Foundation News

The Casa Grande RC Flyers were mentioned twice in their local newspaper recently. The first sections highlighted their upcoming event, which is aiming to benefit Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona. The event is free to the public and you can watch the pilots fly, see what is up for grabs at the swap meet, take a free flying lesson, and see the new track. Lunch will be provided by food vendors and the Pets In Need Action League will be handing out free coffee and pastries. The Hospice Charitable Fund will have several representatives in attendance collecting donations. The second clipping is a letter from the editor in which the Pets In Action League sent their greatest thank you to the club for donating.       

Celine Flying Sportman recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Celina, OH. The club held their annual event, A Gathering of Legends, in Celina, OH. The event included warbirds of every size, a foam frenzy, a concession stand and more. People were able to bring their lawnchairs and watch the flight all day as members took-off down the runway. Several planes of different sizes, some up to 50 pounds, were at the event. 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.

Congratulations to each AMA club that qualified for an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant in 2019. We are thrilled to share with the membership that the entire $5,000 allotted to provide funding to clubs was awarded to 50 clubs. This means our clubs are going above and beyond to share positive stories about model flying activities. The more our clubs share, the more our hobby receives recognition. Thank you to each of these clubs for doing their part to make this happen. The Academy of Model Aeronautics encourages clubs across the country to take part in events and serve the community in ways that will entice community members to learn more about the hobby of model aviation. Becoming a vital part of your community will help your club build your membership and inspire others, including the youth in your community. 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. The program is simple. If your club has received publicity through the local media, simply submit the article, radio segment, or television clip to AMA’s Public Relations department. The department will review your application, and reward your club’s treasury based on the coverage received. Atoms Rcers Beresford Area Radio Flyers Binghampton Aeros Bristol County R/C Club Cape May County Wireless Aircraft Sport Pilots Capital Area Radio Drone Squadron Casa Grande RC Flyers Casper Airmodelers Cedar Rapids Skyhawks Celina Flying Sportman Coachella Valley Radio Control Club Des Moines Model Aires El Paso Radio Controllers Fluvanna County R/C Flying Club Fort Ben Radio Control Club Fremont County RC Club Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft Club Holly Springs Skyhawks Radio Control Group Kootenai RC Flyers Lazy Eight RC Club Lewes RC Club Lincoln Sky Knight RC Club Mid Arkansas Radio Control Society Midwest Sundowners N.E. Kansas Blue Sky Squadron North Georgia Model Aviators Olympic RC Modelers Owatonna RC Modelers Palm Beach Radio Control Association RC Sport Flyers River City Radio Controllers Rochester Aeromodeling Society Rock River Aeromodelers Society Seminole Radio Control Club Sky Kings R/C Club South Coast RC Squadron Southern Indiana Flying Eagles Southwest Area Park Modelers SPARKS INC Stonecrest RC Flyers Sunday Flyers Susquehanna Valley Modelers Tampa Radio Control Aircraft Club Tinley Creek RC Club Tuscarora R/C Flying Club Viehe RC Fliers Wenatchee Red Apple Flyers

For the past nine years, the AMA has received generous grant funding from the Arconic Foundation (formerly known as Alcoa) for STEM programming across the U.S. 2019 was no different, as the AMA was the recipient of a $100,000 grant that supports primarily STEM workshops for teachers. The workshops engage teachers in a variety of hands on, STEM-based activities using a Flight Research Kit, an AMA Alpha, and a Guillow’s Jetstream, all of which they can take into their classrooms and share with students. The classroom activities are designed to help students develop spatial intelligence as well as practice applied math and physics skills, such as the four forces of flight, through inquiry-based learning. These rigorous activities have been aligned to state and national science and math standards and have been used successfully by middle and high school teachers across the U.S. The grant also supports team participation in the AMA's national aerial robotics competition, UAS4STEM. Funding from the Arconic Foundation will be used to subsidize the registration, competition, and travel expenses of select teams in communities where Arconic has a presence. The AMA will conduct the grant activities through August 2020. If you are interested in learning more about STEM workshops or UAS4STEM, please contact kylej@modelaircraft.org.