In the Air
Membership news and updates
from AMA Headquarters
AMA Member Honored
An AMA Leader Member, historian, and author has been selected to receive an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) award for contributions to his community.
Dr. Gary Fogle received the Outstanding Contribution to the Community award for the San Diego section of AIAA on April 25 during an awards banquet at San Diego State University.
“It’s great to be honored … Two years ago I received the section award for Outstanding Enhancement of the Image of the Aerospace Profession award. San Diego has a rich history in aviation, and the San Diego section is one of the larger AIAA sections in the US,” Gary wrote.
According to a press release, the award is given to an “AIAA member who has played a significant role in community activities outside of AIAA. This may include participation in other societies, community service organizations, charities, schools, etc.”
In addition to being an AMA member for more than 35 years, Gary serves as a contest director. He also has served on the National Soaring Museum Board of Trustees, and currently is a member of AMA’s Government Relations Standards Workgroup team. He flies gliders and electric-powered sailplanes and has held several national and world records.
Gary helped protect the Torrey Pines Gliderport by securing historic designations for it, and drafting proposals that led to the formation of AMA’s National Aeromodeling Heritage Program. He currently serves as the vice president of the Torrey Pines Scale Soaring Society. Visit http://air.modelaircraft.org/gary-fogel-torrey-pines to see an AMA Air interview of Gary by AMA’s Chad Budreau.
Gary is the author of The Torrey Pines Gliderport and the coauthor of Quest for Flight: John J. Montgomery and the Dawn of Aviation in the West. The books detail California’s contributions to the early days of flight.
US to Host World Championship
A historic hotel in Indiana, once called the Eighth Wonder of the World, has been chosen as the site for the 2018 FAI F1D World Championship for Indoor Model Aircraft.
During an FAI/CIAM Plenary meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, in April, the US was selected to host the international competition March 18-23, 2018, at the West Baden Springs Hotel in West Baden, Indiana.
The USA Organizing Committee, in conjunction with the AMA, submitted a bid to host the competition in the hotel’s atrium. The facility will also be used for room accommodations and meals for the competitors, officials, and contest workers.
Built in 1902, the hotel’s 200-foot span atrium has been the site of numerous Indoor Free Flight competitions, including the 1980 F1D Indoor World Championship. Many national and world records have been set in the glass and steel atrium.
In 2006, the site was renovated and reopened as a full-service, luxury hotel. For the past four years, a two-day Indoor contest has been held there in the early spring. The contest attracts model pilots from across the US, including many top F1D fliers.
This year’s FAI F1D World Championship for Indoor Model Aircraft was held in Romania. To learn more about the competition and the FAI, visit www.fai.org.
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed Life Members Rick D. Fisk Jr., Grandville MI; Daniel Hetorilla, Shrewsbury MA; Paul Wintler, Avalon CA; Michael Colvard, Cary IL; Jordan McCoy, McKinney TX; Chris J. Boulet, Crowley LA; William D. Pardue, Artesia NM; and Todd M. Cumston, Columbus OH.
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.
—AMA Membership Department
Pre-Toledo Visit
On March 28 and 29, 2016, modelers from southeastern Michigan got a special treat with a “Pre-Toledo” visit from Hobbico. Josh Schiff drove a trailer full of airplanes and multirotors
to Ultimate Soccer Arenas in Pontiac, Michigan, to show off a bevy of new products. Josh prepared an interesting presentation on the latest in FPV.
Josh also used the gathering to present a multirotor to five-year-old budding aviation enthusiast, Isaac Vickers. Isaac is the son of Shannon Vickers, an A-10 Warthog pilot with the local Air National Guard. Shannon and Isaac planned to join the gathering last year, but Shannon was deployed to Afghanistan. Those in attendance recognized Shannon’s efforts with an unsolicited round of applause.
Michigan Aerospace Corporation of Ann Arbor, Michigan, loaned a computer for demonstrations of the latest RealFlight Drone Flight Simulator. Nearly 200 modelers from 16 area clubs attended the two-day event. The 50/50 drawing raised $300 for the Salvation Army of Pontiac.
