President’s Perspective - 2010/05

May 2010 5
he Robert J. Collier Trophy is
considered one of the foremost
awards in the aviation and aerospace
arena. The award is administered by the
National Aeronautic Association (NAA) and is
presented annually “for the greatest
achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in
America, with respect to improving the
performance, efficiency, and safety of air or
space vehicles, the value of which has been
thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during
the preceding year.”
Robert J. Collier was the publisher of
Collier’s Weekly magazine and president of the
Aero Club of America. The trophy, first
awarded in 1911, was originally named the
Aero Club of America Trophy.
Collier died in 1918, and after the Aero
Club of America dissolved in 1922, the award
was renamed in his honor. It was at this time
that the NAA took over administration of the
award. Today the Collier Trophy is on
permanent display at the Smithsonian National
Air and Space Museum.
The list of Collier Trophy winners
represents some of the most recognized names
and achievements in aviation. Glenn Curtiss
was the first recipient, in 1911. Throughout the
years, other winners have included Orville
Wright for development of the automatic
stabilizer, the Army Air Corps for development
of the XC-35, Chuck Yeager for piloting the
Bell X-1, the crew of Apollo 11, and Dick and
Burt Rutan and Jeana Yeager for their work
with the Rutan Voyager in accomplishing the
first nonstop flight around the world.
More recently the award has been presented
to those who were involved in significant
accomplishments including the development of
the Global Positioning System (GPS), the C-17
President’s Perspective
AMA President Dave Mathewson
T
AMA’s second annual membership drive is underway.
Globemaster III, and SpaceShipOne: the first
commercial manned space vehicle.
Each year the NAA invites a number of
aviation professionals and association leaders
to serve on the Collier Selection Committee.
This year I was invited to be part of the
process, representing AMA.
There were eight nominees for this year’s
award. In early March, the committee met in
Washington DC, where representatives of
each nominee made detailed presentations in
support of the nominations. At the conclusion
of the presentations, the committee met in
closed session to select a winner.
NAA Chairman Walter Boyne noted that
this year’s list of candidates was
exceptionally strong. I can honestly say that
selecting the eventual winner was a
challenge; the accomplishments of all the
nominees deserved recognition. Each one
represented a remarkable achievement.
At the end of the process the selection
committee chose the International Space
Station as the recipient of the 2009 Robert J.
Collier Trophy. The award was made in
recognition of “the design, development,
and assembly of the world’s largest
spacecraft, an orbiting laboratory that
promises new discoveries for mankind and
sets new standards for international
cooperation in space.”
I thank Chairman Boyne and NAA
President Jonathan Gaffney for inviting
AMA to be a part of the 2009 Collier
selection process.
The responses we have received about the
first issue of “AMA Today” have been
overwhelmingly positive.
“AMA Today” is an e-mail “quick-brief”
that we will be sending to our members who
elect to receive this regular electronic
publication. It’s meant to provide a quick
snapshot of things of interest taking place
within AMA and the aeromodeling
community.
The first issue was sent in mid-March to
our members who have provided us with their
e-mail addresses. If you didn’t receive a copy,
and would like to see an upcoming release, email
[email protected] and
we’ll add you to the subscription list.
AMA’s second annual membership drive is
underway. This year’s drive has a new look
with the foundation being the longstanding
AMA Ambassador Program. Any current
AMA member who signs up three new
members will be rewarded with a one-year
membership credit. Sign up three new
members and your next year’s dues are free.
There’s no limit to the number of
memberships you can receive. Sign up six new
members and your dues will be covered for the
next two years. Qualifying new memberships
include Senior Citizen, Open, Affiliate, and
Life. Current Life Members who participate
will receive a credit equal to one year’s dues in
AMA retail merchandise.
Taking part in the 2010 membership drive
is a great way to introduce new people to
model aviation and AMA. Good luck to
everyone who takes part.
AMA has received a number of questions
asking about the future of the frequencies on
72 MHz set aside for model aviation use.
The FCC’s National Broadband Plan was
released on March 16, 2010. The FCC is trying
to identify an additional 500 MHz of spectrum
for wireless broadband providers.
Right now, the prime targets for having
their spectrum “repurposed” are television
broadcasters. As I write this, there is nothing to
suggest that the RC frequencies will get caught
up in the reassignment but, as always, AMA is
staying alert for any threat.
As I’ve written on several occasions, we
recognize that we have thousands of members
who are heavily invested in 72 MHz
equipment that works perfectly well, and have
no interest in switching to spread spectrum.
AMA intends to continue to work to retain the
use of these frequencies for model aviation for
the foreseeable future. MA
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson
AMA president
[email protected]
Mission Statement
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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