We are pleased to announce the appointment of Peter Vieira to the position of Editorial Director, Surface Group.

In this new role, Peter is responsible for content direction and management across a number of platforms including print and digital publications, e-newsletters, websites, and ancillary Air Age Media products within the surface RC category.

Peter is a familiar face at Air Age, having lead the RC Car Action editorial team as Executive Editor from 1997 to 2008. For the past five years, Peter has lent his creativity and insight to Traxxas’ marketing department, and now looks forward to new opportunities with Air Age Media.

“My time at Air Age was very fulfilling professionally and personally, as I worked with a talented and inspired creative team supported by engaged and enthusiastic owners and managers,” said Peter. “I couldn’t be more pleased about returning to the company and brands that have been such an integral part of my life, from my first exposure to the hobby with RC Car Action in 1986, to my decade-plus experience as a member of the Air Age team. Exciting things are ahead!”

Air Age Media CEO and Publisher, Louis DeFrancesco, shares Peter’s enthusiasm. “We are very excited to have Peter back at Air Age. His experience and knowledge of the market, along with the time he spent at Traxxas, will be a great asset here.”

Join us in welcoming Peter to Air Age Media. You can reach Peter at peterv@airage.com.

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Thursday May 2, the Top Gun flightline is a buzz with activities and there’s airplanes and pilots everywhere getting in flights. This is no easy task during any Top Gun event with the pressure and the excitement of such an impressive event. But add the threatening weather yesterday and today and you see everyone is making every minute count when it’s their turn at the pilot stations.

Here are some pix from the flightline and under the tents! More to come!!!

Click here for extensive coverage from Top Gun 2013!

The post Model Airplane News at Top Gun appeared first on Air Age Media.

Silver State Nitro challenge kicked off April 19, 2013 with RC Car Action‘s Aaron Waldron and Joel Navarro reporting on site. After four grueling days of racing in the middle of the Nevada desert, a modest trophy presentation recognized the top competitors in each of the ten racing classes. At this point in the weekend, you know you’ve done something right when the RC Car Action cameras are pointed in your direction – that means you’re one of the big winners.

Team Durango’s Ryan Lutz had perhaps one of the best weekends of his career at this year’s Silver State Nitro Challenge. Not only did he TQ all four classes that he entered (Pro Truck, Pro Buggy, Pro Electric Buggy, and 4WD Short Course Truck), but he absolutely dominated the 45-minute Pro Truck main event. Having led the field into turn one from the front of the grid, he held the top spot for all but a half-lap on his way to the win, crossing the line over nine seconds ahead of the field. One of the nicest and most humble racers in the pits, Ryan has endured several heartbreaking defeats over the years before putting it all together this weekend. I talked to him about what it was like to win his biggest event yet.

While the Pro Truck class saw a first-time winner make short work of the long main event, the Pro Buggy race was one for the ages. Former National Champions Adam Drake, Ryan Cavalieri, and Jared Tebo – each of them a former winner of the Silver State Nitro Challenge – battled it out for nearly the entire race with over ten lead changes among them. After 45 minutes of block passing and rut jumping the race came down to an uncharacteristic flameout after the final pit stop by Ryan Cavalieri, which allowed Jared Tebo to get by. Tebo held off a late-race charge from Cavalieri, the defending champion, to win by four and a half seconds. Jared’s race started on a rough note, with a mistake on the first full lap dropping him out of the top ten that mimicked that of his early race crash at The Dirt Nitro Challenge, which cost him a shot at the win after setting TQ at the event. Instead, Jared kept his head in it and fought back to take the win and I talked to him all about what it’s like to get some redemption by winning such an exciting race.

Check out the on-site coverage here.

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We celebrated the month of March in style thanks to HobbyKing for sponsoring our RC version of March Madness.

The Radio Control Show saw increased traffic given the “Watch and Win” sweepstakes with prizes from HobbyKing, and we’ll be announcing the winners on April 5th!

Creating exciting promotions and content is what we’re all about. We have our pulse on what is happening in RC and continuously work toward delivering this to our audience in the most compelling way.

We invite you to view the episodes on RCCarAction.com/RCShow.

The post A Mad Success! appeared first on Air Age Media.

This year marked Pro-Line’s 30th in the RC industry, a phenomenal achievement that the brand celebrated throughout the month of October by giving away official photo bodies and gift certificates (along with a special two-day sale a few weeks ago). On October 25, Pro-Line invited a small group of industry partners and friends for a special tour of the Pro-Line facility that included a rundown of production and packaging processes, a walk-through of their in-house R&D department, and a PowerPoint presentation of the company’s values and marketing goals. AirAge Media co-owner Yvonne DeFrancesco visited from Connecticut to present Pro-Line President Todd Mattson with a custom plaque to commemorate the accomplishment.

