members

Earlier this year, members of Rend Lake RC Club applied for the Take Off and Grow (TAG) Grant. The AMA is excited to announce Rend Lake RC Club has received a $500 award by District 6 Vice President, Randy Cameron. This grant was awarded to Rend Lake to help with Open Houses and their RC Kid’s Camp this summer.   Rend Lake RC Club encourages anyone interested to attend their open house May 20 and August 1 from 12 - 4 p.m. Aircraft will be present and members will be there for any questions attendees may have. There will also be trainers present to allow attendees an opportunity to learn the Buddy-Box System and receive a first flight certificate.   For more information about the Rend Lake RC Club open house and camp, visit their website here.    

The McMinn County Radio Control Association in Athens, TN recently received a $75 Club Recognition Reward and Grant by the AMA Foundation. The club received this recognition due to their efforts in making the Academy of Model Aeronautics more well known. Members, Pierce Ashburn, Sean Ashburn, Sid Averett, Dana Thornton, Tom Miller, Lynn Perkinson, Richard Weir and Bob Miller appeared in the Daily Post Athenian newspaper. The members were photographed for bringing copies of the Academy of Model Aeronautic Magazine to the E.G. Fisher Public Library. The AMA Foundation appreciates the members of McMinn County Radio Control Association for their efforts in spreading the messages of our organization.   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 held their 2nd annual air show on Saturday March 11, 2017 and enjoyed a record number of attendees at the club field.  This year’s air show benefited the Valley Humane Society who received many needed items as well as cash donations. The show featured pilots from Horizon Hobby and Hitec/Multiplex, a pilot from the Eloy airport who flew helicopters, and an internationally known aircraft pilot and designer from Arizona City.  People from around the valley filled the bleachers to watch the pilots perform amazing stunts during the two-hour event. The Casa Grande RC Flyers is an Arizona non-profit corporation and chartered club of the AMA whose purpose is to promote model aviation and support the Casa Grande community. Club members teach classes at area schools, participate in fairs and 4H events, and offer free lessons to individuals who wish to learn to fly model aircraft.  Details about the club and their activities can be found on their website:  www.CasaGrandeRCFlyers.com    

Secaucus, New Jersey was the site of AMA Expo East in February. Many AMA staff members attended to run the show, but this was a special trip for foundation staff as we were going to pick up a donation to take with us to sell in the expo's Swap Shop. This donation came from a good friend of ours, Charles Sylvia. You may remember Mandee’s blog post about her trip with Tony to visit Charles back in October to pick up his first donation to the AMA foundation and now he was donating again! Mandee and I flew into LaGuardia airport and took our first New York City taxi ride into New Jersey. There we picked up our (not as small as we thought it would be) cargo van. We had a Cessna 310 to take to Charles as trade for another plane and then he was donating twelve additional planes to the foundation! Once we had the plane loaded and secured, we were off to New Hampshire. It was already dark and we had a four hour long drive ahead of us. We entered our destination into the GPS and Mandee nervously pulled off in our rented van. We made it to our hotel just after midnight to get a bit of sleep before heading out early to meet Charles. [caption id="attachment_3434" align="alignright" width="150"] Chrystal, Charles, Mandee[/caption] The next morning, we were welcomed into the home of Charles and his wife, Fran, where Charles already had all of the planes lined up and ready to load into the van! Charles is very organized and had a file to go along with each plane so that the new owner would have all the information they could ever need to know about their plane. Charles helped the two of us safely load them in the back of the van and we were also able to visit a bit with them while we were at it. Once we had the planes secured and took a photo documenting the occasion, we were back on the road. [caption id="attachment_3442" align="alignright" width="150"] Mandee driving on the George Washington Bridge[/caption] We thought we had the difficult part behind us, the long drive at night and loading up all the planes…but then we realized that we were going to have to drive back through New York City to get to the Meadowlands Exposition Center. Did I mention that Mandee is terrified of bridges? Well, I learned that about her on this trip. And she learned that there a lot of bridges in New York/New Jersey! As we got closer and closer to the George Washington Bridge, I tried as best as I could to calm Mandee’s nerves about driving a cargo van across it…in very heavy traffic. As you may be able to tell in the photo, she’s a little tense.  But, we made it! Once we pulled into the Expo Center, the relief of making it was so overwhelming to Mandee she had tears in her eyes and I believe she almost kissed the ground. And now, we actually had the hard part behind us! [caption id="attachment_3437" align="alignleft" width="150"] Mandee, Frank, Chrystal[/caption] The next few days were a whirlwind of activity in the Swap Shop. We got to meet so many people including District II AVP, Frank Granelli, who lent us his expertise in our booth.  One of our customers, AMA Member Frank Costello, came to the expo after hearing we were selling a C-47 twin. It had been a long-time dream of Frank’s to own this particular plane. We were excited to help make this dream come true…but not as excited as Frank was to take his plane home! [gallery columns="2" ids="3432,3431"] We had a great time at Expo East and sold all of our planes with the money raised benefiting AMA’s educational/youth programs. The foundation team is so thankful to everyone who made this trip so successful; Charles and Fran, Frank, and all of the members who are giving each plane sold the opportunity to fly again! It was a busy weekend but Mandee and I managed to make it into the city one night for dinner and a show...but don't worry, we left the driving up to a professional! [caption id="attachment_3441" align="aligncenter" width="150"] Mandee and Chrystal on Broadway[/caption]   Chrystal Pearson Development Communications Coordinator AMA Foundation

