DONATIONS AND
RECOGNITION
From the Copilot’s Seat
By Randy Cameron, AMA Executive Vice President | fyrc@modelaircraft.org
Wow! As I write this, half the year is already gone and the flying season is in full swing. Lots of great events are going on. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the River City Radio Controllers Radio Controlled Model Airplane Club’s Wings for Kids event in Louisville, Kentucky, which was held June 4-5.
The gathering raised $50,050 for Norton Children’s Hospital. It was a great event with lots of community involvement and support.
AMA National Fun Fly
Another fantastic event was the AMA National Fun Fly, held June 24-26, at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. Nearly 100 pilots registered and it featured a large variety of models. A lot of flying took place—pretty much from the morning pilots’ meetings until after dark. The food was particularly good this year, and the field was well mowed. My thanks to Terry Frazer for making that happen.
We had threats of a storm moving through as it came time for the annual membership meeting, so it was moved into the Claude McCullough Education Facility as a precaution. Included in the membership meeting was Robert Root’s induction into the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame and National Hazel Sig Admiration Day proclamation reading.
Thank you to all of our volunteers. We had great flightline management this year, provided by District VI Associate Vice President Leo Rodriguez, District IX Vice President Jim Tiller, and others. James Hubbell again volunteered as the chief trainer, and we had the AMA Model Aviation Experience flight simulator trailer staffed by my grandson, Garrett Cameron.
AMA’s Erin Dobbs sold raffle tickets and awarded prizes. We also had some great event sponsors that I’d like to thank for attending and donating to the event. HobbyKing had some great deals, as did Valley View RC and Retro RC. Other sponsors included RCBatteries.com, Spot on RC, RTL Fasteners, Hitec RCD, Ernest Manufacturing, Newfields, Go Camp Life, AMA’s District VI, Dan Bott, and Bud Layne.
I want to thank all of the members who came out to the event. It was great seeing you, and I truly hope all of you had a great time. I am looking forward to doing it again next year. We will post the date as soon as it is locked in.
Grants and Potential AED Funding
I want to remind everyone that now is the time to start thinking about flying site improvements and putting those grant requests together. Grant requests are due no later than February 1, 2023. This date also includes scholarship applications, Flying Site Improvement Grants, and Take off And Grow (TAG) grants.
This year, we have also added grants for Automated External Defibrillator (AED) devices for up to 25% of the cost. More details about the AED program are coming soon.
Fly safely and have fun.
