Aero Mail
Encourage Model Aviation
I just read your article in the April issue of Model Aviation. Before I go into comments on the FAA model aircraft subject, I have to give you a little about my background.
I am now 66 years old and retired. Life is starting to slow down for me. My career started when I was about 8 years old. I used to watch DC-3 aircraft flying over my house en route from Chicago to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. I was always interested in "how did they stay up there?"
I built many static model aircraft, which led to rubber-powered, then gas C/L. During that same period I became interested in electronics. That led me to getting my ham radio license. I now had the two growth seeds for my career and didn't even know it. I went to engineering school and there met others interested in radio electronics and flying.
Cut to the end, I came out of college with a BSEE (Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering), a private pilot's license, an Extra Class ham radio license, and a First Class FCC commercial radio operator's license.
And, where did I go for my first job out of college? I put it all together—the love for flying, electronics, and ham radio. I joined Collins Radio Company in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There I worked as a development engineer in the Avionics Division. I worked on radios that went into all types of aircraft from Army helicopters to Boeing 727s. One day I even got to go to the Collins hangar at the airport and watch the USAF Thunderbirds fly in for a radio swap out. Here I was standing right next to the famous flight team and its pilots. Exciting stuff for a 22-year-old engineer fresh out of college. All started with those model airplanes and the love of flying.
The Vietnam War was ending, and Collins was undergoing change. I left and joined Motorola Land Mobile Communications. I got to work on systems that went to military bases, the U.S. Secret Service, and the U.S. Border Patrol. I met some pilots from all walks of life that I would have never met had I not had the hobbies that were in my life.
The years spent at Motorola (some 33+ years) introduced me to others who encouraged me to obtain my FAA instrument rating and Instrument Ground Instructor's rating. I went on to get my MBA and completed the other three FCC commercial radio operator's licenses. I have every operator license the FCC can issue.
In 2001, airplanes hit the World Trade Center in New York City. I will always remember the day. It was the day I quit flying privately. The government and the airlines were all clamoring to get private pilots out of the air. They could be a threat to national security.
Private flying took a dramatic turn that day. I haven't flown since. I felt—this is just me—that my "freedom of flight" was taken from me. Now I see the same thing happening to model aviation. Anyone can build a negative story to get rid of anything they want. I feel our country is heading the same way. Anything can be a threat to national security if you build a good enough story.
As a private pilot and a modeling pilot, I think the government could actually ban—yes, ban—radio-controlled models from U.S. airspace.
I am disgusted with so-called "experts" who continue to drum up stories to bring up programs that are taking away our rights as free Americans. Now I read in AMA's Model Aviation that the FAA could bring harsh measures to a wonderful hobby that is a "trigger point" for those who have a true love for flying.
The airplane has become a complex engineering platform. It encompasses so many areas of technology. Triggering a young mind today by flying an R/C (radio-controlled) plane on a Saturday morning could be the start of meeting someone who is an engineer, an air traffic controller, or even a 747 captain. Those contacts open doors.
We need to encourage activities like model aviation to foster the talents of younger folks to become our future engineers, technicians, pilots, and airframe and power-plant mechanics. Decisions made today will have long-lasting ramifications for our youth—the kids who look up at an airplane and wonder what "keeps it up there."
I sincerely hope this issue is resolved with the least impact on AMA members and their love for flying.
—Don Backus, P.E. via email
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
