Newcomers
Bob Underwood 32 Hollandbush Ct., St. Charles MO 63376
WHAT AN opportunity—actually, almost 2,600 opportunities! That's how many chartered clubs and chapters AMA carries through the chartering program.
Each group presents a fantastic chance to not only promote aeromodeling in its community, but to provide fledgling modelers a service, mentor, instruct, and challenge.
Have you ever wondered how many clubs actually provide these services?
Some clubs are very basic, and others offer a wide range of services. If you ask each of the 2,600 groups about instruction programs, the overwhelming majority would respond by saying, "Sure, we provide help for the newcomer."
All too often, the programs are loosely structured and not closely monitored. The instructors tend to be willing souls who are at the flying site any number of days each week. The students just become attached to one or more of these individuals.
Little thought is given to how the instruction is structured. There just seems to be an ultimate goal: learning to fly, but without a road map to get there.
Several objectives point to the logic of having a planned instruction program for the club. It might help if your group considered them.
- Build your numbers. This is a touchy subject. Most individual modelers and clubs indicate that they would like to see the hobby/sport grow. That statement is often followed by, "but not our club" or "but not too big."
We frequently find groups that want to remain static in member growth. A prime reason for this stems from not wanting to be crowded out of the sky. There are actually times when clubs are forced to limit membership because of the site owner. At that point, the club's best goodwill ambassadors—the instructors—become less of a concern.
- Create a positive community presence. Again, there is often a conflict of interest. Because of past problems in finding and maintaining a flying site, some clubs try to maintain a low profile. They think, "If they don't see us (or hear us) we'll be better off."
This feeling is often prompted by a low level of pride in the activity. These individuals or groups have not attacked and conquered the "toy airplane" syndrome.
- Create a safer flying environment. This is probably the single most important reason to create a well-developed program with a cadre of good instructors!
If you visit one of the public flying sites in an area then go to a club-leased or privately owned site, there is often a difference between the skill level of the fliers and the safety practices.
The individual club site will almost always have a higher level of proficiency and safety. This is not to suggest that a good instructional program can't exist at a public site, because it can, but making it work is more difficult because of the "I can do whatever I want" mentality that floats about at many public sites.
In the end, you will create a better club.
Of the reasons given, the only one that seems positive is the third. The first two can be strong reasons for developing a program of instruction in flying and building.
Although the low-profile concept or an in-time selfishness sometimes seem important, the ability to present a solid community image can be far more constructive.
When approaching any community agency for a flying site, presenting the image of a concerned, active, responsive group is important.
There are basic concepts to consider when setting up a program for your club.
1) Instructor selection
A blanket announcement to the membership asking, "Who wants to be an instructor?" is not the best approach! You can wind up having volunteers who are not good instructor material.
Just because "Sam" is often described as the "best pilot" does not mean he possesses the attributes necessary to be a good instructor.
The "Sams" are often identified by their flashy, showboat style of flying. What qualities should you look for in a person?
- Patience: Someone who can endure countless "oops!" during the early training period without losing focus, and has a desire to continue.
- Communication skills: Someone who can put the complicated in simple terms, and say it in an even tone that calms the frustrated.
- Experience: Someone who knows why the model is doing what it's doing, and how to anticipate and correct problems.
- Consistency: Someone who sticks to the plan, but is flexible when needed.
- Knowledge: Someone who not only knows models, but knows people as well!
Find the individual who relates well to people, knows the safety rules, and is willing to spend hours each week sharing his or her skills with others.
Look for individuals who relate well to specific age groups. Not everyone can speak teenager and/or AARP (American Association of Retired Persons)!
Make certain your instructors cover all your needs as a club. Don't hamstring your teachers with an inflexible program. Allow them the individuality necessary to express their true abilities.
2) Program Development
Throughout the years, the programs that have been the most effective are those that provide multiple levels of achievement. The simple admonition, "I just want to learn to fly" doesn't produce the best pilots.
