AMA Club Benefits From Disaster Relief Fund

     Thanks to AMA, on behalf of all members of the Hernando Aero Modellers, Inc. of Spring Hill, Florida, for the generous contribution and support.

     Our club secretary is in receipt of a check for $500. We are indebted to AMA for helping prop up our sagging operating funds. This is indeed a positive way for the Academy to demonstrate that it is working for all clubs in the US.

     In March 2007, we were told by the local director of the Boy Scouts of America to vacate our flying site within 30 days. Less than 12 months before that, a fire of undetermined origin destroyed our shed that housed two tractors and other ground-maintenance equipment.

     We had been using Scout property for 21 years and were at a loss to where to go next. A committee was formed within our club that was tasked with finding a new flying site.

     The gods of aeromodeling must have been smiling down on us; the committee came through. Cemex Corp. allowed us to use 13.5 acres, with practically no strings attached.

     That is cattle country in northeastern Hernando County, so, as we expected, much work was needed to prepare our 400- x 48-foot runway with 200 feet of overrun at each end. Grading and seeding was done. Our host provided the gravel needed for the entrance to the property and the parking area. We strung a barbed-wire fence across the acreage paralleling the runway, to keep our neighbor's cattle out.

     All the preparations for the new field drained our budget for the year. On top of that, rain and wind damaged our shelters, some of which were beyond repair. But as a club, we survived.

     Thanks to the spirit of volunteerism that exists within the membership and the support of AMA. Please use this letter, or any part thereof, to show that clubs survive and come back. MA

—Michael Pennington, H.A.M. President 2008
District V

Welcome, AMA's New Lifetime Supporters!

     The Academy recently welcomed Life Members Nicholas Moore (Milwaukee WI), Frederic Fouche (Gatesville TX), Ariel Akrab (Brooklyn NY), David Croteau (Apache Junction AZ), Rockwell Smith (Atlanta GA), Bob Washburn (Santa Clarita CA), Juan Colon (Schiller Park IL), Stacey Mills (Charlottesville VA), Mark Melvin (West Covina CA), Michael McAleenan (Collierville TN), Jeffrey Slater (Anoka MN), Jason Hall (Pennsboro WV), Mark Woytassek (Cedar Rapids IA), Mathieu Fregeau (Lynnwood WA), John Cox (Tampa FL), Michael W. Gregory (Paradise Valley AZ), Rafael Villeda (Redwood City CA), Creige Jones (Tarpon Springs FL), Jim Bogenreif (Yorba Linda CA), Phally Doth (Long Beach CA), Norman Coard (Newburgh NY), Christopher Volkman (Port Barrington IL), and Chris Christopher (Hood River OR).

     For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262. MA

—Membership Department

Also in this month's In the Air section in Model Aviation:

• 25 Years Ago in MA: January 1984

• Modeler Flies 50 Aircraft in One Day

• George Xenakis: 1928-2008

• Young Pilots and AMA's Influence

• Keep a Finger on Your Field's Pulse

• Boy Scouts Spend Day at TAG Event