Josh participated in the regularly scheduled Tuesday indoor flying at Ultimate Soccer Arenas, demonstrating new products and mingling with modelers. Raffles were held both days.
—Joe Hass
joehass@gmail.com
Warren Plohr
March 17, 1922-March 29, 2016
RC flying today might be much different if not for the work done by late AMA member Warren Plohr. In the late 1990s, the FCC proposed adding non-RC users to the 72 MHz band set aside for RC model aircraft. Warren, Bill Hershberger, and George Steiner—all members of the AMA Frequency Committee—ran tests at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana, and drafted a report that convinced the FCC to withdraw its proposal.
“Warren was a great asset to AMA, the Frequency Committee, and me in particular,” former AMA Executive Council member Bob Underwood wrote shortly after he learned of Warren’s death.
“Warren was a true asset to AMA and all modelers,” said AMA Executive Director Dave Mathewson. “His work on AMA’s Frequency Committee during the late ’80s and early ’90s was instrumental in not only acquiring, but preserving, the original 72 MHz frequencies from the FCC. The result was the exponential growth of aeromodeling during that era.”
Warren grew up in Bronx, New York, and received his first model airplane when he was five. He began building model aircraft and rode the subway to Central Park to fly them. He became an AMA member in the late 1930s, and was an AMA Fellow.
While studying engineering at New York University, Warren and his family moved to Pittsburgh. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Force in December 1942, became a World War II B-24 Liberator pilot, and flew 11 combat missions over Germany and France with the 489th Bomb Group. He later received an Air Medal for his service.
After the war, he enrolled in the Carnegie Technical Schools in Pittsburgh, which is known today as Carnegie Mellon University, to complete his aeronautical engineering degree. He taught himself how radio electronics worked by reading the Radio Amateur’s Handbook. He met his future wife, Joan, in the college cafeteria.
Following his graduation, the couple moved to Cleveland, where Warren was hired by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to work in its aircraft engine research lab.
While living in Cleveland, Warren met young modeler Keith Shaw. “I was fortunate to have known Warren for over 55 years, and our paths have crisscrossed several times. We both lived in Cleveland and flew at the same American Airlines model club field,” Keith wrote.
“He would patiently answer my questions about radio theory, and was the singular adult that didn’t dismiss a 12-year-old kid from designing and building his own radio control equipment,” Keith added.
While working for NACA, Warren also befriended fellow modelers Chet Lanzo, Joe Elgin, and George Reich. NACA was renamed NASA in 1958 and Warren became a member of its Space Task Group that was charged with designing the first US manned spaceflight: Project Mercury.
Warren managed the Agena rocket project from 1966 to 1970, which launched spacecraft that included the Ranger, Lunar Orbiter, Mariner, and Nimbus weather satellites for NASA’s planetary program.
In the 1970s, Warren served as the chief of spacecraft technology at NASA Lewis Research Center, located in Cleveland (now called the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field). He retired in 1979 and received a NASA Exceptional Service Award.
His involvement in modeling was put on hold until roughly the time of the first lunar landing, which was in July of 1969. He and a friend then joined the League of Silent Flight (LSF) and attended several sailplane contests. Warren served as LSF vice president from 1979 to 1981, then as the organization’s president through 1985.
He built and flew gas- and electric-powered model aircraft, and later was asked to join AMA’s Frequency Committee.
By 1991, all of the present 72 MHz model frequencies were phased into service. The AMA, working in conjunction with the FCC and Radio Control Manufacturers Association (RCMA), promulgated guidelines that created so-called “narrowband” transmitters and receivers. A program to modify older equipment was put into place, as well as an identification program for transmitters that were manufactured (or modified) to narrowband specifications.
During this time, Warren was a mainstay on the AMA Technical Committee, later renamed the Electronic Technology Committee (ETC). The ETC’s mission is “To support the Academy by monitoring, maintaining, and developing electronic areas of modeling through liaison with government, industry, and membership groups.”
