District III - 2014/10
How many times have you heard these complaints: nobody builds anymore; there are no young people getting into the hobby; FPV and multirotors are ruining the hobby?
I have been guilty of making these statements. I am here to tell you that our hobby is alive and well and is growing — however, it's growing in areas that old‑school modelers such as I am not accustomed to seeing.
Flite Fest 2014
I recently had an eye‑opening experience when I attended a new event practically in my own backyard: Flite Fest 2014, put on by the Flite Test group from Ohio.
Never heard of them? I hadn't either, until an outsider to our hobby told me about the group's popular online videos and inexpensive airplanes that help get people into the hobby. I checked out a couple of the group's webcasts and videos and decided I needed to go to the event and see what was happening.
I arrived Saturday at the Flite Fest location, a private airport in Malvern, Ohio. The field was lined from one end to the other with cars, trucks, campers, motor homes, tents, bicycles, and scooters — you get the picture. I signed in at the registration area and asked how many pilots were registered; I was told more than 500. Amazing!
I got there in time for the pilots' meeting and met the creators of the event, Josh Bixler and Josh Scott. These two Generation‑Y modelers have captivated a large group of people across the nation through their educational and entertaining webcasts and have a worldwide following. I met modelers from:
- Australia
- Mexico
- Switzerland
- Hawaii
- California
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- and more
Here was what I consider the most amazing sight at this event: young people were actually building models. Several large tents were set up to invite newcomers to build airplanes. Yes, they were mostly built from foam and hot glue, but these young people were actually building something.
I saw all types of great electric models and many creative flying machines. The flight line and event tents were alive with people having a great time sharing our common interest of flying. This is only a glimpse of where our hobby is headed. There is a new generation of modelers that is quite different from mine.
Check out the Flite Test website at www.flitetest.com and watch some of the webcasts. The Flite Test people are supportive of the AMA and are promoting our hobby in a positive manner. Thank you, Josh and Josh, for your hard work — I look forward to attending Flite Fest 2015.
Until next month, fly safely, responsibly, and have fun!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
