The Inside Loop - 2008/05

hat kid in school doesn’t
daydream in class when it’s a
beautiful day? Most of the
kids in my high school class were
probably thinking about hanging out in
the square, tossing the ball around, or
running out to Burger King for lunch.
Me, I was watching the trees to see how
hard the wind was blowing so that I
could fly my model airplane.
Social studies was never my favorite
class, but in the spring what made the
class even more difficult was that it was
the last class before recess, and on one
particular day, tucked away in my car (I
was a senior in high school) was my RC
trainer. I was relatively new at flying
RC, but I bragged enough to my best
friend that I could show him how cool it
was to fly a model airplane.
When the bell rang, I was already out
the door and down the hall. Walking out
to the lower field baseball diamond my
friend caught up with me and remarked
how cool he thought my airplane was.
(Best friends are good for building
confidence.)
The packed clay of the baseball
diamond would be refreshing to fly
from, as I often labored over getting the
model to take off from thick grass. I
took off toward the pitching mound and
launched into the air as if I were flying a
Tomcat off the carrier deck.
The high-pitched scream of my O.S.
.15 engine quickly drew attention, and
suddenly the third-base embankment
filled with spectators. Now that I was on
display, my knees were shaking like
crazy and suddenly the fenced-in ball
field felt as big as a postage stamp. I
circled the field a few times and even
managed some lazy loops out of my
three-channel trainer, to which the naive
audience politely applauded.
As the time arrived for landing, the
instructor inside my head was almost
drowned out by the chanting of my
school friends. They knew I would
make contact with the ground but didn’t
know how. I had an idea of how to make
contact with the ground, but I had
forgotten how.
The spectators kept their distance
from the field, which I was happy about.
In reality I had plenty of room to
maneuver, so safety wasn’t an issue.
The landing was spectacular, but more
of a crowd pleaser than I wanted.
I made my approach as far away
from the people as possible. However,
when the model flared for landing it was
on the wrong side of the fence. The
right wing caught a fence post and the
Editor Michael Ramsey
W
model twirled to a stop, tail first.
What I thought was the world’s
worst performance of a model airplane
turned out to be the most amazing thing
many of the students ever saw. They
wanted to know more. Yes, I was late
getting back to class, but it was worth it.
Joe Beshar’s program, Fly the RC
Adventure, has a lot more promise of
getting kids into modeling than any
antic I came up with in high school. I
don’t know about you, but if I were a
kid in school I’d jump at the chance to
take a class about learning to fly a
model airplane.
That’s basically what Joe’s program
has done. It has made RC modeling a
regular class at a public school in his
area.
What has made the program so
successful is that the school program is
sponsored by a local business that
generously supplies the necessary
equipment for the kids. Fly the RC
Adventure is a model for all AMA
members to follow if they think the
rewarding experience would be a benefit
to a student’s overall education.
I know that every time I succeed with
a model airplane, that experience
enhances an ambition to find a similar
reward in everything else that I do. After
reading Fly the RC Adventure, check
out the tips and find out how to make
modeling a part of your community’s
school curriculum. MA
The Inside Loop
Published by The Academy of Model Aeronautics
Rob Kurek
Director of Publications
Editorial offices: (765) 287-1256, extension
224 (8 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays); Fax: (765)
281-7907
Contributing Editors
Dave Mathewson
President
Doug Holland
Executive Vice President
Staff
(765) 287-1256 | www.modelaircraft.org
Fax: (765) 289-4248
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Mark Lanterman, Airborne Media, 7414
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Executive Director Jim Cherry
Model Aviation is an official publication of The Academy
of Model Aeronautics, Inc., an associate member of the
National Aeronautic Association (NAA). NAA is the official
U.S. representative of the Fédération Aéronautique
Internationale (FAI), the world governing body for sport
aviation, and represents the U.S. at FAI meetings. NAA
delegated to the AMA supervision of FAI-related
aeromodeling activities such as record attempts,
competition sanctions, and selection of U.S. teams for
World Championships. (ISSN 0744-5059, USPS 087-930
Publications Agreement No. 40688541) is owned
exclusively by The Academy of Model Aeronautics, Inc., a
nonprofit organization, and published monthly at 5161
East Memorial Drive, Muncie IN 47302. Periodical rate
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Account Executive Angela Martin
Administrative Assistant Yolanda Jones
Director of Design/Production Carla Kunz
Editor Michael Ramsey
Executive Editor Elizabeth Helms
Graphic Designer Sarah Shaw
Managing Editor Shelia Ames Webb
Production Associate Jennifer Orebaugh
Stan Alexander
Bob Angel
Darwin Barrie
Bill Boss
Paul Bradley
Sal Calvagna
Mark Fadely
Dave Garwood
Dave Gee
Greg Gimlick
John Glezellis
Jim T. Graham
Donald Grissom
Eric Henderson
Jim Hiller
Louis Joyner
John Kagan
Rich Lopez
Joe Malinchak
Dave Mark
D.B. Mathews
Dennis Norman
Dean Pappas
Richard L. Perry
Matt Russell
Red Scholefield
Gene Smith
Joe Wagner
Editor Emeritus Bob Hunt
Technical Editor Bob Aberle
“ ... the most amazing thing
many of the students ever
saw.”
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