THE FLY MORE, MOW LESS SWEEPSTAKES
By Clarissa Poston, AMA Foundation Communications Specialist | clarissap@modelaircraft.org
THE AMA FOUNDATION is excited to announce the Fly More, Mow Less Sweepstakes! This is your chance to win big and make a difference in the world of model aviation at the same time. By participating in this sweepstakes, you’ll have the opportunity to take home the grand prize—a Lymow One Robotic Lawnmower—and you’ll also help fund essential grants and projects that keep our model aviation community flying high! Proceeds from this campaign benefit the AMA Foundation’s Club Support Fund, which provides critical assistance to AMA clubs across the nation.
Outside of the grand prize, sweepstakes participants will have the chance to win various other exciting prize packages! These include a Du-Bro Kwik Sand Hand Sander (5.5 inches and 11 inches), a Tru-Spin Prop Balancer, a Horizon Hobby G2 LiPo batteries bundle, a Du-Bro Hardware Assortment Kit, Warbird Pilots 1/5 to 1/6-scale Modern Jet RC Pilot Figure bundle, a FrSky ETHOS Twin X14S Radio System (with battery), an AJ Aircraft 73-inch Raven V2, a Seiko gold watch that was donated by a late AMA district vice president, and an E-flite 4-Site 3D Biplane! Additional prizes will be added throughout the sweepstakes’ duration.
Are you interested in gaining extra entries? Visit the AMA Foundation’s website to learn how becoming a Torchbearer (or increasing your current Torchbearer pledge amount) could get you up to 300 extra entries per month of the sweepstakes: https://amafoundation.modelaircraft.org/ama-foundation-fly-more-mow-less....
You have until October 20 to purchase tickets and increase your chances of winning big. Winners will be drawn on October 25, 2025.
Here’s to trading grass clippings for propeller trimmings—enter now at https://go.rallyup.com/flymore/Campaign/Details and let your lawn mow itself while you fly high!
SOURCES:
Du-Bro
(847) 526-2136
www.dubro.com
Horizon Hobby
www.horizonhobby.com
E-flite
www.e-fliterc.com
FrSky
nasales@frsk-rс.com
www.frsky-rc.com
Warbird Pilots
(203) 528-4352
www.warbirdpilots.com
AJ Aircraft
(734) 244-4015
www.aj-aircraft.com
Fly More, Mow Less Sweepstakes
https://go.rallyup.com/flymore/Campaign/Details
Become a Torchbearer and Receive Extra Entries
https://amafoundation.modelaircraft.org/ama-foundation-fly-more-mow-less...
Model Builder’s Bipe Lite
AMA PLANS SERVICE now houses all plans formerly sold through Model Builder magazine, Bill Northrup’s Plan Service, and the Scratch Builder’s Almanac. There are more than 18,000 plans in the collection.
The Bipe Lite, also known as the Weight Watcher, was designed to fly slowly, easily, and realistically. The completed model is approximately 8 pounds and is powered by a .35 engine. The key to keeping the weight down is the selection of balsa and building techniques. This aircraft is so stable that many pre-teen youngsters have flown it without difficulty. On one occasion, a young U.S. Air Force pilot, with absolutely no RC experience, flew the model solo after only 10 minutes of instruction!
Published in Model Builder, plans for the Bipe Lite, plans number MB5851A, can be ordered for $29 by visiting https://plans.modelaircraft.org or by calling AMA Plans Service at (765) 287-1256, ext. 507.
2025 NATS SCHEDULE
THE 2025 AMA NATS registration is open at https://nats.modelaircraft.org/nats/register. If you want to reserve a golf cart, please send an email to nats@modelaircraft.org or call Yolanda Jones at (765) 287-1256, ext. 261.
The 2025 Outdoor Nats event schedule at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana is as follows:
- RC Pylon Racing: July 5-7
- Control Line (CL) Speed: July 6-11
- CL Precision Aerobatics (Stunt): July 6-11
- CL Racing: July 6-11
- RC Helicopter: July 6-9
- CL Navy Carrier: July 6-11
- CL Combat: July 6-11
- CL Scale: July 10-15
- RC Scale: July 10-15
- RC Soaring: July 19-27
- Outdoor FF: July 21-25
- RC Scale Aerobatics: July 29-August 1
- RC Aerobatics (Pattern): August 19-23
Nats News
Do you want to follow the 2025 National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats) this summer?
