View from HQ - 2001/03
Joyce Hager, Executive Director
"It is bitter cold here, and yes, we have snow."
The progress on the new building continues. Updated pictures can be found on our Web site at www.modelaircraft.org/comp/IACconstruction.htm. The construction crew still has not completed putting in the windows, but I have been told that they will be in within the next two weeks (the end of December or the beginning of January). The scheduled move date for the administrative offices will be at the end of February. Everyone here is very excited; we will finally have enough space in which to work. The museum staff is also excited, because they will be able to expand their area.
An important weekend to mark on your calendar is June 7–10, 2001. Thursday will be the ribbon-cutting for the new Headquarters building, and Friday is the third Celebration of Eagles. The Grand Event is scheduled for Saturday, and AMA Homecoming will be run Saturday and Sunday. Watch for more-detailed information in Model Aviation.
Membership renewal is going smoothly. We are approximately 5% ahead of where we were at the same time last year. Most people have received their new 2001 license cards in record time. Congratulations to the Membership Department!
If you haven't renewed, you may do so several ways:
- Mail your application.
- Fax it to (765) 741-0057.
- Call the membership renewal line at (800) 435-9262.
- Renew online at www.modelaircraft.org.
New members may join by any of these methods. Chartered club renewal kits will be mailed in January. When you receive this information, please read it carefully. Follow the instructions, and call or e-mail the Membership Department if you have a question. Forms not filled out or signed will delay the processing of your club charter. If your club has recently held an election of officers, please make sure we have the current information.
Club chartering is not difficult. You must:
- Have current adult officers sign the back of the officer sheet.
- Enclose the $20 basic fee.
- Include money for additional insurance for flying-site owners if necessary.
- Provide a list of your current members.
Please remember to notify us of new members or members who no longer belong to your club to ensure that our records are complete.
Sanctions
I have received several calls from contest directors who have foreign competitors attending their meets. They want to know if these individuals have to pay the fee to become an AMA member. The answer is yes. All individuals entering an AMA-sanctioned event must be current AMA members. Those memberships paid for in the last quarter of the year, regardless of type, would be covered for the remainder of that year and all of the next year. If your meet attracts foreign competitors, you may want to publicize the fact that they must obtain AMA memberships to enter. The application is located on our Web site.
Spread Your Wings, Ladies, and Fly
At any flying field on any given day, look around. You would probably conclude that model flying is a male bastion. If you see a woman on the landscape at all, it would be surprising. If you see her flying a model, you would have experienced a rare and unusual sighting.
Only one in a hundred modelers is female—“one-percenters,” as Sandy Frank, AMA District VIII Vice President, calls them—but that low number is about to change.
Taking to the flying fields and into the skies is a group called LadyHawks, formed for the express purpose of encouraging more women to enjoy model flying.
LadyHawks has come into being because a few women who like to fly saw too many other women who wanted to fly walk away from the hobby because of intimidation, lack of experience, or discomfort with breaking into a male-dominated pastime. The LadyHawks founders want to change all of that.
The LadyHawks is a new forum for and about women modelers. Lady members find a resource for guidance and support to get started in model building and flying, and a group of peers to socialize with at clubs and fly-ins.
We have not forgotten the gentlemen either. We have an auxiliary for the men who are interested in helping more women become modelers and grow to appreciate the hobby that they've been enjoying for years.
But guys, this is a forum focused on women's issues. You probably can appreciate that most women weren't brought up at their daddies' knees to learn about mechanics, tools, building, and flying like you were.
We want the ladies to know they're not alone in trying out this hobby.
LadyHawks founder and first president Joan Liska discusses the benefits of more women becoming modelers:
"Too often, I have heard guys at the field bemoan the fact that their spouses or girlfriends did not fly. They complain that the little lady is home watching the clock, demanding he leave the field to do the household chores or attend a family barbecue.
You can see that the guy really wants to stay and fly, to enjoy the camaraderie with his friends at the field, but he is torn away by family obligations.
It doesn't have to be that way if the wife (or girlfriend) is a flier. When you both fly, you create a relationship of sharing and support. The chores can wait, you jockey the family obligations and you both stay and fly when the wind is fair and the sun is shining. What could be better than that?"
LadyHawks is building momentum. There will be an initial membership drive held at three sites early in 2001:
- AMA's Convention 2001 in Pasadena, CA (January).
- The WRAM (Westchester Radio Aeromodellers) Show in White Plains, NY (February).
- The Weak Signals' Toledo Show in Ohio (April).
For information about LadyHawks, visit their Web site at www.ladyhawks.net.
— Submitted by Joan Liska, MA
Happy flying,
Joyce Hager Executive Director jhager@modelaircraft.org
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
