In honor of National Model Aviation Day, AMA District VI's Midwest Sundowners RC Flying Club hosted a community flying event on June 21, 2025, in Wheeler, Indiana. Club Vice President Ed Rogala provided the following write-up about his club's successful National Model Aviation Day event:
"We held our Model Aviation Day on June 21. We were greeted by 15-20-mph winds all day long and temperatures in the mid-90s. Despite this extreme weather, we had 14 new students sign up for a free flying lesson. These students had never visited our flying site before and were between 12-16 years old. Due to the extreme wind, our flight instructors elected to provide free flying lessons using our newly installed flight simulator.
"Perry Hershman spent time with each student, providing them with hands-on time flying a model on the flight simulator. Each student received an AMA balsa wood glider, the AMA 'Sign Up Now!' brochure, and a Midwest Sundowners membership application. Lunch was served at noon and each student was offered a freshly cooked hamburger, chips, and soft drink or water.
"20 club members signed up to put on demonstration flights during the day, but the extreme wind resulted in only 4-6 flights being flown. A model rocket demonstration was presented before the event came to a close and our raffle winner was chosen and announced. We are sure that many of these new students will be returning to other events that we will be hosting for the remainder of the 2025 flying season.
"We are using our 'FREE Flying Lesson Sign Up Sheet' to allow people who take a flying lesson at one of our events to become eligible for a raffle at the end of our season. I would like to again thank the AMA for all of the help and coaching it provided to me in preparing for this event."
Thank you, Midwest Sundowners, for your dedication to sharing model aviation with your community! We at the AMA Foundation are thrilled to see that your event was so successful. What a great celebration of National Model Aviation Day!
