211,670.29 raised this year.
Help us reach our goal of of $400,000!
The Holly Springs Skyhawks Radio Control Group's annual Wings Over Springs fly-in event raises money for Meg's Smile Foundation. Meg's is a charity that provides experiences to children facing serious disease and is local to their community. This year, the club was able to raise $800.00 through their event. You can learn more at www.megsmile.org
The winner of the AMA Foundation For The Future Sweepstakes has been chosen and the winner has been revealed. William (Bill) Fitzharris from Arizona is the lucky winner and will be enjoying a trip to AMA Expo West and a flight in a P-51 Mustang, Lady Alice. 
When asked about his history with flying and how excited he is for the trip, this is what he had to say: How long have you been flying model aircraft/involved with the AMA? Bill has been flying since his early teens and has built and flown control-line in the days of the Redhead McCoy glow engines. His club was sponsored by the local Plymouth Auto Dealership, and that was it for the next 60 years. Then, a few years ago his daughter gave him a surprise birthday gift, an E-Flite Apprentice ready-to-go out of the box. He joined a local club, the Arizona Model Pilot's Society (AMPS) and the AMA. What are your areas of interest in model aviation? Free flight, RC, helicopters, scale, etc.? Currently he enjoys flying RC. What is your profession? Has model flying had any impact on your career path? Bill is a retired Wells Fargo Financial Advisor. Model Aviation has not really had an impact on his career choice. He has attended numerous airshows in the D.C. area along with the Air and Space Museum and Udvar-Hazy Museum, which his daughters have said they have visited too many times. How excited are you about winning? "Being known as "Mr. Never Has Won Anything," excited is not a strong enough word to describe how happy I am. This one is for the books!" 
The Midwest Sundowners recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $50. The club is located in Munster, IN. The club recently received a story published about them in their local newspaper. It dove into the history of their club and even included some personal stories of some of their members. The club, located in Munster, IN, flies at an outdoor flying field in Winfield and at the Sparta Dome in Crown Point when the weather prohibits outdoor flying. 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.
The Coachella Valley Radio Control Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $125. The club is located in Indio, CA. The club is one of the oldest service organizations in their area and was able to get on their local radio station recently to talk about their club and some upcoming events. The club will be hosting their Top Fun event the first weekend in November and hope community members will come out and watch to support the club. You can listen to their full radio interview HERE. 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.
The Holly Springs Skyhawks Radio Control Group recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $125. The club is located in Holly Springs, NC. On August 31, 2019 the club hosted their third annual Wings Over Springs Electric Fly In charity event. Over 80 pilots were in attendance for the event, as the day had perfect weather conditions for flying. The club was able to get plenty of sponsors for the day and were able to give out goodie bags to all registered pilots, as well as free water. Visitors of the event were able to see demos almost all day as well as MultiGP Drone Racing. The event also included a raffle with a grand prize as the finale. Hosts of the Parkflyer Podcast traveled across the country to attend the event and get some recordings. You can read more about the event and see photos HERE. You can listen to the podcast recordings HERE and HERE. 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.
The Buc-Le Aero Sportsmen had a relaunch of their giant scale event after a three year hiatus. They changed up the format in order to have the event benefit a local charitable organization. They chose to support Trumbauersville Fire Co with the event, which raised $1,329.
The 2020 Flying Site Improvement Grant (FSIG) online application opens October 1, 2019. Since 2002, the AMA has financially supported more than 400 clubs in their site improvement efforts. That’s over half a million dollars in grant funds to clubs. The AMA, in conjunction with the AMA Foundation, is proud of our record of giving, and we are eager to share how we’ve improved the FSIG guidelines and application process for members. See below for what’s new for 2020!
To learn more or apply for the 2020 grant, visit modelaircraft.org/site-grant. For questions, please contact Kelsie Walker, Grants and Programs Coordinator, kelsiew@modelaircraft.org or 765-287-1256 x279.
The Tuscarora R/C Flying Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Mary-D, PA. During their monthly meeting at the beginning of September, the Tuscarora R/C Flying Club made Jonathan Sommers an honorary member of the club and pilot. Sommers, who has autism, had been attending their meetings for over 20 years. The club noticed his dedication and wanted to do something special for him. Not only did the club make him an honorary member, but the Academy of Model Aeronautics also heard about what was happening and they decided to make him and honorary pilot. Jonathan received several gifts from both the club and the AMA. Among those gifts was a brick with his name on it on the AMA Walk of Fame. 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.
The Olympic RC Modelers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Port Angeles, WA. In August, the club participated in the 2019 Olympic Peninsula Air Affaire and Sequim Valley Fly-in. The event brought in about 3,000 visitors and included a group of five historic planes from the Port Townsend Aero Museum, helicopter rides, a car show and more. The Olympic RC Modelers participated in the event as a fundraiser for Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County. 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.
The Catalina RC Modelers welcomed their county's Big Brothers Big Sisters program to their flying site back in June. The matches were able to fly model planes, eat some lunch, and learn more about model aeronautics during their day at the flying site. Chief Executive Officer of their program, Marie Logan, said "Our Little Brothers and Sisters, like all children, have tremendous potential. With the help of our match support professionals and volunteer Bigs, our Littles get better grades, are less likely to skip school; less likely to become in violent confrontations; and have better relationships with their peers and their family. Through the friendship and guidance of their Big, these children can achieve their full potential." 
