Stories

Last year I shared the experience Ben Flesher and I had when we attended Wounded Warrior Project’s VIPS Day at their headquarters in Jacksonville, FL. This was still one of the best adventures I have had at AMA. We got to learn so much and we both left knowing that our clubs had made a huge difference for veterans. While we were in one of the training sessions, we learned about WWP’s alumni programs. These are the activities they provide to veterans signed up for services the organization provides. They talked about how the veterans were given opportunities to learn new things, meet new friends, set new goals, etc. When we heard about it, I knew model flying would be the perfect activity for the veterans to learn about. It took some time, but eventually we were put in contact with Emily Gray, who helped us from start to finish to host our first Warrior Day at AMA. Our team welcomed a total of 35 people out to the International Aeromodeling Center to learn as much about model flying as possible in one day. The day started with introductions, including a welcome from Dennis Tyler, the mayor of Muncie, Dave Mathewson, AMA’s executive director, and Tim Jesky, AMA district VII vice president. We split the group up into three smaller groups and assigned a group leader for each. The groups then visited the following stations: 1: Flight simulator and buddy boxing 2: National Model Aviation Museum and hands-on activities 3: FPV racing/demonstrations with Ready Made RC. Most of the success for the day should be accredited to the great folks with the Blacksheep RC Squadron in Danville, Indiana. They came to Muncie for the entire day and really impressed our staff and each person that attended the event. With their help we put on a model airshow and everyone got to try to fly. I would like to personally thank each person that volunteered, and give special credit to Rege Hall for supporting our team by finding the volunteers and the airshow pilots. Another person who deserves a lot of credit is Deven Schei. I met Deven for the first time at the VIPS event last year. Since then, he has attended other AMA events on behalf of WWP. He’s a great speaker, a great friend to AMA, and was a great influence in introducing AMA to the decision makers at WWP. We would also like to recognize the following individuals and companies for their support: Mayor Dennis Tyler, Muncie Fire Department, Lifestream Services Inc., The Haven, Museum of the Soldier, Papa Johns, Pepsi Beverages Co., Readymade RC, Pilots Greg Alderman, Bill Gentry, Parker Hall, Rege E. Hall, Spencer Stevens, Steven Woods, and all volunteers that helped us with buddy boxing. And thank you again to the great Platinum Sponsors of this year’s National Model Aviation Day celebration who assisted us with this partnership: Ready Made RC, Hobbico, Horizon Hobby, and Hobby King Thank you to everyone that participated in this day of giving back to those who served our country!   [caption id="attachment_2998" align="alignnone" width="225"] AMA Foundation staff, Mandee Mikulski & Chrystal Pearson[/caption] Mandee Mikulski Director of Development, AMA Foundation

The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently awarded the Marshalltown R/C Flyers with a $100 Club Recognition and Reward grant. The club was featured in the Times-Republican on August 10th, 2016. The Marshalltown R/C Flyers hosted their 2016 Fun Fly August 13-14. The Fun Fly had free admission and offered all in attendance the opportunity to see some world-class flying. To learn more about the Marshalltown R/C Flyers, visit their website. The AMA Club Recognition and Reward Program was established to encourage clubs to promote model aviation. The AMA offers clubs cash incentives for positive local media coverage for a public event, public service, club announcement, or other coverage. Click here to learn more about this program.

[embed]https://youtu.be/A2Ik5ppfs8Y[/embed] Middle and high school students from across the US competed in the UAS4STEM program’s national competition at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. The student teams built their own drones and competed in various flying challenges for the national title. The contest is designed to teach Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) skills. The 2016 UAS4STEM Search and Rescue Challenge’s first-place winners are Quad Squad from Shoreview, Minnesota, who were awarded a trophy, medals, and a $2,500 cash prize. The PTC Droners of Georgia took second place and the St. Mary’s CAP Squadron-O89 of Maryland took third place. The Dewey O. Broberg Jr. scholarship was also awarded to one of the competitors during the UAS4STEM national competition. The award recognized a team member who showed dedication, determination, and adherence to the rules and purpose of the competition. Congratulations to Paige Hensley, the recipient of the 2016 Dewey Broberg Jr. Memorial Scholarship. The Academy of Model Aeronautics Foundation would like to thank the family of Dewey O. Broberg Jr. for establishing this scholarship, and thank each supporter who has made contributions to the fund. Learn more about the Dewey O. Broberg Jr. scholarship. UAS4STEM was designed by the AMA to encourage teamwork, competition, and success through a STEM-based education platform. The UAS4STEM program provides student teams of four to eight people with training, insurance, licensing, and equipment to compete in search-and-rescue challenges. The program is managed by AMA’s Education department as part of AMA Flight School. Each of the teams that participated in the national competition earned their spot by qualifying at one of the many regional competitions held throughout the country. To help support the UAS4STEM program and similar programs offered by the AMA, visit the AMA Foundation's donation page. Congratulations to Quad Squad for winning the 2016 UAS4STEM Search and Rescue Challenge! View more pictures from the competition on the AMA Flickr page. Details about this year’s event and how to sign up to compete next year are found on the UAS4STEM website, https://www.uas4stem.org/.

