Aero Mail
Nats Coverage
Thank you for choosing Indoor FF as the spotlight on the cover (of the October issue). I have been in the hobby for over five years now and it is the first time that I have seen an Indoor FF model on the cover. The real privilege is that I am the photographer.
Thank you!
Max Zaluska via E-mail
I just got the latest issue of MA, and it is possibly my favorite; I have been a member for over 25 years.
Yes, I will admit I love indoor F/F. I also love C/L, outdoor F/F, and enjoy some R/C glider. I was really upset a few years back when it was decided to drop the NATS coverage from MA. I know that not all of the membership comes to Muncie (or to Johnson City), but the AMA is the owner of the NATS and has every right to promote it. It would be like the EAA not covering AirVenture at Oshkosh. The AMA Nationals is the AMA's summer-long celebration, and a big reason why the world-class flying site in Muncie exists.
Anyhow, thanks for such a great issue, and a great article by John Kagan covering the Indoor NATS. Indoor is an obscure but phenomenal aspect of our sport; I am sure the cover shot introduced the grace of an F1D to many who never even knew what one was. Great work!
Jim Buxton via E-mail
I just wanted to drop a line to let you know how much I (and many of my friends) appreciate the fantastic coverage given to the Indoor FF Nats in this issue. I of course understand that members whose primary interest is free flight as a whole make up a relatively small percentage of the AMA membership, and accordingly the coverage in this issue is truly commendable.
Personally, one of the things I really like about MA is the broad variety of activities that are covered. While I highly doubt I will ever find myself flying a turbine-powered model aircraft or doing control-line carrier, I really enjoy reading about these other aspects of the hobby, and suspect there are others like me. Before I rattle on for too long, many thanks for giving our little section of the hobby such wonderful coverage and keep up the great work in general.
Best regards, Tony Pavel Washington, DC
I think this issue with the indoor article and cover photo has to be one of the best ever. Thank you for having interest in our small end of the hobby. I have been doing this end of the hobby longer than I care to admit (about 50 years).
I think this new breed of fliers (Kagan, Max, and others) are the new backbone of the hobby. The young people that I have witnessed coming through Science Olympiad and other school programs have proven to be fantastic. I remember seeing and helping Dr. Mark Drela back when he was a schoolboy with his models and look where he is now (MIT). What a shame a third junior member could not attend the World Indoor Champs with the rest of the team this summer. We could have had another world champion team in the AMA fold. Whatever the politics involved were, we should never let that happen again. Please see that this can never happen again.
Thank you again and thermals when you fly.
Alan Mikitarian Palmyra, New Jersey
Aero Mail
Continued from page 7
John Zankl and his group of volunteers deserve a great big thank you. All week long I caught myself calling John on the radio; I felt bad asking so much from John and his crew. The AMA grounds crew helped make setup this year happen without a hitch. Behind the scenes there are so many tasks to be completed to make things run seamlessly.
So last but not least are the girls in registration:
- Joanne Brown
- Sue Giles
- Candy Kauffman
- Holly Swartz
- Kristie Walker
I pray that you will help again next year!
The board reviewed the event and discussed issues with AMA for planning 2009 in regards to safety and crowd control. Yes, I hate to say it, but crowd control is an issue as the event continues to grow. Craig Bradley has already attended the NATS planning meeting and plans have been put into motion to run the 2010 Heli Nats and the Jamboree concurrently, thus allowing the IRCHA to move its date slightly earlier in August.
With that, thanks to all of the people that attend the IRCHA Jamboree. Make your plans for attending August 12th through the 16th, 2009.
Dave Millner IRCHA president
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
