Education Through Aviation
by Bill Pritchett, Education Director
“A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” —Margaret Mead
So much time and energy is spent discussing change. Change is complained about, talked about, pleaded for, and planned—all at the same time.
According to Margaret Mead, it isn’t a result of a large group of people.
And how do we describe a large group? For this discussion, let’s call a large group the population of the US. The US entered 2016 with an estimated population of 322,762,018, according to an end-of-year approximation from the U.S. Census Bureau, meaning that we added more than 2.4 million people to the population throughout the course of the year. Yep, that’s a large group.
What would we consider small? Let’s say that’s the total membership of the AMA. According to Shawn Grubbs, AMA’s Membership director, that figure at the time of this writing is 198,000, or 0.00061345% of the US population. I think we’ve found our small group!
We discuss the positive growth of our membership proudly, as we should. On the other hand, we truly are a small group—a group that can qualify as the small group of thoughtful people making a change in the world. Change what, you might ask.
Let’s start with how we view and accept advances in technology as they relate to model aviation, or maybe don’t accept. This seems to be a constant in model aviation, and it’s not new.
Yes, there is new technology and the whole drone thing, but we’ve experienced less-than-supportive conversations between our own Special Interest Groups! To me, this one is easy. If it’s model aviation, it’s cool, and although you might not fly turbines or Free Flight, you respect and support those who choose to.
We’re already that small group of people that simply can’t afford to be divided. Add in being thoughtful, and changing the world becomes possible. What world changes you might ask.
If we’ve checked off respect of each other in the hobby, then I would add a plan to pay it forward. Paying model aviation forward can look and feel many ways. The one thing I’m sure of is that you, the individual making a conscious effort to do this, must be comfortable in the manner you decide to use.
AMA can help! A great deal of our time and resources are pointed to assisting anyone to share something about model aviation anywhere. We know that most of our members aren’t public speakers, classroom teachers, or political activists! We also know that being a part of a national organization requires that we provide easy access to information—we have that.
In a local club scenario, the questions have to be asked about your role in the community, local schools, scouts, etc. You have a flying site that is your most important asset. How do you keep it, find a better one, or an additional one for the future?
Let people know what model aviation is! Share the role it can play in education. Bring a group out to your club and let them try it. Again, we can help you do this.
Offer to work with a local school. Is there an EAA chapter at your local airport? Those people welcome the AMA and, especially during the winter months, are looking for something to do inside. Scouts, youth groups, Civil Air Patrol squadrons—all are ripe to have some fun with models.
Maybe you have a gym to fly in during the winter months and have a pretty good relationship already with that school? Have a workshop, demonstration—anything with kids. We can help!
Don’t want to go anywhere to do anything? That’s okay—next time you’re at the field and a guest shows up, be the first person to introduce yourself, welcome him or her, and show the person around. Always ask if he or she would like to give flying a try. If necessary, ask for contact information and set up a dedicated time to meet and fly together.
There’s a group in Muncie, Indiana, at the International Aeromodeling Center that holds Monday night flights. A little bit of everything shows up to fly, and people from our local hobby shop are there to help with beginners. It’s informal, relaxed, and popular! Is it world changing? Probably not on its own, but it certainly fits into being a part of a small group of thoughtful people.
More change: What is your model aviation story? How, when, and where did you get started? Your father? Do you, or have you, flown with your own children?
One of the best partners we have is our public relations team in Washington, D.C. Rich Hanson, Chad Budreau, Dave Mathewson, and a host of others have worked hard on our relationship with the FAA. As good as these men are, the success we’ve enjoyed requires some local public relations professionals and CLS Strategies has filled that job for us throughout the last four years.
We’re going to begin in 2017 asking people about their model aviation story. I know you like to tell yours and we hear great ones almost daily. CLS will design a program called Generations of Flight. It will ask for you to send us your photos, your stories, and basically the role model aviation has played in your life.
The intended audience is not limited to AMA members and those currently flying models. We hope to reach out to the entire aviation industry—pilots, mechanics, students, designers, engineers, etc. Everyone in the industry has a background and we’re determined to find out the story of model aviation for them. I’ve spent too much time around the EAA, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, and similar organizations to not recognize that so many of those members have a modeling story.
Why do this? First of all, it is to recognize the great stories that are out there. Secondly, we want to engage more people (making that small group of thoughtful people larger) as we approach a new year with new challenges with the FAA, full-scale aviation, and sometimes the general public.
It will be so nice to have all of these stories in the same place. Do you need proof of the value of model aviation to show to your flying site land owner or your congressman? Bam!
Fly and have fun!
