From the US Senior Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) F3J team, courtesy of AMA member Josh Glabb:
There is a GoFundMe fundraiser for the 2024 US Senior FAI F3J Team that will compete in the FAI World Championships for Model Gliders in Norway in late July. The F3J team pilots include Amy Pool, Neal Huffman, Jody Miller, Dave Bradley Jr., and Josh Glaab, who will be the team alternate pilot and team manager. The included photo below is from the 2022 World Championship team award in Levice, Slovakia, where the US won the gold medal.
Amy Pool has been flying and competing at a very high level for years. Amy has many wins in her competition history and frequently instills fear in her male counterparts at RC Soaring events. Many men consider it to be a great competition day if they can beat her. Amy is the returning Female World Champion pilot, and she cherishes her role in the 2022 US F3J Team’s gold-medal win probably more than being a world champion. In 2022, the F3J rules were changed to allow teams to include up to four pilots if one was a female.
Amy participated in the preceding US Team Selection and was up to the challenge of heading to Levice, Slovakia, to represent the US Team. The plan was for Amy to serve as a backup if one of the male pilots didn’t have a good showing. She flew with incredible determination, focus, and skill. Not only did she provide a backup score for the team award, but she qualified for the flyoffs and was the number two US pilot. Her contributions directly resulted in the US F3J Team winning the gold medal by a large margin. As a note, the women at the 2022 FAI F3J World Championship put on quite a show, with Amy in the flyoffs and Carolin Weihe just missing the flyoffs for Team Germany.
Neal Huffman is a three-time US F3J Team pilot and came in second place in Levice, Slovakia, in 2022. Neal has been flying at the world champion level for many years and is passionate and committed to competing at a very high level. Neal’s performance in 2022 was excellent, just missing winning overall. In 2018, Neal qualified second overall, had a midair in the flyoffs, and placed fifth.
Jody Miller is also a three-time US F3J Team Pilot who finished second in 2018 in Romania. Jody didn’t make the 2022 US F3J Team but served as the team manager. In this capacity, Jody excelled in 2022 and was a major reason that the US team won the gold medal. For this cycle, Jody has the ability to be the first person to win a US F3J Team gold medal as both a pilot and team manager.
Dave Bradley Jr. qualified for his first US F3J Team in 2023. Dave has been flying for decades, starting as a child. Dave brings power and mastery to soaring, and he drives his aircraft optimally. Dave had a great 2023 season and definitely leveled up his pilot skills significantly.
Josh Glaab has been flying RC sailplanes for 50 years and is the US F3J Team alternate pilot. Josh was also part of the gold medal-winning 2022 USF3J Team and was the number one US qualifying pilot in Levice, Slovakia (qualifying third overall). Josh came in fifth in the flyoffs. For this cycle, Josh is the senior team manager and joins Jody as the only individuals able to win gold medals as both team pilots and team managers.
