Two of the last few remaining members of the Fort Worth Planesmen visited the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) in Muncie, Indiana, in August. Bob Grove and Frank Jozwiak traveled from Oklahoma and Texas respectively to meet the AMA Foundation staff. While at Headquarters, Bob signed two new scholarships established by the club through its generous donations.
Many of the Planesmen members, including Bob and Frank, were engineers whose passion for engineering was sparked by model aviation. During his time at the IAC, Bob told the Foundation staff that he learned skills such as precision and hard work from modeling that later helped him excel in engineering and piloting. As the two Planesmen shared their stories, they painted a picture of a passionate community of club members united around their shared love for the hobby. However, in the past few years, the club made the difficult decision to close and sell their property.
After the longtime club closed, profits of more than $375,000 from the sale of its flying site were donated to the AMA Foundation. The club created two new scholarships with the donation, the Planesmen Aerospace Engineering Degree Scholarship and the Planesmen Aircraft Technician/Maintenance Program Scholarship. These scholarships highlight the importance of model aviation as experienced by the engineers among the Planesmen. For Bob and Frank, it seemed that their success as engineers and pilots was inseparable from their passion for model aviation, and they want future generations to have the opportunity to pursue both the hobby and aviation-related careers.
The Foundation is immensely grateful to the Planesmen for their generosity amidst the sadness that comes with the closing of the club. We hope that through the scholarships, the Foundation will honor their legacy by inspiring new generations of hobbyists. As the Planesmen put it during the signing of the scholarship paperwork, “This will make them [the other Planesmen] proud.”
Hear Bob and Frank tell their story in their own words by watching the video below.
If you or a young person you know is passionate about model aviation, the 2025 scholarship season has opened! Applications are open until February 3, 2025.
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