Modeling Spoken Here
Bob Hunt — Aeromodeling Editor
This past May I was most honored to have been invited to attend a very special award ceremony. The honoree was a young man whom I've come to know and respect as a gifted competitor, but more importantly, as a decent, humble, and dedicated human being.
You may recall the subject of the February 2001 Model Aviation cover. It was a photograph I took of a father and son with a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Power Free Flight (FF) model. The young man was Austin Gunder and the proud dad was Craig Gunder.
I've known them both for quite a few years. Craig and I used to compete against each other in the Control Line (CL) stunt event. I remember a very young Austin hanging around in those days, but he was so quiet that I never really got to know him very well.
It had been a few years since I had last seen Austin when I was asked to shoot that cover. In the interim, Austin had blossomed into a world-class FAI FF competitor and won the event at the 2000 FAI Free Flight Junior World Championships.
A report on the Championships ran in that issue of Model Aviation, and I thought that was the end of the story. It seems I was fortunately mistaken!
Craig owns and operates a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Certified Repair Station in Red Lion, Pennsylvania. During a routine inspection, Larry Herr, the principal maintenance inspector for the region, happened to see the cover featuring Craig and Austin.
Larry took a copy of the magazine back to the Harrisburg Flight Standards District Office and showed it to Ray Steich, Al Groff, and Jim Pool. Together, they were moved to do something that would dramatically underscore the importance of what Austin had achieved, and at the same time, bring aeromodelling and general aviation in the state of Pennsylvania some well-deserved recognition.
Without Austin knowing anything about this, these gentlemen contacted Craig to tell him of their idea. With Craig's help and support, they put together an impressive presentation ceremony at Austin’s high school.
On May 30 of this year, Austin was called from class by Wayne Neff, assistant principal of Red Lion High School, and was told to report to the audio/visual department where there was a complete closed-circuit television studio.
Austin must have been in shock when he saw the assembled group who came to address his classmates on television and honor him for his achievements.
The Ceremony
The program began with the following address by Mr. Neff:
“To the students, faculty, administration, and honored guests. Good afternoon. This program is a special awards ceremony organized by the Federal Aviation Administration.
“As a school district, it is rare indeed to be blessed with a state or national champion. We, the students and faculty at RLAHS, have a young man who last August traveled to the Czech Republic, competed, and won a Junior World Championship in model aircraft flight.
“We are honored to have with us today numerous dignitaries who will present special awards and citations commemorating this outstanding achievement.”
Dignitaries, indeed! The first speaker was AMA member and close friend of the Gunder family, Art Ellis. Art gave insight into Austin’s life in modeling and explained the significance of the achievement from a more technical point of view, to help the nonmodelers present better understand Austin’s depth of involvement.
Next, a professionally prepared video was shown that briefly encapsulated Austin’s life in modeling to this point.
Presenters and Awards
- United States Representative Todd Platts
- Presented a framed citation and an American flag that had flown over the Capitol on President’s Day.
- Pennsylvania State Senator Mike Waugh
- Presented an official citation and a Pennsylvania state flag.
- Emmitt Mahon (representing U.S. Senator Rick Santorum)
- Presented a Congressional Record Citation.
- Joenna Shovlin (representing Pennsylvania State Representative Stanley Saylor)
- Donald Konarda, President of the National Aeronautic Association (NAA)
- Presented an official Certificate of Achievement.
- Glenn Raup (Manager, Flight Department of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Aviation, representing Governor Tom Ridge)
- Presented a special Citation from the Governor and a Citation from the Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Brad Mallory.
- Jim Pool (FAA Harrisburg Flight Standards District Office)
- Represented U.S. Senator Arlen Specter by presenting a Certificate signed by the Senator and the Flight Safety Award citation from the FAA.
I wanted to list all of the presenters and all of the awards and citations that Austin received to make a point. We need to acknowledge our younger members’ achievements to encourage them and others to do their best in striving for excellence.
I’ve written the following in this column several times, and it needs repeating here: There is a great deal of recognition and awareness in this country of athletic activities for youth, and so many venues where they can practice their skills. Yet there is precious little organized activity for those who have technical or mechanical skills and talents, and few dedicated facilities where they can hone those skills.
Programs like the FAI Junior World Championships are beacons that we can follow to ensure that technically minded youngsters have a way to exercise and develop their abilities.
And when a young man or woman achieves significant success in modeling/technical endeavors, it is important that we find ways of acknowledging those accomplishments that underscore our deep appreciation of their efforts.
Certainly the program that the FAA put together to honor Austin Gunder is a shining example of what can and should be done whenever possible.
Our thanks go out to the FAA, to Wayne Neff and the Red Lion School District, and to all those who attended and presented Austin with citations. This is a day he will always remember, and, more importantly, it may have been a day that will ultimately help to insure the well-being of our hobby/sport by serving as a template for future presentations to equally deserving recipients.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
