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Black Wings Exhibit at the National Model Aviation Museum

The National Model Aviation Museum will be hosting Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition. The exhibit will be on display February 1, in celebration of Black History Month, and will run through March 31.

 

The National Model Aviation Museum will be hosting Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition. The exhibit will be on display February 1, in celebration of Black History Month, and will run through March 31. The exhibition is based on the book Black Wings: Courageous Stories of African Americans in Aviation and Space History. The exhibit was created by exhibition curator Von Hardesty of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. In 1903, America's fascination with flight was sparked by the Wright brothers.  Many African Americans were enthusiastic about flight but faced racial discrimination. They were denied access to formal training to become pilots and mechanics. The Smithsonian traveling exhibition, Black Wings: American Dreams of Flight, chronicles a powerful group of aviation proponents who challenged these obstacles and created their own legacy in the world of flight.  Developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Services and the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, the exhibition was made possible by the generous support of the MetLife Foundation. To learn more about upcoming events at the International Aeromodeling Center, home of the AMA in Muncie, Ind., visit www.modelaircraft.org/IAC.

AMA Foundation Welcomes David Martin into the Heritage and Legacy Societies

The AMA and AMA Foundation would like to welcome David Martin into the Heritage and Legacy Societies. David is an active member of the Cape Coral R/Seahawks club located in Cape Coral, FL. David is a retired SMSgt USAF reserve. He worked on b-52, KC-135, F-4, F-16 and C-5 aircraft doing sheet metal and fiberglass repair. He currently does steel, aluminum and sheet metal fabrication and welding.

 

The AMA and AMA Foundation would like to welcome David Martin into the Heritage and Legacy Societies. David is an active member of the Cape Coral R/Seahawks club located in Cape Coral, FL. David is a retired SMSgt USAF reserve. He worked on b-52, KC-135, F-4, F-16 and C-5 aircraft doing sheet metal and fiberglass repair. He currently does steel, aluminum and sheet metal fabrication and welding. He flew RC planes occasionally in the mid-'80s and then returned to the hobby in the late '90s. Click here to learn more about the AMA Foundation Heritage and Legacy Societies.

Casa Grande Flyers Add New Club Events

The Casa Grande RC Flyers have added new events to their calendar. The club is located in Casa Grande, AZ. Every Thursday throughout the winter months, the club will hold airplane dog flights, also called "combat flights".  These events give members a chance to increase their skills. It also allows people who are new to the hobby to enhance their skills. The "fights" begin at approximately 10 a.m.

 

The Casa Grande RC Flyers have added new events to their calendar. The club is located in Casa Grande, AZ. Every Thursday throughout the winter months, the club will hold airplane dog flights, also called "combat flights".  These events give members a chance to increase their skills. It also allows people who are new to the hobby to enhance their skills. The "fights" begin at approximately 10 a.m. and conclude after one aircraft remains in the air. The club also planned their next swap meet for Feb. 9 at the club airfield. The gates will open at 8 a.m. for people wishing to set up tables. The swap meet will start at 9 a.m. The event is free and open to the public. The club recently started using a sign in book for the airfield users to log when they are at the field. The log book shows that the field is used almost daily by members. The club welcomes new members and offers free lessons using special training models under the dual control of an instructor. For more information, visit https://www.casagrandercflyers.com.

Sunday Flyers Receive AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant

The Sunday Flyers recently received an AMA Club recognition and reward grant for $150. The club is located in Middle River, MD.

The club was featured on episode 3101 of "Outdoors Maryland". The club was established in 1955 and is chartered with the AMA for flying fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The Sunday Flyers currently have 90 members but have had up to 160 members of all ages. They have one flying location with a 350-foot runway located off Bird River Beach Road in Maryland.

The club members meet at their flying field every week on Saturday. Some of the flying field rules include...

 

The Sunday Flyers recently received an AMA Club recognition and reward grant for $150. The club is located in Middle River, MD.

The club was featured on episode 3101 of "Outdoors Maryland". The club was established in 1955 and is chartered with the AMA for flying fixed wing aircraft and helicopters. The Sunday Flyers currently have 90 members but have had up to 160 members of all ages. They have one flying location with a 350-foot runway located off Bird River Beach Road in Maryland.

