events

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).

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.

The Palm Beach Radio Control Association recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Delray Beach, FL. The club was recognized in their local paper. From November to April, the club sponsored many fundraiser that benefited charities. They held the annual Warbirds Over the Glades fundraiser for Alexander 'Sandy' Nininger State Veterans Nursing Home, their annual Toys for Tots Fundraiser, a fundraiser for the Hepzibah House for victims of human trafficking, their annual fundraiser for Ziggy's Bird Sanctuary, and they finished it all with the Snowbirds Fun-Fly that benefited St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital. With all of the events combined, the Palm Beach Radio Control Association was able to raise about $10,500. 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 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 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.

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.

The Beresford Aera Radio Flyers recently received an AMA club recognition and reward grant for $75. The club is located in Alcester, SD. The club recently donated $250 to The Beresford Area Transit/ROCS to help with their mission of providing transportation to local residents. The Beresford Area Transit has two vans and a 16 passenger bus that is equipped to handle wheelchairs. The transit normally has 20 to 25 trips per week. Funding for the Beresford Area Transit group comes from the fees, grants from the counties, grants from the city and from donations. The club hosts four events each year. The club hosts the "Frozen Finger Fun Fly" in January, a fun fly for all models in June, a two-day fun fly event in July and a show at the Centre Mall in Sioux Center, IA in March. All events are free to the public. 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 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.

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.