Do You Have First-Place Building Skills? Put Them to the Test by August 18!
Contribute to Model Aviation!
Are you ready to put your building skills to the test? Join the AMA Foundation’s Pink Ribbon Good (PRG)-Themed Build Contest to do just that!
In collaboration with PRG, an organization dedicated to providing free resources to individuals who have been diagnosed with breast and/or gynecological cancers, the AMA Foundation has launched the PRG-Themed Build Contest. This contest is the perfect opportunity to show off your skills and raise awareness for a wonderful cause—and don’t forget about the impressive prize packages, which include products from PRG, Hitec, Du-Bro, the AMA Foundation, Horizon Hobby, and more! First-, second-, and third-place winners will take home a variety of goodies. Don’t miss your chance to be one of them!
The PRG-Themed Build Contest only has one requirement: Your final build must have the PRG logo on it! Outside of that, builders have full creative liberty. Whether you want to build an airplane, truck, helicopter, rocket, boat, car, or anything else that sparks your interest, this contest is your chance to show it off.
Are you interested in getting youth involved as well? Print out a PRG-themed paper airplane and follow the fold instructions; these are also eligible to submit!
Submissions for this contest close on August 18. For any questions, please email Clarissa Poston at clarissap@modelaircraft.org. The submission form, paper airplane template, FAQs, and PRG logos can all be found at the link listed in “Sources.”
We can’t wait to see what you create! Happy building!
Have you ever considered writing for or contributing to AMA’s flagship magazine, Model Aviation? Our community is built on shared knowledge, and there’s no better way to give back to the hobby than by documenting your latest build, sharing a unique flying tip, or reporting on a local event. Every time you provide a solution to a tricky assembly problem or recap a successful club fly-in, you’re helping a fellow pilot avoid a pitfall or find a new inspiration for their own workbench.
You don’t need to be a professional writer to get involved. If you have a passion for model aviation and a story, technique, or project that could help a fellow flier, we want to hear from you! To get started, check out our Author Guidelines and Submission Information; the link can be found in “Sources.” This guide provides a clear roadmap of what our editors are looking for, including photography requirements to ensure that your content looks great in print, as well as formatting tips to help your work shine.
Whether it’s a detailed, technical how-to, an in-depth product review, or a piece about your local club, your contribution helps keep the history and spirit of model aviation alive for the next generation of pilots. We take pride in being a magazine written by modelers, for modelers.
Interested persons can reach out to AMA Communications Director Rob Kurek at rkurek@modelaircraft.org. We hope to see your name in a future byline!
Wilbur Wright Birthplace Museum Seeks Wright Airplane Models
All of us recognize the quintessential picture of ultimate inventive success that was the first flight made by Wilbur and Orville Wright.
What most people don’t understand is how marginal, difficult, and dangerous the Wright Flyer was to fly. Lost in history is the fact that it flew only four times that day in 1903 and never again. After their flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright brothers spent two years in Dayton, Ohio, developing the world’s first practical airplane. In 1909, they opened the Wright Company and went on to develop more aircraft until 1915, when Orville sold his interest in the company.
These early aircraft represent the birth of aviation. Full-scale replicas and some originals exist. The Carillon Historical Park in Dayton has a 1905 Wright Flyer III that was rebuilt as close to the original as you can get under the supervision of Orville Wright. The Wilbur Wright Birthplace Museum in Hagerstown, Indiana, has a replica of the Kitty Hawk Flyer that was built by Bufford Gross in 1993. Neither the 1905 rebuilt Wright Flyer or the 1993 Kitty Hawk Flyer were ever flown. In fact, many replicas that are flown end up crashing because the people who build them are skilled mechanics—not pilots.
Full-scale replicas are marvelous and inspiring to see. When visitors to the museum turn the corner and see the Kitty Hawk Flyer replica for the first time, they stand and look at it for a moment. If they say anything, it’s “Wow!” However, replicas have a couple of real problems. First, you can’t fly them. Second, they require a lot of space. Models resolve these issues.
The Wilbur Wright Birthplace Museum wants to create an exhibit to educate people about these aircraft and their development. As part of the exhibit, they are seeking models, especially those that can be flown.
The first step in developing the exhibit will be a conference and potential competition at the museum. The museum would appreciate any suggestions or support that you can offer. Contact Kenneth McNamara if you’d like to aid in its efforts; his email can be found in “Sources.”
AMA Plans Service 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 18,000 plans in the collection.
First appearing in the pages of the December 1992 issue of Model Builder, the EEE-Z-Fli Pylonair is a racer-like sportster designed as an easy-to-build, high-performance aircraft. The model features a unique “see-through” fuselage deck that is made from a 2-liter soda bottle, which serves as a teaching aid to show spectators how internal radio components and servos operate.
