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During the AMA Foundation RC Resale, Kerry Sterner and his grandson, Tyler Hill, bought a 1/4 scale Concept Fleet Biplane and fixed it up. They fully stripped, repaired, upgraded the electronics, and fully recovered the plane. On Sunday May 19, Tyler entered it in their local club (LVRCS) "Builder Event" where he placed first in scale and won Best of Show. The event was his very first outing. Kerry said it was a great time working with his grandson and that Tyler is now fully engaged in the hobby and they both look forward to working on many more projects together.

The Sky Kings R/C Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $175. The club is located in Webb City, MO. The club was recognized in their local paper and television. First time flyers, The Flying Pigs, deconstructed and built a plane for a high school physics project. The students built the frame of the plane from the ground up and used new measurements and data that they figured out all on their own.  From there, they designed the remaining parts of the plane to get it competition ready. Upon completion of the class' first model airplane, they decided to name the plane "Babe". The club took Babe to the Oklahoma State University Speedfast and placed second in the competition with a top speed of 90 mph and successfully competed a total of 109 laps. 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.

After 50 years and some tough decisions, the Cleveland Free Flight Society disbanded and donated their remaining funds to organizations who supported them throughout the years. Rich Weber, former President of the Cleveland Free Flight Society, stated: "When our club members made the difficult decision to disband the Cleveland Free Flight Society after a fifty year run, we had to make some more decisions on what to do with the funds left in our treasury. We made a list of ideas at our final meeting, and then sent out a questionnaire to all of the club members, asking them to vote on where they wanted the donations to go. The results of the membership survey showed that CFFS membership wanted to see that the funds went to the organizations that supported our activities over the years, and to help insure that aeromodeling remained strong for many years to come. The AMA Scholarship Fund and the AMA Foundation were natural choices. We hope the donations will aid those organizations in their work." The AMA Foundation thanks CFFS for their generous donation and wishes the best for everyone involved with CFFS in their future endeavors.

Thirteen students awarded a total of $50,000 for academic pursuits The Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) has helped graduating seniors achieve their dreams since 1970, with individual scholarships ranging from $500 to $8,000 each year. This year, $50,000 total was awarded to students. Student scholarships are awarded each year thanks to the generous support of AMA members and AMA Foundation patrons across the country. AMA has awarded more than $1.1 million in scholarships since founding the scholarship program. AMA is happy to announce that 13 high school graduates from across the nation will benefit from the AMA scholarship fund this year. The scholarship money is generated through donations by model aviation organizations, individuals, and AMA members, and a portion of AMA member dues. Award designations are set by the AMA Scholarship Committee, which is made up of model aviation pilots and enthusiasts. The committee evaluates each application and ranks it based on GPA, community involvement, model flying experience, and model flying competition participation. AMA and its foundation want to thank each family that has contributed to the memorial scholarships, as well as the hundreds of other donors to the scholarship program. Without their generous contributions, these gifts would not be possible. AMA would like to congratulate the following students who have been selected this year to receive the Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship and others:

1. Robert Van Zyl (Peachtree, GA): $7,000 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship; $1,000 Weak Signals Club Scholarship

1. Stoil Avramov (Elkridge, MD): $2,000 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship; $5,000 Clifford and Nancy Telford Scholarship 

1. Sparsh Desai: $6,000 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship; $500 Weak Signals Club Scholarship

1. Thomas Holcomb (Marietta, GA): $5,000 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship, $500 Weak Signals Club Scholarship

1. Jacob Pulsipher (West Richland, WA): $4,500 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship, $1,000 Ryan Sherrow Memorial Scholarship

1. Joseph Thibodeau (Appling, GA): $4,000 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship

1. Trevor Burke (Dallas): $3,500 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship

1. Kyle Albrecht (Fenton, MI): $3,000 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship

1. Darius Rieger (Cape Elizabeth, ME): $2,500, Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship

1. Julia Minicozzi (Babylon, NY): $2,000, Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship

1. Linda Markham (Carrollton, GA): $1,000 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship

1. Joshua McCreary (Suffolk, VA): $1,000 Basil and Dorothy Cooper Memorial Scholarship

1. Edward Bukowski (Parkland, FL): $500 Charles Hampson Grant Scholarship

The Palm Beach Radio Control Association is our featured Flying For Good submission for April. Located in Boca Raton, FL, the club raised $10,500 for charity from November 2018 to April 2019. The club sponsored five fundraisers to benefit three local organizations as well as two national charities, Toys for Tots and The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

The club’s local fundraising efforts benefited the Alexander “Sandy” Nininger State Veterans Nursing Home, Ziggy’s Haven Bird Sanctuary, and the Hepzibah House for victims of human trafficking. In addition to raising awareness for each charity, many events featured fun flys, food and beverages, and raffle prizes. 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.  

Congratulations to the 2019 Flying Site Development/Improvement Grant recipients. Each club has been successful in its efforts to increase the value the club’s property and member experience.

A total of $32,542.54 has been awarded among 44 AMA Chartered Clubs.

AMA established the Flying Site Development/Improvement Grant program to invest in the continued improvement and growth of AMA chartered clubs. Grant funding is provided through an allocation of membership dues each year. This year, thanks to the support of AMA Foundation donors, enough funding was available to award grants to all qualified clubs. These clubs are making a difference in the model aviation community, and the communities in which they operate.