The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently awarded The Capital Area Drone Squadron (CARDS) with a $50 Club Recognition and Reward Grant. The club was featured in an article in the Lansing State Journal as well as published online. The CARDS have been flying unmanned aircraft for nearly 30 years and are reaching out in their community to promote and protect their passion for flying models. The group offers free flying instructions once a week and newcomers can attend three sessions before they are asked to pay dues to join the club. The CARDS want people to learn to fly correctly and hold several events throughout the year to introduce flying to their community. An event schedule can be found on their website. [caption id="attachment_2766" align="alignright" width="300"] Aerial view of the CARDS flying field in Grand Ledge, Michigan.[/caption] The AMA Club Recognition and Reward Program was established to encourage clubs to promote model aviation. The AMA offers clubs cash incentives for positive local media coverage for a public event, public service, club announcement, or other coverage. Click here to learn more about this program.

It’s with great sadness we report the passing of AMA member Charles (Charlie) E. Arden, Jr. of Lindenhurst, Illinois. He died unexpectedly on February 19, 2016, at the age of 83. 

Charlie graduated from Ithaca High School in 1950. He played basketball and he played the baritone horn in the jazz band. From 1953 to 1955, Charlie served during the Korean War in the Army and was trained as a Radio Operator. He served active duty in the 506th Anti-Aircraft Artillery detachment at Fort Clayton in the Panama Canal Zone, held the rank of Specialist 3rd class, received a Good Conduct Medal, and was honorably discharged. He then attended Cornell University (’55) where he received a B.S. in Agriculture Economics and an M.B.A. in Business and Accounting (’60). While at Cornell, he was reacquainted with a former high school classmate, Marilyn Joan Dyce, from Ithaca, Illinois. The two were married in 1957. After receiving his C.P.A. certificate in 1971, Charlie, his wife Marilyn and their three children, moved from New Jersey to Winnetka, Illinois. While working in Chicago, Charlie was a V.P for the Hackett Corporation and later an executive recruiter and regional sales person for SCS Cases. After 22 years, empty-nesters Charlie and Marilyn moved to Lindenhurst, Illinois, where they enjoyed living on Lake Linden. His loving wife, Marilyn, died in 2007. 

Throughout his life, beginning as a child in the 1940s, Charlie enjoyed building and flying tissue and balsa wood free flight and U-control model airplanes. He competed in model aeronautics meets in New York, New Jersey, and Illinois, and was a member of the Chicago Aeronuts model airplane club for many years. An avid history buff, Charlie regularly attended meetings of the Illinois Chapter of the 8th Air Force Historical Society. He also enjoyed golf, boating, reading mysteries and historical books, bird watching, live music, crossword puzzles, and baking delicious homemade pies. He was a long-time fan of the Green Bay Packers and the St. Louis Cardinals.

A devoted father, grandfather, and brother, Charlie will be missed by many who loved him dearly. A memorial service is planned in his honor this summer in Ithaca, New York — date to be announced later. For more information, contact the Ness-Sibley Funeral Home in Trumansburg, NY: 1-888-534-5446 or www.ness-sibley.com.

His family asks those who wish to make a memorial contribution in Charlie Arden’s name to kindly consider donating to the Academy of Model Aeronautics Youth Scholarship Fund.

Edward C. Sweeney Jr. has been an AMA member since the 1950's. His father instilled in him a passion for model flight at a young age when they would both fly free flight and control line. His father was an aviation attorney as well as a professor at Northwestern University where he published the Journal of Air Law and Commerce. Because of his father’s knowledge and experience, the family moved to Washington D.C. by the invitation of Congress.  He was the principal author of the Aviation Act of 1948 which established the CAA (Civilian Aviation Agency) and again in 1952 which established the FAA (Federal Aviation Agency).