The Nats News blogs cover the full spectrum of events from start to finish. Whether you are a Nats competitor or you are unable to attend but want to follow the action, Nats News will bring the events to your email inbox.
Outdoor Nats events start July 5 at the AMA International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana. Innovation, precision, and passion for flight collide in an unforgettable event every year.
The AMA Nats is celebrating the Centennial Era, culminating in the 100th Nats in 2026. Don’t miss attending or following this unique celebration of aeromodeling!
- 1986: January, February, March, April, May, and June
- 1987: July
- 1988: February
- 1989: February
- 2007: August
New AMA Material Added to the Digital Collections
We continue to upload records of items from the museum’s holdings to the Digital Collections website. This includes material from the Academy of Model Aeronautics Collection #0001. Recent additions from this collection include some neat AMA brochures. Dated from the 1960s to the 2010s, they advertise AMA programs, member benefits, and aeromodeling in general.
We don’t have exact dates for many of the brochures, and it’s likely most were meant to be used for multiple years. Based on the content in them, we can guess relative dates. For example, we can tell that the “Join AMA” brochure [A2023.01.479] is
from the mid-1960s based on the fees and the Washington, D.C., address listed for AMA on the inside of the brochure.
“The Sky’s the Limit!” [A2023.01.480] shows the three disciplines of flight: Control Line, RC, and Free Flight. This brochure is circa the early 1980s to early 1990s, when AMA was headquartered in Reston, Virginia. It declares, “There’s an airplane just for you! There are large planes and tiny ones. You can race them or watch them float on rising air currents. You might engage in combat, become adept at aerobatics, or just stand out in a field and fly
your plane ... It’s easy to see why so many people enjoy this sport: aeromodeling has it all. Direction. Diversion. Challenge. Escape.”
“A great sport A great hobby ... Model Aviation” [A2023.01.491] is another brochure from the Reston, Virginia, days, circa the 1980s. It’s chock full of photos of many types of model aircraft, showing people both building and flying, some as a hobby and some for sport, as the brochure’s title states.
“The Adventure of Aeromodeling” [A2023.01.482] includes an image of the
June 1994 Model Aviation cover featuring a story about the museum’s grand opening in Muncie, Indiana. Also included are pictures of the interior of the museum, such as our beloved hobby shop exhibit, which continues to impress and engage visitors today.
A more recent brochure from the 2010s reads “Did you know? A quick overview of benefits & programs available to AMA Chartered Clubs” [A2023.01.492]. This advertises programs and benefits such as Take off And Grow (TAG) Grant, Disaster Relief Grants, and AMA Leader Club Awards.
To find more AMA brochures in our Digital Collections, type “AMA brochure” (including the quotation marks) into the keyword search. Do you have a favorite AMA brochure? Let us know. Contact us at museumarchives@modelaircraft.org.
Modeling Book Catalog Record Project Completed
We just completed a project to finish getting all of our modeling book catalog records uploaded to our Digital Collections. We ended the project at 99.5%, or 915 modeling book records, at the time of this writing.
For other books in our library (full-scale aircraft, young reader books, etc.), we have nearly 4,260 of those catalog records online, or roughly 81% of the total of those “other books.” You can find these on the Digital Collections website by clicking on the “Library” tab (formerly the “Books” tab) at https://modelaircraft.pastperfectonline.com.
These catalog records will be helpful if you would like to do in-person library research. You can prepare for your visit by using the catalog to choose which books to read when you are at the museum. This will also be helpful to potential donors. They can check to see whether the books they want to donate might already be in our collection. Please note that this is a library catalog only—a digital card catalog, if you will—not a reading portal.
Museum Hours
If you’re visiting the National Model Aviation Museum in July or August, stop by Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., EDT. Note that we are closed on Friday, July 4 and Saturday, July 5 so that staff can celebrate Independence Day weekend.
Beginning September 2, the museum will be open Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. We are closed on Monday, September 1 for Labor Day. Our last day of the open season is Friday, September 26.
The full 2025 schedule is available on the website at www.modelaircraft.org/museum/museum-info. Alternatively, you can call (765) 287-1256, ext. 504 or 511 for hours. We hope to see you this summer!
AMA Thanks Its Lifetime Supporters!
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed Life Members Members Eldon D. Gonzales, Ocean Springs MS; Trevor H. Sundberg, Seattle WA; and Danny Welden, North Hills CA.
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (765) 287-1256, ext. 129.
