President's Perspective 2014/06
Changes, teams, and upcoming events
Bob Brown [email protected]
Personnel changes
District XI Vice President (VP) Mike Mosbrooker has resigned from the AMA Executive Council (EC) for health reasons. He went to the hospital for an angiogram and returned home later following a triple bypass. Although Mike is recovering nicely, Associate Vice President (AVP) Chuck Bower will complete his term. The District XI VP election will be held later this year.
Remembering Jim Wallen
Jim Wallen, former VP in District IX, made his final flight on March 29, 2014. Jim’s intelligence and words of wit made him a positive addition to several AMA committees. His most recent endeavor, the AMA Foundation, is off to a great start, primarily because of his diligence.
District I VP Andy Argenio remembered Jim well in his statement: "All of us in the AMA who you made better by your presence will remember not just that you died, but that you lived. And that your life gave us new meaning and memories too great to ever forget."
Competitions and teams
The Northeast Ohio Indoor Electric Festival provided a great venue for those interested in indoor electric flying. Tony Husak and his crew deserve gratitude for their efforts.
Several members of the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics and AMA staff conducted the initial FAI F3P Indoor RC Aerobatics Team Selection contest. The U.S. team includes:
- RJ Gritter
- Devin McGrath
- Ryan Clark
- Joseph Szczur
Some have questioned the EC's interest in competition. Gary Fitch, Mark Radcliff, Tim Jesky, Dave Mathewson, and I were directly involved in this meet. This certainly illustrates the council's desire to continue in the world-class competition arena.
The team will now go to Poland to represent the U.S. at the second FAI F3P World Championship. Joseph Szczur is an outstanding junior competitor. Last year he was on the FAI F3A Aerobatics Team that competed in South Africa; this year he is on the F3P Team going to Poland—not bad for a 14-year-old from Chantilly, Virginia!
The U.S. Indoor Free Flight (FF) Team did well in the 2014 FAI World Championship for Free Flight Indoor Model Aircraft in Romania. Senior U.S. team members Kang Lee and Brett Sanborn placed first and second individually. In the senior team competition, the U.S. team, which included John Kagan, won the event.
Junior competitor Evan Guyett of the U.S. placed first individually, and the U.S. junior team, which included Chung Royce, placed third. Congratulations to the winners and thanks to the organizers of the event.
Upcoming events
The AMA general membership meeting will be held Thursday, May 15, during Joe Nall Week at the Triple Tree Aerodrome. At the conclusion of the meeting, AMA will provide dinner for all attendees. If you have never attended the Joe Nall event, plan to do so—it is a mecca for aeromodeling. For more information, visit www.tripletreeaerodrome.com.
The National Electric Fly-In (NEFI) will be held June 6–8 at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. The charity event will again support:
- the Animal Rescue Fund
- the National Model Aviation Museum
- the Scott Davis Memorial Fund for a fallen Muncie firefighter
Combat and pylon racing will complement the open flying, and a huge raffle will afford the chance to win some exciting products. Admission to the museum will be free to everyone during the event, and the museum store will offer discounted AMA merchandise to those in attendance.
This year's Xtreme Flight Championship (XFC) is back in Muncie on June 13–15. The event features approximately 20 of the world's greatest airplane and helicopter pilots producing flights that wow the crowd. For those who would like to compete, the event has a last-chance qualifier. Visit www.xfc-rc.com for more information.
Another aspect of the XFC is the auction—thousands of dollars' worth of great modeling equipment can be had for great prices. Profits support the event. Several thousand spectators generally attend. Why not be one of them?
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
