Does it pique your
interest when you
see model aircraft
on TV? Maybe you saw
the recent “The Lives
of Others” episode of
“Castle,” where the star,
Nathan Fillion, is fl ying
an RC helicopter while at
home recovering from an
injury.
Helicopters were at the
center of an entertaining
Velveeta commercial
focused on a helicopter
pilot in the mall. Jet
Blue partnered with GE
and produced a nice
commercial and print
ad that included RC
airplanes.
Although these
examples portray the
hobby in a generally
favorable light, other
times RC aircraft are used
to add humor or drama.
In the episode “Come Fly with Me” on
“Modern Family,” Ed O’Neill, is seen
with an RC Corsair and convinces Ty
Burrell to go to the fl ying fi eld with him.
Ed’s character buzzes Ty while trying
to fl y through a hula hoop and ends
up crashing into Ty’s face. Immediately
after the accident, Ed seems to be more
concerned about the damage to his
aircraft than Ty’s injury.
Then there is the example that led
me to this topic. It can be found on
“Castle” in the episode “The Human
Factor.” Here is the plot summary from
IMDb:
“When Homeland Security
inexplicably seals the crime scene of a
car bombing, Castle and Beckett fi nd
themselves with two mysteries on their
hands: who murdered the victim, a
government whistleblower, and why
are federal agents trying to take over
the case? The plot thickens when they
discover that the victim wasn’t killed
by a car bomb but by a missile from a
military drone.”
Although I didn’t watch the entire
episode, I did see the clip where
authorities paid a visit to one of
the suspects, who happened to be a
modeler with several recognizable RC
aircraft in his workshop.
On the commercial side, I remember
Saturn using an RC airplane to illustrate
the resilience of its dent-resistant side
panels by crashing the model into one of
its cars.
I’ve only scratched the surface
of model aircraft’s presence about
television with these few examples, good
and bad. I’d like to hear your thoughts
about their portrayal on TV and what
affect, if any, you believe it has on our
hobby
Edition: Model Aviation - 2013/07
Page Numbers: 8
