Modeling Spoken Here
Bob Hunt — Aeromodeling Editor
We'll all gain a large measure of respect ...
I've been trying to get a handle on just what it is today's modeler really wants in the way of written information. This magazine is supposed to reflect the reader's wishes and wants.
In this case the readers are also, in essence, the owners of the magazine. This is the official publication of the Academy of Model Aeronautics, and it should satisfy the "Boss" (you, the members).
By and large, we get very little response to articles and columns unless, of course, something hits a nerve (usually a sore one). Then we get a letter or call with a complaint.
Sometimes the nerve hit is a good one and we get an attaboy (rarer, but it does happen). Without at least this minimal feedback, it is hard to know what articles to present and what types of columns and departments to commission.
If you don't get really involved and tell me what you want, you're going to get a representation of my version of the hobby/sport each month. Perhaps now is the time for me to tell you exactly what my vision is.
For the record, I'm a modeler — not a casual participant. I'm going to assume that most of our readers are also modelers.
Yes, I know that to be involved, even casually, at the club level, you must have the insurance, and hence be an AMA member — even if you do not consider yourself a "modeler." Sadly, that is the only reason many members I have spoken with gave for joining AMA. "I can't fly at my club field without the insurance." I've heard it a thousand times.
When asked if they enjoy the magazine they receive with their membership, the responses vary widely. Some say they never read it (we're being honest here), and others say they read some of it — those parts that deal with their particular interest area. There are many who really enjoy it in its entirety, and there are a few who hate it with a passion.
This sport has changed dramatically in the past few years. There are many new disciplines and new aspects that are bringing new people into the fold and taking many of the veterans in bold, new directions. Examples that come to mind are the Almost Ready to Fly (ARF) movement and real jet-turbine propulsion.
Years ago there was Free Flight (FF), Control Line (CL), and Radio Control (RC). If you were interested in one of these major categories, you probably knew quite a bit about the whole spectrum of activity within the discipline.
It seems that this is not the case anymore. People are specializing to the point that they have no time for, or interest in, what's going on elsewhere in their chosen discipline, and certainly little or no interest in the other disciplines.
This exclusionary attitude will eventually be the demise of the model-airplane sport, in my humble opinion. In my first editorial I tried to get the point across that we should all be brothers in flight. That's the common denominator in this sport.
We all enjoy flying model airplanes. If we don't consider ourselves united in that fact, we will eventually diminish into small splinter groups that have no connection to one another.
There is no way to adequately cover each of the many interest areas in this sport each month in this magazine. If you expect that type of coverage, I'm afraid you are destined to be disappointed.
On the other hand, if you have a specific interest area in the sport and don't contribute to the shared knowledge about it, then guess where the responsibility lies?
I have an interesting (and hopefully even humorous) analogy about the job I am supposed to do at Model Aviation.
I feel a bit like a captain who is at the helm of a super oil tanker that is at full speed and at full load. It will take a hundred miles or more to slow it down to a point where it can be turned. And when it is turned in what I hope is the right direction, it will take an additional hundred miles to get back up to cruising speed.
That new direction is what we are all interested in, I'm sure.
My vision is to restore this hobby/sport to the values and spirit of another age. I'm a Don Quixote in this regard. I do believe that modeling was more fun when we were all pulling together for the ultimate goals of forward thinking in design, construction, flight performance, and friendship.
Yes, I know that old Don was destined to lose to the windmills, and I fully expect that I won't be totally successful either. But every now and then the windmill loses!
Here's the plan. I want to present materials that will augment model building and flying in all realms. Some of that material has been, and will be, in the form of articles that are specifically about something other than what your interest area may be.
There is much cross-pollination when it comes to techniques and procedures. You will have to read everything in the magazine each month in order to find all the gems.
I don't see a distinction between, for example, Peanut Scale Rubber and Giant Scale RC; both are modeling disciplines and both have lessons to offer to each other.
You can pick any other two seemingly diametrically opposed modeling disciplines and gain knowledge about both from an article about either — if you keep an open mind. Do you want proof of this?
Get a few back issues and read a few articles or columns about a type of modeling that you have little or no interest in. Try to relate what you are reading to your own interest area. Not every article will yield treasure, but you will find valuable information that you can use more often than not.
How do I know this is true?
After many years of being strictly a CL flier, I became interested in RC flying. I had an interest in RC Pattern and Sailplane flying, and I began reading articles in the magazines that related to those disciplines.
Imagine my surprise when I started finding information that would have helped me greatly in CL building and flying. I had ignored those articles up to that point.
I began digging back through my rather extensive magazine collection and reading the articles I had skipped for so many years. I learned tons of useful stuff!
So here's the deal. I'll continue to try to find specific information about each interest area and present it when available. You contribute information about your particular interest area and read about everyone else's interest area, to glean the bits of information that are there and waiting.
We'll all gain a large measure of respect for what each other has learned and shared. Watch out for falling windmills!
We should add to Don Ross's fine story about the Teaneck Armory, published in the May MA, that the group that flies there does so as the guest of Tom White and his folks who run the "Soccer Coliseum at the Teaneck Armory."
This is a very civic-minded group that rents the armory for the season, where more than 4,000 youngsters and adults meet to play soccer league-style.
Don's group is allowed to fly Wednesday mornings when no soccer is scheduled. This generous community service has created a whole new flying season for the guys and girls in that area.
In this issue we are running the first of many "State of the Sport" articles. These will be published on an "as available" schedule, so please be patient if you don't see your particular interest area covered right away.
The first of these is a piece about FF Scale — where it came from, where it is now, and where it is heading. I asked my longtime friend Dave Rees to write this piece, because of his long-time involvement in and knowledge of the discipline.
Dave is one of the most meticulous modelers I know, and his dedication to this area of the sport is inspiring. This article is destined to become the blueprint for all "State of the Sport" pieces we will run in the future.
If you need or want to get in touch with me, my address is <REDACTED>; Tel.: <REDACTED>. My E-mail address is <REDACTED>. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