Former AMA Frequency Committee member and current AMA Flying Site Assistance Coordinator and Technical Director Tony Stillman said, “I served with Warren on the AMA Frequency Committee for several years. Warren was a wonderful resource for AMA, and an expert in his field.”
Bob added, “During the entire time I was the coordinator for the Frequency Committee, [Warren] served as the secretary for the group. His minutes (actually more like ‘hours’) were an invaluable aid in helping the group, and me as a layman, keep track of the very complicated discussions, especially through the periods of the 72 MHz narrowbanding and later when the FCC wanted to throw in additional commercial users.
“I have read some of those [meeting] documents quite recently as I sorted through the volumes of items I have here at home. The reading brought a number of chuckles—especially concerning items which Warren may have had some disagreement with during the deliberations. With those items there were always some subtle ‘editorial’ comments dealing with the conclusions. In many ways, those comments served as a very good counterbalance to the discussions and in a few cases, excellent referral material at a later date when something went wrong.
“Warren was quite a master at doing three very important tasks. First, he played the ‘devil’s advocate’ role quite well and asked the difficult questions in the Frequency Committee’s work.
“Next, he was extremely adept at getting various members of the committee to come together from different pools of thought and approach,” Bob continued. “It was stimulating to watch him ‘work’ the process of bringing the very analytical, rule-based Bill Hershberger and the ‘Let’s use a paper clip and rubber band’-approach of George Steiner together in solving many of our various issues. They were, indeed, a masterful team to work with!
“[What] fond memories of important and productive times … and of Warren!”
“I owe a tremendous debt to Warren,” Keith said. “I doubt if I would be flying today without his quiet encouragement.”
“His expertise was invaluable to this committee, and it was an
Northrop Files: Big Stik
AMA Plans Service now houses all plans formerly sold through 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 Big Stik, designed in collaboration with Mike Smith, is an enlarged version of Phil Kraft’s popular Ugly Stik. The 100-inch wingspan aircraft for 2-cubic-inch engines appeared in the October 1979 issue of Model Builder.
You can order the Big Stik, plans number 10791, for $28 by calling AMA Plans Service at (800) 435-9262, extension 507.
honor to serve with him. I learned much from him and he will be missed,” Tony said.
Warren was inducted into the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame in 2010. He passed away in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on March 29, at the age of 94. Survivors include his sister, Doris Hansen; his three children, Bradley Plohr, Bonnie Upton, and Robert Plohr; and six grandchildren. His wife of 66 years, Joan, preceded him in death on September 19, 2015.
George Brown
December 11, 1926-April 20, 2016
An AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame member, hobby shop owner, and longtime Nats competitor has passed away.
George W. Brown Jr., age 89, Staten Island, New York, flew full-scale aircraft while serving with the U.S. Navy as a tail gunner and ammunitions personnel in World War II and the Korean War. He also was a tool-and-die maker and worked for Proctor and Gamble.
In 1971, along with his wife, Mary Louise, he opened Brownie’s Pro and Sport Hobbies on Staten Island, which is still operated today by his son. George became involved in model aviation at a young age and scratch-built several models. He taught many who lived on Staten Island how to fly.
In the mid-1940s, George was a charter member and president of the Sky Devil Model Flying Club. In the 1950s, he was a charter member and president of the Snafu Aeronauts, and became an AMA contest director and Leader Member.
From 1964 to roughly 1975, George was a member of and served as president of the Staten Island Speed Team. In the mid-1970s, he started a modeling group called the Staten Island Modelers.
He competed in Control Line (CL) Speed Mirror Meets and in several Nats across the country, where he set some CL Speed records. He was honored with the Sportsmanship Award at the 1966 Nats.
George also enjoyed flying RC, Free Flight, and gliders. He was inducted into the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001. He is survived by four sons, two daughters, 10 grandchildren, and several great-grandchildren. His wife preceded him in death on October 25, 2015.
