Ep 195: Greg Stone, Candidate for AMA President

[unknown speaker 00:00:05] Hello, everyone. Welcome to the RC plane lab podcast. So we sent out invitations to the three candidates that are running for the president of the AMA, and we will be releasing episodes with the candidates that respond. Greg Stone was the first one to schedule time with us to record.

[unknown speaker 00:00:19] So his is the first episode that we are releasing. We will also release episodes with the other candidates if and when we get a response from them. When I reached out to all of them, I requested about a 20-ish minute episode, because I figured that was just enough time to get to know their history and the hobby and what their vision is for the future of the AMA. I hope you enjoy my

[unknown speaker 00:00:39] conversation with Greg Stone. Let's get started. Thanks, Ron. Yeah, so Greg Stone, I mean, looking, you know, really for everyone's support, you know, in this kind of, you know, ask as I look towards the AMA presidency, I've been part of the council for, I'd say four years now, I've been involved with, you know, the district and other operations rolling up to that for many more years.

[unknown speaker 00:01:13] But also, I mean, a little bit about my background, I've been, I've been involved in model aviation for way too many years, 40, 50 years, you know, over 50 years, actually, going back to the early days, with my dad, you know, as many have, you know, had, had some sort of youth involvement with family, you know, started back in control line era, you know, got got into, you know, from there, actually, you know, shifted into model rocketry,

[unknown speaker 00:01:45] then shifted into, you know, RC, you know, back in the early days, you know, so the old, a little bit of escapement, but more when it, you know, started to just get into the, you know, single channel radio, and, you know, one plus one, all of that. And then, you know, that morphed much over the years through different avenues, whether it was, you know, expanding in RC, whether it was shifting to gliders,

[unknown speaker 00:02:13] slope soaring, you know, I've done a little bit of everything. Of course, you know, dropped out of it for, you know, a handful of years, you know, when the, when the kids were young, I think kind of naturally happens with most. And then that dragged me back in, you know, later on, you know, with a son who got involved and, you know, all of that. And so I've, you know, been heavily involved, you know, through really all facets over an awful lot of years, and just looking to see what I can do to

[unknown speaker 00:02:46] help, you know, kind of grow the hobby. Okay. And so you started then back when Nitro was the king. The only thing. What do you like to fly nowadays? Are you still an old Nitro guy? Or have you moved

[unknown speaker 00:03:05] on to something else? Well, I, you know, a few years back, you know, with, you know, the advent, of course, electric and gas coming along, I kind of shifted to electric and gas,

[unknown speaker 00:03:17] got rid of all of my Nitro stuff. But now I see it's about to come back. You know, I've been kind of dragged down the path of, say, Warbird pylon racing. And so, you know, picked up one of those planes, one of the Nitro engines, I'm gonna have to relearn how to, you know, start and tune those engines, you know, after having shifted, you know, electric, simple gas is not as hard as Nitro, I think. And so, yeah, it's still a little bit of everything. But, you know, for me personally,

[unknown speaker 00:03:50] I've got pretty much everything from the little microelectrics through giant scale, whether it's, you know, large Warbirds, whether it's large aerobatic and 3D aircraft, sailplanes still have some control line, you know, want to kind of dabble back in that I just actually just picked up one of the, I still have my old original handle from years ago, but picked up one of the remote

[unknown speaker 00:04:22] handles now. So it's actually basically a radio control, control line handle. So you can, you know, adjust engine speed and control other features like retracts and that on planes. So watched one of those fly a couple weeks ago. I gotta, I gotta kind of try everything. Yeah. And that's a good

[unknown speaker 00:04:44] way to be. You don't know what you like until you try it all. But I will say with control line, I don't think that's anything I can get into because I would get so dizzy. Like I watch those guys and I don't, especially like the combats and stuff. I have no idea how they can handle that

[unknown speaker 00:04:59] and not fall over and just puke. Exactly. Yeah. I'm not sure I could do combat. but, but stunt was, it was a relatively safe one. and I think I, you know, I think I could probably still do that today because I agreed. I, I'm not sure I could go around in circles too many times without falling over. but at least with stunt, you can kind of stop for a bit and do some loops and do some

[unknown speaker 00:05:25] outside loops and some figure eights and not be spinning lines. Right. Exactly. so you said you've, you're kind of into every aspect of the hobby. Have you ever, flown turbines or have

