IN “LETTERS TO the Editor” in the June
Model Aviation, there was a letter from a
young man who was lamenting the cost of
getting involved in the sport of Radio Control
(RC) modeling. What makes this note worthy
of a subject to cover here is the fact that a
fairly large number of members responded to
that letter and, perhaps more important, how
they responded.
The letter in question was from AMA
member John Lodge who resides in Las
Vegas, Nevada. John researched the cost of a
basic training setup, including the support
equipment, and found that it would cost in the
vicinity of $400 to get started.
Even though his interest is high, the cost to
get started, at least for him, is too much. His
closing remarks were: “To be truthful I am
almost tempted to say is it really worth it? I’m
getting kinda ‘discouraged’ if you might say
because of the price tag.”
We received many responses to John’s
letter that asked the question “What can I do
to help this young man?” And, in fact, we
were able to contact John and give him some
phone numbers of members local to him to
call to get some help. Much of the help was in
the form of actual merchandise offers from
some extremely generous modelers.
Please note that John did not solicit
anything in his letter; he was just voicing the
fact that getting started costs a lot of money—
at least from his perspective.
There has been much written and
discussed at every level in modeling about the
“Junior Problem.” John’s letter is the latest
outcropping of that issue. It’s time, I think, to
take another look at it and address it from a
perspective of reality.
The technology and the reliability that
today’s average radio-control unit offers is
amazing, and it is an outstanding bargain.
Never before has equipment of such high
quality and well-thought-out design been so
affordable by so many. The same holds true
for the kits and/or ARF (Almost Ready-to-
Fly) offerings, the engines and/or electric
motors, hardware, and field support
equipment. When it comes to value for the
dollar in modeling, these are certainly the
good old days.
When I was a youngster (and that’s been
awhile), I remember looking at the ads for the
latest and greatest RC equipment in the
magazines and thinking that this stuff was so
unattainable at my age and means that even
the thought of trying RC modeling was silly.
Today, the cost of very competent RC
equipment is far less, in many cases, than it
was in the 1960s and early 1970s. And since
the average income has gone up considerably,
it is far more affordable to far more people.
Alas, apparently not to some Juniors,
however.
Those of us who grew up in this
hobby/sport from a young age may have
trouble relating to John’s dilemma. We
generally had the same lack of significant
funds to spend on modeling, but there were
enough ways to enjoy the hobby on a very
limited budget that we didn’t seem to mind.
There were low-cost Free Flight (FF)
models and reasonably priced Control Line
(CL) models to enjoy, and we learned a great
deal about building, finishing, engine
operation, and flight trimming from them. Of
course we grew up in a mostly analog age,
with little or no knowledge of electronics and
the wonders that it would eventually bring.
Today’s generation is steeped in
electronics, and they have a seemingly natural
understanding and feel for it. They grew up
with video games as a central part of their
recreational world, and most of them could
manipulate a joystick with deft precision by
the time they were five. It’s no wonder that
RC modeling is their goal when they become
interested in model aviation as a sport/hobby.
Interestingly, if you were to take a look at
the video-game-system prices and the prices
of the various games that are purchased to use
in them, you will find that a great deal of
money is being spent by those who we
commonly characterize as “Juniors.” Or
perhaps that money is being spent by their
parents on things that don’t obligate them to
further involvement with their children.
I know, I know. I’ll get a bigger mailbox
to absorb the impact of that last statement. Let
the letters come; the fact is that many parents
don’t have the time to spend with their kids in
Bob Hunt Aeromodeling Editor
… keep your modeling
interest alive no matter
what!
Modeling Spoken Here
Continued on page 189
August 2003 7
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:17 pm Page 7
August 2003 189
learning about such seemingly high-tech
things as model airplanes.
That’s not a put-down or judgment against
parents; in many cases these days both
parents have to work extra just to make ends
meet, and something has to suffer. Sadly, in
many cases it is quality family time. A video
game is something the kids can figure out on
their own and can use at home with little or
no help or guidance.
Most of the Juniors we do see getting
involved are those who had fathers who were,
or are, involved in modeling. They get
involved through a process of osmosis. The
father’s hobby becomes the son’s in an almost
natural progression.
I am a second-generation modeler. I’m
thankful beyond words that my father
introduced me to modeling at an early age.
The hobby taught me more than just lessons
about airplanes; it taught me how to think,
plan, engineer, and work. That last word is
important here.
Those who don’t have parents who are
modelers have a more difficult road to travel
in getting started in this hobby/sport, but they
also have opportunities to build their
character by working hard to achieve their
goals. If they want something bad enough,
they’ll find a way to get it; after-school jobs,
babysitting, mowing lawns, general yard
work, and the like are avenues to achieving
the funds necessary to purchase the bits and
pieces to get started in modeling.
In the interim—while they are saving
toward the main goal—they can work with a
simulator to learn the rudiments of RC
operation, and they can learn about flight by
reading and by constructing and flying simple
gliders and rubber-band-powered FF models.
