WITH RECORD attendance, a spectacular lineup
of aviation and aerospace presenters, and more than
110 exhibitors displaying the latest in
model aviation technology, this year’s
AMA Expo—the Academy’s annual
showcase—was the place to be. As in
previous years, it was held at the Ontario
Convention Center in Ontario, in Southern
California. This year it took place January 8-10.
“This was the first year we had a booth and it
went very well indeed,” wrote one exhibitor in the
postevent survey. “Your experience shows.
Registration and communications were all very
good.”
Numerous exhibitors ranked this year’s Expo as
“awesome.” With the AMA’s current tagline, “Get
the Bug—It’s Awesome,” this was a nice reaction
by many of the more than 5,200 attendees and
exhibitors.
And for the first time, the Expo featured an
event sponsor: Gorilla Glue. Thanks to that
company for its support.
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Youth in uniform were admitted free to the Expo, and
many of them headed straight for the RC simulators.
Above: Several AMA club representatives gathered in this seminar to
learn how to bring aviation projects to various educational settings, inside
and outdoors.
Above right: Young aviators were photographed in a one-of-a-kind, 1/3-
scale F-117, courtesy of its creator Richard Crupi and the Stealth for Kids,
USA group. Ben Flesher photo.
The Expo’s first sponsor—Gorilla Glue—supported the
make-and-take area. Astronaut Hoot Gibson (L) and
Navy Capt. Tom Huff help out.
A broad spectrum of helicopter offerings was shown at
the Expo.
Popular and crowded, the Swap Shop area featured all sorts of
collectibles and deals for those who were willing to poke around.
Photos by the author except as noted
anchors
The Academy’s promotional
efforts for the event landed
a spot on KTLA’s morning
show, where a few anchors
demonstrated the fun.
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Five-time space shuttle pilot and commander Robert “Hoot” Gibson spoke to a standingroom-
only crowd about his career, spanning model airplanes to outer space.
Col. Robert Thacker (holding plaque), who is retired from the Air Force, is flanked
by AMA leadership, guest speakers, and his F-16 at a ceremony inducting him into
the Model Aviation Hall of Fame.
Left: AMA President
Dave Mathewson (R)
presents Binyamin
Elkouby, of the San
Fernando Valley
Flyers (CA), with
an AMA Li fe
Membership card
for his first-place
recruiting efforts.
The Black Sheep Exhibition Squadron (CA) held prizeawarded
contests for kids frequently throughout the
weekend. Dave Gee and Tom Huff assist.
Local youth Sea Cadets provided color guard duty for Expo opening
ceremonies each day.
Efforts in composite technology are widely
used in today’s top RC Soaring designs.
Attendees looking for the latest battery
technology weren’t disappointed.
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NASA’s Hernan
Posada took center
stage to talk about
his exploits in
fighting forest fires
with Predators and
Ikhana Global
Hawks.
Pilots fly aerobatic foamies in the large, well-attended
demonstration area in the exposition hall. All manner of flying
was done there.
The showstopper in the static display area was this scratch-built Curtiss Condor by
Lawrence Klingberg Jr. of Huntington Beach CA.
Below: Burt Rutan, famed aerospace
designer, couldn’t resist the lure of flying a
micro-size helicopter.
A vast array of exhibits and demonstration areas made a memorable weekend for modelers who
attended the Expo from across the Southwest.
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Accomplished Full-Scale Aviators, Modelers
All: A succession of prominent aviation and
aerospace celebrities who made presentations
on the main stage, to the delight of Expo
goers, added special flair to the event this
year. It was all the more satisfying because
these accomplished full-scale aviators first
caught the “flying bug” with CL and RC
models when they were young. And, as did
many who attended, our guest speakers went
home laden with purchases.
“I trace it all back to those AMA days,”
said champion Reno air racer Jon Sharp. “It’s
gotten me to where I am in aerospace.”
As did many of the guest speakers, Jon
showed photos and home movies of his early
years with CL and RC airplanes he built. His
presentation took the audience up to the time
when he and his wife built his 400-plus mph
Nemesis NXT from carbon-fiber molds in his
home-based hangar.
Famed aerospace designer Burt Rutan, in
his customary brown leather jacket, wowed a
standing-room-only crowd with visuals
depicting his early years of model flying. He
also showed video of how a model thrown off
of a control tower proved to him that a
“feathered” re-entry for his SpaceShipOne,
which is now hanging in the Smithsonian
National Air and Space Museum, was critical
to his design and winning the Ansari Prize for
designing the first manned, commercial
launch and return from outer space.
