in the Air
Membership news and updates
from AMA Headquarters
AMA Expo West: New Dates, New Venue
AMA Expo West is moving to the Pomona, California, Fairplex facility, 15 minutes west of its previous location at the Ontario Convention Center. In addition to the new venue, there will be a new date: November 2-4, 2018. Going forward, the show will be held during the Christmas shopping season, which should help vendors increase their sales and draw more attendees.
The new location has more exhibition space, which will allow AMA to open the show to other hobbies, including RC cars, trucks, boats, and trains, and have more room for popular things such as the swap shop. The Fairplex also allows for outdoor flying and other activities. The 6-acre outdoor flying area is only a short walk from the show building, and will accommodate demonstrations, a fun-fly, and drone racing.
The goal is to make AMA Expo West a better, more exciting show. For additional information, call (800) 435-9262, extension 272, or email amaexpo@modelaircraft.org.
Awards Presented
During the AMA Expo West general membership meeting, held Saturday, January 6, 2018, AMA President Rich Hanson presented two AMA district vice presidents with awards.
AMA District IV Vice President Jay Marsh was presented with the AMA Exemplary Service Award. Jay received this award in honor of his dedicated service as a district vice president and member of the AMA Executive Council (EC).
AMA District III Vice President Mark Radcliff received the Distinguished Service award in appreciation of his six years of service to District III and the AMA EC.
Chuck Bower was also recognized for his time on the AMA EC. Chuck is retiring from his position as District XI vice president after three years of service.
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed Life Members Travis E. Scott, Anderson SC; Kevin Garland, Tucson AZ; Doug Schafer, Agoura Hills CA; Michael R. Olds, Williamsburg VA; Damon R. Darnall, Humble TX; Robert D. Mast, Carlisle PA; Steve P. Hoyt, Panama City FL; James C. Baldwin, Dunedin FL; Nathan Glanister, Lake Orion MI; John L. Jolly III, Walnut CA; John A. Angulo, West Chester OH; Stephen T. Ferguson, Stafford VA; John Burmeister, Levittown NY; Daniel Lazzara, New Rochelle NY; Bruce D. Sidlinger, Flagstaff AZ; Douglas A. Zwolski, Yuba City CA; David H. Page III, Cerritos CA; John F. Denicola, Visalia CA; Steven V. Trelease, Torrance CA; Joseph Dibenedetto, Wrightstown NJ; Joseph M. Derosa II, Conneaut OH; William J. Hickey, Naperville IL; Kevin P. Gerber, Midland TX; Anthony D. Jones, Murrieta CA; Lamont James, Spotsylvania VA; William A. Wheeler, Smyer TX; Mark D. Crawley, Ocoee FL; Casey J. Dunn, Grand Prairie TX; Rodger D. Gettler, Enola PA; Everett I. Bellis, Canandaigua NY; Michael A. Lederer, Los Angeles CA; Martin Zakes, Spring TX; Paul A. Moorman, Deland FL; Rajiv C. Iyer, Tustin CA; Matthew W. Morley, Mahtomedi MN; Scott T. Graham, Mooresville NC; James S. Lashmett, Milpitas CA; Donald J. Cummings, Surprise AZ; Merrick D. Harter, Kerrville TX; John H. Gray, Cameron Park CA; Michael H. Schneider, West Jordan UT; and Shawn D. Peterson, Hartland MI.
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.
—AMA Membership Department
History Preserved: Hazel Sig-Hester
If you’ve been in the aeromodeling hobby for any amount of time, chances are that you’ve heard of Sig Manufacturing Company. However, you might not be familiar with its fearless daredevil of a cofounder, Hazel Sig-Hester.
Born the third child on Third Street in the third town that her parents had lived in on the third day of the third month of 1922, Hazel considered herself to have been born lucky. With a racecar-driving father whose favorite story to tell was the time he flew with Charles Lindbergh, Hazel was born with a need for speed.
A self-professed tomboy, Hazel grew up climbing trees, shooting BB guns, and loving motorcycles and model airplanes. Lucky for her, this tall, “outlandish” young dental assistant would soon find her match in the young man who “roared into town on his Indian Motorcycle in 1942.”
Hazel’s new boyfriend, Glen “Poncho” Sigafoose, took a job as a Linotype operator at the Montezuma Republican newspaper and opened an Indian Motorcycle dealership on the side with her. They were married in 1943. Together, they ran the dealership until the Korean War began, cutting off their aluminum supply.
The couple never intended to get into the model aviation business. Aeromodeling had been a lifelong interest for both Hazel and Poncho, but they were rapidly growing frustrated by the lack of availability of cut balsa wood for scratch-built models. So, in approximately 1951, they took matters into their own hands. Poncho bought 120 feet of balsa, which he cut into thin sheets.
The Sigafooses then took out an advertisement in a hobby magazine, offering free information regarding the precut balsa. To their surprise, they received no response from the community. They made another, more successful attempt—this time offering information about the balsa at the low cost of 10¢! The couple was soon inundated with requests.
Five years after publishing its first advertisement, the Sig Manufacturing Company was able to purchase its first building. Sig quickly grew. The couple expanded their catalog to include not only balsa wood, but also engines, radios, and kits from other manufacturers. They began to manufacture their own kits under the Sig name, and even recruited well-known model designers and competitors to design an exclusive line of model airplanes.
But Hazel wasn’t content to stick exclusively to model aviation. Her eye was still on full-scale airplanes. At roughly the same time that Sig Manufacturing was beginning to take off, she and Poncho rode their Indian Motorcycles from Montezuma, Iowa, to Sigourney, Iowa, to take full-scale aircraft flying lessons.
Hazel initially learned how to fly an Aeronca Model 7 Champion—colloquially known simply as a “Champ”—but later transitioned to a Cessna 140 for teaching purposes. She also became an accomplished aerobatics pilot shortly thereafter.
According to Hazel, there were few aerobatics instructors in the mid-1950s, so she traveled to Nebraska to learn in a clipped-wing Cub. She furthered her studies through Duane Cole’s technical manual, Roll Around a Point, which she read both on the ground and in the air for pointers. She would continue to fly both her clipped-wing Cub and a home-built Spacewalker for more than 30 years.
The clipped-wing Cub remained a popular airplane with Hazel, and eventually a model version was made available for purchase through Sig Manufacturing. It remains one of the most popular Sig kits, along with the Kadet and a non-clipped-wing version of the Cub.
It should come as no surprise that Sig Manufacturing remains a strong competitor in the aeromodeling market. Nearly everything available from Sig is manufactured from scratch—paint, glue, and airplane fuel included. Raw balsa is imported from Ecuador and plywood from Finland.
Many aeromodelers are familiar with
—National Model Aviation Museum staff
THE NORTHROP FILES
AMA Plans Services now 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 47-inch scale model of the Nord 3202, a French primary trainer featured in Model Builder, was designed by Ted Schreyer. It can be powered by a .19 to .25 engine.
You can order the Nord, plans number 2891, for $19 by calling AMA Plans Service at (800) 435-9262, extension 507.