[unknown speaker 00:05:38] you, do you have your waiver or anything for that? I have flown them. that's probably another area I'm going to get into very soon. I've got, you know, people kind of, you know, asking me when I'm going to get into that. and I've got some local resources. I have flown them. I don't currently have my waiver. so I'll probably be looking to do that, you know, in the near term. Nice. That, that covers about everything then. Yeah. I'd say the only thing that I'm

[unknown speaker 00:06:06] dabbling in a little, but I'm very hesitant on is helicopters. You know, I would say I am dangerous with those little ones I can hit walls and ceilings very easily. So, I've, I've got one that has, you know, flight control stabilization and pretty much auto land capability so that I can kind of learn it properly, but I'm still scared of it. Yeah. Learn it without fear of

[unknown speaker 00:06:36] having something very bad happen. Yeah. Helicopters. And I know it's, it's probably cause I'm not around them too much, but helicopters scare me. Like, I'll be honest, like when they do TikToks and all that kind of stuff, it's just like, if that breaks apart, where are the blades going? But exactly, exactly. That's, that's why this is the RC plane lab podcast. Cause we're heavily into airplanes and I mean, really we don't do much else, as the group of guys that normally, normally host this. so do you have a favorite part of the hobby that

[unknown speaker 00:07:11] you have dabbled in or that you seem to, or maybe like a favorite part that you try something new, but you always come back to a core type of airplane? I'd say primarily just acrobatic.

[unknown speaker 00:07:24] and I've, again, I've kind of done everything. I mean, I haven't got into float flying a while, a couple of years ago. That is fun. In, in that, you know, again, acrobatic type planes. but yeah, I'd say acrobatic and, you know, the, the military, the warbirds, you know, they have heavy metal,

[unknown speaker 00:07:43] you know, P 47, P 51. Yeah. So you're more into a scale type of airplane than

[unknown speaker 00:07:51] something. Yeah. And I picked up something, you know, recently or actually a couple of years ago, you know, that I've kind of had an interest in and I can't, I think it was an RC modeler, you know, way back when, you know, as we kind of think about some of the, the older scale, was one of the early days of the cap model. So the French acrobatic planes. so I picked up, one of, one of the, composite, one of those to be built. So one of these days, you know,

[unknown speaker 00:08:24] I've got that kind of project stage. but that aircraft with all the, you know, not so much with straight lines, everything was curved on it. So it had some flair. And so, you know, I've, I've got that kind of in the hanger as, as something for, you know, rainy day project.

[unknown speaker 00:08:41] Yeah. We all have rainy day or rainy day projects, but the rainy days don't seem to be enough yet at this point to get to them all. So what, what kind of drove you to go from a modeler who really likes airplanes, who likes flying helicopters or whatever else to wanting to run for the president

[unknown speaker 00:09:03] of the AMA? A handful of things. and you know, some of it goes back to, you know, club operations and, you know, doing what's necessary there to support clubs and, and try and drive training programs, youth programs. And that, as I think about, you know, AMA over the years, you know, I think we've lost our way a bit, you know, we, we don't have as much, or I'll call it sufficient focus on, you know, youth and education. And, you know, we've got declining membership.

[unknown speaker 00:09:40] We've really got to be working in those areas. and one of my passions that I've had for a lot of years, you know, it's kind of education, you know, I'm not an educator by trade, I'm a finance person. So that's one of my roles within AMA is, you know, work within the finance area. but one of the key things I've been involved in for a lot of years is different aspects of education as it relates to modeling. so as I've had kids come up through, you know, mostly once they got into

[unknown speaker 00:10:17] middle school and high school is the National Science Olympic Foundation and that program, they've got a couple, aircraft or helicopter based, programs that, you know, are part of the national competition. and so I got involved in supporting those and actually run, one of the, you know, regional competitions here for the, for the Southern part of the state.

[unknown speaker 00:10:44] and I've done that for, I'd say going on, I think 18 years. and then, you know, as kind of a follow-on to that, you know, as, as my son got into college and getting into engineering and that, I also found kind of the next level programs that really help drive a learning model and support for getting, you know, getting into college, getting through college, getting into internships and

[unknown speaker 00:11:15] careers, you know, in mostly engineering, you know, background areas, be it, you know, electrical, mechanical, aerospace structures, all of that. And that is the design, build, fly programs that are managed by industry out there. So SAE's design, build, fly, AIAA's design, build, fly.

