District III—Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Mark Radcliff
Vice President
mradcliff@suddenlink.net
199 Heron Dr., St. Marys WV 26170
Tel.: (304) 684-2133
In my club visits throughout District III, I generally see young modelers who stand out with not only their flying skills, but a great attitude. With some coaching from experienced pilots, these kids are ready to take their flying to the next level.
AMA has a program designed for kids in this category. Camp AMA is a weeklong summer camp for kids ages 13 to 19, held at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana (www.amaflightschool.org/campama).
Campers have the opportunity to learn and train with world-class fliers to improve their flying and modeling skills. The camp registration is $795 per camper. This fee includes all of the week’s activities, lodging, and meals.
This camp can have a life-changing effect on these young modelers. Only 35 campers are accepted and every prospective camper must write an essay on what attending the camp would mean to him or her.
In 2016, during The Toledo Show: R/C Model Expo in Ohio, I started a new tradition to award a half-price scholarship to any budding young flier from District III. The 2016 winner was 13-year-old Evan Gaston from Norwalk, Ohio. Evan sent me a letter about his experience at camp AMA.
“I wanted to thank you and all the members of District III for the generous scholarship you gave me to attend Camp AMA this year.
“I don’t know where to start, there were so many things I liked about it. There was a lot more flying than I thought there would be. Getting to talk to people like AJ [Andrew Jesky] and RJ [Gritter] all week was quite an experience. Jessy [Symmes] puts a lot of work into this and I’m glad that she does because it is an amazing experience. I hope to bring a friend from my school next year so that he can see everything I have been telling him about nonstop.
“I talked to a few kids who would like to get into Scale and I had multiple people help me with practicing for IMAC [International Miniature Aerobatic Club] and XFC [Extreme Flight Championship]. I have become such a better pilot just from Camp AMA. I can’t wait until next year. Thank you so much for the awesome experience.”
Evan sums up Camp AMA better than I ever could. From reading his letter, you can see how important this program is.
Do you know a young person who would benefit from attending this event? Encourage him or her to contact Education Assistant Jessy Symmes (jessys@modelaircraft.org). The entry deadline is April 30, 2017, and the camp dates are June 11-17, 2017.
The Toledo Show: R/C Model Expo is April 7-9, 2017, and I will again hold a District III meeting at the event. I hope you can make the show and the meeting where we will once again award a Camp AMA scholarship to an aspiring young modeler.
Until next month, fly safely—fly AMA.
