President's Perspective - 2008/08

t’s been a busy month. The annual Joe
Nall Giant Scale Fly-In is one of the
premier modeling events in the country.
The fly-in continues to grow, this year
drawing more than 600 pilots and thousands
of spectators to Triple Tree Aerodrome in
Woodruff, South Carolina.
As has been tradition for the last several
years, AMA was again offered the
opportunity to hold a general membership
meeting on Thursday evening during the
fly-in. Despite less-than-ideal weather
conditions, something I’ve been told is rare
during the Nall, turnout for the meeting was
exceptional.
Several AMA vice presidents and
committee chairpersons were on hand to
discuss projects and programs that AMA
will be developing during the coming year.
At the end of the prepared agenda the floor
was opened for questions from the
audience.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t take this
opportunity to thank Pat Hartness for his
generous hospitality, Kirby and Carol
McKinney for their hard work in organizing
the post-meeting cookout, and all of the
members of the Confederate Air Farce (no,
that’s not a misprint) who pitched in setting
up seating and the sound system, and
staffed the grills during the cookout.
The following week I was in Las Vegas,
Nevada, to meet with members of one of
AMA’s newest chartered clubs and our first
dedicated Park Pilot Program club: the
Vegas Aces. Using AMA’s new How to
Start a Park Flying Site package, the Aces
worked with the local school district and
gained access to a sports field adjacent to
one of the community’s elementary schools.
Because of its flying site location and
President’s Perspective
AMA President Dave Mathewson
I
community outreach program, the club’s
membership more than doubled during its
first few weeks in existence. What the
Vegas Aces have done is exactly what
AMA envisioned when we created our new
Park Pilot Program. Smaller, slower, and
quieter park flyer models are bringing
model aviation back into some of our more
urban areas making it easier and more
convenient to become involved in
aeromodeling.
The Vegas Aces story and how the
members accomplished what they’ve done
in their community were documented in the
July issue of MA.
Next was a trip to La Salle, Michigan, to
attend the Toledo Weak Signals’ dedication
of the club’s recent field-improvement
project. Many of you will recognize the
Weak Signals as the club that hosts the
trade show in Toledo, Ohio, every April.
The club’s field is just past the Ohio
border in Michigan and is a first-class
facility that includes a paved runway,
covered pit area, and a large clubhouse
complete with power and water. All of this
is on more than 100 acres that the club
owns. What made this site possible is the
dedication and hard work of the club’s
members coupled with strong leadership of
its officers.
While I was there I also had the
opportunity to present the AMA Fellowship
Award to Joe Vislay for his 25 years of
work as an AMA associate vice president in
District III. Joe has been a longtime
supporter of AMA and in addition to his
work in the district he also serves on the
AMA Nats Management Team, spending
much of his time in Muncie every summer
working at and supporting AMA’s National
Aeromodeling Championships.
As soon as I finish this column and fire it
off to our MA editors I’ll be heading to
Muncie, Indiana, to attend the annual
Extreme Flight Championships (XFC). This
is the second year the event will be held at
the International Aeromodeling Center.
The XFC is a high-profile, intense,
aerobatic competition for both RC
helicopters and fixed-wing models featuring
some of the best pilots in the world. The
value I see in this event is that it is exactly
the type of flying that lends itself to
television exposure.
The vast majority of flights are
choreographed to music, have an upbeat
and enthusiastic style, and are flown
directly in front of the spectators at “stage
center.” This all makes for the perfect
combination that I think would attract the
attention of anyone who has even a casual
interest in model aviation.
One of the issues AMA has begun to focus
on is doing more to promote model
aviation. Building the credibility of
aeromodeling will pay dividends when we
go to our communities looking for
support—especially when it comes to
acquiring a new or keeping an existing
flying site.
To help we have partnered with
JWalcher Communications from San Diego,
California. JWalcher Communications is a
public and media relations company
comprising marketing and community
relations professionals with experience in
developing successful strategic
communication campaigns.
AMA’s Marketing Committee will be
working with the JWalcher staff to spread
the word about the value of model aviation
as an educational tool as well as being an
exciting recreational activity appropriate for
the whole family. I see some good
prospects here and look forward to the
results of our working together. MA
See you next time ...
August 2008 5
… the club’s membership more than doubled
during its first few weeks in existence.
Mission Statement
Dave Mathewson
AMA president
[email protected]
The Academy of Model Aeronautics is a world-class association of modelers organized for the purpose of
promotion, development, education, advancement, and safeguarding of modeling activities.
The Academy provides leadership, organization, competition, communication, protection, representation,
recognition, education and scientific/technical development to modelers.
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