AMA Resolutions
View from HQ by Dave Mathewson, AMA Executive Director
In a recent column, I wrote about the shortage of young people gravitating toward careers in aviation and aerospace. I discussed how model aviation could be the spark that lights a fire in young people to pursue careers in these areas. I received several responses to that column.
In reading your letters and emails, it was gratifying to hear about programs that you, our members and clubs, have implemented in your communities to introduce model aviation to young people with an education-oriented goal. As I’ve often written, programs such as these make us assets in our communities.
Parents and elected representatives alike are appreciative when others do things to benefit children. This can pay dividends when it comes to retaining or acquiring flying sites.
AMA has many educational programs that we make available to our members from AeroLab to the new UAS4STEM Collegiate Challenge. AeroLab has been one of our most successful programs. It uses a rubber-powered model aircraft to teach STEM in a classroom setting.
Our newest program, UAS4STEM, is a competition-oriented program that requires participants to meet in-the-field challenges using UAS technology. The program requires that participants build their platform, learn to program, fly it, then tackle the objective. What is really exciting is that a significant number of young teens and college students are becoming involved in the program.
In addition to all of this, AMA just released the new AMA Alpha, a rubber-powered model that will be used to introduce thousands of children, including elementary-age children, to model aviation.
The AMA Alpha is designed to replace the Delta Dart that has served AMA well for decades. The downside to the Delta Dart is that it took an unusual amount of time to build, was fragile, and didn’t perform well outside in wind. The Alpha solves all of those issues. In today’s world of instant gratification, it goes together quickly, is fairly sturdy, and flies well both indoors and out.
If you’d like to learn more about AMA’s educational outreach efforts, visit the AMA website or call the Education department.
2017 went by at lightning speed. This is typically the time of year when we look back on the last 12 months at things that went well and things that might have gone a little better. I hope your look back shows that you had a great year.
For many, this is traditionally the time to make New Years’ resolutions for the coming year. There’s a funny thing about resolutions—many of us make them with good intentions of following through, but it seems that sometimes we set unrealistic goals for ourselves.
Before long, our resolutions have gone by the wayside. Some statistics show that roughly 88% of those who make New Year’s resolutions, fail to achieve them.
The solution to this seems simple to me. We merely need to set more realistic expectations with our resolutions. With that, I thought I’d offer a few suggestions that might fit nicely with what we do as model aviation enthusiasts.
- I resolve to fly more in 2018. Let’s start with something we enjoy doing and, for most of us, it should be easy to accomplish.
- I resolve to be welcoming to visitors and potential new members visiting our field. This is another relatively easy resolution to accomplish.
- I resolve to introduce a young boy or girl to aeromodeling. Model aviation is a great recreational family activity. More than that, for young people, it can be the perfect stepping-stone to eventual careers in aviation and aerospace.
- I resolve to participate in at least one club activity in 2018. This could be a tough one for many. Time is sometimes at a premium. It’s simply a fact that many of us don’t have the time we’d like to devote to club activities.
- I resolve to introduce a friend, neighbor, or coworker to model aviation. This is another resolution that could be easily accomplished.
So, there you have it—a few simple ideas that you can add to your list of resolutions that should be easy for most of us to chalk up in the “accomplished” column.
I’d like to end my final column in 2017, by thanking each and every one of you for being AMA members, for supporting your organization, and for the comments you’ve shared with me during the year. It’s evident that most AMA members appreciate efforts put forth on their behalf.
Much of our work during the last few years has focused directly on ensuring that model aviation enthusiasts will be able to continue to enjoy aeromodeling in the future as much as we do today and have done in the past. The work has been challenging at times, but we all believe that the result that we’re working to achieve is well worth the effort.
Best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2018. See you next time.
