Robert L. "Bob" Underwood (1931-2024)

ROBERT L. "BOB" UNDERWOOD was born on October 16, 1931, in Plymouth, Indiana. Sadly, he passed away on June 20, 2024, at the age of 92.

In his childhood, Bob built many types of model aircraft, ranging from scratch-built Free Flight to Control Line (CL) sport models. His modeling activity halted after he reached high school, when photography, school, and running track consumed most of his time. When he returned from his time in the Army in 1956, his modeling activity resumed.

Between 1956 and 1966, Bob built a Sterling American Scout electric-powered RC cargo ship, a scratch-built Mississippi River tugboat, and an unfinished submarine. He briefly took interest in HO-gauge railroading; however, this was short-lived, and he was back to aeromodeling in no time. He spent the remainder of the 1960s learning about the hobby and becoming involved with local St. Louis modeling groups.

In doing so, Bob became president of the Signal Chasers Radio Control Club for five years and was chair of the Great St. Louis Modeling Association (GSLMA) for eight years. He believed that his time as chair for the GSLMA prepared him for his future AMA administrative duties.

In 1970, Bob was asked to attend the Nats at Glenview by then-AMA Executive Director John Worth, with the intent to work with the AMA Cub (Delta Dart) program. Bob did so and found himself, his wife, and their two daughters all working the Nats by 1975. In addition to assisting with the AMA Nats, Bob also held multiple positions within AMA Headquarters. He was elected to AMA’s Executive Council (EC) in 1983, where he served as the District VI vice president (VP). Bob served as an associate vice president under four different District VI VPs.

In addition to his time on the EC, Bob was chairman and member of the Scholarship Committee (35 years), chairman and member of the Safety Committee (25 years), coordinator and member of the Frequency Committee (15 years), and member of the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame Selection Committee (10 years). Furthermore, he created the Education Committee and served as education director, in addition to serving as AMA executive director from 1993-1994 and as technical director for 10 years.

Some of Bob’s personal competition achievements include finishing fourth in the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) F4C World Championships for Scale Model Aircraft (1975), being selected as the alternate for the team headed to Sweden (1976), reveiving an individual second-place finish in England (1978), obtaining an individual fifth-place finish in Canada (1980), and acquiring an individual third-place finish in France (1984). Bob was also a contest director for five FAI World Championships, in addition to being the hospitality chairman for two FAI World Championships. When Bob began working as AMA’s technical director, he refrained from attempting to join any more teams that involved subjective scores, such as those previously mentioned.

Bob’s outreach not only impacted AMA, but he also found ways to directly interact with the aeromodeling community. He spearheaded a Cub Scout pilot program that consisted of 18 outdoor camps, using the Delta Darts; ran newcomer classes for his club; and conducted model-building programs for fifth-grade classes in two different school districts. He founded the National Association of Scale Aeromodelers Special Interest Group in 1977, in which he served as president on various occasions (totaling nine years).

Furthermore, Bob published plans and an article in the April 1990 issue of Model Aviation for the Thingamabob—a versatile aircraft that can be flown as CL, RC, and so much more!

Throughout his lifetime, Bob obtained various honors, including an AMA Distinguished Service Award (1974), Missouri Park Board Award (1980), AMA Meritorious Service Award (1985), an induction into the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame (1997), FAI Paul Tissandier Diploma (1998), NAA Certificate of Congratulations (1988), AMA Fellowship Award (2002), AMA District Service Award (2009), and the AMA President’s Award (2009).

AMA and the entirety of the model aviation community will forever be appreciative of Bob and the time, effort, and dedication that he placed into our hobby.

To read Bob’s AMA History Project autobiography, visit www.modelaircraft.org/sites/default/files/UnderwoodRobertLBob.pdf. To read an interview that Executive Editor Jay Smith did with Bob in 2016, visit www.modelaviation.com/bob-underwood.