President’s Perspective
The past several weeks have been busy, and I have a number of good things to tell you about this month.
Meetings in Washington, D.C.
I attended a luncheon in Washington, D.C., where AMA’s Education Committee chairperson, Dr. Gordon Schimmel, was presented with the 2009 Mervin K. Strickler Jr. Aerospace Education Leadership Award by the National Coalition for Aviation Education (NCAE) for his work with AMA’s education outreach programs. Recipients are selected based on significant contributions or noteworthy achievements in the aviation- and aerospace-education fields.
While in Washington I also attended a meeting of the Leadership Conference on Aviation and Space Education (LCASE), hosted by NCAE. Dr. Schimmel represented AMA at LCASE, which was also attended by representatives from across the aviation community. The intent of this year’s conference was to define a vision for the future of aerospace education and how NCAE and its member groups could position the organization to meet those needs. Participating in opportunities like LCASE provides AMA with insight into the issues facing the aviation-education community. We use the information gained to further improve and refine our education outreach programs to ensure they meet AMA’s ongoing needs.
National Model Aviation Museum
On October 30, 2009, AMA members Terry Rensberger and Scott Thompson, from the South Bend Radio Control Club (SBRCC), accompanied by Dr. Robert Nelson, professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Notre Dame, visited the National Model Aviation Museum. While there, on behalf of SBRCC, they presented AMA Museum Director Michael Smith with a commemorative patch the club designed that flew aboard the Space Shuttle on a recent mission. The Shuttle was piloted by Kevin Ford, a Notre Dame graduate. Scott and Terry work with Dr. Nelson at Notre Dame to assist students through a design, build, and fly program.
AMA is honored that SBRCC felt our museum was an appropriate place to house this artifact, and we will display it proudly.
Claude McCullough Education Facility
On the same day, AMA held a dedication ceremony and grand opening of the new Claude McCullough Education Facility at the International Aeromodeling Center. The facility, built entirely through member donations including a significant donation from the estate of former AMA president Claude McCullough, will present new opportunities for AMA to expand its educational outreach efforts.
Many local dignitaries attended the dedication, including the Honorable Sharon McShurley, mayor of the city of Muncie, and Dr. Eric King, superintendent of Muncie Community Schools. The facility will be used to introduce and educate school-age children, college students, and adults through model aviation. AMA has a long history of advancing education through aviation, and this new facility will allow us to expand those efforts.
AOPA Annual Summit (Tampa, Florida)
In early November, AMA was invited to participate in the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) Annual Summit held in Tampa, Florida. Taking part in the convention allowed us to meet and visit with a number of AMA members who stopped by our booth, and to speak with countless AOPA members and other aviation enthusiasts. The common theme among nearly all who stopped by was, “I used to do this (fly model airplanes),” or “I want to try this someday.” We had an area set up to fly some small electric models across from our booth, and several former modelers remarked about how much things have changed.
In addition to the convention center, there were outdoor activities at the nearby Peter O. Knight Airport, including a large aircraft display, vendor booths, and introductory flights in light airplanes. AOPA provided AMA a large hangar where AMA District V Vice President Tony Stillman and one of AMA’s local chartered clubs, the Tampa RC Aircraft Club (TRAC), organized indoor flying demonstrations throughout the convention. The Southern Aces Airshow Team provided a number of RC flight simulators, and Dr. Gordon Schimmel, with the help of dozens of TRAC members, organized an AMA Make-and-Take event that introduced kids (and some adults) to model aviation.
High winds throughout the weekend canceled the outdoor RC flying demonstrations that had been planned. All of the AOPA staff were incredibly accommodating, which made AMA’s attendance a positive and valuable experience.
AMA Expo (Ontario, California)
The AMA Expo in Ontario, California, is coming soon. The Expo will be held at the Ontario Convention Center on January 8–10, 2010. Many new and exciting features have been added to this year’s event.
For the first time, the Expo will feature a number of speakers who will share stories about their careers and how model aviation played a role in choosing their career paths. Planned speakers include:
- Hoot Gibson — former Space Shuttle astronaut and member of the Astronauts Hall of Fame
- Jon Sharp — pilot, designer, and builder of the Nemesis NXT racer
- Captain Tom Huff — Navy test pilot and Naval Test Wing Commander
- Dan Kreigh — senior structural engineer at Scaled Composites
- Burt Rutan — AMA Hall of Fame member, designer and builder of SpaceShipOne, the first private, manned vehicle to fly into space and return
If you attend the Expo, stop by the AMA booth and say hello.
See you next time.
Dave Mathewson AMA President [email protected]
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
