TAG—AMA Has It!
Do you want to introduce model aviation to your friends and neighbors and receive recognition and benefits in return? If the answer is “yes,” you'll want to know more about AMA’s new program called Takeoff and Grow, or TAG.
Designed to encourage the Academy’s members and clubs to promote modeling as a positive recreational activity to those in their communities, TAG is the first of several new programs AMA will implement in the next year. Intended primarily to indoctrinate and welcome the general public to our hobby, TAG provides an intensive one-day introduction to model aviation with the intent of drawing new people into our hobby.
Clubs selected to host a TAG Model Aviation Day will be provided with a complete program syllabus to use as a guide. It will include ideas for pre-promoting and advertising the event and an outline of activities that are to take place the day of the event. Clubs will be encouraged to preregister attendees to help them better prepare. Each participant will be entered into AMA’s newly revised Introductory Pilot Program (IPP). Even though there is no cost to the nonmember, by becoming an IPP student he or she will be covered under AMA’s liability protection as long as the individual is working under the supervision of an AMA Introductory Pilot (IP) Instructor.
The day of the event each attendee will be provided with brief classroom instruction to help familiarize him or her with model aviation and to give an idea of what to expect. Then each participant will be placed on a computer flight simulator, where an experienced RC pilot will help him or her acclimate to the basics of flight and how it works.
Completing the modeling experience, each attendee will be given the opportunity to fly a trainer on a buddy box under the guidance of an AMA IP Instructor. Multiple flights will be encouraged, time permitting.
If your club is selected to host a TAG Model Aviation Day, AMA will provide flight simulators and complete RTF models to use during the program. At the end of the event, these items are your club’s to keep as AMA’s way of saying “Thanks for helping out.”
Through TAG, individual Academy members can take advantage of AMA’s Ambassador Program. If a current member signs up three new Open- or Senior Citizen-class members, he or she will earn next year’s membership as another way of AMA’s saying “Thanks.”
The rewards are more than just the things listed above. Hosting a TAG Model Aviation Day is a great way to reach out to your community and give it a taste of a family-oriented recreational activity that all of us enjoy. In addition, you’ll be creating positive relationships with your neighbors that can often help when the time comes to keep or acquire new flying sites.
As with all new AMA programs that are being developed, the Academy wants to provide the tools local clubs need to ensure the popularity of the hobby. It will require the cooperation of many to make it a success. Achieving that success will make our already wonderful hobby even better.
AMA has a limited number of openings for clubs to host a TAG Model Aviation Day in 2007. If your club would like to partner with AMA to promote model aviation and open the door to growing the membership, contact AMA at (765) 287-1256, extension 251. An application package will be sent to you promptly. Or you can visit www.modelaircraft.org/tag to download a complete syllabus and application.
Model aviation is a great hobby. Let’s tell others about it!
For AMA members who participate in disciplines other than radio control, the Academy is in the process of developing similar programs for you. More details will be available shortly.
—Dave Mathewson District II Vice President
Scouting a Big Hit With AMA
The Boy Scouts of America has long been known for harnessing the youth of the nation and cultivating traditions that are generally recognized as wholesome and educational. If a poll were taken, chances are that many AMA members have been at one time or are still involved in scouting. Those people would probably agree that scouting and the Academy have much in common regarding community activity and the stimulation of growth through healthy and challenging programs.
Aeromodeling has been partially incorporated into the scouting merit certification program. However, AMA Marketing Director Tom Schwyn believed that more about model aircraft should be included.
Aviation has historically sparked curiosity and wonder in youth, and encouragement of that interest has led accomplished individuals into careers in the aviation industry. To convince the scouting association of how popular aeromodeling would be in the scouting program, Indiana state council representatives and AMA worked together to coordinate an event that would include aeromodeling activities, proving that they were fun, accessible to all age groups, educational, and popular.
The weekend of October 13–15, AMA and the Crossroads of America Council hosted the fall Boy Scout Camporee called Mission: Radio Control, which had more than 2,500 participants. The Scouts organized the campout at the International Aeromodeling Center while AMA hosted most of the activities. The National Model Aviation Museum was open for visitors and was free to attend.
Events included amazing hands-on activities for the Scouts. They participated in model building, flying RC models with buddy boxes, flying aircraft on simulators, driving RC cars, and controlling RC boats. Make-and-take programs involved building rubber-band-powered balsa models, great-flying kites, and FPG-9 hand-launched gliders from ordinary foam plates. The 1,000-acre AMA property was booming with activity including model-rocket demonstrations, displays featuring all types of Army vehicles, and exciting stunt-kite demonstrations and training.
