Aerosonde

Aersonde used to be just up the road from me.

Typical media hype.

I took a quick peek at the site but

I'll talk to them this week and see if I can clarify the flight times.

Yes, it crossed the atlantic several years before Maynard Hill did it, but since it was too large to qualify under FAI rules, it didn't get the credit it deserved. Much of the design/construction work was done by one of the people who designed/constructed Daedalus, the human-powered aircraft that holds the world records for distance and duration.

Lots of interesting stuff going on in the commercial UAV market. A lot of it comes from the hobby and a lot of it could benefit the hobby. Too bad the AMA doesn't see the opportunities this presents.

Have you seen the pictures of Bert Rutan as a scale competitor back in the sixties? Lots of modelers go on to full scale stuff. Check out the book, "The Fullness of Wings" by Gary Dorsey for a look at how a bunch of modelers ended up at MIT, then went on to fame in the full scale world.

I do know Rutan got his start and interest with models. Don't recall the book you mention but yea, I know a lot of modelers and former modelers are now movers and shakers in the full scale and UAV industries. In fact, I do believe one of them was the first man to walk on the Moon!

Now why can't the AMA capitalize on that fact in some way? And I don't mean the fact of the moon but the whole thing about modelers going big time.