[unknown speaker 00:11:37] And they hold competitions, you know, here in the U S they're global competitions. So we'll get a hundred universities, anywhere from 80 to a hundred universities competing, in those events, internationally. and the big thing that can happen there is, is these students can learn a whole nother set of skills that they're not going to get, you know, purely from the book work in college. And that is, you know, kind of working as a team, you know, working towards a common goal that involves multiple disciplines. And I think we

[unknown speaker 00:12:12] need to do a lot more to connect with those programs and help nurture students and youth into those, as they see, you know, the extra benefits they can get from, you know, aiming for those things, whether it's, you know, through a high school program, getting into and, you know, figuring out, you know, what they can do and, and where they want to go in college or where they want to go in industry, you know, whether it's, you know, A and P mechanic type work, whether they want to get into

[unknown speaker 00:12:44] aerospace, we've got a huge need out there. But as you think about, you know, who gets hired, who gets the internships, who gets hired? It's the students that have these extracurricular, you know, engagements and activities, you know, that they've been involved in, whether it's, you know, getting into the internship, and, you know, whether it's a Boeing, or, you know, somebody like that, they're looking for the students that bubble to the top with some of these extra capabilities,

[unknown speaker 00:13:16] you know, to work as teams and work cross discipline in those areas. And so I want to see us focus more in those areas, and help drive a lot of those aspects. And, you know, these are students that can, you know, dabble in model aviation, that's what these programs are, they've got, they get their, they give, they get a plan each year for a type of mission that has to be flown. And so they've got design an aircraft and flight plan around that, from an RC perspective, and work together as a team.

[unknown speaker 00:13:50] And so I just, I want to see us work more in that kind of youth area, and across all youth, I mean, it starts down at the elementary level, you know, whether it's free flight, rubber powered, you know, hand launch, discus launch, there's lots of avenues to engage youth through all the different age groups, and get them into model aviation, they may just like me, they may disappear for a handful of years. But, you know, once you spark that interest, it can lead to, you know,

[unknown speaker 00:14:21] long term careers, and they're going to come back.

[unknown speaker 00:14:25] Yeah. And one of the things too, I think that we have seen is the simplicity of the airplanes that are available now, compared to what it would have been, you know, a couple decades ago, you can get into the hobby at a young age, and actually not have a ton of money tied up, if you just have one or two planes, and still be able to enjoy the hobby, without being so deep into it. Whereas before, to have, you know, one or two planes was a completely different level of,

[unknown speaker 00:14:58] what's the word I'm looking for, level of time and build commitment. Exactly. Yeah. Thank you. Just for keeping a couple planes going. So yeah, by getting in, into a younger generation that would hopefully give them some reasons to kind of want to get in and stay for a little bit longer.

[unknown speaker 00:15:18] Absolutely. And that's another piece that I think we need to, again, we don't, we don't really have, from my perspective, and I think we need to get into is that simpler, easier, a little bit more exciting aspect of what can be done at that youth level. They're looking, you know, they're not looking to build something that's going to take months and be, you know, elaborate, all of that.

[unknown speaker 00:15:44] They're looking for the quick, simple thing that can be built, but something that can be done easily and creatively. You know, I looked all the foam board type things out there, you know, they're available. I mean, we can get somebody in cheap, they can get, you know, have it, you know, easily repairable. I mean, it's, it's Dollar Tree foam board with, you know, hot glue gun and, you know, create whatever type of aircraft you want. You know, the rest of the electronics can be sourced, you know, inexpensively. You're not putting $500 into an airplane that, you know, parents are going to be

[unknown speaker 00:16:19] concerned about, you know, what's the spend and what's the longevity, get them in cheap, get them excited, get them into all of the, there's lots of technology they can play with from cameras and autonomous flight. And, you know, they're into the, the programming pieces and the creativity. So, you know, let's, let's also work on some of those opportunities and, you know, provide some of those resources there to, you know, help excite the youth more. Right. Yeah. And that's a good thing

[unknown speaker 00:16:55] to focus on, I think, because as you said before, and, you know, I can tell the clubs that I belong to, the mean average age of the pilots that are there are not being replaced with, with younger ones. you have more, you know, moving on from the hobby than you do coming into it. so there's a

[unknown speaker 00:17:17] decline. Yeah. And, and, and to that, I mean, we, we really do need to spark some of that at the younger age and there, there's different approaches I've seen, you know, take there and, and, and different things that are coming up. I mean, I've got a very large club up and up in Northern California that has really embraced the youth aspect and, they've actually evolved to over 50 youth members, created their own board, their own events. and there's a lot to be said

