In the Air
Membership news and updates
from AMA Headquarters
New Partnership Formed
AMA has partnered with ESTECO Academy to offer AMA members free ESTECO memberships. ESTECO develops software for multidisciplinary optimization. Its flagship product, modeFRONTIER, is used worldwide in many industries (including aerospace) to integrate simulation processes, conduct tradeoff studies, and find optimal designs.
ESTECO will sponsor AMA members and offer free academic modeFRONTIER licenses for students and Ph.D. researchers. These academic licenses typically cost $120 and $240 per year respectively.
AMA members who are students and who use simulation software in their studies can now leverage the advanced capabilities of ESTECO optimization technology to identify the best design configuration. A free ESTECO Academy Student Membership will be granted to verified AMA members who include their AMA registration numbers in the project description field of the ESTECO Academy registration form.
Coordinator Named
A longtime aeromodeler who holds a private pilot’s license has been tapped to be AMA’s new Leader Member program coordinator.
Scott Anderson has been involved in modeling for more than 25 years. He currently competes in RC Aerobatics, and has won awards at several national and local contests. Scott also enjoys flying electric-powered gliders.
He is an AMA Leader Member, District V associate vice president, and contest director. He directs several annual events. Scott has been a member of clubs in New York, Pennsylvania, and currently in Tennessee. He has also been instrumental in promoting Classic Pattern (Non-Turnaround) for the past several years.
Eric Henderson 1948-2016
Eric Henderson, a 33-year AMA member who wrote for Model Aviation and Park Pilot magazines, passed away July 16, 2016.
Eric was an AMA Leader Member and contest director (CD) who began writing for various publications in 1977. He wrote the “Precision Aerobatics” and “The Engine Shop” columns in Model Aviation, and for Park Pilot he authored the “Jets” column.
Eric wrote several feature articles for both magazines, and had many product reviews published in Radio Control Model Engineering, Radio Modeler, Radio Control Modeler, Flying Models, and online publications and forums such as AMA’s Sport Aviator and RCUniverse.
At one time, Eric owned Moorestown Radio Control Hobbies in New Jersey, and recently was a consultant to the robotics program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His aeromodeling skills and knowledge led him to be a lead animatronics designer, builder, and operator for Mantel Studios in the production of the 2011 film, Mr. Popper’s Penguins.
Eric was born December 16, 1948, in Lynemouth, England, to Arthur and Florence Henderson and had an older sister, Margaret. He earned his nickname, “Evil,” from his rugby days—playing 20 years on school teams and semiprofessionally for the Stevenage Rugby Club. Eric coached youth soccer for 14 years (coaching each of his kids at least once), and coached an over-30 women’s team for two years.
His aeromodeling experience began with flying Control Line as a child. He also enjoyed RC cars and boats. In addition to being a CD, Eric served as an instructor pilot, AMA District II associate vice president (AVP), and AMA District X AVP. For the National Society of Radio Controlled Aerobatics, he was the District 1 vice president in 1997 and 1998, president from 1999 to 2002, and vice president again in 2005. Eric was also an active advocate for fair drone regulations.
Eric enjoyed participating in fun-flys, RC Aerobatics contests, national and international Slope Soaring contests, the AMA Nats, F3F competition, Slope Speed Racing, and International Miniature Aerobatic Club contests. He also served as president of 22 and treasurer of six aeromodeling clubs including the Lazy Loopers Flying Club, Central Massachusetts Radio Control Modelers, New Jersey Pine Barons, Crosswinds RC Club, Las Vegas Radio Control Club, and Vegas Aces. He founded the Alton Model Flying Club in England.
Eric passed away in Henderson, Nevada, following a long battle with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He is survived by his wife, Mary Anne; children, Phillip, Robert, Charlotte Byrnes, Victoria Sanders, and Katherine Ware; stepson, Aaron Haynes; 10 grandchildren; a niece, Pauline Lutman; and countless friends.
Early Scholarship Recipient
AMA is celebrating a huge milestone. This year, it reached $1 million in total scholarship money awarded. In honor of this achievement, Model Aviation is highlighting some of the recipients of these funds.
AMA awarded its first scholarship in 1970. To learn who else received a scholarship in the early years of the program, read the list of scholarship winners from 1970 to 1995.
Robert “Bob” Hanford was one of three modelers who received scholarship money in 1971. He was awarded $500, which he used to earn a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Oklahoma State University.
“It paid most of my first year’s tuition—how times have changed!” Bob said of the scholarship. He applied for an AMA scholarship when he was a senior in high school. “It was a tremendous help. My parents divorced about that time, and weren’t able to help with college expenses.”
After participating in the 2016 Free Flight Nats, Bob said that he competed in his first Nats in 1964 when he was 11 years old. His father, a member of the 1949 US Wakefield Team, taught him how to build and fly at the age of eight.
Bob’s aeromodeling experience has aided him in his career as a licensed professional engineer, and in his current position as a manager of a civil/structural engineering company. “The aeromodeling background definitely helped—knowing how to read and prepare drawings, spatial relations, strength of materials, and direct structural applications as I had experienced in modeling,” he commented.
