When I was a youngster in the 1950s,
the most anticipated day for me
was Thursday. That evening was
when the model airplane club I belonged to
conducted its meetings. That’s right—every
Thursday! (Most model clubs of today have
monthly meetings at best.)
There wasn’t even discussion around my
house about if we’d attend the meeting; it was
a given. My father and I were members of the
legendary Union Model Airplane Club that
was based in Union, New Jersey. I use the
word “legendary” because many of the East
Coast’s most famous competition modelers
were UMAC members, and in those days the
focus was centered on competition flying.
Two UMAC members were larger-thanlife
figures. Larry Scarinzi and Red Rinehardt
were not only outstanding fliers, but also
were prolific model-airplane designers and
magazine authors. That was big stuff in those
days. And we got to see all their creations fly
before they were submitted for publication in
one of the major magazines.
In those days modeling magazines were
the only source of modeling information other
than personal contact. Clubs generally did not
have newsletters, and it was a time long
before the Internet and E-mail. You either
knew someone from whom you could glean
information in person or you learned by
reading modeling magazines.
I was lucky; my dad was an
accomplished, and published, modeler, and I
was able to learn many lessons about model
building and flying from him. I also had an
unfair advantage in that Red and Larry were
close family friends who visited on a regular
basis, and I could pester them with questions.
Information flowed freely in that
environment, and I didn’t realize until much
later how blessed I was to have been raised
around such knowledgeable and gifted
modelers.
Now let’s fast-forward four and a half
decades and look at the information situation.
Today information exchange can be almost
instantaneous. The advent of the Internet has
brought the entire world of knowledge about
virtually any subject into your home via your
personal computer.
Perhaps the most often used “online”
format for finding information is the Internet
forum. There are forums dedicated to each
modeling specialty, and others are more
general. When a new thread (subject) is
started on a forum, all are free to weigh in
with opinions and questions. You can learn
and teach in a forum environment.
Of course, not all who express their
opinions on forums are expert modelers, and
many times the thoughts presented are not
proven by actual use. Many who post on
forums can “type the talk but not walk the
walk.” Still, if you are careful to examine all
the information you might receive via a
forum, you can learn at an accelerated rate.
Many forums have a chat-room feature
that allows real-time conversations with other
modelers. In this manner you can exchange
information almost as fast as if you were on a
telephone conference call. Chat rooms can be
a lot of fun, and you can make many new
friends via the typed conversations you have
there.
There are also myriad Web sites where
you can get information about almost any
modeling subject. Many are company sites
that have a complete listing of the wares
available, and many are personal Web sites
where a modeler can post his or her personal
thoughts on modeling subjects. Those are
called “blogs,” and they can be entertaining.
Just be prepared to read things with which
you might not necessarily agree.
In recent years many clubs have begun
hosting their own Web sites. In many cases
the information on them is aimed at members
of that particular group, but many clubs have
features that make their sites fun and
educational to visit for nonmembers.
In this issue we are presenting an article by
Bill Bitautas that gives a comprehensive
explanation of what a model-airplane club
Web site should contain and how to go about
constructing one.
In today’s society many do not have the
option of attending club meetings when they
are scheduled. By having a well-conceived
Web site, a club can keep all its members
posted on activities.
Like it or not, the computer has become
a vital tool for accessing and keeping
abreast of information. As the automobile
made long-distance personal travel
between one place and another convenient,
the computer has made personal
information gathering convenient.
You can reach me via E-mail at robin
[email protected] or by the somewhat dated
invention called the telephone at (610) 614-
1747. You can even contact me using the
fabled US mail service at Box 68,
Stockertown PA 18083. MA
Edition: Model Aviation - 2007/01
Page Numbers: 6