Letters to the Editor - 2001/05

5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302
Letters to the Editor
(Editor’s note: To bring closure to
what has been ongoing dialogue in
“Letters to the Editor,” the following
letters will be the last we print regarding
the issue of the swastika. We have tried
to print a representative sample from
writers with differing and interesting
points of view. Our intent has never been
to offend anyone or to take an official
position on this topic.
The sport of aeromodeling should
welcome all people, regardless of color,
culture, religious, and/or political beliefs.
This magazine seeks to include, rather than
exclude, people with an interest in model
aviation.
Whether you agree or disagree with
the points raised about this issue, it is
hoped that all of us can agree that model
aviation is a source of satisfaction,
camaraderie, and, most of all, enjoyment
to all!)
Swastika Debate, Continued
I have a 1-cent postcard that was sent to
my future grandmother by my grandfather
dated May 12, 1900, 1906, or 1908
(postmark illegible).
The front is a multicolor picture with
several scenes, one showing two hearts
pierced by an arrow with the inscription
“love.” The three other scenes are “light,”
“luck,” and “life.” There is a large yellowishred
swastika in the center of the card.
The back of the card says “Good Luck
Emblem,” and under that says, “The
Swastika” is the oldest cross and emblem
in the world. It forms a combination of
four Ls, standing for Luck, Light, Love,
and Life.
It has been found in ancient Rome,
excavations of Grecian cities, on
Buddhist idols, on Chinese coins dated
915 B.C., and our own Southwest Indians
use it as an amulet. It is claimed that the
Mound Builders and cliff dwellers of
Mexico and Central America consider the
swastika a charm to drive away evil and
bring good luck, long life, and prosperity
to the possessor.
So the swastika has been around for a
long time and was used by many cultures
well before the Germans adopted it for their
standard.
Don Roden
Huntsville, Alabama
The cross was a national symbol. The
swastika was a party symbol. The only
countries to use the swastika were those
like Romania, Finland, and other Balkan
countries.
Had no choice I would be glad to debate
this subject with anyone. I am 65 and a Jew
on my mother’s side. Try waving that
swastika in some neighborhoods and it
might get some attention. I noticed since
last year the ARFs of German aircraft do
not have a swastika on the tail. I don’t
think political correctness is the case here.
Paul Saratowski
Port Kent, New York
Many moons ago the white man came
to this great free land of ours. White man
say he come in peace and meant no harm.
He said that all our gods were all false
gods and that only his God was real. When
they saw all the riches of our land they
began taking it away from us. They said
we were savages and started to kill us and
our women and children to get our land,
which they did.
They put my people in concentration
camps they called reservation camps, where
many of my people starved and died.
So please, Mr. Van Vechten, do not
show the American insignia on your
model airplanes because it offends us
very much.
“Chief” Anthony Nero
Hudson, New York
In reference to the letter from Mr.
John W. Rawlings in the March 2001
MA, can you think of anything that you
like that someone else does not—even as
to using salt on your food? To say you
dislike the name on a Mitsubishi car is
childish.
What about Honda? Maybe you should
try a Schwinn, as I doubt you will find any
American car that doesn’t have Japanese
parts in it. Next, throw away your cameras,
your appliances, TV, and even switch to
TUMS® for your bellyache, as Prevacid®
was invented in Japan.
I spent some time in Japan and, just like
you, the people there didn’t want war, but
fought because they were forced to by their
leaders. I worked in a machine shop in
Tokyo with about 30 of them [Japanese],
and their training and accuracy of their work
is to be commended.
Now that you have discarded anything
and everything from Japan, all you will have
left is yourself. Good luck.
Alan C. Welling
San Marcos, Texas
Mr. Van Vechten and associates need
not rewrite the AMA Scale rules to
“enjoy” their dislike for Axis emblems
and national insignia. To satisfy their
need for isolationism, they need only
develop accurate documentation to
replicate any Axis aircraft captured
during WW II.
Competitive Scale modeling is
supposed to be accurate and fun. It
appears here we see a definite need for
both. If you need assistance developing
accurate and “fun-to-use” documentation,
visit www.scaleaero.com/amascale.htm—
the National Association of Scale
Aeromodelers’ Virtual FBO [Fixed Base
Operation].
We’ll see you guys at the Scale
National Championships in Muncie the
first week in July.
Ed Clayman, NASA webmaster
Model Weight Limits
Why do we need to push our luck?
I can see no reasonable explanation for
extending the current AMA weight limits
for aircraft.
Tournament of Champions (TOC)
competition aircraft currently tend to be in
the vicinity of 30 pounds. Since this
empirically proves that a safe 1⁄4- to 1⁄3-scale
model can easily be built under the 55-
pound limit for any private aircraft and most
military aircraft, and still have all the minute
scale details to be competitive, and also have
adequate structure for safe flight, we
realistically don’t need to even have the 55-
to 100-pound waiver program.
Do we really need to have “model”
aircraft which rival a full-scale ultralight
in weight and wingspan? This is getting
into the realm of what the FAA [Federal
Aviation Administration] would classify
as RPVs (Remotely Piloted Vehicles),
which the FAA should have every right
to regulate.
If you want to build an ultralight, do so.
Then get in it and go fly it under the FAA
ultralight rules. Current construction methods
and materials make them as safe as the Piper
Cub. (Maybe safer structurally—can’t speak
for the “loose nut” behind the stick.)
Fred Huber
Temple, Texas
In Memoriam
I want to inform you of the passing of
my father, Garold “Fry” Frymire, on
October 30, 2000. Dad was very active in
local, national, and world tether-car racing
and design for many years and will be
greatly missed.
Dad’s spirit got me hooked into flying
models as a young boy many years ago and
I’m still active in RC [Radio Control] flying
today. I would like to think that somewhere
in heaven there is a Fryco world class 10cc
car approaching 250 mph.
I do enjoy reading Model Aviation and
look forward to your informative articles.
Steven Frymire
Klamath Falls, Oregon
May 2001 9