AMA Scholarship Winners
Here are the AMA scholarship recipients from 1970 to 1995. The total awarded in that time was $253,400. One of the scholarship recipients declined the $500 scholarship and it was awarded to someone else.
1970: Bill Reed; Susan Weisenbach. 1971: Robert Hanford; Richard Leidner; George Pharr Jr. 1972: William Booth; Ron Ganser; Michael Hainen; Michael Kuehne; Witt Stockwell; Randy Wright. 1973-1974: Lell E. Barnes III; Donald L. Edberg; Curtis M. Pfarr; Joseph E. Rotunda; Alan E. Swanson; Ramon L. Torres. 1975: Mark D. Bauer; Gerald Geraghty; Gary S. Haffke; Joseph P. Mekina; Soter P. Slomski. 1976: Peter W. Rambo. 1977: Andrew R. Barron; Kenneth A. Bauer; Bruce Pailet; Richard C. Whitten. 1978: Linda Brown; Joseph Musumeci Jr.; Michael Nallen. 1979: Paula Bauer; Nicholas P. DeCarlis; Brian Petty; David N. Pier. 1980: Peter Campo; Tom Croft; Thomas Harr; Paul Munan; Jill Peck; Theodore S. Tevares. 1981: Peter Bauer; William Brown; Dale Doty; Mitchell Robins; Cliff Telford; Barry Zeigenfuse. 1982: Matt Bauer; Tom Fluker; Matt Giovanetti; David Noult; Leonard Rozanus Jr.; Richard Simpson; Thomas Szymkowski; Norman Timbs Jr. 1983: Patrick Baldus; Robert Baldus II; Susan Brown; Michael Eckstein; Fabio Kampana; Ted Stalick; William Wike Jr. 1984: Michael Boso; Philippe Ciholas; Brian Lexmond; Andrew Lippert; Walter McIntosh. 1985: Christopher Bovias; Bryan Fulmer; Kurt Gaiser; David Hecht; Judith Lebakken; Kevin Mindenhall; Mark Rist; Donald Siplon. 1986: Julie Botticello; Wayne Boudreaux; Tien-Seng Chiu; Lee Mickus; Brent Waganer; Sheldon Ybanez. 1987: Charles Gagliano; David Peterson; Dennis Suding; Jeffrey Tate. 1988: Melinda L. Anderson; Andrew D. Bassallo; Walter M. Eggert; Jane A. Johnson; David E. Weiss. 1989: Richard D. Carlton; Glenn A. Dean; Kevin A. Freeman; Brett A. Hoffstadt; Christopher W. Wilken. 1990: Eric Balay; Richard Carlton; Christopher Cheyer; Frank Dramnissi; Todd Eigenschink; Anthony Hutchins. 1991: Mark Cantarella; Joel Grassmeyer; Raymond Jungmann; Andrew Kennedy; James Stewart. 1992: Nathan P. Andress; Robert A. Bittner; John Black; Nat Bushore; Timothy Czerwonka; Jason Eccker; Stephen Kopeschka; Jeff Lovitt; William Vaglienti. 1993: Eric M. Davidson; Andrew Everett; Jason George; Mathew R. Nuffort; Aaron J. Passey; Ronald C. Segura. 1994: Daniel W. Fee; John L. Freudenthal; Steven M. Gigl; David M. Heckman; Damon L. McMillan. 1995: Mark Bibbey; Michael Hudson; Joe D. Rule; Mac Schwager; Aaron Seaholm; James Troutman.
Plans Acquired
AMA Plans Service has acquired model plans designed by Gene Falada. Gene, the owner and designer of plans sold through Sea-clusion Aeronautics, has donated all of his designs to the AMA.
Gene designed more than 90 models, primarily seaplanes, from Europe. They range in wingspan from 60 to 136 inches, and include airplanes manufactured by Blohm und Voss, Dornier, Caproni, Heinkel, and several others.
The AMA Plans Service will post a PDF of the catalog at www.modelaircraft.org/plans.aspx and will provide a printed catalog for $4 by calling (800) 435-9262, ext. 507.
Dave Norton’s Rocket
At the age of 17, Dave Norton built three rockets from plans he found in American Modeler magazine. The plans didn’t include a recovery system, so two of the rockets were lost. The third, according to Dave,
“... suffered a plugged nozzle during launch. The resulting pressure blew out the hole in the side of the tube, and caused the rocket to deviate from the planned flight path.
“After reaching an altitude of between 3,500 and 4,500 feet, it penetrated the neighbor’s [fiberglass] patio roof.” Dave went on to say that “... the neighbor was not amused. All subsequent flights were in remote areas.”
Built from ¾-inch Reynolds aluminum tubing, steel washers, tin from the lid of a cottage cheese carton, and Durham’s Rock Hard Water Putty, the rocket is 8¼ inches tall. It used a Jetex 50 fuse to ignite the fuel mixture of powdered zinc and flowers of sulfur.
