On the Fly Late-breaking news from Headquarters
2003 Membership Meeting
The AMA Annual Membership Meeting will be held in conjunction with the 2003 Toledo Show, presented by the Weak Signals Radio Control Club, which will take place April 4–6 at the SeaGate Center (401 Jefferson Ave., Toledo, OH).
The meeting will be held Saturday, April 5, from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. in the ballroom of the Radisson Hotel (adjacent to the SeaGate Center). For more information, stop by the AMA booth at the show. To learn more about the Toledo Show, go to www.toledoshow.com. MA — AMA HQ
MA Cover Contest Winners
More than 50 submissions were received for the 2002 Model Aviation Cover Contest. The staff of Model Aviation would like to thank all of the readers who participated.
Six winners were selected (in no particular order):
- Jim Caparelli, San Jose, CA
- Kirk Vocalin, Houma, LA
- Marcus D. Moon, Burleson, TX
- Ken Estes, Lakewood, CA
- Ken Johnson, Sylmar, CA
- David Garwood, Scotia, NY
The cover submissions selected as winners can be found at Model Aviation Online: www.modelaircraft.org/mag/index.htm. Go online to see the winning entries and read more about each submission.
The staff can make no guarantee about when these submissions will appear on the cover of Model Aviation, although the goal is to use them within the next three years. A prize of $200 will be awarded for each winning entry. MA — MA staff
Hitec Field and Track Improvement Awards
The 10 winners of the $1,000 2002 Hitec Field and Track Improvement awards have been chosen. This year Hitec received more than 100 requests for grants. Hitec thanks all the members of the great clubs and organizations who work hard at providing a place for modelers to fly.
The following AMA-chartered clubs were chosen as winners of the Hitec Field and Track Improvement Fund:
- Alexandria R/C Flyers (Miltona, MN)
- Coachella Valley R/C Club (Bermuda Dunes, CA)
- Boerne Area Model Society (Boerne, TX)
- Oswego Valley Modelers Inc. (Hannibal, NY)
- Ithaca Radio Control Society (Ithaca, NY)
- Wyoming Modelers Park Association (Riverton, WY)
MA — Glen Merritt, Hitec USA Marketing Director
On the Fly
Continued from page 6
All Because of Model Airplanes at the Smithsonian
Segments of AMA’s video All Because of Model Airplanes will be featured in a display as part of the Smithsonian National Museum of American History’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation.
A traveling exhibit about invention and play will visit science centers and museums throughout North America beginning in early 2003. This exhibit brings a fresh perspective to the topic of invention, exploring the marked similarities between the ways children play and the creative processes used by innovators in science and technology.
To view the schedule for a display location near you, please check www.asct.org/exhibitions/invention/invention.html. MA — Tom Schwyn, AMA Marketing/Public Relations
New Life Members
The Academy of Model Aeronautics recently welcomed new Life Members:
- Ralph Salgado (L411)
- Benjamin Diss (L412)
- Ben Kirk (L237)
- Richard Stinson (L1776)
- Michael D. Wyman (L777)
- Roger L. Brining (L718)
- K. Matney (L944)
- William L. Lubke (L898)
- Paul Maharis (L386)
- Andrew Greig (L509)
- Monte Richardson (L536)
- Ignacio T. Arrunegun (L457)
- Michael P. Wingo (L678)
- Nicholas Lantonelli (L449)
- Roy Hulse (L431)
- Christopher Gomez (L580)
- Michael S. Lineberger (L244)
For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262. MA — Membership Department
Combat Meet and New Open Designs
A fantastic 568-point final round (the highest scoring round in the entire contest!) pushed Lee Little into fourth place by only eight points.
The larger-span designs such as the Avenger 8.0, the Skull Bandit, the Choker, and the new Falcon 72 dominated Open Class B.
The Scale event was flown Sunday — a nice-looking day, but the gusty winds that had built up during Saturday's match started before the first round and increased throughout the day. Several rounds had to be directed back to center field (over Lake Fredricks) as the Combat action was continually blown to our left.
A.J. Seaholm took control of first place by the second round and never relinquished it. Topping his day off by scoring high in the final two rounds, nearly 800 points separated A.J. from the second-place winner, Jeff Smith, who had held first place in the first round. Less than 250 points separated the next five positions. Mike Fredricks claimed third, only 24 points ahead of Jim Bodnar's fourth-place showing.
Unfortunately for me, it was not a good day for Japanese aircraft from Oklahoma. Gene Smith and I lost five models in the meet, although, mercifully, all missed Lake Fredricks. It was an outstanding meet, with as many twists and turns in the scoring as there were in the air.
The event was great fun, but if you are planning to come out and fly with the Sky Knights at their next Combat meet, consider a floatplane fighter!
One of the new Open designs that flew at the Midwest Nats was the Falcon 72 Open Class B model by GRS Models (36 Antigua Dr., Kenner, LA 70065; Web site: http://pages.prodigy.net/gleveland_grsmodels). A long-span model, the Falcon 72 has 740 square inches of wing area and spans 72 inches. A flying wing with winglets, the model is designed for .25- to .30-size engines and has plug-in wing panels for ease of transport.
Designed by Lee Little of Control Line Combat fame, the Falcon 72 kit is scheduled to be released in Ready-to-Fly (RTF) form. With about 20 minutes of assembly time from the box to flight, the three-piece wing is precovered; the winglets need to be taped in place and the centerline rudder clamped in place. Installing your radio and engine is the only thing left to do before flight.
Besides the Falcon 72, a smaller model, the Falcon 64, is also planned for release.
Another new Open design is the Northeast Aerodynamics Rapt-Air .25 (5 Pine St., Suite F, Nashua, NH 03060; Web site: www.ne-aero.com). Of conventional low-wing design, the Rapt-Air .25 has a 48-inch span and 440 square inches of wing area.
The kit is designed to keep the number of parts to a minimum, resulting in very quick assembly. Weighing 2.8 to 3.5 pounds, depending on engine and radio-equipment choice, the Rapt-Air is said to have "docile" handling characteristics.
That's all for this column. I need to rebuild some airplanes. Until next time, build straight, fly safely, and be sure to check your six! MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
