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Since 1955, Earl, Ken and Frank had been best friends, all enjoying the same hobby of control-line flying. Here's the story of their lifelong friendship and what they have done so they can all fly together for eternity.

Three Old Men And A Time Machine

Written By: Ken Cigler

"This story started back in 1955 when three young boys met in grade school. At the same time, all three discovered model airplanes and control-line flying. Soon, all three met in the same model airplane club and thus started a lifelong friendship that lasted over 63 years as the best friends...Ken, Earl and Frank. We went through school together and graduated in 1961. Afterward, we went our separate ways, but life kept putting us back together. The only constant in our lives was the love of building and flying model planes, which brought us into the same RC flying club in our adult lives. About ten years ago I started a "guys day out" for us. We go to a variety of RC events, aircraft museums, hobby shops, or swap shops about once a month. Thus began the adventure of finding a "Time Machine" in our travels. Our best adventure started out as a quick road trip to Carmichaels, PA. Thinking that it was a simple 1-1/2 hour drive from Northeast Ohio, where we all live, it turned out to be more like a 3-1/2 hours' drive to just south of Pittsburgh, PA. We were looking for Brodak Hobby Shop. By accident, we walked into the model airplane kit factory (Brodak Mfg. & Distributing) instead. We were greeted by the owner, John Brodak, who graciously gave us a nearly four hour tour of his facilities. What a wonderful treat! Now the Time Travel takes place: We were magically transported back in time, just looking at the hundreds of model planes hanging from the ceiling. It brought back memories of our carefree youth. Each one of us saw models that we had built and flown as preteens and teenagers. Except for school (and chores), all we had to do was enjoy life, no bills...no jobs...no worries. Just build and fly our airplanes, having a great clean youth. I'm sure it made our parents happy, because it kept us out of mischief. On the way back to reality in my car time machine, all we could talk about was our youth, and the great memories that were vividly brought back to three old guys (now in our 70's). The best trip ever taken by us! You can say time travel is impossible, but we disagree, because we have done it. Unfortunately, with the passing of Earl in January of 2018, this lifelong friendship is now down to two. After Earl passed, Frank and I decided to buy a memorial brick for Earl on the AMA Walk of Fame in Muncie, IN. When we learned that the bricks are put in place as each order is received, we decided we would also purchase our own memorial bricks, in order that the AMA could put all three of our bricks in line together. The three of us will now be flying together for eternity. You can find us lined up one over the other... Earl, Ken, and Frank."

If you would like to purchase a brick on the AMA Walk of Fame, you can visit our website HERE.

As a recognized 501(c)3 organization, the AMA Foundation is one of the nonprofits Facebook users can choose to support through a special birthday fundraiser. We have had several people conduct these fundraisers online, including Randy Cameron, Executive Vice President on AMA’s Executive Council, and AMA Foundation Director of Development, Mandee Mikulski. How does it work? Facebook will automatically give users the option to host a birthday fundraiser right before your birthday. Simply select “Academy of Model Aeronautics Foundation” on the list of charities. The money is collected and then sent to the AMA Foundation office about six weeks later. Because of Facebook privacy rules, donor information is not supplied to the AMA Foundation team. Please contact us to let us know you are hosting a fundraiser. We can then help share your fundraiser, and provide you with a donation credit following the receipt of the funds. We are also happy to provide each donor with recognition if this information is provided to us. Keep in mind these people are contributing for your birthday, so if we do not have donor information we will credit the entire amount to you. We think this is a great way to raise money for the AMA Foundation and also a great way to raise awareness for a cause you care about. Please call us if you have any questions at (765) 287-1256, ext 277. Thank you to everyone who has supported or is planning to support the AMA Foundation in this way! We greatly appreciate your support!

The Kootenai RC Flyers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Libby, MT. The club hosted their annual Fun Fly on Saturday, July 13th. The event was a good opportunity for experienced and inexperienced pilots to get together, learn, and have fun. They wanted the event to be a fun family-friendly atmosphere and allow everyone to enjoy some time outdoors watching RC planes. The club has 18 members ranging in ages from 5 to 80. 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 Cedar Rapids Skyhawks recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $175. The club is located in Marion, IA. The club held their Warbirds over Iowa event on July 20th, 2019. The event had scale military aircrafts and it was free for the public to watch. The event also worked and paired with Eastern Iowa Honor Flight, that works with veterans. Eastern Iowa Honor Flight accepted donations at the event as well. To view live television coverage of the event, you can watch 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 Tinley Creek RC Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Palos Heights, IL. The club will be hosting their annual Remote Control Helicopter Fun Fly on August 3. The event will be from 9am to dusk and will be held at the AMA field located at 19498 S Cicero Ave, Matteson.  The Fun Fly will include raffles and will feature local professional RC helicopter pilots. They will also have members doing plane and helicopter demos. To get into this event, registrants must have their AMA cards. The fee for pilots will be $15 and this also includes lunch. The event otherwise is free to the public and there will be food and drinks available for a small cost. The event will also have a spot set up for new members and application forms will be available 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.

The Casper Airmodelers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Casper, WY. The club hosted their Fun Fly on the weekend of July 27th. 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 Owatonna RC Modelers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $150. The club is located in Owatonna, MN. The club hosted their Fun Fly on their 8 acres of land that was donated by the previous owners in 1986. Different clubs from around the area were invited to bring whatever RC planes they wanted to and have fun. The club offered free hot dogs and beans in exchange for a free-will donation. The club itself has between 35 and 45 members. If you would like to watch their interview, you can do so HERE. They're episode was on June 18th. 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 Academy of Model Aeronautics Foundation worked with the San Gabriel Valley Radio Control League to accept a collection of items, auction them off at an event, and then donate the money to the AMA Foundation.

The collection of items belonged to John Richard Polk, a member of the San Gabriel Valley Radio Control League. From the auction, the club raised $650 for the AMA Foundation. They used $150 of that to buy a brick in the AMA Walk of Fame in memory of John, and they donated the rest. "I would like to give special recognition to John Richard Polk and his family; Diane Polk, Eden Polk, Paulette Polk, Eric Polk, and Shannon Polk. They were all very kind in wanting to make a donation to the AMA Foundation. I had a great pleasure in dealing with this beautiful family. Thank you very much for your kind donation!" - President of San Gabriel Valley Radio Control League, Gilbert Lucero If you would like to know more about the AMA Walk of Fame Brick Program, you can check out our website HERE

The El Paso Radio Controllers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $175. The club is located in El Paso, TX. The club hosted a fundraiser for The Armed Services YMCA on June 30th, 2019. This event tried to peak the interest of younger generations and tried to get them interested in the hobby. This day also specifically focused on working with military families and trying to get them involved in the hobby. The event had trainer airplanes and club instructors in attendance that were happy to teach anyone and everyone on how to successfully fly a radio controlled airplane and how to do maneuvers. You can watch this clip from their television airing to learn more information: CLICK 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 Susquehanna Valley Modelers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Melton, PA. The club hosted the fly-in to allow its members a chance to fly together and invite the public to learn what modeling is all about. 20 pilots attended the event to show their support and fly. The planes flown were made out of a range of different materials from plywood and balsa to foam. THey ranged with wingspans of a couple of feet to up to 12 feet. This event wasn't just like any other event, however. During the fly-in, President of the Susquehanna Valley Modelers, Dave Hughes, and Treasurer, Diana Yarlet, got married on the airstrip of Kaboodle Road. With a passion for the hobby, the two couldn't have imagined a more perfect place to tie the knot. 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.