President's Perspective
"This will be AMA's first foray into the Trade Show arena."
The weather outside is frightful — I haven't even been able to get the fire warm for the last week. We had a very mild winter until the last ten days; those last ten days give real meaning to the term "building season."
It's funny how time and gradual change make many terms either obsolete or no longer recognized. "Building season" doesn't have the same meaning now as it once did. I guess the question is: what do people who fly ready-to-flys do in the winter? As times and the membership change, so does the language. When you are the AMA president, people sometimes ask the strangest questions.
I get a break, at least for a week, from the cold weather in the Midwest while I attend the new AMA Convention '99/IMS in California. This will be AMA's first foray into the Trade Show arena, and the results so far look really good.
Has it been without its bumps in the road? No, it hasn't, but I didn't expect it to run completely without a hitch. As of right now, the show is sold out, including the booths added in our expansion of the floor plan. That expansion has a few people upset, as it resulted in the elimination of the flying demonstrations in the middle of the hall. These demos have been a mainstay of the event for as far back as I can remember, and eliminating them was not easy. I hope we will be able to find a place in the facility to bring these back in 2000.
I am particularly interested in finding a place for the kids to fly the Delta Darts, and I would sure like to continue the Black Sheep Squadron electric CL demos. Tony and Addie Naccarato have done such a nice job over the years; I'd like to figure out how to get this back into the show.
I know some members wonder why we bought this show, but it is a good opportunity for AMA to promote model aviation, serve its membership, and generate income all at the same time. I had originally projected that the show would return its purchase price to AMA in three years, but based on what I know now, I think it will do it in two years. It may even pay itself off and show a net profit in that second year.
Keep in mind that every dollar of income generated by the show, as well as other income-producing endeavors of the AMA, is a dollar that members don't have to spend on dues.
Our hobby lost one of its true icons recently with the passing of Bill Winter. Bill was the epitome of the model airplane hobbyist. The number of articles he wrote, models he built, and designs he published are among the most widely enjoyed in our community.
Bill is probably best known for the many years of magazine columns he wrote. To this day, it is common to refer to a column on aeromodeling written purely for the fun of it as a "Bill Winter" column.
He was the king of the sport aeromodeler. I can't say I ever remember him being involved in competition, yet he won the greatest prize in all of aeromodeling — the respect, love, and accolades of aeromodelers the world over. Our hobby will miss him.
Dave Brown, AMA President
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