They can learn about engine safety and
operation by flying some 1⁄2A CL models.
The lessons learned during this savingand-
waiting period can be put to good use in
learning the basics necessary to become a
superior modeler when they can afford the
more expensive items.
Clubs can, and do, play a big part in the
Junior situation (let’s stop calling it a
“problem”). Many clubs have programs for
teaching youngsters to fly RC using clubowned
trainers. With the advent of the $1
Junior AMA license, a youngster can easily
afford to join and have the insurance coverage
required by AMA sanctioned clubs.
More often than not, some used, but not
abused, equipment will find its way to an
involved youngster, donated by a generous
club member. The real problem is getting the
information out to the Juniors in any given
area that there are clubs and letting them
know how to find them. We need to work on
that.
Great aids for Juniors, and for other
members as well, are the services available
through AMA’s Education Department,
which is headed by Jack Frost. By visiting the
www.buildandfly.com Web site, you will be
able to access information that will help you
learn about all aspects of the hobby/sport.
As a Junior AMA member, one thing you
can do is contact the AMA vice president or
associate vice president in your district. Their
phone numbers are listed in the vice
presidents’ district reports in the “AMA
News” section of Model Aviation each month.
They can be of great help to you in finding
someone local who might be able to assist
you in an “each one, teach one” manner. This
is a resource you should be aware of and use.
Years ago my father was in charge of the
Exchange Club’s model-aviation program in
New Jersey. He organized the contests in the
state and instituted an interesting rule. To be
eligible to compete, a Senior or Open member
had to bring a Junior and have him or her
entered in an event.
The older members were actually
competing for the available Juniors to see
who would get to take them to the meets! I
know this idea is far-fetched for use today,
but it is food for thought. Perhaps a club
could sponsor an interclub meet where each
member has to bring a Junior and have him or
her compete in a simple fun-fly event.
To get back to John’s letter, and to any and
all Juniors who share John’s thoughts, all I
can offer is this: if you have real interest in
getting involved in modeling, you will find a
way to do it. Work hard, keep reading, use all
available resources at hand, find other young
people with similar goals and start a club, and
don’t overlook the simpler, less expensive
forms of modeling as stepping-stones to your
goal.
Life may not be fair in the hand you were
dealt, but the rewards for being more
resourceful will be a great payback later.
Above all, keep your modeling interest alive
no matter what!
I can be reached at Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; (610) 614-1747, or by E-mail at
[email protected]. MA
Continued from page 7
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 7,189
Edition: Model Aviation - 2003/08
Page Numbers: 7,189
IN “LETTERS TO the Editor” in the June
Model Aviation, there was a letter from a
young man who was lamenting the cost of
getting involved in the sport of Radio Control
(RC) modeling. What makes this note worthy
of a subject to cover here is the fact that a
fairly large number of members responded to
that letter and, perhaps more important, how
they responded.
The letter in question was from AMA
member John Lodge who resides in Las
Vegas, Nevada. John researched the cost of a
basic training setup, including the support
equipment, and found that it would cost in the
vicinity of $400 to get started.
Even though his interest is high, the cost to
get started, at least for him, is too much. His
closing remarks were: “To be truthful I am
almost tempted to say is it really worth it? I’m
getting kinda ‘discouraged’ if you might say
because of the price tag.”
We received many responses to John’s
letter that asked the question “What can I do
to help this young man?” And, in fact, we
were able to contact John and give him some
phone numbers of members local to him to
call to get some help. Much of the help was in
the form of actual merchandise offers from
some extremely generous modelers.
Please note that John did not solicit
anything in his letter; he was just voicing the
fact that getting started costs a lot of money—
at least from his perspective.
There has been much written and
discussed at every level in modeling about the
“Junior Problem.” John’s letter is the latest
outcropping of that issue. It’s time, I think, to
take another look at it and address it from a
perspective of reality.
The technology and the reliability that
today’s average radio-control unit offers is
amazing, and it is an outstanding bargain.
Never before has equipment of such high
quality and well-thought-out design been so
affordable by so many. The same holds true
for the kits and/or ARF (Almost Ready-to-
Fly) offerings, the engines and/or electric
motors, hardware, and field support
equipment. When it comes to value for the
dollar in modeling, these are certainly the
good old days.
When I was a youngster (and that’s been
awhile), I remember looking at the ads for the
latest and greatest RC equipment in the
magazines and thinking that this stuff was so
unattainable at my age and means that even
the thought of trying RC modeling was silly.
Today, the cost of very competent RC
equipment is far less, in many cases, than it
was in the 1960s and early 1970s. And since
the average income has gone up considerably,
it is far more affordable to far more people.
Alas, apparently not to some Juniors,
however.
Those of us who grew up in this
hobby/sport from a young age may have
trouble relating to John’s dilemma. We
generally had the same lack of significant
funds to spend on modeling, but there were
enough ways to enjoy the hobby on a very
limited budget that we didn’t seem to mind.