Club Name

 Amount

Bridgerland RC$381.00

Central Alabama Sportflyers$240.30

Circle Masters Flying Club$37.01

Corning Tri Rivers RC Modelers$237.54

Dallas Wingdingers$346.51

Derby Radio Control Club$1,828.35

East Coast Swamp Fliers$2,400.72

Erie RC Club$49.58

Fairgrounds Flyers$214.43

Florence Aeromodelers$1,324.92

Fraser Flying Club$97.89

Harvey County Radio Control Club$1,336.19

Horizon City Flyers$257.00

Hudson Valley RC Club$245.00

Huntington County Modelers$551.01

Inland Empire Radio Control Club$150.00

Island Flyers RC Club$670.16

Johnson County RC Flyers$160.49

Maricopa AMA RC Club$120.81

Miracle Strip RC Modelers$551.68

North Georgia Model Aviators$698.96

Northeast Aero RC Club$350.00

Ocean County Modelers$717.77

Olympic Radio Control Association$269.29

Omahawks, RC Inc$3,000.00

Osceola Flyers$70.00

Owatonna RC Modelers$429.46

Penn Ohio Radio Kontrol Society$306.00

PROPS$570.57

Radio Control Society of Marine Park$838.75

River City Radio Controllers$2,636.20

Robin's Flying Field$1,249.44

Rochester Aero-Modeling Society, inc$160.02

Seaview Rotary Wings$175.00

Shadetree RC Club$401.79

Smith Lake Fliers$848.62

Somerset RC$29.53

Southwest Area Park Modelers$243.07

Sun Valley Fliers$3,000.00

Top O' New Jersey$783.56

Tumecula Valley Fliers$741.60

Tuscarora RC Flying Club$290.20

Washington County Model Aviation Association$532.12

Western Carolina Radio Club$3,000.00

Congratulations tot he Newport News Park Radio Control Club for raising $1,764.00 for the AMA Foundation! What an accomplishment! The Newport News Park Radio Control Club formed a committee and drafted up a proposal on how their club can contribute to the AMA Foundation in support of our mission and vision. The AMA's Mission is “to advance the organizational goals of the Academy of Model Aeronautics through the financial support of its charitable programs.” The AMA's Vision is “to inspire financial support for Aeromodelling as a hobby, sport, and scientific pursuit – a legitimate part of our communities and a necessary component of the aeronautical continuum.” The NNPRCC committee came up with a program called the “AMA Foundation Challenge.” This challenge consists of three primary objectives:

• Promote awareness of the AMA Foundation’s mission and vision
• Provide annual financial support to the AMA Foundation General Fund
• Challenge individuals and organizations to support the AMA Foundation

The first part of the challenge is to promote awareness of the AMA Foundation. To do this, the proposal calls for developing and maintaining a small supply of printed materials to have at club events. These materials will provide information about the AMA and ways to join the club. In addition to the printed materials, electronic materials will be hosted on the club website. This material would provide an overview of how the AMA benefits all model aviation enthusiasts and hyperlinks to the AMA Foundation website. Part two of the proposal is to provide annual financial support. Using club funds, the committee would purchase a “grand prize” item to sell raffle tickets for. The committee will sell raffle tickets for a period of time and after completion of the raffle, the club’s treasury will be reimbursed and all remaining proceeds will be allocated to the AMA Foundation General Fund. In addition to the grand prize auction, featured items will be raffled off exclusively during the club's National Model Aviation Day celebration including a completely ready-to-fly electric trainer, a 1-year club membership, and more! Lastly, the proposal suggests having a sponsored cookout for club members and guests, with prominently placed containers soliciting donations. All proceeds from the sponsored cookout will be allocated to the AMA Foundation General Fund. The final part of the AMA Foundation Challenge is to challenge others. The proposal calls for development of a brief report, to be used for post-event promotion. This report should include images or videos from the AMA Challenge activities before and during an event, a note of appreciation for participants and volunteers, and disclosure of the total proceeds raised. This report should encourage individuals, clubs and other organizations to meet or exceed the efforts put on by the club. The post-event report can be shared with various local and national media outlets. The AMA Foundation encourages other clubs to use the proposal made by the NNPRCC committee as an example to raise money for the foundation.

Every year the Weak Signals club of Toledo, OH sells raffle tickets to those attending the Toledo R/C Expo show to raise money in support of the AMA’s scholarship program. This year, the club raised $1,000 for AMA scholarships.

This donation will be split between this year’s top three AMA scholarship award recipients.

We would like to thank the members of the Toledo Weak Signals for the continued support of the scholarship program.

Learn more about the Weak Signals RC club on modelaircraft.org.

 

The Rock River Aero Modelers Society recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $175. The club is located in Janesville, WI. Club secretary and treasurer, Larry Nitz, was invited to give a presentation about their club to the Janesville Noon Rotary Club. The presentation took place on April 15 and there were 50-60 community leaders at the luncheon. The presentation talked about the hobby, government regulations, and the history of the Rock River Aero Modelers club. During the presentation, Nitz showed pictures and displayed examples of several planes showing the range and depth of the hobby. 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 Casa Grande RC Flyers were named a "Gold Level Leader Club" for the third year in a row. The club is one of 151 clubs out of over 2,400 clubs to receive this title. The club was recognized in their local paper. The club is largely supported by the city, local businesses and the community. The club changed their schedule in April so their members can use the club airfield at any time. They have also scheduled their 2019-2020 events. The events include a celebration of National Model Aviation Day benefiting the Valley Humane Society, a Fly-in for Hospice benefiting the Hospice Charitable Fund of Central Arizona, a swap meet benefiting the Boys and Girls Clubs of Casa Grande and the club's 7th annual Air Show benefiting the Casa Grande Food Bank. The club will also continue to hold their "Combat Dog Fights" on Thursday mornings during the season. The club offers free lessons to individuals wanting to learn to fly fixed-wing aircraft, drones and helicopters. Details about the club’s events and membership information can be found on the club web site at www.CasaGrandeRCFlyers.com or on the club’s Facebook page.