The Inside Loop - 2010/03

o outside and play!” is what
my mom and dad always
told me if I spoke the phrase
“I’m bored.” A friend of
mine with military experience tells me that “I
have nothing to do” is the last thing a drill
sergeant should ever be told. That my
parents told me to go outside is probably a
lot nicer than what a drill sergeant might
have made me do.
While I’d play outdoors, airplanes would
fly overhead and the wonder of them quickly
got me motivated. Becoming a modeler of
aircraft, therefore, was a natural and
constructive prescription for boredom, but
supplies were required.
In exchange for pocket money, the grass
got cut, trash was picked up, and my room
was straightened. For my family and me, the
result of solving my need for activity was a
win-win.
Modelers are never bored, because they
always have a project or more than one
going, being researched, or planned/filed/
alphabetized. We’re methodical and
sometimes inundated with ideas.
Kept in the mental storage of our minds is
guff of ideas born from watching or reading
about anything totally cool that could fly.
Everything that flies is cool, so that’s a lot of
ideas.
I would go outside to play, but only
because the Titebond glue had finally dried
and the winds were calm enough to test-fly
the latest treasure.
Through the luck and the law of
averages, eventually these models flew, and
some even flew well (or at least
repetitiously). On that same stream of luck
were “gentlemen” who further helped my
enthusiasm evolve. (Some of these people
were women too.)
Indeed, my neighbors and relatives were
an influence on the modeling activity I chose
to enjoy, but not until an event was attended
did the adrenalin truly flow. It’s like when
your Pattern buddies tell you that the only
way to hook up a tail pushrod is with ballbearing
linkage, but you don’t actually listen
to them until a person with the same airplane
takes first place and has those same smooth
(and expensive) linkages.
I always get more excited after an event
is attended than practicing for it in the first
place. Go figure.
The exchange of ideas during an event or
competition is what makes the activity a
gentleman’s sport to me. Some events are
informal, but the competitors who dress, act,
and believe the part are the mentors who
influenced me the most positively. An event
that comes to mind that breeds upright
qualities is one in which I’ve never
participated: CL Racing.
The 2005 Nats is where I saw it for the
first time. Three people in the center of a
circle were trying to fly their own CL models
in essentially the same space. Imagine trying
6 MODEL AVIATION
Editor Michael Ramsey
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The Inside Loop
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… the wonderful side effect
we should all remember.
CFO/Treasurer Doug Holland
“G
Postmaster: Send address changes to Academy of Model
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Executive Director Jim Cherry
to balance three pencils on the end of your
finger while spinning in a circle.
This event amplifies the simple joy of
flying a CL model to a point where it seems
next to impossible. Mind you, these
competitors—“gentlemen,” I mean—have
been doing this successfully for decades. It
looked like a lot of fun.
David Hull came to us a year ago and
offered his ShyFox model as a CL Racing
construction project. Its elegant simplicity is
a tribute to the gentlemanlike sincerity with
which CL Racing competitions are held.
You had us at CL Racing, David!
About the only thing missing from
Dave’s article is a flying shot; however, the
image with the model where it’s surrounded
by trophies indicates that it probably flies
very well. A lot of love and pride went into
creating the ShyFox, and we think it’s a
marvelous tribute to the CL sport.
Gentlemanly activities are actually
bountiful in aeromodeling. Have a look at
the feature article by Jay Smith about Flyfor-
Tots. Besides the event being a great act
that benefits charity, Jay noted the
wonderful side effect we should all
remember.
Over the course of the weekend, all types
of RC models were flown on the same
flightline at Fly-for-Tots. No crashes or
conflicts were reported. Win-win again.
It’s great to know that whether in a small
circle with two other racers or on an RC
flightline with four other pilots, we can all
get along like ladies and gentlemen. Now go
outside—or inside—and play! MA
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