New Comers
AS YOU READ this column, the flying season is in full swing across the country! A significant number of members will be chuckling softly because they know their season is year-round; then there are those hearty souls who enjoy donning layers of clothing and guesstimating where the runway is under the 12 inches of snow; and an equally significant number "hangar fly" and build models during the winter. At the four trade shows I have attended so far this year, manufacturers and dealers have commented that sales have been somewhat sluggish. Various reasons have been offered, and one wonders whether this is a general trend. On the other hand, AMA has been surprised by the number of new memberships accrued during these shows. Time will tell what the story really is.
New Comers
WELCOME TO the 1997 newcomers issue! When I was asked to do this column a couple of years ago, I was approached to continue (or revive) a column that had used the term "beginner." I balked at using that word, because many individuals who might have been interested in reading the column were more along the lines of "returnees," as far as skills were concerned. Some 60-year-olds don't like to be referred to as novices, but they realize that they are returning to a hobby that involves new materials and concepts. They need to adapt still-valid old skills to new things. This subject is all semantics, as with the case of some purists who are concerned about grammatical usage, such as "Bring it to your mom," (who is in the next room) when you mean "Take it to your mom." Or "My brother that lives in St. Louis."- perhaps your brother doesn't mind being a that instead of a who.
New Comers
MAYBE IT'S THE post-Christmas blahs (or bills), having to watch out when I walk on the frozen precipitation (that's snow, for you Floridians), or maybe it's just age, but three communications I had this week on separate occasions made it really tough to write this column. There was a letter forwarded to me, a phone call, and a face-to-face meeting. Only the letter had a negative tone, but each incident profoundly reinforced the helplessness and frustration I have felt throughout the years as an AMA employee, officer, volunteer, and columnist!
New Comers
Around Thanksgiving, my wife and I journeyed to the area of our nation's capital to visit our youngest daughter. We wandered to the Mall and just happened to poke our noses into the National Air and Space Museum. What to our wondering eyes should appear, but a big room filled with interactive gadgets and displays designed to reveal how things fly! One might conclude that the exhibit was designed for kids, but everyone can learn from it. Maybe that's overboard if you're a retired astronaut, Bert Rutan, or hold dual degrees as a professor of aeronautical principles and engineering. In any case, the exhibit featured good "stuff."
New Comers
Yes, It's an Update. More accurately, it's an update on YES, the Youth Education Stipend program, one of the projects instituted for 1996. Through this activity, AMA-chartered clubs were able to apply for grants to provide funds for youth-related projects. Five clubs took advantage of the program, which enabled them to use monies dispersed by AMA to institute new programs and expand programs already in existence. The types of programs involved range from uses of modeling as an educational tool in the established school curriculum to actual instruction in building and flying models. A letter from Michael Black, one of the recipients, provides insight into one of the projects:
