In the Air
Membership news and updates
from AMA Headquarters
A Different Way to Fly
I was astounded the first time that I met Ryan Zahn. He flies RC aircraft with his feet and toes! You see, Ryan was born in 1989 with no left arm and his right arm ends well above his elbow, with two fingers that are somewhat functional.
He said that there is no known cause or official name for his condition; however, he never let it slow him down and has learned to do with his feet and toes everything that a normal person does with his or her hands and fingers. He is simply amazing.
Ryan lives independently and is self-sufficient. He drives, flies, and rides dirt bikes. He was born in Salt Lake City and relocated to Billings, Montana, in 1994 with his family. In middle school and through high school, he raced RC carpet cars with a local club at the Shrine Auditorium. He got hooked on RC vehicles.
In 2006, Ryan was driving a street-licensed four-wheeler when a truck ran a stop sign and broadsided him. Fractures occurred in both femurs of his legs. His hip and only arm were also fractured. He spent a month in the hospital and an additional 90 days in a wheelchair.
The day he was released from the hospital, he went to a local model helicopter shop. His father rolled him into the store and he bought a Blade CP collective-pitch helicopter. It was Blade’s first collective-pitch aircraft.
While wheelchair bound, he learned how to hover the helicopter in his kitchen/living room, which is roughly a 10 x 10-foot space. Ryan says he went through two sets of blades while learning how to hover, but he mastered that sufficiently while in the wheelchair.
When he first started walking and was out of the wheelchair, he went back to the helicopter shop and purchased an electric Align T-Rex 600 Pro flybar kit. He and his father assembled the T-Rex 600 Pro in one day and took it back to the store to get it checked out and set up. The flybars and blades were adjusted and aligned. It was hovered at the store to ensure it was working properly.
He flew the 600 Pro for a couple of years before starting college. After his first year of college, he bought a ParkZone P-51 Mustang at Abell Hobby, a local store, and joined the Billings Flying Mustangs in 2012.
Currently, Ryan’s hangar includes his T-Rex 600 Pro, E-flite Mini Ultra Stick, E-flite Apprentice S (for training), Mugi Coroplast Delta Wing, Stevens AeroModel Adrenaline Rush Mini Pylon Club Racer, QAV250 G10 Mini FPV Quadcopter, and ElectriFly Evader EDF EP Sport Jet.
He stated that the helicopter is the most challenging to fly, and the aircraft with the most adrenaline rush is the Evader EDF. However, for pure fun, he flies the Ultra Stick.
Employed at Abell Hobby in Billings, Montana, this summer, he assists patrons with purchases and fixes aircraft, solders leads, runs the cash register, and trains beginning pilots at our club’s Chamberlain Field.
Ryan says it is a little unnerving for beginning pilots to see him and think, “This guy is going to teach me to fly with no hands.” To calm them down and get their confidence, he takes the airplane up first and demonstrates his flying skills. After the prospective pilots see his abilities—even if it is with his feet and
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed Life Members Peter T. Watkins, Winston-Salem NC; James A. Miller, Germantown TN; Ryan C. Staats, Keizer OR; Keith Velez, Canandaigua NY; Timothy M. Sheehan, Elgin IL; Ralph D. Jenson, Minneapolis MN; Devin Ronge, Slippery Rock PA; Rick Pellicciotti, Bartlett TN; Paul D. Lott II, Brandon MS; Nicholas Schmitz, East Lyme CT; Rex Dobson, Coral Springs FL; Steven J. Luke, Downingtown PA; William Maschinot, Oakwood OH; Jeremiah Jones, Mather CA; and Melvin J. Poulsen, Lindon UT.
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.
—AMA Membership Department
toes—they are ready to train. When asked what gives him satisfaction in training, Ryan replied, “Seeing people enjoy the hobby and them realizing that it is not easy and takes time to learn.”
This year, Ryan will finish his degree at Montana State University in mechanical engineering. His dream is to work in the motor sports industry, specifically with Formula One racers. I would not be surprised to see him there one day.
—Larry Todd
bfmustangs@outlook.com
Don Krafft
Don Krafft, who served as an AMA district vice president for 20 years, has passed away. He died March 19 at the age of 82.
Don was first elected as District I vice president in 1985, and held that position through 2004. He and his wife, Barbara, enjoyed attending events throughout the New England area while he served as District I vice president.
As a teenager, Don began flying Free Flight and Control Line (then called U-Control), and progressed to RC flying in the 1950s. He and his son, Robert, competed in RC Aerobatics across the country. Don served as a contest director for RC Aerobatics competitions.
Don earned his full-scale pilot’s license and worked as a commercial airline pilot for 36 years, retiring in 1992.
In addition to his wife and son, Don is survived by another son, Jeff; a daughter, Lori Manning; two grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
Flying Field Loses Icon
After more than 10 years of serving as the official greeter at Hodges Field—with duties that included eating grilled meat, sleeping under RVs, and roaming the flying site as model aircraft were flown overhead—Servo the dog has passed away.
If you’ve ever been to the Southeast Electric Flight Festival, or any other events at the Americus, Georgia, field, chances are that you’ve met Servo. The dog died in March. His owner, Mac Hodges, wrote this about his faithful companion:
Northrop Files: Moon Dust
AMA Plans Services now houses the 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 Moon Dust, designed by Jack Sheeks, was a 50-inch Control Line Precision Aerobatics aircraft that was designed for .35-size engines. It weighed 52 ounces and could be constructed with foam or with a built-up wing.
You can order the Moon Dust, plans number 12743, for $13 by calling AMA Plans Service at (800) 435-9262, extension 507.
“We buried Servo today after a long and loving relationship with a dog that won everyone’s heart that met him and knew him. Servo was the official ‘greeter’ for Hodges Hobbies for many years.
“We never knew his exact age, as he just showed up here at his new home one day and assumed his duty as the ambassador for Hodges Hobbies. The vet estimated him to be about two years old at that time and the closest we can figure, he has been here about 12 years, making him somewhere around 14 years old, which is getting up there for a Lab mix.
“The vet said he appeared to have some problem with his digestive tract … possibly a tumor. She said she could do some tests and possibly operate but it would just be temporarily prolonging the inevitable. I made the decision to put him to sleep and spare him all of the misery … but still, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do!
“We buried him right here beside the hobby shop so he’ll always be here at home where he was so loved! We plan to come up with an appropriate marker or stone for his grave.”
Upcoming Summer Loan/Exhibit—Chaffee’s 1930 P-12
At the 1930 National Airplane Model League of America (AMLA) Contest, Bill Chaffee won first place in the Senior Scale Model category with a P-12B. This model will be exhibited in AMA’s National Model Aviation Museum’s main gallery this summer.
This wasn’t Bill’s first win or his first high-pressure flight. His first won the Junior Category of the Michigan State Model Airplane Contest in 1927 at age 15. That same year, Bill set an indoor world record for rubber-powered models, flying his aircraft for 173 seconds.
This world record earned him a chance to fly his aircraft at a banquet honoring Charles Lindbergh. He also flew it twice at the White House, once for President Calvin Coolidge and then for President Herbert Hoover.
AMLA Scale contest rules allowed for any reproduction of a man-carrying airplane to be entered in the contest as long as the scale had been reduced so the wingspan was exactly 24 inches. Approved plans were provided by the AMLA for several airplanes including the P-12B, but if a contestant wanted to enter another airplane, he or she had to prove that the information used was correct with drawings and a statement from the full-scale airplane’s manufacturer.
According to the stated rules, the judges’ decisions were based on “workmanship, originality in obtaining the desired resemblance to the man-carrying ship, the exactness to which the model is scaled, and any other points which are, in the opinion of the judges, important in such a contest.”
The model did not need to be built from the same materials as the original aircraft, did not have to fly, and none of the control surfaces had to move.
Bill Chaffee spent 500 hours building his P-12B from official AMLA plans, and despite the rules saying that the control surfaces did not need to work, each of controls worked through a mechanism in the cockpit. Bill’s hard work paid off with a first-place silver trophy, $200, and a six-week trip to Europe.
Bill’s P-12B will be exhibited during the summer of 2016. Displayed with the model will be the first-place cup and his passport documenting the trip. When you attend this year’s Nats, be sure to stop by and see it, or follow the museum on social media for pictures and related fun.
—National Model Aviation Museum staff
