View from HQ - 2004/12

EACH YEAR at approximately this time, I
write about the same thing. As in the past,
membership renewals and new memberships
are arriving steadily at AMA Headquarters.
The Membership Department is extremely
busy with the mail and the telephones. Please
have patience with these individuals; they
really try hard to process applications as
quickly as possible.
New members will receive a 2004 license
card, and they will get a 2005 card when those
are produced. AMA will receive the 2005
license cards sometime in November and mail
them in a large batch. After the first group
goes out, we will mail cards roughly every
other day.
When you are waiting to receive a product
you ordered, it seems to take a long time. But
consider that if you mail your application in, it
takes at least four days for it to get to AMA
Headquarters. Once applications have arrived,
we process them in received-date order, print
the cards, and then a mailing house sends
them out.
If you are renewing your AMA
membership, you can go online to see if your
membership status has been updated. As a
reminder to chartered clubs, 2004 membership
is good through the end of December.
If you need to contact AMA Headquarters,
you can call (800) 435-9262. Please have your
card available so that you can give the
customer-service representative your AMA
number.
There are several ways to renew your
membership or to join AMA. You can mail in
your application or renewal, fax in an
application, call the number I gave (again,
remember to have your old card available and
any address changes you may have), or join or
renew online at www.modelaircraft.org/
preapp.aspx.
If you use the online system, at the present
time it will not allow you to join or renew for
more than one year or make a partial payment.
If you want to do either of those things, you
will need to renew by telephone, fax, or mail.
We hope to be able to accommodate these
requests in 2006.
If you know someone who is not quite sure
if he or she really wants to become a full
member and is new to your area or club,
AMA offers a Trial Membership. It costs only
$19.95. The person will receive a full threemonth
membership, including MA. He or she
must apply online at www.model
aircraft.org/trialmemberapp.aspx.
This program is only for new adult
members, and they must have an E-mail
address. All information and the three-month
license are sent via E-mail. Should the trial
member decide to continue membership in
AMA, he or she has the option to renew before
the expiration date of the introductory program
and can apply the full $19.95 to the normal
cost of membership.
This is a good opportunity to see what
AMA is all about and gives prospective
members a chance to read our publication. If
you know anyone in your area who may be
interested, please pass this information on.
One other piece of information that would
be useful to a new member is AMA’s new
Web site: Sport Aviator. It is designed to help
a newcomer because it contains many
construction articles, reviews, how-to articles,
and good information. Beginners and seasoned
modelers should check it out at www.masport
aviator.com.
Guess what happened while on vacation?
Mary Hurn, our human resources director, and
her family were on vacation visiting her sister
in Colorado, and they happened upon the High
Country RC Club. Its members welcomed
Mary and her family with open arms, which
delighted them.
I have included a couple pictures of club
members. Mary was impressed with the flying
site and the warm reception.
184 MODEL AVIATION
Joyce Hager Executive Director
View from HQ
Scholarships: Did you know that AMA offers
college scholarships each year? The
application is on AMA’s education Web site at
www.buildandfly.com.
Eligibility requires that the applicant have
been an AMA member for 36 months, will
graduate from high school in the year in which
the award is to be granted, and has been
accepted by a college or university offering a
certificate or degree program. All awards are
announced in July of each year.
Her goal is a
career in flying!
Continued on page 178
Jim Rains has logged more than 350 hours
of flight time with his Easy Sport 40.
Bill Cary holds his Easy Sport 40 at the High
Country R/C Club’s field in Pagosa Springs,
Colorado. The elevation is 7,200 feet.
One of last year’s recipients—Kolby Hoover
of North Kipsap High School in Poulsbo,
Washington—attended AirVenture at
Oshkosh WI and met with Bob Underwood,
who is the Scholarship Committee
chairperson.
The National Free Flight Society (NFFS)
also offers a scholarship. Its application is
posted on the NFFS Web site at http://free
flight.org.
The Average Age of an AMA Member: The
following letter was submitted by James
Waugh and I thought I would share it with the
rest of the membership.
“In early August, four members of the Mt.
Washington Valley R/C Model Airplane Club
in Conway, New Hampshire, responded to an
12sig6.QXD 10/22/04 1:23 PM Page 184
invitation from the School Administrative
Unit #13 of Freedom/Madison townships to
provide a flight day for students of the
Madison Elementary School.
“Led by Ed More, retired engineer of
Hamilton Standard; Police Commissioner
Paul Whetton; contractor Stephen Middleton;
and retired minister James Waugh, the threehour
morning was filled with the excitement
of young minds eager to learn. The day
before the session more than 100 copies of
RC modeling magazines were distributed to
the youth so that they might be primed for the
next day.
“Ed More began the session with a brief
history of aviation and included
demonstrations of the basics of what makes
an airplane fly. A static display of models
from hand gliders to 1⁄4-scale gas and
backyard flying electrics were available for
the children to examine.
“After a break, the youth retreated to the
school parking lot where Ed More flew his
park flyer. Returning to the gym, more than
20 youngsters flew electric CL models, made
gliders from plastic meat trays, and
bombarded the club members with questions.
“During the past four years, the Mt.
Washington Valley R/C Club has supported
an after-school flight class for youth of the
Ossipee Middle School. From this Aeronuts
class, led by Ed More, one of the earlier
students now in her young teens has begun
the book work of learning to fly. Her goal is a
career in flying!
“This experience with the youth at the
Madison School left four hearts feeling that
the greatest happening of the morning was
the gift of attention and respect received from
students and staff of Unit #13.”
Thank you, James, for sharing this story
with the rest of the membership. Programs
such as the one you describe are what AMA
needs in terms of gaining younger members
and as a good community project.
For those who are interested, below is an
age breakdown of the current AMA
membership. MA
Younger than 20: 18,520
20-40: 30,693
41-60: 61,317
61-70: 26,057
71 and older: 23,267
Happy flying,
Joyce Hager
Executive Director
[email protected]