Education Through Aviation
by Bill Pritchett, Education Director
“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.” —Dale Carnegie
By now, all of you should have checked your gear out twice and put up 50 flights in your mind’s eye … unless you’re lucky to fly year round. Those of us up here in the four seasons go through this ritual every year. The nice thing is that for the last few years, we’ve been able to enjoy flying indoors, keeping both our thumbs and tongues sharp! I’m sure your club is like ours in that the occasional barb is tossed … ha!
We have so much going on and it’s important to me that readers of this column understand that we have things going on with great results at AMA! It’s not all about registration, FAA, blogs, the federal government, and all the doomsday conversations. In fact, it’s quite the opposite of that in many corners of the organization.
Let’s start this month with a great story from Randy Carlson, Civil Air Patrol (CAP).
When we started the Model Airplane and Remote Control (MARC) flying program in 2012, it was with the intent to expose model building and flying to the cadets in CAP. This idea expanded further with the melding of the AMA Education department as a partner. The goal was to help get American youth more interested in building and flying model aircraft.
The ultimate goal has always been to get new blood into the AMA and into aviation as a life career. This has been the goal of CAP-U.S. Air Force back to the very beginning of Civil Air Patrol.
For all of us who spend time pushing this concept, there are only a few moments in time when you can see the results of the labor. One of these moments has occurred.
A CAP Cadet and AMA member, who came to the first MARC event in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has been accepted into the U.S. Naval Academy. Although he intends to fly jets, he loves tinkering and doing research and development on his RC airplanes equally. This young man will make a name for himself and add to the field of aviation.
You have helped make Raymond Tallarini C/Major, in the Minnesota Wing, Civil Air Patrol, the future of aviation that we wish all of our youth could aspire to. There are many more like him, but he is one that, in all of your small ways, you have helped mold.
It is when a student looks back and thanks the teacher that we who teach feel pride and a sense that all the blood, sweat, and tears are worth it.
Thanks, Randy. What a great story! We hear many of these great stories of our youth being motivated via Education through Aviation, to succeed.
The challenge is simple. Are you one of those individuals helping get kids excited about aviation? Do you set the example of “looking up” when anything flies over? We have 75 UAS4STEM teams in our first year. That means 75 adults stepped up and said, “Sure, I’d be glad to help.” Be one of those. Be the example.
Last month I shared a report from Jessy Symmes, coordinator of educational activities. She is involved hands-on with a lot of what we do. We have a couple of items to celebrate, so here’s Jessy:
It is that time of year when the planning for upcoming events and the deadlines for many of our programs happen within the same month. February is by far one of the busiest months in the Education department. This gives me the opportunity to speak one on one with several of our members who are interested in participating in programs that help grow the modeling community.
We are elated with the response we have received regarding UAS4STEM. We launched the program in August and set the goal of getting 50 teams to compete. We were immediately inundated with phone calls from not only schools that wanted to participate, but members who were eager to help in any way possible.
As the number of teams grew past our expectations, so did the number of clubs that offered to host regional events across the country. We are in the process of scheduling the six or seven regional events that will be held this spring. This wouldn’t be possible without the help of our members who are willing to volunteer their time and host the event at their clubs.
As a part of UAS4STEM, the teams are invited to participate at the national event that will be held at the AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana. We are excited to announce that a participant at that contest will be awarded the Dewey Broberg MVP Scholarship. This scholarship will recognize a youth who shows dedication to his or her team, determination, and adherence to the rules and purpose of the competition. More information about this scholarship can be found on www.uas4stem.org.
The Take off And Grow (TAG) program is in its 10th year. Clubs from across the country have applied for up to a $1,000 grant to help them promote modeling within their community. I have been blown away by the improvements and promotions that clubs are doing.
I have read dozens of applications we have received for the program this year and can’t explain how incredible some of these outreach efforts are. With everything currently going on with the FAA, events such as these put the positive image of what modeling is to the forefront of perception.
When you attend your next club meeting, I encourage you talk to your club about the outreach that you are doing and how you’re promoting the hobby. We have many types of materials and activities that are available to help you host a school program or open house. Getting new individuals interested in flying is what keeps the hobby going, and all of that starts with the club’s effort to bring new people in.
If your club is interested in hosting an event and needs support, contact me at jessys@modelaircraft.org.
Thank you for all of the outreach and support that you do. Your efforts are appreciated more than you know. Please feel free to send pictures and stories from your programs to education@modelaircraft.org so that we can celebrate them in our blog.
Fly and have fun!
