The Inside Loop - 2010/06
Why aeromodeling is cool
There are a lot of reasons why aeromodeling is cool. What's important is what makes aeromodeling cool for you. Knowing what makes any activity enjoyable is the reinforcement that helps us stay focused, whether it's on modeling, boating, or video games.
I've done video games and think that expert-level Guitar Hero players have the gift of sixth-sense-level coordination. But I'm pretty sure that I'm already good at sitting on my butt watching a video screen.
Aeromodeling is healthy for me. It gets me in the shop creating (and more often fixing) and outside in the fresh air to show off with friends.
Most special interests in the hobby/sport aren't all that hard anymore, and that's terrific. People can now get into them more easily. Knowing how this pastime works is the challenge—and as hard as a challenge may be, overcoming one is cool.
I believe, more often than not, that it's the hard that makes it great. The can-do attitude is an aeromodeler's best tool in the box. There are many degrees of satisfaction to be explored with a model craft of any sort.
Inspiration and the Little Fast
Making things easier is harder than you might think. Dick Sarpolus has been a successful model airplane designer for decades. Lucky for us, he found his pace and made aeromodeling a balanced part of his healthy lifestyle.
Better still, it's as though he found the secret formula for building aircraft that work well, are famously fun to fly, and are easy to build. Dick makes building a model look easy.
His Little Fast is something he dreamed up. It uses airfoils, materials, and size relationships that he positively knows work well. Even better, a great-flying model hits these pages, and the AMA Plans Service keeps us stick-and-sheet builders out there building. Thanks to Dick, that shop time isn't long and we're out there flying (and showing off).
Use whatever inspiration you can to stay focused. Often it seems to be the littlest things. In the case of Dick's Little Fast, it was an engine he wanted to try.
For me there have been crazier project catalysts, such as a new kind of glue or a neatly curved set of landing gear. The inspiration may be just the first gear, but the dream of seeing a project fly is what drives us.
Events and the Flying Circus
Events are terrific means of motivation. Take the Flying Circus event held by the Greater Cincinnati Radio Control Club (GCRCC). What it means by "circus" is the wide variety of models used for entertainment and the fun of aircraft (even if they are just models) streaking through the air.
The 50th anniversary is this year for the GCRCC event. Have a look at the coverage and think hard about attending, even if it's just to observe. Look at the article more closely and see the cool ideas used to make the event entertaining and popular with the club members, young and old.
There are lessons for other clubs in there. If the GCRCC members have been doing it for 50 years, they're doing something worthwhile.
Precision flying and IMAC
Who doesn't want an A+ on a report card? Okay, in terms you and I can understand, who doesn't want all 10s on his or her score sheet? Winning is fun, right?
Precision flying is all about getting it right no matter the conditions. Many in the RC aeromodeling community consider IMAC pilots to be the most challenged. Their aircraft are expensive and, jokingly, fly badly.
They don't really fly badly, but the controls sometimes couple enough that compared to an F3A model, IMAC airplanes seem to fly with the drawing board still attached. However, if set up correctly and with fine-tuning by the pilot, those majestic aircraft perform as if they were branded by Stratocaster, Steinway, or Sikorsky.
Baron Johnson is a winning IMAC Unlimited and Freestyle competitor. As an engineer, he could probably design a cement mixer powered by a DA-50 that would fly a decent Sportsman pattern.
It's not all about number crunching, though. His experience made him aware that a pilot's personal preferences are a very important consideration. His point is that radio setup is a critical part of RC flying.
I can see how that's true. The RC pilot isn't connected to the airplane; he or she is holding the transmitter. Together, a great model and a great pilot are cool.
Final thought
It's the hard that makes it great.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
