Written by JM (01/1974); Transcribed & Formatted by JS (06/2010)
Profile of a Life Member Mike Flinsch
This month we want you to meet Mike Flinsch, AMA Life Member number L-10. If you meet Mike in the business world, it’s Dr. Flinsch. He has a PhD in astronomy, is administrative director for a New Jersey astronomical observatory, develops telescopes for manufacture, is active in related organizations: New York Academy of Science, Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, and enjoys a vice presidency in the International Union of Amateur Astronomers. Mike likes to fly full size sailplanes and powered craft. He and wife Patricia have two fine children, Kathleen Michelle, 3, and Francis Jr., 4; when time permits, they all go hiking, camping and fishing.
How does a busy astronomer find time to tinker with little models? Like so many of us, he got hooked on them as a kid. He first stuck together with a rubber job with balsa sticks, tissue paper, and flue. Graduating to bigger things, he built some seven of the Cleveland Super Condors and towed them aloft with 300 to 500-foot lines using bicycles and automobiles. Now interested in Radio Control, he has joined the New Jersey Tri-County Radio Control Club.
Let Mike tell you in his own words why he joined AMA’s exclusive Life Member group; “I realize the many benefits modeling has given me in the past. I hope it will continue to do so for a long time into the future. I can look back and see my experiences in building and flying models as a beneficial effect on my education and life in general… I feel the contribution I have made to AMA in the form of a Life Membership fee is an investment in the future. Finally, as I intend to live to be at least 100 years old, my membership fees are paid in advance, and I do not have to worry…”
Good thinking, Mike. We’re pulling for your centurial birthday cake, and with dedicated members like you, maybe the Academy can be around to light the candles.
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