Model Aviation Online - View from HQ (November 2008)

My best suggestion will always be
to respect differences of opinion.

There are so many events and stories that come out of your AMA HQ and National Flying Site that all 200-plus pages of MA cannot cover them all.

     Some get coverage in NatsNews that is produced daily during the Nats. Some get write-ups in articles or reported in various columns, but others are never covered because they "just happen," and unless you "just happen" to be there when they do, you would never know about it.

      One such story occurred during the Nats. It exemplifies the support that so many of us get from our spouses. You remember—that support person who cares not for anything model aviationwise himself or herself, but is there just the same, supporting us because they love us and we cannot imagine life without modeling in it.

     These support people—mostly women—who volunteer to staff the radio impound, run the concession booth, keep records for the club, tally the scores during competitions, cook and feed us, and for the most part, let us "play in the shop" so we have something to fly on the weekends.

     I see so much of that type of support on the flying site and at fly-ins across the nation that it's time for us to stop during this Thanksgiving season and say thank you! (Hint: this is where you put the magazine down and go tell her or him.)

      I have included a letter from Marc Gellart of the League of Silent Flight that recaps one of those "just happened" events about a spouse's support that I learned about during the Nats.

     "Sorry this took a bit of time to get back to you about Jo Ellen's rescue trip for me to fly [in the] Hand Launch Sailplane (HLS) event. As I told you, I had packed my vehicle pretty early, and then had to pull out a plane bag because I had sold the ship. Problem was that I had slipped the HLS fuse into the bag and had forgotten that when I put it back in the shop.

     "Well, that was about Tuesday evening, and come Saturday, I make my way to Muncie and work to get things set at the field. Saturday evening Tom Kallevang (TK) and I went to dinner and when we got back about 10 p.m., I grabbed a bag and told him I wanted to show him something on the HLS. Well, no fuse; check the other bag, no fuse. Oh crap!

     "Well, thinking back, I knew I had pulled the bag out of the Yukon and I knew I was out of luck. After the thought had really settled and I knew I had to go back to Lima, I got on the phone to tell Jo Ellen, "please do not shoot me when I come through the door about 1:00 a.m." I would make it back to Muncie by 3 a.m.; just what I had to do if I wanted to fly HLS on Sunday.

     "Well, Jo Ellen said, even though her day had started early for a 4-H function, she had had a nap and said she felt good enough to meet me halfway with the bag. Good excuse for a ride for the dogs. Well, TK being the friend he is, said he was not letting me go alone and so off we went. We met Jo Ellen about 7 miles north of Portland in Bryant, Indiana, at a gas station. She would drive about 2 hours round trip to get me the fuse—way above and beyond any call for a wife to do for any husband, especially in the middle of the night.

     "Well, as TK said after Hand Launch was over, what happened was preordained. I won HLS, and it would not have happened without Jo Ellen taking of her evening to help me have what I needed. She deserves the AMA Medal of Honor for her help. I know there are many wives that do much of the same for a lot of guys in our hobby, but hey, she came to my rescue and I love her."

     That was nicely said, Marc, and thanks for sharing. Sometimes we take for granted that, for the most part, we can go out to fly nearly anytime we want. Let's take that moment as we celebrate Thanksgiving and give thanks to those who directly and indirectly make that possible.

Renewals: It's that time of the year again: renewal time! You can go online and renew your AMA membership. Delaying this process costs your Academy funds that can be better used elsewhere and ensures your delivery of MA is not interrupted. Visit www.modelaircraft.org/joinrenew.aspx to renew your membership online.

New Staff Members: I want to welcome two new staff members to the AMA family. Jeff Nance is our new Marketing/Programs Director, replacing Jay Mealy from Programs, who retired in January, and the Marketing Department's Tom Schwyn. We are combining the Marketing and Programs departments as a cost-cutting and consolidation effort. Craig Schroeder, CPA, is the new AMA Comptroller overseeing the Accounting Department. Both men bring years of experience to their positions.

Thanksgiving is a time for family. The AMA family tree is truly one of many branches of various disciplines of flight. As with our own families at home, we have occasional disagreements. We share the love of flight as we share loving our own families, but sometimes we disagree on how that flight should be taken.

     Often our HQ staff is asked to become involved in disagreements between members. Our first response will always be to suggest that clubs and club members seek resolution at the local level and within the organization of the club officers. Many times neither party is "right" or "wrong"; it's merely miscommunication between the parties.

     When the local effort does not succeed, before contacting AMA HQ, seek intervention through your associate vice presidents and then your district vice president. These people do have some limited resources available.

     My best suggestion will always be to respect differences of opinion. MA

Happy Thanksgiving and in the spirit of flight.

Jim Cherry, Executive Director

Comments on the magazine?
or call Model Aviation Editorial offices: (765) 287-1256, ext. 224.
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Address: 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302