Put this here since IMAA is (or was) an AMA special interest group.

Just received the following email from IMAA District VII Director Lloyd H. Swanson. The contents were a complete shock to me, as I knew that we had membership issues, but had no idea things were this bad. HighFlight has been my favorite hobby magazine since the demise of R/C Report; now where will I get all my (printed) Dick Pettit reviews?

Hello to everyone in Michigan,

Four months ago I took over as district seven IMAA director from Bill Oberdieck. In that time I have been spending time and effort in an attempt to revitalize the organization in the district without a lot of success to date.

As some of you may have heard through the grapevine the IMAA as an organization is closing the doors. Sadly I will have to confirm that this is a true statement. In a correspondence to the magazine advertisers Taylor Collins stated the context well and I am going to utilize what he “said”.

“I wish that I could contact each of you personally, but since time is of the essence, I'm afraid that this less personal e-mail message will have to do the job. Sadly, last night, the IMAA Board voted to cease operations and shut down the organization. We have struggled with declining membership, and increased costs, to the point that we cannot proceed beyond this point.

The Fall issue is at the printer now, and will be mailed to the members as planned. The Fall digital edition will also be available on the server, as it joins the three previous digital editions for our electronic subscribers. For those of you who have reserved ads in the Fall issue, there will be nothing unusual, except that there will be no Winter issue to follow.

Unfortunately, this will be the last issue of HighFlight Magazine that will be published. This marks the end of a 34 year history of the International Miniature Aircraft Association. Starting with our formation in 1980, at the Toledo Weak Signals Conference…. at a time when giant scale RC models were the exception, rather than the rule, the IMAA has been proud to be a part in the growth, development, and sharing of knowledge in this amazing "Big Bird" hobby. In 34 years,
the hobby has evolved from the point where the modeler had to grind large chunks of casting off an industrial engine… to the point where he can buy a completely ready-to-fly, IMAA legal model in the local hobby shop.

Words cannot express how honored I am to have been able to work with all you, over the past thirteen years. It just does not seem possible that I have overseen the production of 51 issues of HighFlight…. but they are all here on the bookshelf in my office, so it must be true. I want to Thank each of you for your loyal support, your help, and your friendship. I hope I'll see you at shows and events in the coming years, so that I can personally Thank You for being part of a
great adventure.

Sincerely,


Taylor Collins”

Please pass this along to whomever you need to and accept my thanks for your support in the past. The reality of not having the membership base to financially support the organization is an item that cannot be overcome. Unlike the federal government we can’t just raise the ceiling and print more money.

Do get in touch with any questions and I’ll field them as best I can. I hope to someday meet each of you at an event somewhere and sometime in the future. Until then blue skies and safe landings.

Best Regards,

Lloyd H. Swanson
Academy of Model Aeronautics - District VII Associate Vice President, Iowa
International Miniature Aircraft Association - District VII Director

Words cannot begin to express my dismay...