Opportunities to Share and Inspire
It’s no secret that AMA clubs are working to build strong community relationships. In recent years, it has taken on more urgency as the hobby evolves, government entities pay more attention, and finding and keeping flying sites becomes more challenging than ever before. Every once in a while, a club does something that stands out and becomes a story worth sharing.
The Alamogordo RCers in Alamogordo, New Mexico, provided one such story. Find out how club members worked with a local museum to build a model aviation exhibit and, in the process, made new friends and found an opportunity to share the hobby with others. You’ll find the article on page 32.
Another club story in this issue that is worth sharing is from the Champaign County Radio Control Club in Champaign, Illinois, and what it is doing to inspire community youth with the fun of flight. Turn to page 18 to learn more in Bill Spencer’s “Building Pilots, Families, and Community.”
There’s also a bit of nostalgia in this issue for those who are interested in the development of RC transmitters; the story telling of that history and journey can be found on page 26.
If you ever get an opportunity to visit the National Model Aviation Museum at the International Aeromodeling Center (IAC) and AMA Headquarters in Muncie, Indiana, you will find a vast display of transmitters, new and old. Make sure to put this on your bucket list if you visit the IAC.
How does model aviation enhance our lives? I’m certain that if we posed that question to our members, we would receive many different responses, but there are certain themes that would emerge. Neil Liptak explains in “What It Means to Be a Modeler” on page 42.
I hope you enjoy this issue!
“My model building and flying activities significantly contributed to my interest in aeronautics and was a primary force in directing my education toward aeronautical engineering.”
—Neil Armstrong, American astronaut, aeronautical engineer