There were low-cost Free Flight (FF)
models and reasonably priced Control Line
(CL) models to enjoy, and we learned a great
deal about building, finishing, engine
operation, and flight trimming from them. Of
course we grew up in a mostly analog age,
with little or no knowledge of electronics and
the wonders that it would eventually bring.
Today’s generation is steeped in
electronics, and they have a seemingly natural
understanding and feel for it. They grew up
with video games as a central part of their
recreational world, and most of them could
manipulate a joystick with deft precision by
the time they were five. It’s no wonder that
RC modeling is their goal when they become
interested in model aviation as a sport/hobby.
Interestingly, if you were to take a look at
the video-game-system prices and the prices
of the various games that are purchased to use
in them, you will find that a great deal of
money is being spent by those who we
commonly characterize as “Juniors.” Or
perhaps that money is being spent by their
parents on things that don’t obligate them to
further involvement with their children.
I know, I know. I’ll get a bigger mailbox
to absorb the impact of that last statement. Let
the letters come; the fact is that many parents
don’t have the time to spend with their kids in
Bob Hunt Aeromodeling Editor
… keep your modeling
interest alive no matter
what!
Modeling Spoken Here
Continued on page 189
August 2003 7
08sig1.QXD 5.23.03 3:17 pm Page 7
August 2003 189
learning about such seemingly high-tech
things as model airplanes.
That’s not a put-down or judgment against
parents; in many cases these days both
parents have to work extra just to make ends
meet, and something has to suffer. Sadly, in
many cases it is quality family time. A video
game is something the kids can figure out on
their own and can use at home with little or
no help or guidance.
Most of the Juniors we do see getting
involved are those who had fathers who were,
or are, involved in modeling. They get
involved through a process of osmosis. The
father’s hobby becomes the son’s in an almost
natural progression.
I am a second-generation modeler. I’m
thankful beyond words that my father
introduced me to modeling at an early age.
The hobby taught me more than just lessons
about airplanes; it taught me how to think,
plan, engineer, and work. That last word is
important here.
Those who don’t have parents who are
modelers have a more difficult road to travel
in getting started in this hobby/sport, but they
also have opportunities to build their
character by working hard to achieve their
goals. If they want something bad enough,
they’ll find a way to get it; after-school jobs,
babysitting, mowing lawns, general yard
work, and the like are avenues to achieving
the funds necessary to purchase the bits and
pieces to get started in modeling.
In the interim—while they are saving
toward the main goal—they can work with a
simulator to learn the rudiments of RC
operation, and they can learn about flight by
reading and by constructing and flying simple
gliders and rubber-band-powered FF models.
They can learn about engine safety and
operation by flying some 1⁄2A CL models.
The lessons learned during this savingand-
waiting period can be put to good use in
learning the basics necessary to become a
superior modeler when they can afford the
more expensive items.
Clubs can, and do, play a big part in the
Junior situation (let’s stop calling it a
“problem”). Many clubs have programs for
teaching youngsters to fly RC using clubowned
trainers. With the advent of the $1
Junior AMA license, a youngster can easily
afford to join and have the insurance coverage
required by AMA sanctioned clubs.
More often than not, some used, but not
abused, equipment will find its way to an
involved youngster, donated by a generous
club member. The real problem is getting the
information out to the Juniors in any given
area that there are clubs and letting them
know how to find them. We need to work on
that.
Great aids for Juniors, and for other
members as well, are the services available
through AMA’s Education Department,
which is headed by Jack Frost. By visiting the
www.buildandfly.com Web site, you will be
able to access information that will help you
learn about all aspects of the hobby/sport.
As a Junior AMA member, one thing you
can do is contact the AMA vice president or
associate vice president in your district. Their
phone numbers are listed in the vice
presidents’ district reports in the “AMA
News” section of Model Aviation each month.
They can be of great help to you in finding
someone local who might be able to assist
you in an “each one, teach one” manner. This
is a resource you should be aware of and use.
Years ago my father was in charge of the
Exchange Club’s model-aviation program in
New Jersey. He organized the contests in the
state and instituted an interesting rule. To be
eligible to compete, a Senior or Open member
had to bring a Junior and have him or her
entered in an event.
The older members were actually
competing for the available Juniors to see
who would get to take them to the meets! I
know this idea is far-fetched for use today,
but it is food for thought. Perhaps a club
could sponsor an interclub meet where each
member has to bring a Junior and have him or
her compete in a simple fun-fly event.
To get back to John’s letter, and to any and
all Juniors who share John’s thoughts, all I
can offer is this: if you have real interest in
getting involved in modeling, you will find a
way to do it. Work hard, keep reading, use all
available resources at hand, find other young
people with similar goals and start a club, and
don’t overlook the simpler, less expensive
forms of modeling as stepping-stones to your
goal.
Life may not be fair in the hand you were
dealt, but the rewards for being more
resourceful will be a great payback later.
Above all, keep your modeling interest alive
no matter what!
I can be reached at Box 68, Stockertown PA
18083; (610) 614-1747, or by E-mail at
[email protected]. MA
Continued from page 7