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The Southern Indiana Flying Eagles recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Seymour, IN. The club recently received a World War I model biplane that hung in Larrison's Diner and they paid to have it restored. The diner was located in downtown Seymour for several years. After restoring the Fokker D. VII the club returned it to the owners of the diner for it to be hung back up. 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 RC Sport Flyers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Raymore, MO. This year, RC Sport Flyers members met with John Johnson, the superintendent of operations at Jackson County Parks and Rec. These members met to discuss the possibility of making their flying site and park ADA compliant. Within six weeks, there were smooth concrete parking spots and paths, railings and an ADA compliant portable toilet. The club was inspired to make this change from their own member, Brian Mitchell. Brian first joined the club to fly his plane, but he had to worry about his expensive controller falling off of his lap as he maneuvered his wheelchair along the grass and gravel pathways. The park is now the only park out of 2,400 sports flying fields in the nation that are ADA compliant. 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.

Dick Smith, 87 of Rockwall passed away Saturday, August 31, 2019. He was born July 29, 1932, in Dallas to Robert G. Smith and Theda Balcome Smith. Dick graduated from Will Rogers High School in Tulsa, OK, achieving the rank of Eagle Scout during his school years and later studied Engineering and Music at “The Oklahoma State University” located in Stillwater, OK. It was in the music department where he met and courted Norma Jean Collyar. He married Norma Jean on December 23, 1953, in Stillwater, OK. In addition to his bride, Dick had many loves, most notably model airplanes, but also playing the piano and singing. Norma Jean’s educational background was in music, so between the two of them, there was always music, piano playing and singing in their home. He took great pride in his home, always making home improvements, room renovations and working in the yard. He enjoyed building model airplanes from the age of 12, football, fishing, camping, opera, playing cards, especially Bridge, as long as the other players were experienced Bridge players. Dick was a mentor and was always willing to offer singing, automotive, appliance, home repair, and career advice to those who would ask and listen. His children generally left the room or covered their ears at the start of sporting events due to his very vocal critiques of the singer’s interpretation of the National Anthem. He was recognized as an operatic tenor, studying music at Oklahoma State, Evansville, IN, singing in Central City, CO, and the Armed Services choir. Most of all he loved his Lord and Savior, and his family. Dick took care of his beloved Norma Jean up until her death in 2007. He was of the Presbyterian faith, and a member of Sertoma International, Society of Automotive Engineers and several free-flight model airplane clubs such as The Tulsa Glue Dobbers, The Central Ohio Free-Flight Club and most recently, The Texas Cloud Climbers. Dick served his country in the US Army during the Korean War. A Celebration of Dick’s life will be held at 1:00 PM on Saturday, September 21, 2019, at Reflections Chapel at Rest Haven Funeral Home in Rockwall. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations may be made to The Academy of Model Aeronautics Scholarship Fund (https://amafoundation.modelaircraft.org/scholarships).

Remembering Michael Blair

Michael Len Blair, 53, of Vine Grove, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, July 31, 2019, after several months of battling cancer. After a recent short visit to his daughter’s home in Huntsville, he spent his last few days surrounded by family and friends.  Lindsey, his daughter, was the light of his life and gave Mike the reason to fight every health challenge that came his way through the years. Mike’s life passions were his daughter, his dog, family, friends, motorcycles, rock concerts, and radio controlled flying.  He was the club secretary and long-time member of the local Hardin County Radio Control Modelers of Elizabethtown. In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that contributions may be made to the Academy of Model Aeronautics Foundation, 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie, IN  47302, (Modelaircraft.org/donate) in honor of Mike’s passion for model aviation. See Michael's full obituary HERE  

Michael Blair Memorial Fly-In

The Mid Arkansas Radio Control Society recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $175. The club is located in North Little Rock, AR. The club received news coverage talking about their club and what they do. Ansley Watson, reporter for ABC 7, met some of their pilots, including Frank Osborne, a World War II Veteran. The club even gave her the chance to fly a plane herself. You can watch their news clip 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 Viehe RC Fliers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $150. The club is located in Indianapolis, IN. The club received news coverage on WISH TV talking about their club and what they do. There was four separate segments, averaging about two and a half minutes each. Dick Wolfsie interviewed their pilots, watched as they flew their planes, and even got to fly one himself. This coverage was a great way to spread their love of flying and expose new people to the hobby. You can watch their clips 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.

Congratulations to Lucila “Lucy” Montserrath Zurita Osorio, who was awarded the Dewey O. Broberg Memorial Scholarship during this year’s UAS4STEM national competition held at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. The UAS4STEM team selected Lucy for her great attitude, dedication to the team, determination, and adherence to the rules and purpose of the competition. 

Lucy attends Duarte High School in California. Her love of physics and her goal to become an aerospace engineer drove her to join her school’s UAS4STEM team. Throughout the challenge, she has enjoyed learning about aerodynamics, robotics, and hands-on activities that involve math and science.  

When asked what she most enjoyed about UAS4STEM, Lucy stated, “My favorite part about UAS4STEM is hard to pick. I love the competitive drive that escalated throughout the year; the network of amazing people that are willing to help you better your club and yourself; the fact that you get to do something you love; the level of collaboration that helped me realize how an engineering environment is going to be like; the basic aspects of UAS4STEM, like engineering, problem-solving/critical thinking; [and] learning about the world of aviation and its ongoing improvement in technology. I cannot pinpoint my favorite part about UAS4STEM. The program is just so immensely big and fascinating.” 

Lucy hopes to study aerospace engineering or applied math or science at her dream school, California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. Outside the classroom, she enjoys tennis, basketball, and robotics club.  

The AMA congratulates Lucy on his award. 

Click here to learn more about the Dewey O. Broberg Memorial Scholarship. 

Click here to view photos from this year’s UAS4STEM National competition. 

The Binghamton Aeros recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $175. The club is located in Binghamton, NY. The club held the Festival of Giants R/C Air Show from August 9th to the 11th. The event was held at the Chenango Bridge Airport. The event itself was free to attend, but the club accepted donations for the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse (CHOW). Skilled pilots from all over the east coast and Canada brought hundreds of large-scale RC aircraft and took to the skies for this event. You can watch more about the event 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 Stonecrest RC Flyers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $125. The club is located in Prestonsburg, KY. The club recently hosted their Fun Fly, their biggest event of the year. The event was filled with food, fun, fellowship, and a lot remote controlled aircrafts. The club donated a portion of the proceeds to their local veterans group. Those who were at the event had the opportunity to learn about the hobby and even how to fly and operate radio controlled airplanes and helicopters. 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.