[unknown speaker 00:17:50] for really nurturing that. The other piece that I've seen spark a lot of interest in it's crossing from the youth into, you know, some of the adults is the whole 3d printing aspect. Yeah. Design, design your planes and, and design for the, the variable mission. I mean, they're creating planes that, you know, take off vertically and then transition to forward flight, you know, can carry payloads. there's all kinds of, of things that can excite and challenge, you know, these youth and,

[unknown speaker 00:18:23] and also the adults, you know, with some of these, these newer technologies. And, you know, I think we need to share and do more, you know, with some of those, those new areas and, and the excitement that can be gained and interest from something new. I agree. so do you have any

[unknown speaker 00:18:41] other ideas or anything else? Like give us, give us your sales pitch. Why, why should we vote for Greg?

[unknown speaker 00:18:49] I think the, the, the main thing is that, from my perspective, we've, we've, we've a little bit, as I said earlier, lost our way. I think we've got to re-energize and refocus on youth, all aspects of youth, everything we can do to excite and nurture and grow that community. you know, everything we can do to strengthen membership, you know, across the board, you know, so not just youth, there's lots of avenues there that can be, you know, pursued. but

[unknown speaker 00:19:24] we've got to really kind of come together as a hobby. We've, we've seen, we've had some issues over the years with, you know, collapse or loss of, you know, hobby shops, kind of the brick and mortar and everything being, you know, online. but the things are still out there. Things are still available. So we need to really focus on kind of youth education, membership growth, nurturing that. And the other piece there is build and support more for the clubs, you know, clubs don't always have all the

[unknown speaker 00:19:58] ideas, but what we can do to share things that are working in, in certain clubs and give clubs the tools to, you know, help strengthen membership, strengthen involvement, you know, grow where they are.

[unknown speaker 00:20:12] You know, can certainly help. And so I think, you know, we've got to broaden our reach, broaden the excitement, that we can promote out there and then do everything we can to, you know, instill interest in all age groups, all the way up to really, you know, strengthen and grow

[unknown speaker 00:20:59] the hobby. Buzzword STEM, you know, I think we certainly need to be, you know, have be dabbling and focus in those areas. And again, through all of the age groups, whether it's elementary, all the way up through college. and then, you know, on top of that, I just ask for everybody's support and, you know, kind of helping, help me help them, you know, in, in kind of, you know, redirecting where we're going, you know, from the NAMA perspective.

[unknown speaker 00:21:31] Well, that sounds very good. And, I wish you luck and we will, okay. So I know this is, I should know this offhand, but so ballots have to be mailed in by November 7th.

[unknown speaker 00:21:44] Yeah. They've got to be postmarked by November 7th.

[unknown speaker 00:21:47] And then when is the, like, when is the winter announced?

[unknown speaker 00:21:51] I would say it's probably going to be seven to 10 days after that. We have to wait for the, the, the trickle in to kind of subside. I got you. And the county will commence and that likely will be done in a day.

[unknown speaker 00:22:05] Okay.

[unknown speaker 00:22:06] I'd say mid-November.

[unknown speaker 00:22:08] Mid-November, we will know. Okay. well, if there's nothing else you would like to add, I would like to just thank you then for coming on.

[unknown speaker 00:22:16] Okay. Well, thank you very much for having me.

[unknown speaker 00:22:18] Yeah. No problem. Like I said, I should have done this earlier. I understand, but timing just doesn't always work out. Everything gets in the way. Oh, you can say that again. but anyway, so thank you very much for coming on. I do appreciate you taking the time out of your day to talk to us. and once this is up, I will send you a link and you will be able to share this with all your buddies and even people you don't know to try and get them to vote for Greg.

[unknown speaker 00:22:43] in that case, I will say goodbye. And if you want to give the final words, we will take this out.

[unknown speaker 00:22:50] Great. Thanks everybody. Appreciate your support. And, and as again, ask for your vote. Thank you.

[unknown speaker 00:22:56] All right. Thank you everybody. Goodbye.

[unknown speaker 00:22:58] We hope you enjoyed this episode of the RC plane lab podcast. For topic suggestions, to ask questions, or to give anything back, connect with us at rcplanelab.com or email us direct at either ron at rcplanelab.com or tom at rcplanelab.com. You can also text us or leave us a voicemail at 818-351-9846. Please subscribe, rate, and review us on your favorite podcast app. Until next time, may your landings be gentle.

[unknown speaker 00:23:26] UNKNOWN: We'll see you next time. We'll see you next time. We'll see you next time. We'll see you next time.