“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.” —General George S. Patton
Education Through Aviation by Bill Pritchett, Education Director
We’ve returned from an event that was like nothing I’ve ever participated in. Although we are privileged to be a part of many outstanding events that celebrate model aviation, it’s always exciting to see something new. What we saw that was new—thousands of spectators, oh wait, that happens often. What we saw that was new—more than 1,000 registered pilots! Whoops—that happens too, but not often. Okay, the new part was this: countless kids and families building and flying model airplanes!
We were in the middle of FliteFest 2015, produced by the great folks at Flite Test. Look at any of the event’s online media, especially the YouTube account. This is the future of model aviation. This is how to introduce building, flying, and having fun. This is how you share the concepts of camaraderie and helpfulness. Not once did it ever feel as though anyone was doing an I’m-better-than-you flight.
The imagination, experimentation, and pure fun of the entire event were the new part. The kids and families are new in their knowledge of the AMA. Although they were concerned with safety, and enforced a well-managed flightline, no individual was making life miserable for someone who was simply wanting to have a good time.
New? You bet. Countless families sharing the fun of model aviation! Doesn’t this sound to you like a major component of success? I hope so, because I sure think so.
To that end, Flite Test will become a major part of AMA Flight School and will be introduced to the AMA community at the 2016 Expo in Ontario, California. Flite Test will be our featured resource in the Education area and, in that capacity, will be providing building opportunities, building seminars, retail, and feature time on the main stage. I only hope we have enough room for the crowd that Flite Test will draw!
And, I heard a rumor that the entire Flite Test community will be anxious to follow—the model available to build at our 2016 Expo is going to be designed exclusively for the Expo! Stay tuned and enjoy taking a look at the future of model aviation and the AMA: www.flitetest.com.
We have pursued various methods of delivering our departmental motto, “Education Through Aviation.” AeroLab has certainly been a huge piece of that puzzle and delivers an arrow to the heart of the concept of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The venerable AMA Cub or Delta Dart is shipped out almost every day. The FPG-9 has been experienced by hundreds of thousands of youth. We developed AMA Flight School (www.amaflightschool.org) to answer the question “How Do I?” and it continues to grow with more exciting content.
The thing today is drones. Now we have to connect communities of learners to this new drone phenomenon. I believe the place to start is with youth, and nothing will intrigue a young community more than a competitive event, so—welcome UAS4STEM!
UAS4STEM is a high school STEM program that launched August 1, 2015. This is an everything-in-one-package solution that includes all but the laptop needed to run the ground control station software. The concept is a team of four to eight students, with one or two teachers or mentors, participating in a search-and-rescue challenge. Each team includes the Mid-Atlantic Multirotor Quadzilla kit, RC system, video system, batteries, charger, and most important, an online curriculum that all students must complete. The curriculum covers the physics of flight, fundamentals of sUAS including autopilot and how it works, aviation weather, the National Airspace System, aviation safety, checklists, logs, and finally ethical airmanship, which addresses all of the things you can’t write a rule for, but might want to consider.
The mission is this: a group of hikers becomes lost and a search area is established. Teams must fly the search area autonomously and identify items that you might expect hikers would have with them such as tents, sleeping bags, chairs, etc. Teams must identify what each item is and mark its GPS location, which would then be given to the rescue teams. Regional competitions will be held at AMA club fields in the spring of 2016, with a national contest scheduled next summer in Muncie, Indiana, at the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC).
FIRST Robotics Competition is an extremely popular event and considered the varsity sport for the mind. There is a $6,000 entry fee for a rookie team and $5,000 for veteran teams. Additional contest entries require additional fees. It’s expensive, but the most obvious reason is that the organizers must lease a venue, and that’s expensive.
The challenge is based on flying and will be held at many of the more than 2,400 AMA clubs we already have! The national event held at the IAC will only cost the teams travel expenses, which they incur in FIRST Robotics as well.
I want to challenge this group’s success and am calling on our members to support our youth participation in this by possibly volunteering to mentor, share with an educator you know, and check on your club’s interest in hosting or sponsoring a team. The total cost for UAS4STEM is only $1,995! Arch Stafford will serve as the national director. He brings years of professional UAV experience, including as a safety pilot for AUVSI competitions held at Naval Air Station Patuxent River.
Fly and have fun!
