A Member Visits
Stephen E. Kanyusik
This past September my wife, Doris, and I traveled from North Mankato, MN to visit Washington, D.C. We looked forward to this trip. This was the place where we met in the "Big War." Doris was working at the Navy Department, and I was attending the Motion Picture Camera School at NAS Anacostia between ships. We met while sightseeing one Sunday afternoon at Arlington Cemetery.
It would be good to visit some of the places we had enjoyed during our courting days. We found that much has changed. One of our eating places, Old Ebbets, has moved around the corner from where it used to be. It is much larger now—both in physical size and in prices. Nice, though.
We hit all the usual tourist spots:
- The White House
- The Capitol
- The National Air and Space Museum (Smithsonian Institution)
Our son, Bill, is stationed at the Pentagon, which is in Virginia just outside of Washington. He drove us to Reston to visit the National Center for Aeromodelling, site of AMA headquarters and the AMA Museum. The setting is in a pleasant and newly developed area. The trees were left standing rather than being bulldozed, so the appearance of the greenery is one of maturity.
When we entered the lobby we were met by a couple of young folks who greeted and welcomed my wife, son, and me. All were provided with name tags, and being an AMA member, I was given a VIP badge.
To me the thing that overshadowed the hospitality was the models, models, and more models. That's what a modeler likes to see.
The showcases have all types of models:
- RC (radio control)
- FF (free flight)
- CL (control line)
I was especially interested in the Wakefields, FF scale, and static scale models (though some of the latter may actually be flying models). All are magnificently built. They bring back memories from our past. Those of us who have been in modeling since the Twenties and Thirties can recall seeing these models before; they make the modeler's job easier.
Would you like to try something new? Pick out a vintage design as I have done, and correspond with the designer. Then incorporate today's methods and materials into your replica. The challenge can be great fun, and the pioneers of model aviation will be more than pleased to hear of your interest in their almost-forgotten designs.
I can recall the builders who made them—too many, much too many, names to mention.
There are scale models, control line, and radio control models that look like the original full-size aircraft was shrunk by some uncanny magic. They are that realistic.
Kits and parts—Cleveland, Comet, and Megow; engines and fittings; props and wheels—and you are engrossed in all this. Some of the personnel come out and visit when they are not working, and we chatted about some interesting subjects. I was very reluctant to leave.
I do say that the membership can be very pleased and proud of this facility. It's far more than a museum. The staff has made the National Center for Aeromodelling a "home." It is one place we can point to with satisfaction and pride.
The National Center for Aeromodelling is a very fine building, and the people who work within its confines enhance it. One leaves with the feeling, "I want to come back again." It's a nice place to visit.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