Additional program highlights:
- The EAA Young Eagles program provided Scouts with flights in full-scale aircraft at nearby Reese Airport.
- AMA hosted multiple RC air shows on October 14, including LED night-flying synchronized with a live rock-and-roll band.
- The National Guard flew a Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter that landed on the site.
Reports have been coming in about how successful the program was. Troop leaders, Scouts, and parents wrote to remark about the fun they had and asked when the event will be held again.
The Camporee took an enormous effort on the part of the Scouts and the AMA staff. Hundreds of volunteers enjoyed the satisfaction of cultivating aeromodeling's future, and a number of them remarked about how friendly and polite the Scouts were.
Few AMA events have ever been able to bring thousands to one site to learn about model airplanes with such enthusiasm. This program's growth potential is enormous for AMA and scouting. Meetings are already in the works to further develop the program, with the hope of encouraging it to spread on a national level.
—Michael Ramsey MA Associate Editor
In the Air
A North Carolina Club's Good Deeds
The Fly-for-Tots program was originally started in the mid-1990s as a drive to collect toys for underprivileged children in local foster homes. Each year the effort managed to donate a large number of toys and a cash donation of roughly $500.
Although the toys were much needed, it became clear that this charity could better meet the specific needs of families and children with the cash that was donated. Every year we raised a little more than the year before, and we always looked forward to the day we would deliver our donation. The event continually grew.
The Raleigh-Durham Radio Control (RDRC) club's enthusiasm toward holding events and their willingness to offer hands to get things done added a great deal to the success of the program. In 2004 we made a larger effort to pass out event flyers to local businesses and hobby shops and at fly-ins we attended across the state.
A couple simple things such as low-volume music through the speakers and more demonstration flights turned out to be real crowd pleasers. Our efforts paid off as the donation grew to $1,500.
What did we do to make it even bigger? The January 2005 event included help from major hobby distributors. Raffle tickets were printed, listing the larger prizes so advanced ticket sales could be made at other flying events, places of work, etc.
We also set up the event like a public air show and made it a two-day event. This was a great opportunity to expose aeromodeling to the public and increase our chances of reaching our goal. That year we exceeded our goal by raising $5,000.
When the 2006 flying season started, we knew modelers would spread the word to each other. We also knew we needed to reach the public in a bigger way.
A club member was able to convince the area's largest mall to allow us to hold a static model display two weeks before the event. Another helpful tool was the Internet. Sites such as RC Universe and Flying Giants offer flying-event-schedule forums free of charge. We used these to invite modelers from all locations.
This heavy online activity attracted the attention of model distributors and hobby shops, encouraging Horizon Hobby, Hobbico, and Hobby Lobby to send demonstration pilots and great prizes.
It was inspiring to have modelers and the public offer their gratitude to our club members for all their efforts. They also told us what a great time they were having and that they appreciated what we were doing. Even our charity recipient — "Smiles for Little Faces" — was there to enjoy the event.
In the weeks following the 2006 event we received many emails and telephone calls from modelers, the public, and sponsors letting us know what a great time they had and how they look forward to participating in next year's event. This experience has been moving for many of us in RDRC, and we highly recommend that any club considering holding such an event move forward with it.
The most important tools your club will need are willingness and cooperation of its members. When you hand that check to your selected charity, see the appreciation in the representative's eyes, and later hear how your club's efforts made a difference in a child or a family, you'll be inspired for life.
RDRC thanks all those who helped us reach our goal for the 2006 Fly-for-Tots fly-in; we raised $10,000!
—Larry Lewis District IV
AMA Museum Director Participates in State Conference
Michael Smith, director of AMA's National Model Aviation Museum, and representatives from three other Muncie, Indiana–area museums (Minnetrista Cultural Center, the Muncie Children's Museum, and the Ball State Art Museum) presented a session at the Association of Indiana Museums' (AIM) Annual Conference on October 16.
The session, entitled "Many Hands, Light Work? Real World Collaboration Examples," examined an Educators' Open House these institutions held in June.
In years past all these museums had individual open houses intended to inform educators about their institutions' educational benefits, but turnout had historically been very low. This year the museums decided to try a different approach in the hopes of attracting a larger and more diverse audience.
A single Educators' Open House was held at the Ball State Art Museum, and each museum presented a booth highlighting its educational activities. The event went well overall; however, as with anything, some items were not addressed or did not go as planned. The AIM session addressed the positives and negatives of the event, providing attendees with the opportunity to better prepare for collaborative activities.
—AMA Headquarters
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
