More Perks for the AMA Park Pilot!

     The Academy's new membership category—the Park Pilot Program—is designed to serve the needs of the rapidly growing park flyer market. The program was officially launched on January 11, 2008, at the AMA Convention in Ontario, California.

     The $29.95 annual Park Pilot Program membership includes:

• $500,000 personal liability insurance coverage

• Park Pilot quarterly magazine

• Access to the Park Pilot Partner network to help you get started

• Coupons worth up to $50 in rebates on popular electric-flight merchandise

• $2.5 million in liability coverage available for owners of AMA-designated Park Flying Sites

     The Academy is also excited to announce the new AMA "All Stars," which is a group that comprises some of the top aeromodeling pilots in the country. The All Stars will attend shows to represent the AMA and help us spread the word about all the fun aeromodeling offers.  MA

—Tom Schwyn
Marketing Director

Park Pilot Magazine Available to All AMA Members

     AMA launched the Park Pilot Program in January. A new membership class with benefits to fulfill the specific needs of those who fly park flyer aircraft exclusively, the program offers a quarterly publication: Park Pilot magazine.

     But did you know that all AMA members can subscribe to this magazine for a reasonable $9.95 a year? A subscription includes four issues of the magazine, each of which is filled with product information, how-to articles, helpful hints and tips, and general information that is tailor-made for the park flyer enthusiast.

     For information about subscribing, call (800) I-FLY-AMA (435-9262), extension 224. Contact AMA to subscribe before April 1, 2008, and get the premier issue free.  MA

—AMA Headquarters

AMA's New Expanded Hobby Shop Incentive Program

     The Academy is proud to announce an expanded hobby shop incentive program. It is designed to be a fast and convenient way to enroll model-airplane enthusiasts as AMA members—at the hobby shop!

     The program rewards hobby-shop owners for participating, while giving the new modeler access to quick, easy, real-time membership sign-up. All that is required to become a member is to fill out the online application at www.modelaircraft.org or www.parkflyer.org, or to fill out a regular application at the hobby shop.

     A hobby-shop point-of-purchase display will help promote the membership program. As a hobby-shop representative, all you need to do is contact AMA at (765) 287-1256 or programs@modelaircraft.org, and we will be glad to guide you through the online store sign-up. MA

—Tom Schwyn
Marketing Director

Warning for Airline Travelers With Lithium Batteries!

     Effective January 1, 2008, airborne travelers can no longer pack loose Lithium batteries in checked luggage, except as specified in the following.

     Tests conducted by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) proved that fire-protection systems in passenger airplanes' cargo holds cannot extinguish fires that Lithium batteries create. The tests led to promulgation of a rule prohibiting stowing loose Lithium-containing batteries in luggage.

     If the battery is contained in an electronic device, such as a laptop, camera, or cell phone, it is acceptable for travel, whether packed in checked or carry-on luggage. Any individual Lithium packs that are not installed in a device will probably be confiscated.

     Although only contained batteries are allowed in checked baggage, a traveler is allowed to take loose Lithium batteries with him or her in a carry-on. However, the amount a traveler can transport has limits.

     The maximum is two batteries per passenger if the spare battery exceeds 8 grams of Lithium content. All batteries found in cell phones and nearly all those in laptop computers contain less than 8 grams of Lithium, so most travelers with standard devices should not have to worry.

     For every 100 watt-hours, there is an average of 2 grams of Lithium in a Lithium-content cell. A 3.7, 1800 mAh battery has 6.66 watt-hours (3.7 x 1.8 = 6.66) of power, which works out to just 0.03 gram of Lithium. A three-cell, 1800 mAh, 11.1-volt pack contains less than one-tenth of a gram of Lithium. It is no big deal unless you try to carry a 10S pack of 4.8 Ah cells!

     The concern is that this new study may cause the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to be overly cautious about those who travel with any sum of Lithium batteries that aren't recognized as related to cell phones or laptops. It would be a shame to have a battery seized, even if the content were well less than the allowable limit.

     It will be proposed to the AMA Executive Council that the Academy conduct a test case to carry cells in an AMA-approved "Laptop Spare Pack Carrier" that makes the Lithium batteries as safe as if they were installed in a laptop or other accepted device.

     For the time being, mail ahead, by surface, any batteries you need for an event you will travel to by airliner until the situation is clarified by the AMA and the FAA in such a way that the TSA will accept it without question.  MA

—MA Staff

Welcome, AMA Life Members!

     The Academy recently welcomed new Life Members Jose Picazo (Livermore CA), George Kalbfleisch (Dry Ridge KY), Raymond Farley (Dunlap TN), George Morris (Scottsdale AZ), Charles Radosta (Lyons IL), James Spurlock (Willows CA), Timothy Schafer (Lombard IL), John Wolfe (Warner Robins GA), Rory Tennison (Coeur DΥAlene ID), Brad Guske (Montrose CA), and Thomas Valcore (Eureka MT). Also John Bowman (Raleigh NC), John Lake Jr. (Kingland GA), Shane Whitaker (Toledo OH), Dwayne Killebrew (Tucson AZ), Bruce Rose (Aloha OR), John L. Embry (Houston TX), Joseph B. Brennan (Lawton OK), Jeff Jones (Roanoke TX), Christopher Tomlinson (Southaven MS), Thomas Hartness (Greenville SC), Jeffrey Koessler (Tucson AZ), and David Fones (Mechanicsville VA). Also Kevin Wilson (Jacksonville FL), Alan Rader (Roseburg OR), Michael Atto (Tulsa OK), Jason de la Cruz (Orlando FL), Mark Wasielewski (New Salem MA), Joseph Wagner (Algonquin IL), John Rader (Dallas TX), Andrew Bennett (Belmont MA), John Matlock (San Antonio TX), Scott Anderson (Eden Prairie MN), John Braziel (Magnolia TX), and Art Upton (Toledo OH). For information about becoming a Life Member, contact AMA Headquarters at (800) 435-9262.  MA

—AMA Membership Department

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

• 25 Years Ago in MA: March 1983

• The Legacy of Alfred G. Anderson

• Super Scale Team, Super Raffle

• Santa's Flying Helpers

• Texas Fliers Participate in Air Force Base Air Show