Letters to the Editor
5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Getting Back to Normal?
I would like to thank all who wrote letters and flying fields around the country for showing support of our great nation and the rescue effort that changed my life and all of our lives forever.
September 11 started out as a beautiful morning. I had packed my Kyosho Corsair in my car for a nice day at the field when the call came in.
I am a police officer assigned to the Emergency Service Unit in NYC. We are the equivalent to SWAT teams, and also do SCUBA and high angle rope rescue among other services.
My unit of 348 people lost 14 among the 23 lost in the NYPD. Three were from Squad 2 where I am stationed.
Thank you for all the letters of support and prayers. Over two months has passed and we are still working at what the nation calls "Ground Zero," and what we have come to call simply "the pile."
As for the Corsair, well the 90+ mph drive into the city from home damaged it beyond repair. I'll have to find the time to get another somehow one of these days.
We are finally getting one day off a week while working 12- to 16-hour days. I'll have to find the time to take the advice of our president and get back to "normal."
Fly safe and God bless America.
Vincent Aprea Levittown, New York
I have been flying RC for only a year, but am old enough to know what being an American is all about. At age 52 I have been drafted and served a tour of duty in Vietnam with the 2bn 19th Arty, 1st Air Cav.
Your [January 2002 "Modeling Spoken Here"] article was right on. I am not good at writing letters, but felt I had to give you a "thanks" for a well-written article.
How many people go out to the flying field and fly all day on Veterans Day? Memorial Day? Independence Day?
These holidays are becoming more of a reason to have a big sale at the mall than a day to observe our history, and give thanks to the men and women of the armed forces that gave the ultimate gift to us: their life!
In this case, going about our daily routine is what we have to do. Terrorism is designed to disrupt normal activities and have people fear for their safety in their normal routine. Going to a gathering is what we should do.
Thanks for your time if this is read, and keep up your great articles.
Bob Davis Jacksonville, Florida
First Visit to AMA Headquarters
The trip from Franklinville NY to Muncie IN on October 26 started off rather ominous. An early lake-effect snowstorm provided very slick road conditions for the initial 150 miles of our very first journey to AMA Headquarters. This, after being invited to attend the October Executive Council (EC) meeting.
My wife Diane said nothing as I pressed on, passing empty vehicles in medians and ditches. Living in Western NY prepares one well for such travel.
Upon reaching the Cleveland area, the weather improved and so did our speed for the remaining 350 miles yet to travel. We went straight to AMA Headquarters when reaching the Muncie area. I found the receptionist helpful in answering a few of my questions.
My wife and I teamed up with Dave Mathewson, our District II Vice President, and Dave gave us the king's tour, showing us every part of "our" new Headquarters building.
I wondered why we needed to spend the money to build this building, but one look at where our AMA employees previously worked answered that question very clearly. It was sorely needed.
I learned that this building was built well under the approved budget, and it is beautiful. Plenty of space exists for staff growth as AMA membership increases. We had the opportunity to meet with all of the people that are key in the day-to-day operation and found them friendly and knowledgeable.
Saturday the 27th saw the start of the EC meeting, beginning at 8 a.m. Most of the District VPs wear a suit or coat and tie in this corporate boardroom atmosphere. Our President Dave Brown has a commanding knowledge of all matters discussed.
Dave is a bit like myself, a bull in a china closet, in that he has strong opinions and isn't shy about expressing them. This is, however, what we elect a president to do: lead! Dave lets everyone else express his or her views, even non-Council members like myself.
Our Executive Director Joyce Hager, being the longest lived on-site AMA employee in a number of years, and rank, has an up-close and personal view of that which takes place on a daily basis at Muncie, as well as the various flying site functions that take place throughout the year.
I was most impressed with Doug Holland, AMA Executive VP. Doug is a true southern gentleman and one of the most knowledgeable financial people I have had the privilege to speak with. He is one of the primary reasons why AMA is in a healthy financial condition.
We are very fortunate to have them on staff. The EC meeting lasted until after 6 p.m., with the Council members taking only a couple of short breaks. Sandwiches were brought in while the Council met through the lunch hour.
Being an AVP in District II, I was one of the privileged few that was able to attend the Executive Session, which is held behind closed doors. This is where only the Council members and legal counsel attend, and they quite frankly take off the gloves.
What is discussed in this session stays here. While I didn't agree with all of the comments and ideas put forth, the discussions were healthy and democratic.
My focus this day was to learn how the EC functions. I also observed the VPs that I personally know. I found that Bob Brown of District III has the wisdom and leadership that 14 years on the EC provide. Doug Holland described Dave Mathewson of District II as a "thinker."
Their votes are based upon what is best for the AMA organization as a whole. Based upon what I saw, it would be beneficial if our VPs had the EC meeting agenda well in advance of making their quarterly trip to Muncie.