Another presenter—Dan Kreigh—who
works for Burt at his firm, Scaled Composites
in Mojave, California, helped Burt with that
model and spaceship design. Dan described a
childhood filled with model aircraft that was
instrumental in preparing him for a
distinguished career in aerospace design.
As a former AMA club president, Navy
test pilot Capt. Tom Huff is no stranger to
model airplanes and “got the bug” at age 6.
Now he is in charge of the Naval Test Wing
Atlantic, based at Patuxent River, Virginia. H
lands full-scale F-18s on carriers at night, but
it all started with RC Aerobatics flying with a
Dalotel in his youth.
When it comes to ultimate challenges in
flight, Robert “Hoot” Gibson has gone where
few have, commanding and piloting the space
shuttle five times. This member of the
Astronaut Hall of Fame is also an AMA
member, and he began flying models at an
early age.
Hoot is especially interested in the
youngest generation. After showing slides of
connecting the shuttle with the Russian space
station Mir, he spent time with kids in the
education area of the Expo, helping them
build balsa models to test-fly.
Matt Chapman is an extraordinary
aerobatics pilot who thrills millions of air
show fans each summer. He took that
excitement to the Expo stage, showing slides
of his competitions as well as RC models he
has flown.
Matt was the highest-ranking American
pilot at the 1998 World Aerobatic
Championships, finishing third with a Bronze
Medal: only one of many prestigious awards
he has won. If all that isn’t enough, Matt is
also a respected airline captain with tens of
thousands of flight hours.
Sam Wright, the master of ceremonies
and an AMA member who is well known
nationwide, capably handled the stage
presentations.
More to See and Do: The static display
competition featured more than 50 winning
designs. Along with viewing these works of
art, children were encouraged to sit in a 1/3-
scale, nonflying model of a Lockheed F-117
Nighthawk that an AMA member, Richard
Crupi of Kentucky, built.
RC cars and RC boats also gave kids
and adults alike a hands-on thrill. Brought
back this year was the Swap Shop, which
was packed with all manner o
memorabilia and bargain hunters.
Notable as new exhibitors were the
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and
the U.S. Navy, the latter of which was
celebrating its 75th year in aviation. Lt. Cmdr.
Mike Biemiller gave a presentation about the
Navy’s long, illustrious history of defending
America from the air.
A 20-year veteran of the aviation industry,
Hernan Posada, has been flying remotely
piloted, unmanned aircraft for half of that
time. His presentation about how sUAS (small
unmanned aerial systems) are used to fight
wildfires in the far western part of the US was
fascinating. Hernan currently flies NASA’s
Ikhana, a Predator B modified for nonmilitary
use, and the Global Hawk.
Robert Thacker, a retired Air Force
colonel, was at the Expo for his induction into
the AMA’s Model Aviation Hall of Fame. At
age 94, he’s still flying models, cracking
jokes, and keeping all within earshot on their
toes. Robert showed his favorite F-16 model
on stage and spent time “talking shop” with
full-scale F-18 pilot Tom Huff.
The AMA’s 2009 membership drive
winner in the Member to Member category
was also celebrated on stage. Binyamin
Elkouby of the San Fernando Valley Flyers in
California received an AMA Lifetime
Membership card from AMA President Dave
Mathewson for his first-place recruiting
efforts.
At the center of it all was the new “AMA
Village,” which graphically extolled the many
AMA membership benefits. This was also a
gathering spot for all and a place for model
pilots to post notices citing when they “got the
bug” as youth.
The Expo will return to Ontario January 7-9,
2011. MA
Chris Brooks
chrisb@modelaircraft.org
Sources:
Gorilla Glue
(513) 271-3300
www.gorillatough.com
Stealth for Kids, USA (Richard Crupi)
(270) 424-9228
www.stealthforkidsusa.com
Nemesis Air Racing (Jon Sharp):
(661) 824-0333
www.nemesisnxt.com
NASA Dryden
(661) 276-3311
www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden/
United States Navy
www.navy.mil
Black Sheep Exhibition Squadron
(818) 899-5136
www.blacksheepsquadron.com
Scaled Composites
(661) 824-4541
www.scaled.com
Ontario Convention Center
(909) 937-3000
www.ontariocc.com
More Windows Inside the Expo
