2024 AMA
NATIONAL FUN
FLY UPDATE
View From the Copilot’s Seat
By Randy Cameron, AMA Executive Vice President | flyrc@modelaircraft.org
It is hard to believe that by the time you read this, summer will be almost over. Time flies when you’re having fun!
Speaking of fun and flying, the AMA National Fun Fly was held June 28-30, 2024, in Muncie, Indiana. This year, the National Fun Fly was dedicated to Bob Underwood, who devoted most of his adult life to serving AMA in a number of capacities. This is the fifth year for this event and it continues to grow. We had 155 registered pilots and I believe that everyone there had a great time flying and hanging out. We had many prizes this year as well.
We had one day with rain in the morning, but we flew hard all afternoon. There was some extra entertainment at the event as well—an open cockpit biplane was selling rides from Reese Airport, just to the south of AMA’s property. There were also paramotor aircraft flying in the mornings and evenings.
The swap meet was managed by Henry Rauhaus from Hanks Hobbies. Thank you, Henry. I’d also like to thank all of the AMA staff members who helped. A lot of time and effort went into making the AMA National Fun Fly a success, and they were key.
We had many vendors there this year. Du-Bro sponsored the event. Other vendors present included Valley View RC, Innov8tive Designs, CalAire, Toys Forever Model and Hobbies, RC Roundtable, HobbyKing, and Cabela’s.
Other event sponsors I want to thank include Hitec, AMA District VI, AJ Aircraft, RTL Fasteners, the city of Muncie, Delaware County, Papa John’s (which provided pizza for our dinner), Warbird Pilots, Toledo R/C Swap Meet & Expo, Maxsel RC Hobby Shop and Race Track, Retro RC, Hotbox Pizza, Sporty’s Pilot Shop, KM RC Model, Dronetag, Gator-RC, Buddy RC, Ernst Manufacturing, ZAP, At the Field, Red Baron Hobbies, Stunt History, Bob Smith Industries, Tether-All, American Red Cross, RC-Kits, EZ Dock, Texas Roadhouse, McAlister’s Deli, Meijer, Underground Printing, and Walmart.
Most of all, I’d like to thank the members who attended the 2024 AMA National Fun Fly, and I welcome comments and recommendations for how to grow and improve the event. Send any comments to flyrc@modelaircraft.org.
If you didn’t make it to this year’s event, add it to your bucket list for next year. I look forward to seeing you there in 2025.
Happy landings and be safe.
