In the Air
Membership news and updates
from AMA Headquarters
2015 AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame
The AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame award recognizes aeromodelers whose contributions to model aviation throughout the years have been outstanding and have improved the sport/hobby and increased its prestige and stature.
The following individuals are members of the 2015 AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
Chuck Cunningham
Dub Jett
Frank B. Baker
Fred Mulholland
Jay Gerber
Jerry Rocha
Jesse Shepherd
Phil Cartier
Are you considering nominating an individual for the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame? To do so, your submission must be postmarked by March 31, 2016. You can download the application for nomination at www.modelaircraft.org/files/152.pdf.
Northrop Files: N9M Flying Wing
AMA Plans Service now houses all plans formerly sold though Model Builder magazine, Bill Northrop’s Plan Service, and the Scratch Builder’s Almanac. There are more than 1,000 plans in the collection.
The Northrop N9M Flying Wing, designed by Bill Young, appeared in Model Builder in August 1983. Bill wrote that it was “a fabulous scale subject for the modeler looking for ‘something different.’”
You can order the Northrop N9M, plans number 8831, for $16 by calling the AMA Plans Service at (800) 435-9262, extension 507.
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed Life Members Chris Darabant, Springfield PA; Charles Lamons, Hickory NC; Ralph S. Rinaldi, Monson MA; Matthew Turowski, Nescopeck PA; Peter Melchiorre, Rehoboth Beach CA; Wayne L. Boots, Waterloo IA; Jason L. Coulter, Saint Clairsville OH; Jaime B. Colley, Laguna Niguel CA; Jason Okauchi, Los Angeles CA; Loren Kloft, Crestwood KY; Robert M. Jenkins, Mendon UT; George Parsons, Woodbridge VA; Chris Smith, Louisville KY; Morris Coville, Corvallis OR; Ronald Barrett, Lawrence KS; Duane Henson, Simpsonville SC; David B. Koch, Mandan ND; Frank Paulin, Robbinsville NJ; Phillip McRoberts, Rochester Hills MI; Christopher Thompson, Lancaster PA; Brandon Lindholm, Bermuda Dunes CA; Atindra Chaturvedi, Bloomsbury NJ; Larry Rhea, Quitman AR; Brett E. Eklund, Mesa AZ; and Jason J. Daniels, Dallas TX.
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.
—AMA Membership Department
Small Scale Static Models
“As a tad [sic] I cut my teeth on solid models,” wrote R.S. Thompson (commonly known as Bob Thompson) to the National Model Aviation Museum on October 25, 1988. As an adult, Bob collected solid model kits. By 1988, he was ready to share his collection with others by donating them to the museum.
Bob stated, “I know the solid model is a sort of nonflying model area to the AMA, but there were a lot of the early flyers who built them. Just look at the ads for solids in the old Flying Aces to see how much activity there was in this area. Then, too, the servicemen of World War II were pretty much cooped up on the base, and the solid model was their only outlet for modeling in those dark years.
“A lot of the kits I have reflect those years. Just look at a 1943-1945 issue of Air Trails to see how intense the solid model activity was in those times. ‘Solids’ were all a lot of guys had.”
The museum accepted Thompson’s collection of 89 solid static kits.
Burkard Model Engineering was one of the companies that produced solid kits during World War II. This example, part of the Burkard Giant Solids line, is of a Grumman F4F Wildcat. Although undated, the reminder on the plans to buy U.S. War Bonds, and the note that armament details of the Wildcat are classified, indicate that it was sold during World War II.
The wood is not balsa, which was rationed during the war, but instead is a hardwood.
This month, the National Model Aviation Museum will share other early examples of solid scale kits in the collection on the museum’s blog.
