USRA Goes to Muncie:
I've just returned from Muncie, Indiana where USRA representatives attended meetings with the AMA concerning their Giant Scale Racing standards, and their requirement for additional insurance for racing aircraft over 20 pounds. I am pleased to report to you that the AMA has approved our proposed update to the standards, and have removed the requirement for additional insurance for our races. What this means is that our races can now be sanctioned by the AMA, and the promoters do not need to purchase costly insurance to hold a race. The participants at these races will also be covered by the AMA policy just like they are at other R/C events. I believe this shift in AMA policy will have a tremendous impact on our sport by lowering the costs associated with organizing an event, and by increasing the awareness level of Giant Scale racing. These developments will go into effect immediately, so this year's races will be AMA sanctioned. You will most likely see a reduction in entry fees at the races, and a few procedural changes as well. I am already putting together next month's report, which will give you more detail on how these changes will impact you, but I think you will find them to be very minor. I want to take this opportunity to thank the entire Board of Directors for helping me to draft these proposals. I also want to thank the USRA members who came all the way to Muncie to stand shoulder to shoulder with me as we addressed the AMA. Vice President Scott Hanbury, Event Organizer Loren Tregellas, Don Moden, and Pete Bergstrom from Horizon/Zenoah all made the trip and were big supporters of the USRA. Our large presence was duly noted by the AMA, and went a long way towards impressing the council with our serious determination. I also want to thank the members of the AMA's Safety committee, Insurance committee, Executive Council, and staff for their assistance in guiding us through this policy change. Carl Maroney of the AMA was instrumental in getting these changes made, and we owe him our sincerest gratitude. Carl attended our event in Ohio last year, and the positive comments that he made about his experience carried a lot of weight with the Executive Council. The entire USRA contingent was very impressed with the level of discussion and thought that the Safety Committee and the Executive Council gave to every item on their agenda. As a group, we came away from the meetings with a very positive impression of the AMA and the way it conducts its business.
Sponsored By…….ZENOAH !
With these new AMA policy changes comes more good news. Our good friends at Horizon Hobby and Zenoah, specifically Pete Bergstrom and Peter Goldsmith, have agreed to sponsor all three of the races that make up the USRA World Championship Series this year. The total amount of the sponsorship for the year comes to just shy of $13,500 in Zenoah products! You can expect to see us award multiple Zenoah GT-80 and Zenoah G-62 engines at every race this year. Zenoah and Horizon are also spending more money to advertise our racing series dates and locations in national model magazines such as Model Aviation and Model Airplane News. I'm very pleased and proud for our series to be associated with such well-respected companies like Zenoah and Horizon, and our partnership will surely raise the awareness and participation levels in Giant Scale Racing across the country. My sincerest thanks go to Pete Bergstrom for putting this sponsorship package together, and also for his help with the AMA policy change.
Well that wraps up this supplemental report….I hope you are all as excited as I am about these latest developments. You will find that not only will you be spending less to race this year, you will also be getting more in return. If that is not reason enough to get a racer together for the upcoming year, then I don't know what else I can do! Don't let this year slip buy without racing in our series, it looks like it will be one of the best ever!
Ken McSpadden