View from HQ

Volunteers can be the key to any success ... HERE IT IS, another month, and it just seems like yesterday when I wrote my last column. These become more difficult to write each month. I know some of you get tired of me writing about the same thing. Between Dave Brown covering current events and Doug Holland covering finances, I am left with what is happening on-site. That doesn't change much from year to year unless there is construction going on. Enough of my complaining! If anyone has a specific subject you would like to have me address, please E-mail me at [email protected]. I am much like your club newsletter editor, we need ideas to help us each month. FAA NOTAMs: We have added a link to the front page of the AMA Web site to a part of the Federal Aviation Administration's Web site. The following, quoted directly from our site, explains the importance of that action. "As a result of the close working relationship that exists between the Academy of Model Aeronautics and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), a new feature has been added to the AMA Web site. A link to the Domestic and International Notices to Airmen section of FAA's Web site has been added to the left side of the opening page of the AMA site. "Notices to Airmen, or NOTAMs as they are commonly called, are ... notices containing information (not known sufficiently in advance to be publicized by other means) concerning the establishment, condition, or change in any component (facility, service, or procedure of, or hazard in the National Airspace System), the timely knowledge of which is essential to personnel concerned with flight operations.' "Following the events of September 11, 2001, there has been an understandable increase in national security efforts. Often, when certain steps have been taken to increase security, such as the immediate establishment of Temporary Flight Restrictions' or the 'Special Federal Aviation Regulations' put in place to enhance security during the Winter Olympics, many questions arise concerning how or if these regulations affect model aircraft operations. "NOTAMs are the means by which the FAA distributes such important information and providing our members easy access to this information will allow for even better distribution and, hopefully, better understanding of the purpose and meaning of the action or actions. "By accessing this link, everyone can check daily for the most recent information coming from the FAA. enhancing his or her knowledge of the circumstances and being better prepared to operate in the existing environment with better and safer understanding." As an association, our practice is that when we are informed of any changes to the normal operation of model aircraft, we verify the information, post it on our Web site, and, if necessary, E-mail those members for whom we have E-mail addresses. Please check our Web site periodically for important information. Again, I request that if you have an E-mail address, please let us know, and keep us advised if your E-mail address changes. Attention Indoor Fliers: The West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden IN will again be the site of a Category III Indoor Free Flight event. This is a beautiful site for Indoor flying and for spectators. Part of the hotel has been restored, and the last time I was there I had the opportunity to tour the facility. Indoor fliers and nonmodeling individuals alike have much to look forward to. August 2-4 are the scheduled dates for the event. For additional information, contact Contest Director (CD) D.R. Thompson at (513) 574-8322 or assistant CD Walter VanGorder at (513) 322-3351. Access for the Disabled: Several months ago I received an E-mail message from one of our members. He and his 15-year-old grandson, who is in a wheelchair, love flying. The grandfather's question was, "Why don't clubs have provisions or better access for individuals who are disabled?" I know we have more than one member who is disabled. At the AMA facility we comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act which requires access to all facilities for disabled individuals. I believe that this grandfather is asking that when making improvements to their flying sites, chartered clubs take into consideration parking and access to the runway and rcstrooms for disabled people. If renting portable restroom facilities, why not rent one designed for the disabled? Anyone can use it. He has also requested that clubs note whether the site is accessible to people with disabilities when sanctioning an event or fun-fly. Let's see if we can help this fellow modeler, his grandson, and others better enjoy our sport/hobby. ,-,". •••:<< .] Volunteers can be the key to any success, and improving the National Model Aviation Museum is no exception. In upcoming months I plan to focus my column on the volunteers who have helped immensely with improving the museum. I want to introduce you to one of the most unusual individuals I have ever met. He is Orval Christy Stewart, better known as O.C. Born in 1929 in Clarksburg WV, O.C. attempted to build models before he even learned to read. VFW Post 573 sponsored a local model club directed by Carl Hopkins. O.C. joined the club when he was eight years old. A year later, in 1938, O.C. joined AMA and has been a member since. O.C. won the West Virginia state aeromodeling championships in 1946. He teamed up with R.L. Perkins in 1950 to win the state championships a second time. In 1957 he attended his first National Aeromodeling Championships at Willow Grove Naval Air Station. By his own estimation, O.C. has entered hundreds of Free Flight contests throughout the years, flying in 38 states. In 1998, following many trips to Muncie for flight competition, he and his wife Mary moved from Kentucky to Muncie "... because AMA is here. What a good move!" O.C. spent most of his career as a teacher at the University of West Virginia and the University of Kentucky. Today he volunteers at the museum, directing visitor tours and working in the new restoration and model-building shop. A Life Member, O.C. is also a Contest Director and a Leader Member. He has one son, Orval Christy Jr., who resides in York SC. MU Happy flying, , Joyce Hager Executive Director [email protected]