NewComers
Matthew Usher
Surprise! Surprise! This month your regular NewComers author offers a brief introduction to Matthew Usher’s expanded coverage. Matt is an editor for Model Aviation. The events detailed here consumed a prodigious amount of my time over many months, culminating in a hectic flurry of activity on Tuesday, March 12. As I was sitting squarely in the middle of the forest, it seemed far more prudent to let someone else describe the trees. Take it away, Matt!
AMA interactive field trip — overview
Working in conjunction with the Indiana Academy at Ball State University, AMA beamed almost four hours of live interactive television programming to about 32,000 students (grades 4 through 7) in five states. The live programming included two museum sessions and two Delta Dart building sessions in the studio. The taped material from the event belongs to AMA and will be available through AMA.
Museum segment
The first segment opened with a taped piece showing a variety of flying models in action at the International Aeromodeling Center and set the stage for a live tour of the Frank V. Ehling Museum. Co-hosts Bob Underwood, Maria Williams-Hawkins and Jim Haught led the tour and demonstrated an indoor model, the Parlor Mite.
What made the 50-minute broadcast unique was its interactive element. Students could use a special 800-number to ask Bob and Maria questions about the taped segments, the museum tour and modeling in general. In-studio questions were provided by area grade-schoolers.
Among the questions fielded on camera: the easiest — “What’s the highest a model has flown?” — answered while standing under Maynard Hill’s 1970 record model that reached 26,912 feet. The toughest — “What kind of paint is used on the stealth aircraft?” — which required a bit more than “Black!” as an answer.
Delta Dart building session (studio)
The second segment was transmitted from the studios of the Indiana Academy at Ball State University — an interactive Delta Dart building session led by AMA’s Jay Mealy. The Indiana Academy facility is designed for this type of broadcast; the studio resembles an ordinary classroom equipped with state-of-the-art video and sound equipment remotely operated from an adjacent control room.
Using split-screen technology, students in several Indiana schools were able to ask questions and interact with the in-studio builders. During the broadcast, Bob Underwood and Jim Haught assisted with activities. The program was broadcast twice — once in the morning and once in the afternoon — to accommodate students in several time zones.
Behind the scenes and logistics
Both live broadcasts appeared effortless to viewers, but the behind-the-scenes work required D‑day-like planning and logistics.
- Converting AMA’s museum TV studio for the first segment involved crews working several days to install lights, cameras and sound equipment without disturbing the displays.
- A portable control booth and a satellite-uplink truck in the parking lot connected the broadcast to participating schools and made interactive communication possible.
- Timing was tight: with less than 10 minutes between the two segments, Bob Underwood had to make a mad dash through downtown traffic to get from the museum to the Indiana Academy’s studios at AMA Headquarters; at one point a police escort was considered.
Despite minor difficulties, Bob remained an enthusiastic, unflappable host during a full day in front of the camera — his 30 years teaching fifth grade likely proved excellent training.
Look for more information regarding this project in future NewComers columns.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
