account Executive Yolanda Jones
Administrative Assistant Lisa Johnson
Assistant Editor Jennifer Orebaugh
Communications Specialist Ashley Rauen
Copy Editor Rachelle Haughn
Director of Design/Production Carla Kunz
Editor Jay Smith
Graphic Designer Chris Savage
Multimedia Editor Chad Budreau
Production Associate Vickie Wilson
Senior Editor Elizabeth Helms
Technical Editor Bob Aberle
Contributing Editors
Academy of Model Aeronautics
5161 E. Memorial Dr.
Muncie IN 47302
Phone: (765) 287-1256
Fax: (765) 289-4248
www.modelaircraft.org
Editorial offices
8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays
Phone: (765) 287-1256, extension 253
Fax: (765) 281-7907
Advertising Representative
Mark Lanterman, Airborne Media
7414 Burton Dr.
Liberty Township OH 45044 (513) 755-7494
Model Aviation is an official publication of The
Academy of Model Aeronautics, Inc., an associate
member of the National Aeronautic Association
(NAA). NAA is the official U.S. representative of
the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI),
the world governing body for sport aviation, and
represents the U.S. at FAI meetings. NAA delegated
to the AMA supervision of FAI-related aeromodeling
activities such as record attempts, competition
sanctions, and selection of U.S. teams for World
Championships. (ISSN 0744-5059, USPS 087-930
Publications Agreement No. 40688541) is owned
exclusively by The Academy of Model Aeronautics,
Inc., a nonprofit organization, and published monthly
at 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302.
Periodical rate postage paid at Muncie IN and at
additional mailing offices. Canadian return address:
Station A, PO Box 54, Windsor ON N9A 615
Spring is here!
Having previously lived in
Florida and being able to fly
year-round, moving to a winter
wonderland such as Indiana makes me
look forward to spring. Although the
famed “building season” has certainly
helped me complete a few projects, I
find myself eager to
fly. Fortunately, I have
indoor flying and the
flight simulator to
hold me over, but by
late March I have the
urge to pull out the
bigger stuff.
When I think of
spring, my thoughts
often involve
watersports and it
was with this in mind
that I put together a
float fly-themed issue.
Inside these pages you
will find six feature
articles dealing with
amphibious aircraft.
Two are event articles,
two are reviews, and
I’ve included a howto
and an exciting
construction feature
about the Grumman
Goose by Paul
Kohlmann.
One of the reviews
is of the Polaris XL,
with a chance to win one as we profile
Model Aero in the “About Us” feature.
I hope you enjoy the coverage and it
gets you excited to try an amphibious
model or attend a float flying event!
Redesign and Changes
to Model Aviation
I want to thank everyone who has
taken the time to contact me via letter,
email, or telephone regarding the
magazine’s redesign. The majority of
responses that I have received have been
positive and I greatly appreciate your
feedback.
One of the alterations we made was
changing the text to a different font in
a larger size to improve readability. This
necessitated changing the frequency
of some of the columns to keep the
magazine at roughly the same page
count.
“RC Scale,” “RC Giants,” and the
“Frequently Asked
Questions” columns
have been changed
from monthly to
bimonthly. These
columns were selected
because RC receives
the most feature
coverage and they
often contain material
that crosses over into
other columns.
As I mentioned
in my February
editorial, the biggest
challenge I face when
putting together the
magazine is providing
appropriate content
to satisfy our readers.
If you don’t see the
amount of coverage
you would like on the
disciplines in which
you participate, I ask
you to let me know
and to provide topics
you would like to see
covered.
One of the tools I use to determine
the interests of our readers is the data
AMA collects with the membership
application. Currently 92% of our
members have selected RC as their
primary interest.
Although I believe this data is a clear
indication that our primary focus should
continue to be on RC, we will still cover
and support all aspects of aeromodeling.
I believe our ability to do that, and show
an appreciation for anything that flies
regardless of its power system or control
method—be it a transmitter, a CL
handle, or trimmed to fly on its own—is
what makes Model Aviation great.
When I think of
spring, my thoughts
often involve
watersports and
it was with this
in mind that I put
together a float flythemed
issue.