Attendees were then shuttled down Interstate 10 to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which takes its visitors about 2.5 miles from its Valley Station on the floor of the Coachella Valley, passing five different stations through Chino Canyon, before arriving at Mountain Station near the peak of Mt. San Jacinto. The largest rotating aerial tramway in the world takes about 10 minutes to complete a one-way trip, climbing from 2,643 ft. to 8,516 ft. in elevation and offering a spectacular view of the valley and forest below. After the airborne gondola ride the group convened at Las Casuelas Nuevas in Rancho Mirage, CA, for dinner.

Special thank you to Pro-Line for the hospitality, and congratulations on your 30th Anniversary!

The post Air Age Media congratulates Pro-Line on 30th Anniversary appeared first on Air Age Media.

Wilton, CT— Die Cast X magazine and Air Age Media are pleased to announce that Joe Kelly Jr. has been promoted to Editor-in-Chief. With more than 20 years of experience in the hobby and model car industry, his expertise and vision will allow him to guide Die Cast X into the future with a keen eye not only on this generation of enthusiasts, but also for those to come. His credits include his own self-published The Car Room Magazine (2008-2011), appearances on HGTV and SyFy television channels, a 2009 induction into the Diecast Hall of Fame as Diecast Historian, and his induction into the Diecast Zone Diecast Scale Model Hall of Fame in 2010. His passion for music, and his former career as a performer serve him well in his ultimate pursuit – voicing and expressing his love of “all things diecast” to the industry, and to the zealous readers and followers of Die Cast X.

“We are thrilled to elevate Joe to this role. He is a die-hard, diecast enthusiast with talent and expertise that will only expand our business and enhance the quality of the content we deliver across all our media channels,” states CEO and Publisher, Louis DeFrancesco.

The post Joe Kelly Jr. Named Die Cast X Editor in Chief appeared first on Air Age Media.

If you missed the premiere of the Die Cast X TV LIVE chat which aired September 18, you can still catch the excitement here! Hosted by Joe Kelly and featuring Mat Long of Acme Trading, and Sean Taylor of M2 Machines – both of these guys brought some outrageous first looks and shared some inside information about upcoming releases on the show. You won’t want to miss it!

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It’s not often that a really big, really new event springs onto the scene, but when it happens, the Model Airplane News crew takes notice. For this first time event, Horizon Hobby pulled all the stops and the US Air Meet held at the Sanford Sea Coast Airport in Sanford, ME was a huge extravaganza of RC action and entertainment. Joining the thousands of spectators, MAN, Electric Flight, and RC Car Action editors and the Air Age Media publishers were please to stake out our turf next to the flightline. We had a wonderful time meeting many RC fans and general aviation folks who showed up to spend the weekend enjoying the festivities.

There are giant turbine jets as well as electric powered ducted fan jets, giant RC artobatic 3D machines, RC aerobatic helicopters and lots of RC cars and races for the ground pounders. Check out some of the sites we photographed. Watch for full print coverage in the next issue of MAN.

Louis and Jonathan

On the flightline with Louis, Debra and Jonathan

Andy and Yvonne

See more coverage at ModelAirplaneNews.com here here, and from RCCarAction.com, here.
 

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Wilton, CT— RC Car Action magazine and Air Age Media are pleased to announce the promotion of Stephen Bess to Executive Editor.

Since he joined the company in 2010, Bess’ editorial leadership and knowledge of radio control has made him a valuable member of the RC Car Action editorial team. In his new role, Bess will be responsible for the overall strategic content direction of the brand, including magazines, special issues, RCCarAction.com, apps, membership sites and communities. He will also continue to provide our audience with the outstanding content they have come to expect from RC Car Action.

“Stephen has shown himself to be a high-level media professional and has extensive RC knowledge, both at the consumer and product levels,” said CEO Louis DeFrancesco. “His experience and contacts will continue to expand our audience reach and further develop the quality of content we deliver across all our media channels.”

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Wilton, CT, May 11, 2012 – RC Car Action magazine presented its prestigious Hall of Fame award to Gary Kyes at its annual Readers’ and Editors’ Choice awards banquet held in Long Beach, CA on April 28. Kyes, Senior Product Manager for Team Losi, a division of Horizon Hobby, was honored for his involvement in the RC industry for the past 40 years. Air Age Media CEO Louis DeFrancesco announced the presentation of the award at the culmination of the evening’s annual awards banquet. Following a surprise slide presentation highlighting Kyes’ contributions to RC, Bill Jeric, Team Losi president, presented the award to an astounded Kyes.

Kyes started working for the Losi family at the Ranch Pit Shop, which eventually became Team Losi in 1986. He continued working for Horizon Hobby after its acquisition of Losi in 2000 as a Senior Product Manager/Developer. During his presentation of the award, Jeric noted that “Gary is responsible for bringing many of the innovations to market in the RC car industry that customers now take for granted. Two of the more recent projects that he has been involved with are the Losi TEN-T and the Losi 5IVE-T.”

In addition to working in the RC industry, Kyes is also an avid RC racer and has won more than 30 National titles and two World Championships.

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