Plans for the EEE-Z-Fli Pylonair, plans number MB12921, can be ordered for $13 by visiting plans.modelaircraft.org or by calling the AMA Plans Service at (765) 1256, ext. 507.
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed Life Members James Kavenaugh, Novi, Mich.; Robert Engle, Boaz, Ala.; Robert W. Hoffman Jr., Mastic Beach, N.Y.; and David E. Carroll, Buford, Ga.
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (765) 287-1256, ext. 129.
—AMA Membership department
Nats Rewind: The 50th Nats
A lot happened in 1976. The US celebrated its bicentennial, marking 200 years of independence; Jimmy Carter defeated Gerald Ford for the US presidency; Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple; and the Concorde supersonic airliner made its first official flights, flying passengers from London to Bahrain and from Paris to Rio de Janeiro.
Meanwhile, in various cities across Ohio—which is often dubbed the “Birthplace of Aviation”—AMA celebrated 50 years of the Nats. This golden anniversary was commemorated by spreading the competition across three cities—Springfield, Dayton, and Columbus—to accommodate the large crowds of spectators and participants who gathered to honor half a century of aeromodeling competition, technological advancement, and camaraderie.
In Dayton, RC, Control Line (CL), and Free Flight (FF) events ran from July 31 through August 8 at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the site where Wilbur and Orville Wright performed experimental test flights with the Wright Flyer III from 1904 to 1905, and where the Wright Company School of Aviation returned from 1910 to 1916 for use as a flying field.
At the Springfield Municipal Airport, FF and RC Soaring events took place from August 3-7. All Indoor events were held at the State Fairgrounds Coliseum (now known as Taft Coliseum) in Columbus on August 1-2.
The 50th Nats was a big event. For starters, the centennial celebration kicked off with a new official Nats event: Old-Timers. The event was previously held separately by the Society of Antique Modelers (SAM) but ran in conjunction with the 50th Nats for the first time ever on July 31 through August 2, 1976.
There was a total of 61 official events, three more than in previous years. There were nine Indoor events, 18 Outdoor FF, 11 RC, and 23 CL. Most of the events even included separate awards for Juniors (participants under 15 years old) and Seniors (participants between the ages of 15-18), which helped to bring the total number of awards handed out to a little more than 600, with an average of one award for every three participants.
The 100th Nats
Fifty years later, the world of model aviation has transformed in many ways, but the spirit of competition remains the same. AMA is excited and honored to celebrate the 100th official running of the Nats at the International Aeromodeling Center in Muncie, Indiana, in the coming weeks. We can’t wait to share that excitement with model aviation enthusiasts from around the globe! Thank you to the modeling community for helping us reach this incredible milestone!
“New” Library Donations
History Preserved
A new-to-us book in three-ring binder format that was donated to the museum for the Lee Renaud Memorial Library in fall 2025 is titled, Vintage Plans of Yesteryear: Vol. 1 AA-AZ. It was compiled by John Pond, with the preface, cover, and tabulation by John’s son, Allen Pond [LIB2025.09, Call# M050.15]. This book is signed too; handwritten on the title page is, “Best wishes for happy plan reading[,] John Pond.”
Inside this binder are 82 numbered pages; the contents include two thumbnail vintage plans per page, listed from “A to … ” well, “A to ABC Robin” to “Acro 707A Delta.” Allen wrote about the purpose of the publication in its preface: “Have you ever wondered what a certain plan looks like? This plan album series will be an attempt to show in small detail what is available from those companies selling plans.” He went on to mention the reasons for the binder format—users could take out plans that they didn’t need and add in new plans as they were introduced. It was a very thoughtful design choice, indeed!
Do you want to learn more about John Pond? You can find his biography, written by Allen, on the AMA History Project website; the link is found in the “Sources” section.
Longtime modeler Jim Grant donated three issues of R/C Report—July 1987, February 1988, and February 1989 [LIB2025.08]—for the museum’s Lee Renaud Memorial Library.
The July 1987 issue is a bit tricky. “July 1986” is printed on the cover, but the rest of the issue is correctly labeled as “July 1987” on the inside pages.
Product test reports appear heavily in each of the three issues, as well as a reader letters section, columns, and plenty of ads. Articles covered many topics and events, such as constructing an RCR Trophy model (July 1987), the 1987 Scale Masters (February 1988), and the 1988 Tournament of Champions (February 1989).
Because of generous donors like Jim, we now have a full run of the R/C Report in the library, from the first issue (published in August 1986) to the last issue (dated March 2009). Thanks to all our donors for helping us complete the collection!