[caption id="attachment_2521" align="alignleft" width="727"] Mandee Mikulski, AMA Director of Development and Edward C. Sweeney Jr.[/caption]

As you can tell, flight was in Sweeney’s blood. He remembers many cross country flights with his father, also a private pilot, from Washington National Airport to Rock Island, Illinois in his Stinson Voyager. Some of the earliest R/C free flight planes Sweeney remembers flying in his youth were Harold De Bolt's Live Wire Trainers and Kitten.

“Back then, it was hard tubes and escapements,” Sweeney said. “The equipment had to be tuned up before every flight. All we had was 27.255 MHz.”

At the University of Colorado, Sweeney bought one of the early Space Control four channel proportional analogue single stick RC systems. It still had hard tubes, but now R/C flying became a real pleasure for Sweeney as the plane followed each stick movement perfectly - no more fly-aways!

Sweeney’s father encouraged him to team up with Bill Winter and acquire and publish American Modeler magazine. Under the new name American Aircraft Modeler, the magazine would include the AMA's Model Aviation supplement. The idea was to broaden AMA's exposure and increase membership.

During his fifteen years with the magazine, Sweeney tested electric flight and experimented with airplane aerodynamics by creating the RC Nobler. It was derived directly from the CL Mobler and featured coupled flaps for enhanced elevator response. He also created an early small RC helicopter by adapting Dave Grey's Whirlybird to a Veco 19 glow motor. Both of these projects were featured in the magazine.

Sweeney also pioneered the new sport of powered hang gliding by adding two 2hp Quadra motors to his Fledgling hang glider. The addition of these two motors greatly expanded the flying experience for the hang glider. The motors got bigger; the hang glider got wheels, and was heavier. Soon, the hang gliders had 10 to 15 horsepower and made rolling take offs. All of these modifications led to the beginning of the Ultralight industry. He was involved in writing the proposed FAA regulations that became Part 103. It’s significant to note the Ultralights were never called airplanes or aircraft, but rather air vehicles. This isolated these air machines from FAA requirements for registration, maintenance, medicals or certification requirements.

Today, Sweeney continues to enjoy all forms of R/C flying. After 40 years of R/C flying, he recognized it was time to diminish his large collection of airplanes, helicopters, etc. and made a donation of about 50 models to the AMA in November 2015. He drove from his home in Colorado, AEROCAR trailer packed with planes. These items from his personal collection will be sold at an upcoming sale at the Toledo Show: R/C Model Expo in Ohio. Sweeney says he has always been a proud supporter of the AMA. He was happy to donate these items (some are pictured below) from his collection to help support the AMA Foundation and the future of this hobby.

The Toledo Show - R/C Model Expo is North America's largest and longest running radio control model expo. This three day event showcases all types of R/C models including planes, cars, and boats. Along with all the exhibitors and Saturday night auction, there is a radio control model competition, speakers, and swap shop. The show begins April 1 and will continue until April 3 at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio.

We hope you’ll join us for the special AMA Foundation sale during the Toledo Show: R/C Model Expo. Along with Edward Sweeney’s collection, the sale will also feature models from the collections of Carl Goldberg, Don Tichenor, and Joseph Elgin. We thank these men and their families for donating the collections to make this sale possible.

The Phillips family is no stranger to model aviation. W.E. “Phil” Phillips, and wife, Waneva ran a small R/C glider manufacturing company by the name of Phillips Custom Models in the mid-1960s. The couple appeared on the cover of R/C Modeler magazine in July 1969 with a patriotic “Snipe” glider (pictured left). Waneva was named R/C Model Wife of the Year by the same magazine. In the 70s, both were club officers of the Farragut Flyer’s model airplane club in Idaho. This is why Ray, son of Phil, has decided to commemorate his family’s model aviation legacy with a donation to the AMA Walk of Fame. The love of airplanes, whether model aircraft or full scale, has now spanned three generations. Phil was a FAA rated airline transport pilot as is Ray, who flies for United Airlines. The youngest generation, Chris, at age 19, is a FAA rated private pilot. Three bricks honoring three generations of Phillips men will be placed at AMA headquarters in the summer of 2016 (pictured below). [gallery ids="2503,2501,2502"] You’ll notice Ray shares his father’s AMA number. For many years, his number was 19731, his mother’s was 19730 and his dad’s was 19729. Around the time his son, Chris, started flying R/C at the age of eight, Ray requested his father’s number be issued to him. Most recently, Ray and Chris were both club officers of the Mile Hi R/C Flying Club in Aurora, Colorado. If you’re interested in paying tribute to your family’s AMA legacy, consider purchasing a brick in the AMA Walk of Fame.      

