View from HQ
Dave Mathewson
The 2013 Camp AMA was another successful event!
The third annual Camp AMA has concluded, and by all accounts it was the best one yet. Camp AMA is an opportunity for young AMA members, ages 13 to 19, to come to the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) in Muncie, Indiana, for a week of fun, socializing with others, and flying under the guidance of some of AMA’s best young competition pilots.
Although the flying aspect of the week is a large part of the camp, it’s nice to see those who attend having such a good time together. Many form friendships that will likely last a lifetime.
Evenings were filled with a group dinner and other activities. On several nights, the group opted to fly foamies in the parking lot behind the host hotel instead of taking advantage of some of the other available recreation options.
Each year we get a good group of kids and this year was no different. It was a pleasure to have them on-site for the week and parents should be proud of how well their teenagers conducted themselves.
One of the things, if not the most important thing, that makes Camp AMA successful is the instructors who give so freely of their time to support the camp. RJ Gritter and Nick Maxwell were back for the third consecutive year. This year was Andrew Jesky, who came from Utah to help out.
Most of our members will recognize these names as world-class modelers. Nick has traveled to several foreign countries to compete, has a number of RC helicopter wins under his belt in the US, and this summer he will represent AMA and the US at the FAI World Championship for Model Helicopters, held in Wloclawek, Poland.
Andrew is a three-time US National Pattern Champion, and a four-time member of the US Precision Aerobatics World Team. He will represent AMA and the US later this summer at the 2013 Precision Aerobatics World Championship in Gauteng, South Africa.
RJ has won several major US competitions and has participated in a number of invitational competitions including the Electric Tournament of Champions and the Extreme Flight Championships (XFC). He is a strong contender in the emerging FAI F3P class of Indoor Precision Aerobatics. Many feel that he has a good chance to represent the US as AMA becomes more involved in this new discipline.
RJ also brings a strong technical element to the group. He is currently a student at North Carolina State University studying aerospace engineering. Immediately after camp ended, RJ headed back to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he and his team will represent his school at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Student UAS competition in Patuxent River, Maryland.
RJ, Andrew, and Nick are all outstanding pilots, but they all have one thing in common that makes them stand out. They are all excellent role models for our younger members attending camp. We couldn’t ask for anything more and AMA is honored and proud that they have been willing to be a part of Camp AMA and helped to make it the success it has become.
The dates for the 2014 camp have yet to be established, but we will announce them soon. The program is managed by the AMA Education department and any member of that team would be happy to speak with you about the possibility of attending next year’s camp.
The summer flying season has finally arrived at the IAC. I’m writing this on the Monday following Camp AMA and the week before XFC. Pilots have already arrived on-site and are practicing for the coming weekend’s competition.
Pilots will be here from the US, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Australia, Brazil, and Lithuania. XFC is one of the highlights of the flying season at the IAC and always promises some of the best 3-D, fixed-wing, and helicopter flying in the world.
The following weekend, the IAC will host the National Electric Fly-In (NEFI), and less than two weeks later is the beginning of the five-week Nats. Flying events take place nearly every weekend at the IAC. If you visit between now and the middle of September you’re nearly guaranteed to see some great flying taking place.
If you do make the trip, plan to spend some time in the National Model Aviation Museum on-site. It’s the largest of its kind in the world and I know you’ll enjoy your visit.
See you next time …
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
