grant

For the past nine years, the AMA has received generous grant funding from the Arconic Foundation (formerly known as Alcoa) for STEM programming across the U.S. 2019 was no different, as the AMA was the recipient of a $100,000 grant that supports primarily STEM workshops for teachers. The workshops engage teachers in a variety of hands on, STEM-based activities using a Flight Research Kit, an AMA Alpha, and a Guillow’s Jetstream, all of which they can take into their classrooms and share with students. The classroom activities are designed to help students develop spatial intelligence as well as practice applied math and physics skills, such as the four forces of flight, through inquiry-based learning. These rigorous activities have been aligned to state and national science and math standards and have been used successfully by middle and high school teachers across the U.S. The grant also supports team participation in the AMA's national aerial robotics competition, UAS4STEM. Funding from the Arconic Foundation will be used to subsidize the registration, competition, and travel expenses of select teams in communities where Arconic has a presence. The AMA will conduct the grant activities through August 2020. If you are interested in learning more about STEM workshops or UAS4STEM, please contact kylej@modelaircraft.org.

SPARKS Inc recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $150. The club is located in St. Petersburg, FL. 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 Southwest Area Park Modelers recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $175. The club is located in Arbutus, MD. The club held their Charm City Fly which featured dozens of planes and supported disabled veterans. The event included a candy drop, model airplane aerobatics, a raffle, and more. The event raised over $2,600 for their cause. If you would like to watch some of their event coverage, you can do so 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 Seminole Radio Control Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Tallahassee, FL. The club held their event on October 6th from 10am-3pm. The cost on entrance was $15 donation from pilots and $5 for the lunch.  Everyone received hamburgers, hot dogs, bottled water, and got to see and participate in model flying. The club provided everything that was need to have a fun day flying. They encouraged new participants to try their hand at flying and ask questions to learn more about 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.

With grant assistance from the AMA, the Island Flyers R/C Club installed a new GeoTex runway in April 2019 at their field in Fernandina, FL. Club members went to work tillling, digging, filling in, and leveling the ground for a 250' x 30' fabric runway. During four full days of work, the runway was laid, secured with staples and tightened by the sun overhead. In addition, the club laid the taxiway and flight box with GeoTex fabric. After the runway was completed, it was marked and cleared for its first flight. The club was also able to purchase a used 20' Conex storage container to house field equipment and other supplies(see photos below). The Island Flyers R/C Club hopes to attract new members as a result of their runway project. Upon completion of the project, club President John Willis wrote, "Thanks for your support in making this happen. As a small club, your contribution was very helpful." Visit the Island Flyers R/C club's website to read more about their runway project.                     We are honored to have contributed to so many successful site improvement projects over the years! Apply now for the 2020 Flying Site Improvement Grant program: https://modelaircraft.org/site-grant.  

The Midwest Sundowners recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $50. The club is located in Munster, IN. The club recently received a story published about them in their local newspaper. It dove into the history of their club and even included some personal stories of some of their members. The club, located in Munster, IN, flies at an outdoor flying field in Winfield and at the Sparta Dome in Crown Point when the weather prohibits outdoor flying. 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 Coachella Valley Radio Control Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $125. The club is located in Indio, CA. The club is one of the oldest service organizations in their area and was able to get on their local radio station recently to talk about their club and some upcoming events. The club will be hosting their Top Fun event the first weekend in November and hope community members will come out and watch to support the club. You can listen to their full radio interview 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 Holly Springs Skyhawks Radio Control Group recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $125. The club is located in Holly Springs, NC. On August 31, 2019 the club hosted their third annual Wings Over Springs Electric Fly In charity event. Over 80 pilots were in attendance for the event, as the day had perfect weather conditions for flying. The club was able to get plenty of sponsors for the day and were able to give out goodie bags to all registered pilots, as well as free water. Visitors of the event were able to see demos almost all day as well as MultiGP Drone Racing. The event also included a raffle with a grand prize as the finale. Hosts of the Parkflyer Podcast traveled across the country to attend the event and get some recordings. You can read more about the event and see photos HERE. You can listen to the podcast recordings 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 2020 Flying Site Improvement Grant (FSIG) online application opens October 1, 2019. Since 2002, the AMA has financially supported more than 400 clubs in their site improvement efforts. That’s over half a million dollars in grant funds to clubs. The AMA, in conjunction with the AMA Foundation, is proud of our record of giving, and we are eager to share how we’ve improved the FSIG guidelines and application process for members. See below for what’s new for 2020!

• New final application deadline, February 1 of each year
• Revised application requirements and updated grant guidelines
• Clubs can now request 25 percent of their project costs (an increase from 10 percent in previous years), up to $3,000!
• Clubs can now apply for the Flying Site Improvement Grant every year!
• Clubs have the opportunity to submit an optional complete draft of their application in early January for preliminary feedback from the Grants and Programs Coordinator and the club's designated District Vice President.
• The online application is new and improved, featuring a save button so applicants can work in stages!

To learn more or apply for the 2020 grant, visit modelaircraft.org/site-grant. For questions, please contact Kelsie Walker, Grants and Programs Coordinator, kelsiew@modelaircraft.org or 765-287-1256 x279.

The Tuscarora R/C Flying Club recently received an AMA Club Recognition and Reward Grant for $75. The club is located in Mary-D, PA. During their monthly meeting at the beginning of September, the Tuscarora R/C Flying Club made Jonathan Sommers an honorary member of the club and pilot. Sommers, who has autism, had been attending their meetings for over 20 years. The club noticed his dedication and wanted to do something special for him. Not only did the club make him an honorary member, but the Academy of Model Aeronautics also heard about what was happening and they decided to make him and honorary pilot. Jonathan received several gifts from both the club and the AMA. Among those gifts was a brick with his name on it on the AMA Walk of Fame. 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.