AMA District IX — Wyoming, Nebraska, North Dakota,
Kansas, Colorado, South Dakota
As published in the October 2015 issue of Model Aviation magazine.
Roughly this time last year, I asked all of our clubs to donate money for a District IX Youth Scholarship to Camp AMA. Matt Carlson from Omaha, Nebraska, was the first recipient of that scholarship. He attended Camp AMA 2015, June 7-13, in Muncie, Indiana. I had a chance to meet Matt at this year’s Big Bird Fun Fly in Grand Island, Nebraska.
After spending the day with him, I can tell you that you could find no better recipient for your donations. This youngster is not only an accomplished flier, but also a soft-spoken gentleman. Here’s a few of Matt’s words about that experience:
“This year, due to the generosity of District IX members, I had the opportunity to attend Camp AMA. It was a unique experience that I enjoyed.
“I shipped two planes to Muncie prior to the camp. I discovered how difficult it is to find boxes that fit RC planes and how much packing material is needed to secure the planes’ safe arrival!
“The camp itself provided some outstanding instructors—Jonathan Elie, AC Glenn, RJ Gritter, and Nick Maxwell. It was nice to meet these pilots and learn from them all week. There were around 40 campers in attendance who were from all across the US. I got to know many of them and learned from them as well.
“Every day we went to the flying field and flew all day. We also had access to flight simulators that you could use for practice. At night, we stored and repaired our planes in the AMA museum. One evening, we went to a local school gym and flew planes. I got to fly one of the camp’s Flyzone INUM planes.
“Another night, we had a campfire and did night flying. I couldn’t fly my planes because they don’t have lights, but the camp had a Carbon Cub with four giant LEDs, and I got to fly it. I realized, as many campers did, that you can lose your orientation when flying planes at night.
“I watched some pretty amazing crashes during the week, as you might guess. One of them ended in a LiPo fire. The battery ejected from the plane and burned several feet away. Safety when flying was emphasized and it was a good lesson.
“Several of the instructors and the experienced campers had an International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) competition. After watching this event, I would like to develop my flying skills to be able to do this in the future. It looks like a lot of fun.
“Thank you for sponsoring me, District IX. A special thanks to the 95th Street Club in Kansas City, for giving a gift, in memory of Darrell Watts, that provided a huge portion of my scholarship.
“I would encourage other young people to attend Camp AMA. It was a lot of fun! You can see more photos from Camp AMA 2015 on AMA’s Flickr page at www.flickr.com/photos/modelaircraft.”
I encourage all clubs to send a donation to fund a 2016 District IX Camp AMA scholarship. I am sure there are many other worthy young people in our district. If you or your club would like to donate, send a check made out to the AMA, and in the subject line write District IX Scholarship Fund. Send the checks to my mailing address (above left) and I will forward them to our account. If you have a youngster in mind, send his or her information as well.
The meeting with Matt happened at the District IX membership meeting, which was a part of the Grand Island Modelers Big Bird Fun Fly. What a great event at which to host our meeting. See more pictures of the meeting and the Big Bird Fun Fly on our Facebook page and website.
- Jim Tiller
District IX Vice President
jtiller@hotmail.com