Graduated steps of achievement, each with its own small goal and recognition, is important. It's similar to the approach to stopping smoking—not everyone can stop cold turkey, but one patch at a time gets it done.
Developing the steps is not particularly difficult. A logical progression would move from preflight concerns—perhaps incorporating a simulator—to actual stick time. Each level includes not only an achievement, but also a release from the level before.
Perhaps the biggest mistake we make—as student and instructor—is the assumption that something is "learned" when we have achieved a satisfactory result one time. The good instructor understands that a skill is not learned until it is internalized or virtually automatic.
When we want to make the skill a learned experience, it is helpful to put elements of the earlier levels into the later ones. This review—or repetition—helps the process. These skills can be developed into what might be described as "purposeful" flying.
Much of the flying accomplished on a typical weekend consists of random holes bored in the sky. Stand and watch many of the flights, and you'll notice that during the bulk of the time the model is skittering off to some point in the sky.
If you could plug into the pilot's brain you would readily hear "Oops! I've got to bring it back!" The model is being brought back from somewhere the pilot did not tell it to go.
Even early stages of piloting can incorporate elements of purposeful flying. It may be as simple as causing the model to fly a straight course parallel to the runway, a procedure turn, or a figure 8. The pilot is flying the model—not the other way around!
Your club's instruction program should provide levels beyond the mere accomplishment of being able to get the model up and down safely.
Although it's true that many pilots—if not most—will bid the instructor fond farewells when they can consistently return safely from a mission, your club should be prepared to take the newcomer novice beyond that point.
For those willing to do so, you will certainly produce a better-quality flier. At that more-advanced level of proficiency, you will produce a safer flier. You also have an increased opportunity to create a flier who is more likely to stick with the activity.
The newcomer who hits a plateau when the beginner can land safely—and drops the instructor—will often never leave the plateau! He or she will be unwilling to reconnect for higher skill levels and languishes at the novice level; becomes disinterested then is gone.
Thus far the column has been been directed toward the club—not the newcomer as an individual.
However, there are some lessons to be learned by the newcomer.
To some degree the newcomer, especially in a large metropolitan area, has the element of choice when trying to locate a well-developed instruction program. By reading through some of the earlier suggestions, the newcomer can think of questions to ask as you shop around. Don't be afraid to ask them!
Your investment of time, talent, and money deserves careful consideration. It certainly won't hurt for you to identify the instructor and watch how he or she works before you accept him or her as your instructor.
A number of club officers are probably saying, "Hogwash! We get along fine with our self-styled everybody-is-an-instructor approach to helping a newcomer" or "We don't need a fancy program to do the job!" You're correct.
But if you'd have a more organized approach in the long haul you would learn that you have safer flying and keep members longer. In the end, you'll create a better club.
Some newcomers may be thinking "I can do this on my own. I don't have to have an instructor to help me." There is a hobby-shop owner or a club officer who hasn't heard that tune many times.
And how often have they heard the second verse? It begins "Know anybody who would like to buy some used equipment?"
During the course of writing this column, I slipped into a trip to a local hobby shop.
Dave (an experienced modeler who works in the shop) and I spent 20 minutes with a newcomer trying to sell the idea that he shouldn't try to teach himself.
Dave gave him contacts for clubs in his immediate area. It was my pet phrase, "Learning to fly R/C (Radio Control) is like learning to roller skate on ball bearings: the model wants to be very delicate in control."
As the newcomer left it was obvious to me and Dave that he was going to have to go at it by himself.
Anybody want to buy some used equipment?
Epilogue
Yes, many modelers have learned to fly on their own—I was one of those souls. But had I known then what I know now, I would never have gone that route.
It took me longer, and it was "cheaper" only because I was able to fly in a very large area with no one nearby to check and wasn't practicing good safety procedures. Learning on my own was also more expensive, because I went through more equipment than I needed to in order to learn.
Trial and error is always more excruciating than trial and success!
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
