Be inspired to compete or build!
As I write this, flying is in full swing across the country, and the 100th running of the National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats) is only 57 days away. Hundreds of AMA-sanctioned competitions will bring aeromodelers together from coast to coast. Even if you have never competed in model aviation, consider attending an event just to see what it’s all about. You might be inspired to try competitive flying!
Former AMA Competition and Technical Director Tony Stillman said this about competition in a 2023 AMA Podcast episode: “It improves your ability to do things whether it’s flying or building or finishing … it brings you into a community that makes you better and it actually drives the technology of what’s available out there.” Gerald Meux has written about what drove him to competitive RC Pylon Racing in “Five Weekends, Five Races, One Journey,” which starts on page 32.
This issue has plenty for the sport flier as well. Are you looking to build an aircraft that you can fly in a park? Check out the “Beagle Pup,” designed by Paul Kohlmann, on page 18.
There’s also some nostalgia this month. Grant Schulte takes us back to the Byron Originals Aviation Expo that began in 1982, which drew as many as 50,000 spectators every year to Ida Grove, Iowa. Yes, “build it and they will come” could have been used to describe this event, one of the biggest and most elaborate RC shows in history.
What really stands out in this piece, however, is the story of Paul and Cindy Edmunds, a couple who added some history of their own by beginning a journey interlaced with this show for many years. As Paul said, “She’s always been my copilot, whether flying RC or our 1956 Piper Tri-Pacer.” Their story, “An Air Show and a Wedding,” starts on page 26.
This brings me to the introduction of a new AMA initiative, the AMA Foundation Copilot Recognition Program. It’s a way to recognize that special someone who has made your success in the sport more enjoyable. Read more about the program at amafoundation.modelaircraft.org/copilot-recognition-program.
Until the next issue, may the sky be filled with many successful flights!
I would never have imagined as a kid having something that I built land on another planet.
—Matt Keennon, project manager for AeroVironment, Inc.,
talking about Ingenuity, a 3.96-pound helicopter that
landed on Mars on April 19, 2021
