In the Air
Membership news and updates
from AMA Headquarters
(L-R) Joe Hass, Steve Fredericks, Fred Engelman, and Tim Jesky.
Carl and Beth Goldberg Vital People Award Update
The following people have been named as 2016 recipients of the annual Carl and Beth Goldberg Vital People Award: Fred Engelman, Steve Fredericks, Ken Hanawalt, Frank O’Neill, and Roger Smith.
The Carl Goldberg Vital People Award was established in 1983 to recognize “vital people in the background of the modeling movement whose efforts enhance the enjoyment of the hobby and whose accomplishments are seldom formally acknowledged.”
Fred runs his club’s weekly indoor sessions that typically include more than 75 pilots. He also sends out weekly emails about activities and events to his fellow club members.
In addition to being an accomplished modeler, Steve has done major work to improve and repair local clubs’ flying sites.
Ken, who is a Black Hawk R/C Pilots member, was nominated because he is a helpful and patient teacher at his club. He served as his organization’s president until January 2016.
Frank, a charter member and past officer of the Livingston ARF R/C Club, was nominated for the award because of his generosity, for allowing the club to fly on his property, and for serving as one of the club’s instructor pilots.
Roger has been involved with the Rutland County RC Flyers club for more than 50 years. He was nominated for his numerous contributions to the club, including providing flight instruction, helping with field upkeep, and helping organize events.
You can learn more about the award and how to nominate someone at www.modelaircraft.org/membership/membership/vitalpeopleaward.aspx. Nominations are due by September 15, 2017.
Frank O’Neill.
Roger Smith.
Ken Hanawalt (R) receives his plaque.
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed Life Members like M. Ensey III, Ballwin MO; Erich L Spidel, Saint Ignatius, MN; James P. McGuire, New York NY; Beau Steward, Plano TX; Christian Pipkin, Bellevue WA; Joon S. Ahn, Saint Louis MO; Adam Woodworth, San Jose CA; Leopoldo Garza, Laredo TX; Salvador Becherano, Hollywood FL; Keu G. Kruse, Reedsburg WI; David Shulman, Longwood FL; Justin T. Trussell, Haskell TX; Salomon Fernandez, Fairview NJ; Chad E. Holzer, Valencia CA; Muhammed Zahiruddin, Montville NJ; Nai L. Oo, Canandaigua NY; and George E. Mathews, Miramar FL.
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.
—AMA Membership Department
THE NORTHROP FILES
AMA Plans Services 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 34-inch wingspan Stinson Voyager 108-3, designed by A.P. “Speed” Wilson, was featured in the September 1981 issue of Model Builder. It is a 1-inch scale rubber-powered Free Flight model of this classic design.
You can order the Stinson Voyager, plans number 9812, for $10 by calling AMA Plans Service at (800) 435-9262, extension 507.
AmazonSmile
Did you know that there’s a way to shop from the convenience of your home and support your favorite nonprofit at the same time?
AmazonSmile is a simple way for you to help AMA at no extra cost. When you shop with AmazonSmile, you will find the same prices that you would through www.amazon.com, but 0.5% of the price of your eligible purchases will go to AMA.
During your first visit to smile.amazon.com, you can select the AMA Foundation from a list of nearly 1 million charities. For more information, visit https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/ch/about.
Jet Rally
As the AMA Foundation enters its fourth year of operation, it continues to expand its programming and outreach throughout the model aviation community. The AMA Foundation team is excited to announce that there will be an AMA Foundation for the Future Jet Rally—the foundation’s first major fundraising event. The rally will be held August 24-27, 2017, in Ottumwa, Iowa.
The rally will include a full-scale air show on Saturday, a pilots’ dinner on Saturday night, live entertainment, raffle prizes, and much more.
The pilot fee is $65 and includes one pit crew pass. Additional passes are $20. Tents can also be rented for $150, which includes a 20 x 20-foot space, and are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. T-shirts are available for $20 to $25. For more information, visit amafoundation.modelaircraft.org/jetrally.
Roy Mayes—Inverted Flight
Roy Mayes, of Oakland, California, is generally credited as the first person to fly a Control Line (CL) model inverted in 1939.
The story of Roy’s inverted flight starts in Portland, Oregon, with Jim Walker. Jim was test-flying a prototype of the Fireball kit at a local school in Portland one day when F. Wellington Morris, who was visiting from Oakland, happened to see him. He spoke with Jim about the model and this new type of model airplane.
The conversation ended with Wellington being gifted the Fireball prototype. He took it back to Oakland with him, where a similar scene played out between Wellington and Roy Mayes. This time it was Wellington who was flying at a local school when Roy spotted him while driving by. Curious, he stopped and peppered Wellington with questions, prompting Roy to take the Fireball prototype apart to show off the bellcrank and elevator.
Roy converted one of his Micro 19-powered Free Flight (FF) models to CL, after building an elevator and bellcrank. The first flights were promising, and Roy felt that inverted flight would be possible.
Roy designed and built a fuel tank that could feed during regular flight and while inverted. To overcome problems with the line tension, he added a weighted aileron to the wing. It worked.
As described in Charles Mackey’s Pioneers of Control Line Flying, “Roy would put his airplane into a dive to get up speed, go full up and about the time it got to the top of the loop the airplane was stalled out, but with the help of the weighted aileron and the new gas tank, he was able to maintain inverted flight.”
Ron Wittman, with the advice and research of Charles Mackey, built a reproduction of Roy’s inverted flight model for the National Model Aviation Museum in 2011. The Micro .19 engine installed in the model was donated by John D. Camp.
Want to see Roy’s FF-turned-CL model up close? We hope to have a 360° rotational view of the model online soon, but until then, learn more about Roy’s flight by watching the Fly By video at http://bit.ly/InvertedFlyBy.
—National Model Aviation Museum staff
Ball Bearing Propeller Shafts
Wanted: Several Ball Bearing Propeller Shafts, manufactured by the Ideal company in the 1920s or 1930s. Currently, the National Model Aviation Museum has only one and we need four for a reproduction project on which we are working. Do you have some lurking in the back of your parts box? If so, call or email Maria VanVreede at (765) 287-1256, ext. 508, or mariav@modelaircraft.org.
