THIS EDITORIAL almost didn’t
happen. Typically I wait until the last
moment in the production cycle to write
this piece, just in case anything happens in
the modeling world that I might want to
comment on in as timely a manner as
possible with a print-medium periodical.
Just as I sat down to pound this piece
out, my computer was infected with a
virus and something called “Spyware.”
The combination put me out of
commission for almost a week while I
tried to get the unit deloused. Obviously it
worked, as you are reading this instead of
looking at a big white space on page 7.
It got me to thinking about the way I
used to write an editorial in “the old
days.” When I first started doing this type
of thing, computers were not even being
used by publication houses. We typed
everything in double-space format and
then did our editing with a pen between
the lines of type using a symbol code. The
manuscript would be sent out to a service
company where a typist would keystroke
it into a machine that would, in turn, spit
out a sheet of glossy “repro” paper that
had our words set in specified margins and
typestyles.
We ran these sheets through a wax
machine and then physically cut the type
with a scalpel blade to fit the layout,
which we had already done to an
estimated length. If we miscalculated the
length of the type, we had to crop the
photos accordingly to take up the slack. It
was a challenge!
Computers have made the publishing
process infinitely easier and more
accurate. But, as with anything else, when
the technology stops working, we are well
and truly lost, with no way to go back to
the old manual methods to get the job
done.
During my week of frustration, I had
lots of time to think about how technology
affects our lives. I could not answer my Emails,
edit copy for the next magazine,
work on the other columns that I’m in
charge of, or do anything else that
required my computer. I started thinking
about what would happen if other
technology-driven devices malfunctioned.
Specifically, I thought about how
modeling might be affected.
Through the years we have all come to
rely on technical items that make our
modeling life easier and more rewarding.
An example is something as simple as a
tachometer. Setting our engine’s needle
valve for just the right type of run is a snap
with one of these devices. Newcomers may
never have learned to set the needle by ear
because the “tach” does the job better and
without the need for a human judgment.
What would happen if the battery in your
tach went dead? Could you set your engine
accurately by ear if you had to?
The same holds true for the computer
radios that allow you to electronically
flight-trim an inaccurately built model. If
you rely on this kind of radio for trimming
and suddenly had to revert to using a
noncomputer-type radio, could you
manually trim your model to fly as well as
it does with the computer-enhanced radio?
I’m not in any way suggesting that you
shouldn’t use the computer radio. I’m only
pointing out that we need to keep our
modeling skills sharp so that technology
doesn’t sneak up and catch us napping.
One of these skills is building or
assembling more accurate models that do
not require as much trimming in the first
place.
I’d like to go on with this thought, but
because the submission of this piece is so
late, I was asked to keep it to a specified
length that would fit the allotted space on
this page. The computer allowed me to
quickly adjust my words to do just that.
Technology is a hard thing to live without.
You can contact me via modern E-mail at
[email protected]. Or if you still have
one of those oldfangled telephones, I can
be reached at (610) 614-1747. In a pinch,
the pony express can still deliver a note to
Box 68, Stockertown PA 18083. MA
Bob Hunt Aeromodeling Editor
Technology is a
hard thing to live
without.
Modeling Spoken Here
September 2004 7
1815 South Research Loop
09sig1.QXD 6/24/04 10:09 am Page 7
Edition: Model Aviation - 2004/09
Page Numbers: 7