View from HQ - 2001/03

176 M ODEL AVIATION
IT IS bitter cold here, and yes, we have snow.
The progress on the new building
continues. Updated pictures can be found on
our Web site at
www.modelaircraft.org/comp/IACconstructi
on.htm. The construction crew still has not
completed putting in the windows, but I
have been told that they will be in within the
next two weeks (the end of December or the
beginning of January).
The scheduled move date for the
administrative offices will be at the end of
February. Everyone here is very excited; we
will finally have enough space in which to
work. The museum staff is also excited,
because they will be able to expand their area.
An important weekend to mark on your
calendar is June 7-10, 2001. Thursday will be
the ribbon-cutting for the new Headquarters
building, and Friday is the third Celebration
of Eagles. The Grand Event is scheduled for
Saturday, and AMA Homecoming will be run
Saturday and Sunday.
Watch for more-detailed information in
Model Aviation.
Membership renewal is going smoothly.
We are approximately 5% ahead of where
we were the same time last year. Most
people have received their new 2001 license
cards in record time.
Congratulations to the Membership
Department!
If you haven’t renewed, you may do so
several ways. You can mail your application;
fax it to (765) 741-0057; call the membership
renewal line at (800) 435-9262; or renew
online at www.modelaircraft.org. New
members may join any of these ways.
Chartered club renewal kits will be mailed
in January. When you receive this
information, please read it carefully.
Follow the instructions, and call or E-mail
the Membership Department if you have a
question. Forms not filled out or signed will
delay the processing of your club charter.
If your club has recently held an election
of officers, please make sure we have the
current information.
Club chartering is not difficult. You must
have current adult officers sign the back of
the officer sheet, enclose the $20 basic fee,
include money for additional insurance for
flying-site owners if necessary, and provide
a list of your current members.
Please remember to notify us of new
members or members who no longer
belong to your club, to ensure that our
records are complete.
Sanctions: I have received several calls
from Contest Directors who have foreign
competitors attending their meets. They
want to know if these individuals have to
pay the fee to become an AMA member.
The answer is yes.All individuals entering
an AMA sanctioned event must be current
AMA members. Those memberships paid for in
the last quarter of the year, regardless of what
type of membership, would be covered for the
remainder of that year and all of next year.
If your meet attracts foreign competitors,
you may want to publicize the fact that they
must obtain AMA memberships to enter.
The application is located on our Web site.
Spread Your Wings, Ladies, and Fly
At any flying field on any given day,
look around. You would probably conclude
that model flying is a male bastion. If you
see a woman on the landscape at all, it
would be surprising. If you see her flying a
model, you would have experienced a rare
and unusual sighting.
Only one in a hundred modelers is female—
one-percenters, they’re called by Sandy Frank,
AMA District VIII Vice President, but that low
number is about to change.
Taking to the flying fields and into the
skies is a group called LadyHawks, formed
for the express purpose of encouraging more
ladies to enjoy model flying.
LadyHawks has come into being because a
few women who like to fly saw too many other
women who wanted to fly walk away from the
hobby because of intimidation, lack of
experience, or discomfort with breaking into a
male-dominated pastime. The LadyHawks
founders want to change all of that.
The LadyHawks is a new forum for and
about women modelers. Lady members find a
resource for guidance and support to get started
in model building and flying, and a group of
peers to socialize with at clubs and fly-ins.
We have not forgotten the gentlemen
either. We have an auxiliary for the men who
are interested in helping more women become
modelers and grow to appreciate the hobby
that they’ve been enjoying for years.
But guys, this is a forum focused on
women’s issues. You probably can appreciate
that most women weren’t brought up at their
daddies’ knees to learn about mechanics,
tools, building, and flying like you were.
We want the ladies to know they’re not
alone in trying out this hobby.
LadyHawks founder and first president
Joan Liska discusses the benefits of more
women becoming modelers.
“Too often, I have heard guys at the field
bemoan the fact that their spouses or girlfriends
did not fly. They complain that the little lady is
home watching the clock, demanding he leave
the field to do the household chores or attend a
family barbeque.
“You can see that the guy really wants to
stay and fly, to enjoy the camaraderie with
his friends at the field, but he is torn away
by family obligations.
“It doesn’t have to be that way if the
wife (or girlfriend) is a flier. When you both
fly, you create a relationship of sharing and
support. The chores can wait, you jockey the
family obligations and you both stay and fly
when the wind is fair and the sun is shining.
“What could be better than that?”
LadyHawks is building momentum. There
will be an initial membership drive held at
three sites early in 2001: AMA’s Convention
2001 in Pasadena CA in January; the WRAM
(Westchester Radio Aeromodelers) Show in
White Plains NY in February; and the Weak
Signals’ Toledo show in Ohio in April.
For information about LadyHawks, visit
their Web site at www.ladyhawks.net.
—Submitted by Joan Liska MA
Happy flying,
Joyce Hager
Executive Director
[email protected]
“We want the ladies
to know they’re
not alone
in trying out
this hobby.”
Joyce Hager Executive Director
View from HQ