The club members meet at their flying field every week on Saturday. Some of the flying field rules include that a person must have an AMA card prior to flying and after three visits, the person must be a Sunday Flyers member.

To watch the full story on the Sunday Flyers, click here. The segment "Pilot Park" starts at 9:45.

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.

December Flying For Good Featured Club

The Flying For Good featured December submission is the Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft Club, Inc. The club is located in Waco, TX. The club provides a $1,000 scholarship for one local student from the county or immediate surrounding counties attending Texas State Tech College Aviation Pilot program who demonstrates financial need. In 2017, the club wanted to start a community charity and later came up with the idea to fund a scholarship.

 

The Flying For Good featured December submission is the Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft Club, Inc. The club is located in Waco, TX. The club provides a $1,000 scholarship for one local student from the county or immediate surrounding counties attending Texas State Tech College Aviation Pilot program who demonstrates financial need. In 2017, the club wanted to start a community charity and later came up with the idea to fund a scholarship. The Waco Chamber of Commerce, Aviation Alliance Division, helped the club announce the new scholarship to the local press and community at their first quarterly luncheon of 2018. In January 2018, the scholarship was awarded to Hunter Anderson, a local student from the immediate area. In mid-February, Hunter and two aviation instructors from TSTC attended the clubs monthly meeting where he was presented as the first HOTMAC scholarship recipient. The club hosts their Annual Greater Southwest Jet Rally to help raise money for the scholarship fund. Also, donations from the clubs Big Bird event and Spring Club 40/EF1 races contribute towards the scholarship and the clubs maintenance. The scholarship program is set to continue in 2019. The AMA Foundation wants to know how your club has given back to charity. To learn more about the Flying For Good Program, click here.

Memorial contribution made for UAS4STEM competition

Patrick W. Beagan, of Arlington, Massachusetts, passed away at the age of 45 in June 2017. Patrick studied mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and pursued a decades-long career in software design and development. He founded a small software company in the late 1990s and then held senior positions at several software companies in the Boston area.

 

Patrick W. Beagan, of Arlington, Massachusetts, passed away at the age of 45 in June 2017. Patrick studied mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder and pursued a decades-long career in software design and development. He founded a small software company in the late 1990s and then held senior positions at several software companies in the Boston area. Most recently, he was awarded a patent for an innovative software design at Oracle Corporation. Complementing his professional career and long-held interest in flying, Patrick discovered the art of flying and the science of building multirotor FPV racing drones in 2014. He was immediately captivated by this hobby that combined the reward of designing and building his own aircraft, the analysis and problem solving of debugging issues, and the thrill of first-person flight—not to mention the camaraderie of the local FPV flying community. Patrick was a founding member of the Boston Multi Rotor Club in 2015, and at one time, was one of the top-ranked pilots in the New England area. He made a nice group of friends in the local racing community and was always willing to lend a hand or spare parts. In addition to his professional life and newfound passion in all things drones, Patrick pursued many outdoor sports in his lifetime including skiing, snowboarding, windsurfing, kitesurfing, and cycling. He and his wife of nine years, Andrea, were also ardent travelers and nature lovers—having traveled together across the US and in 30-plus countries around the world. Patrick's wife is sponsoring a scholarship for the 2019 UAS4STEM program in her husband’s memory. She is keen to acknowledge how this hobby touched Patrick's life through continual learning, competition, and fun. Her hope is to help promote the same enthusiasm and learning opportunity for the next generation. The UAS4STEM drone challenge was designed by the AMA to encourage teamwork, competition, and success through a STEM-based education platform. The program provides teams of four to 10 middle and high school students with training, insurance, and equipment to compete in a waypoint and payload delivery challenge. To learn more about UAS4STEM visit https://uas4stem.org/.

The Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft Club Sets up Local Scholarship

hot mac logo

The Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward grant for $75. The club hosted their 36th Annual Greater Southwest Jet Rally on September 6, 2018. The jet rally ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m and was free to the public but donations were accepted to fund a Texas State Technical College aviation scholarship.