The Beresford Area Radio Flyers Club has been awarded a $75 Club Recognition and Reward Grant by the AMA for their generous donation to Mayor Jim Fedderson for the swimming pool project. The club was mentioned in the Beresford Republic newspaper honoring them and their dedication to aviation. The club mentions their attachment to the Academy of Model Aeronautics and says that the AMA promotes all types of model aviation. The club also mentions they are able to use the Beresford Flying Field due to being members of the AMA.   The Beresford Area Radio Flyers are actively working toward promoting educational programs to school classes, civic groups and scouting organizations. They encourage anyone with a passion for aviation to come check them out.

The Sonoran Desert Flyers pilots do their best to provide great experiences to those who are interested in learning more about model flying. Over the years the members have impacted hundred of people, including new pilot Ryan. Ryan, 40- years old, has Cerebral Palsy, a disability that causes muscle spasms, slow growth, and involuntary movement. Despite all of this, he is a practicing psychiatrist. His father, Steve, took him out to the Sonaran Desert Flyers field to learn more about model flying-a hobby he believed would be fun for him to try. With the help of the Sonoran Desert Flyers, they were able to set up a day for Ryan to fly on a Tuesday morning, even though their typical flying day was Saturday. They packed up all their gear, found their club trainer, and set flight. Ryan enjoyed the experience so much that he will continue flying. The club is setting him up with a transmitter tray to smooth out his hand movements. The Sonoran Desert Flyers makes it possible for everyone to enjoy the love of model aviation. Bob Schuman, member of SDF, states, “All in all, this is what SDF does best. Stop by and meet them, your life will be better.”  

The Academy of Model Aeronautics has awarded the River City Radio Control Club with $175 with a Club Recognition and Reward Grant. The 25 member RC club was featured in a  Vicksburg Living Magazine article. The article featured the River City Radio Control Club member Sam Pitchford, an aviation hobbyist since the  1960’s. Pitchford talked about his love for model aviation and how he got started on the hobby.  “It’s good therapy. When you’re flying you can’t think of anything else but what you’re doing. Your problems disappear. They’re not around when you’re flying that airplane.” said Pitchford. The members of the River City Radio Control Club utilize the Crosswind Air Park. The air park is an old landfill off of 16th Section school property, however, when it closed the club began leasing the field. Now you will find the club out every Sunday afternoon and on some days throughout the week. The members have a wide range of model airplanes from P-51’s to aerobatic craft and home built airplanes costing up to $5,500. One particular member of the AMA, President Phillip Cameron, is currently working on building a model of World War II B-17  bomber. He has previously built a B -17 RC model plane and an electric plane. The Vicksburg Living Magazine discusses how all members of the River City Radio Control Club are members of the Academy of Model Aeronautics. Richard Dunaway, the clubs longest member, states “It protects us and the landowners. Our membership is open to anyone as long as they are AMA certified and flies a plane.” The AMA Foundation appreciates the members of the River City Radio Control Club for their membership and dedication in the organization. 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.

On Saturday, Nov. 5, Hampton Roads Radio Control Club hosted their 10th Annual Fun Fly Event benefiting Suffolk’s Toys for Tots Program. With more than 45 registered radio-control pilots, the event was able to raise more than $15,000 and collect thousands of toys for Toys for Tots program in the county.  “This is one of the best days we’ve had in five years, because of the weather,” said Chris Weeks, club vice-president. “The contributions exceeded our expectations.”     The day consisted of free Starbucks in the morning, a fly in with planes of all shapes and sizes and some electric powered, and Christmas themed parachutists. Santa was accompanied by elves who jumped out of the airplane to hear about children’s Christmas wishes. At the end of the day, Club President Jeff Haywood presented Skydive Suffolk owner Mike Manthey, members of Kingdom Kuts and Chuckatuck Volunteer Fire Department with plaques for their help in sponsoring the event.   Hampton Roads Radio Control Club has done a wonderful job bringing in members of the community to support a great cause.

The Academy of Model Aeronautics has awarded a $75 Club Recognition and Reward Grant to  Wintonbury Flying Club. The AMA recognized “Gold Leader”club was featured in Bloomfield Messenger for their 12th annual Giant Scale Fly-In in Bloomfield. The Wintonbury Flying club fly-in event gave the public a chance to admire the aircraft they feature. The public saw demonstrations, took part in a Q&A and children had the opportunity to fly in a 110 inch Olympic 2 glider. The club has been located in Bloomfield and actively involved with the community since 1972 and has over 215 members. Every year the club participates in donations for the food pantry and Toys for Tots Program. For more information about the club, view the website. 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 AMA is currently participating in #GivingTuesday to help us hit our 2016 goal of raising $200,000. What is #GivingTuesday? It’s a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Celebrated on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving (in the U.S.) and the widely recognized shopping events Black Friday and Cyber Monday, #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving. Why should you give? Because model flying is what you love, and we love to help you fly. AMA’s team stands up for members everyday by providing membership services, working with the FAA and in DC, engaging youth and building educational programs using model aviation, building partnerships to enhance the hobby, and much more.  

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