It’s always sad when the AMA community loses a dedicated model aircraft enthusiast, but many ensure their interest in flying continues well beyond their passing. Charles E. Klabunde has donated over $16,000 to the AMA Foundation in support of the future of our hobby, the preservation of timeless artifacts, and the fight to protect member’s right to flight. Born October 28, 1931, Charles lived in Niagra Falls, NY and graduated from NFHS, the local high school, in 1949. He would then go on to graduate from the University of Illinois in 1955 with a Master of Science degree in physics. Later working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Charles researched a number of topics, most recently super-conductivity. He retired in 1996. In his retirement, he was a man of many passions, dedicating himself to hiking, folk dancing, photography, and model flight. Charles was an active member of the Smoky Mountains Hiking Club, the Tennessee Citizens for Wilderness Planning and the Southern Appalachian Highlands Conservancy leading many hikes along the Appalachian Trail through the Smokies. Friends knew him as Charlie; a consummate advocate for the conservation of natural Tennessee. He was a regular at the Oak Ridge Folk Dancers, sweeping many lucky partners off their feet. He built and flew multiple radio control model planes throughout the course of his life. Charles passed away from cancer earlier this year at the age of 84 in Oak Ridge, TN.  Friends and family will miss a truly dear friend. We are thankful for members like Charles whose passionate commitment to model flight continues to support the AMA Foundation. To learn more about the AMA Foundation and how to donate, visit the Foundation website.

We're happy to announce the winner of the California Dream Flight Sweepstakes. Christopher Mayer, of Owatonna, MN, was randomly chosen from entries submitted by approximately 5,000 people.

The California Dream Flight sweepstakes challenged entrants to make a voluntary donation to the AMA Foundation to build a foundation for the future. The sweepstakes raised $15,000 within the entry period.

[caption id="attachment_2422" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Grand prize winner, Christopher Mayer[/caption]

Mayer’s prize included round-trip airfare for two to California; a three-day/two-night stay at DoubleTree by Hilton; free admission to AMA Expo, in Ontario, California; a rental car and a $250 food stipend; and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride in Lady Alice, a full-scale P-51 Mustang.

Chris was shocked when he learned he was the grand prize winner.

"No one really ever expects a call like this," he said. " To receive this call literally is the answer to a lifelong dream." A ride in a P-51 Mustang has been number one on his bucket list for as long as he can remember.

Chris has been involved in model aviation since 1981, devoting much focus over the last 15 years to large-scale WWII vintage aircraft. He has even passed on his passion to his sixteen-year-old son, Collin, who is already an accomplished RC pilot.  Chris says the hobby has allowed him to meet many fantastic people with similar passion and he enjoys sharing in their knowledge.

[caption id="attachment_2429" align="alignnone" width="1024"] "Lady Alice" owner and pilot Dr. Kendall Wagner, sweepstakes winner Christopher Mayer, and AMA Foundation board member Daniel Bott pictured in front of the P-51 Mustang[/caption]

 

 

A second prize, donated by ROTOR F/X, was awarded to Gerry Hinshaw, of Lathrop, MO. He won support services needed to apply for and obtain an FAA Section 333 exemption.

[caption id="attachment_2417" align="alignnone" width="980"] Second prize winner, Gerry Hinshaw[/caption]

Thank you to all who entered the sweepstakes, especially to those who made a donation in support of the AMA. The foundation is committed to providing resources for the next generation of aviators through AMA scholarships, government advocacy, club and flying site support grants, AMA Flight School and e-learning opportunities, and the preservation of more than 10,000 artifacts in the National Model Aviation Museum, located in Muncie, IN.

For more information about the AMA Foundation visit our website.

Don Tichenor has been gone for some time, but his passion and love for the hobby continues to fuel AMA’s future. Don was an accomplished professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering at Tri-State College (now Trine University) in Angola, IN from 1959 to 1993. He met his wife, Dolores, at Tri-State when she was hired to fill his vacant mathematics positions as he moved to mechanical and aerospace engineering. They married two years later. Don was an enthusiastic modeler and control line flier throughout his whole life. He was a member of the AMA, the Experimental Aircraft Association, the DeKalb Fliers, and the Steuben Model Aircraft Klub. A few years ago, five of the model airplane kits he collected, but never built, as well as an originally designed and built twin-engine control line model were donated to the AMA Museum. The remaining 47 model airplane kits are being donated to the AMA Foundation with the proceeds to be used for scholarships. Sadly, Don passed away in January of 1993 at his home in Angola. His wife, Dolores, is bringing the remaining kits to the AMA this month.