 

The Heart of Texas Miniature Aircraft Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward grant for $75. The club hosted their 36th Annual Greater Southwest Jet Rally on September 6, 2018. The jet rally ran from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m and was free to the public but donations were accepted to fund a Texas State Technical College aviation scholarship. In 2017, club president, Steven Bird, requested the club members to think of ideas for a possible community charity which would be the clubs focus.  The club came up with many ideas but decided on a scholarship that would fund a financially needing, local Aviation Program Student Pilot attending Texas State Tech College. The club agreed on an annual $1,000 scholarship to the board for consideration and possible vote. The board voted to grant the Scholarship which would be the clubs annual community charity for one local student from the county or immediate surrounding counties attending TSTC Aviation Pilot program who demonstrates financial need. The Waco Chamber of Commerce, Aviation Alliance Division helped the club announce the new scholarship to the local press and community at their first quarterly luncheon of 2018. In January 2018, the scholarship was awarded to Hunter Anderson, a local student from the immediate area. Donations from the clubs annual Jet Rally along with their Big Bird event and Spring Club 40/EF1 races all contribute towards the scholarship and the clubs maintenance. 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.

Casa Grande RC Flyers to Host Event for Hospice

The Casa Grande Flyers will hold an event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12 at their club airfield on 2725 S. Isom road in Casa Grande. The event will benefit the Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona and is open to the public.

 

The Casa Grande Flyers will hold an event from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 12 at their club airfield on 2725 S. Isom road in Casa Grande. The event will benefit the Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona and is open to the public. The club will offer free flying lessons using an instructor's model aircraft, free first-person view airplane rides, a swap meet featuring many radio-controlled hobby items, and food service for both breakfast and lunch. Visitors will be able to watch and ask the pilots questions while they fly their model aircraft. Representatives from Hospice will be at the entry gate accepting donations from visitors who wish to support the cause. Donations are not required, but the club hopes the community will be generous in their support of the charity. The club field is located across from the public shooting range in Casa Grande. Directions to the club field can be found on the club’s website:  www.CasaGrandeRCFlyers.com along with a list of the many other special events the club holds for the community.  Membership information is also on that website.

A Year in Review: Casa Grande RC Flyers

The Casa Grande RC Flyers made many changes to their flying field in 2018. Membership has increased which has allowed the club to make improvements to their field. Some of the changes to the airfield included:

 

The Casa Grande RC Flyers made many changes to their flying field in 2018. Membership has increased which has allowed the club to make improvements to their field. Some of the changes to the airfield included:

  • A new remote weather station installed in January that allows members to see real-time weather conditions
  • Two stainless steel sun shades over pilot tables
  • A large steel storage unit
  • Approval of an increase to the weight limit for aircraft used at the field from 10 to 20 pounds
  • A new runway, a donation by the former Palm Creek flying club
  • Addition of 120-volt AC power
  • Increased charitable events including weekly "combat" airplane dogfights on Thursday mornings and a new "Fly in For Hospice"
  • Over the last six years, the club has been able to donate money to charities such as the Casa Grande Food Bank, the Wounded Warrior Project, and the Valley Humane Society

The Casa Grande RC Flyers is an Arizona nonprofit corporation chartered and their goal is to promote interest in model aviation and give back to the Casa Grande community. The year 2018 was good to the Casa Grande RC Flyers so let the growth continue in 2019.

Casa Grande RC Flyers Celebrate National Model Aviation Day

The Casa Grande RC Flyers held their annual National Model Aviation Day event on Dec. 8. The event was held at the clubs airfield in Casa Grande.

 

The Casa Grande RC Flyers held their annual National Model Aviation Day event on Dec. 8. The event was held at the clubs airfield in Casa Grande. More than 150 people attended the event and the event was free to the public. The club's new food service, Twisted Entree from Casa Grande, served meals from their menu. Tools and supplies to make the event more space were donated by Home Depot, Lowes and Norris RV and all of Casa Grande. The event benefited the Casa Grande Food Bank and the club members collected cash and food items. The clubs vice president, Ron St. Pierre, offered free first-person-view airplane rides to guests. The club's next major fundraising event, Fly In For Hospice, is scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 12.

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