This would aid them in preparing for the discussions of the next EC meeting. It would also allow them to conduct polling within their district's membership, and in effect provide more direct input into the EC meeting from their membership.
The Council meeting continued into Sunday, taking up most of the morning prior to adjourning.
AMA membership should know that their representatives put in long hours, discussing the issues that directly impact all of us. The EC meeting isn't a party that they attend!
The flying sites at AMA Headquarters have to be seen to be believed. They are among the most impressive in the world, with hundreds of acres permanently designated for the various flying disciplines.
I just had to get a couple of flights in with my Zagi before departing.
Having attended many corporate meetings in my adult life, I wondered about the caliber of people I would meet in Muncie. I left AMA Headquarters believing that we are in the hands of some very fine and capable people, who care as much about our hobby as we do.
They also take very seriously the task of protecting our national organization from domestic outside threats like frequency intrusions.
I am thankful for having this experience. I strongly recommend that if you have the opportunity, go and see "our" AMA, and fly for yourself.
Gary M. Fitch Franklinville, New York
Continued on page 154
Letters
Frank Ehling: Silent Genius
Frank was a Jersey boy born in Jersey City and was an original member of the Kresge Aero Club. As everyone knows this group was the true foundation of gas-powered Free Flight.
I first met Frank at Teterboro Airport where the 1939 Wakefield Championships were held, and at that time there was a large adjacent property where we, thankfully, were allowed to fly.
Frank and the late Jack Florenzie showed up there together in Frank's father's hearse filled with models. Frank was always a very quiet person — a man of few words, but always a great performer. Did his stuff fly!
We became very close friends and he nicknamed me the "Big Red Duster" because every time we went to a contest I would always ask if "we were going to dust the competition off today."
In the inner circle of his closest friends he was known as "VIBs." His mother's maiden name was Van Buren, and Frank loved to be called VIBs in private, but in the public arena it had to be Frank.
Frank was the chief designer for JASCO products, and I had the wonderful experience to meet and know the entire Zac family as well as their draftsman and later designer, Bill Dean.
John Zaic would custom-cut all of our balsa, and Frank knew more about wood selection than anyone I ever met. In his book there was specified a special cut of wood for every single area on a model airplane, as well as a specific weight for each sheet size.
I think he definitely was one of the first people to ever approach the subject of building materials' strength and weight very early on.
Also, in those days, kit manufacturers had every color tissue in the world available as long as it was white! So Mr. Ehling, through experimentation, came up with a secret way to dye the tissue after it was applied to the model.
Our small group was sworn to secrecy on this method. To this day I doubt that very many people ever knew our models were dyed.
Al Lewis, editor and publisher of Air Trails, recognized Frank's fantastic amount of ability and hired him as a full-time designer.
Frank's imagination was so quick, and he was turning out ideas in such great quantities, that he had to adopt a pen name so that the magazine did not come out every month with too many Ehling-authored articles!
So what better or more appropriate name than that "Captain Van Buren"? (Frank, please don't take away my thermals for disclosing this.)
I would, without doubt, say that Frank Ehling was the most prolific and productive designer of Free Flight competitive models that ever touched the drawing board. And he built and tested every one of them.
Frank's family on his mother's side owned a small resort in New York state where Frank designed and built his own home. Few people are aware of the fact that Frank had a large aviary and studied the flight of birds. In fact, he was an authority on the breeding of rare and exotic birds.
I would visit Frank on weekends and we would build and fly together. He never carpeted all the floors in his house and we drew our plans and built directly on the uncarpeted dining room floor.
This was my learning center on the art of how to build tapered and elliptical wings — a preferred platform of Frank's because they resisted warping. I also learned from Frank about the art of ZIP-ZIP airfoils.
While I was carefully and laboriously laying out an airfoil Frank would knock out a rib with a razor in the blink of an eye. I still have and cherish some of his original templates.
He also had a deep understanding of structures and spar size and placement, always keeping them strong and light.
Frank, other than working in the family business, devoted his entire life to model aviation. He was a founding member of the Kresge model airplane club, the first model club devoted to Free Flight gas-powered model airplanes.
Some of his greatest achievements were aiding in the development of the Payload events by consulting with Pan American airlines. His designs in this arena were famous. In fact, more than fifty percent of the models participating in the Nationals in Payload were Frank's designs.
I also witnessed the development of the Dale Dart experiments and helped Frank build jigs which he took to the WRAM Show and started engineers' classes in building and flying the Dart — a program which to this day still exists.
I hope that in recognition of his many achievements, this program will someday bear his name.
Now, whenever I hear the subtle sound of a prop folding or the scream of a Free Flight engine on the way up, I look up in the sky and hope that my dear old friend is soaring around up there on one great endless thermal.
I miss you VIBs, but the world is a better place because you were here!
MA
Krino Laffler Sussex, New Jersey
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