An Update to the Digital Collections’ Library Section
In the July 2025 “History Preserved” article, I reported about completing a long-term undertaking of having all of our modeling book catalog records available in our Digital Collections. At the end of that project, approximately 99.5% of our modeling book catalog records were online; however, about 20% of our other books (full-scale aircraft, young readers, etc.) did not have catalog records available in the collections. Thus, I decided to start a new project—getting the rest of those “other” books online.
After close to nine months, working off and on when time allowed, it was finally completed. As of the time of this writing, of all of the catalog records we have in our database for any kind of book, about 99.6% are available online, or 5,920 individual book records.
Although it’s not a reading portal, our Digital Collections library catalog—essentially an electronic card catalog—will be of help when you are planning your visit for the summer (you can find books you’d like to read before you stop by) or if you are checking to see whether we might already have a book you’d like to donate. Find the library catalog link in “Sources.”
If you see something that you would like to read in our collection, but you can’t make it to the museum in person, give us a call at (765) 287-1256 ext. 511 or email us at archives@modelaircraft.org. We might be able to help you track down an alternative copy near you through WorldCat or your local library’s online catalog.
Continued Uploads of Nats Photos to the Web
Now that I have finished the project of adding 50 photo contact sheets from the 1978 Nats to our Digital Collections (see last month’s “History Preserved” for details on that project), it is time to move on to the Navy Nats. As I write this, I am in the midst of adding several folders of official U.S. Navy photos from the 1969 Nats. (Both the contact sheets and Navy photos are in AMA Collection #0001.)
Per the AMA Nats entry form/special information/instructions booklet for the 1969 Nats, events were held at two locations:
- Outdoor events: Naval Air Station Willow Grove in Pennsylvania—Monday, July 14, through Sunday, July 20
- Indoor events: Naval Air Station Lakehurst in New Jersey—Monday, July 14, to Tuesday, July 15
Included with this article are three examples of the wealth of photographs that were taken by the Navy. Nearly all of the photos in this stash include press releases, which give important context to each image.
A2024.03.23a: Per its related press release, this photo shows (L-R) John Curtin and Samuel T. Bridges inside a Navy hangar, installing a new fuel tank on their RC Pylon Racing model. The photo was taken by PH1 Roger Brown.
A2024.03.12a: Information in the press release with this photo tells us that the husband-and-wife duo in the foreground (L-R) are Edward (Ed) (model pilot) and Louise Izzo (mechanic), who are kneeling next to Ed’s RC Pylon racer, La Jollita. Nats officials stand in the background. They were photographed on July 17 by PH1 James Metcalf.
A2024.03.41a: Also taken on July 17, this this photo by PH3 Bergeon demonstrates the size of the spectator crowds at the Nats. The U.S. Navy press release states, “During the early morning hours nearly 500 people gather for the qualifications of the radio-control events.” I cropped this image for this article to better show how large the crowd was; you can see the entire photograph in our Digital Collections.
These photos and more can be found in the museum’s Digital Collections. Use the keyword search terms “Nats” or “National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats)” to find all of the Nats artifacts.
Photo captions
A2024.03.12a
A2024.03.23a
SOURCES
- PRG-Themed Build Contest
modelaircraft.org/prgbuild
SOURCES
- Model Aviation
ModelAviation.com - Model Aviation Author Guidelines and Submission Information
modelaviation.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/MA_AuthorGuidelines.pdf
SOURCES
- Wilbur Wright Birthplace Museum
(765) 332-2495
wwbirthplace.com - Carillon Historical Park
(937) 293-2841
daytonhistory.org - Kenneth McNamara
navyvet@tds.net
SOURCES
- AMA Nats
nats.modelaircraft.org - A2026.02.02k
Collection #0001, Academy of Model Aeronautics
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind. - Model Aviation, June 1976
library.modelaviation.com/edition/model-aviation-197606
SOURCES
- AMA History Project Presents:
Biography of John I. Pond
modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/files/PondJohn.pdf - National Model Aviation Museum Digital Collections Library
modelaircraft.pastperfectonline.com/Library - WorldCat
search.worldcat.org - Nats Entry Form/Special Information/Instructions Booklet
1969, Academy of Model Aeronautics
AMA Collection, #0001
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind. - A2024.03.23a
Press Release, MM 13-69, U.S. Navy, July 1969
AMA Collection, #0001
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind. - A2024.03.12a
Press Release, MM 27-69, U.S. Navy, July 17, 1969
AMA Collection, #0001
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind. - A2024.03.41a
Press Release, MM 196-69, U.S. Navy, July 17, 1969
AMA Collection, #0001
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind. - R/C Report
July 1987, February 1988, and February 1989
LIB2025.08, Credit: Donated by Jim Grant
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind. - Vintage Plans of Yesteryear: Vol. 1 AA-A
Compiled by John Pond, Pond Associates, 1983
LIB2025.09, Call# M050.15
National Model Aviation Museum, Muncie, Ind.
