President’s Perspective
Dave Brown, AMA president
It's July as this is being written, and that means the National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats) are in full swing. And it's a milestone: the 75th Anniversary Nats.
This tradition predates even the AMA, having started in 1926. I don't know how many events that first Nats had, but I'm reasonably sure that the people who flew in it would be astounded by the number of events we fly today and by the technology we have available.
Just a couple of years ago, turbines were new and everyone watched each flight in awe. This year there were quite a few of these engines present in the Radio Control (RC) Scale event, and only a few of them drew the attention of large numbers of people.
This is not to say that the technology isn't advancing. In fact, it's the greatest testimony to that advancement. We live in a wonderful time for aeromodelling, where new technology and new products are available every day.
Although technological advancement is a wonderful thing, it comes with a price. This price is not only paid in dollars to purchase the technology, but it can place a burden on the facilities where these technologies are utilized.
Throughout the years we have seen the effects of technological advancement many times. As technology increased the speeds in various classes of Control Line (CL) Speed, we compensated by going to longer lines, which required larger circles. We have been able to compensate with rules changes to limit the net effect on the events in some cases.
Smaller fuel tanks in Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) Team Race (down to only 7 cc!) have kept that event challenging, and we actually go faster and farther than we ever did.
In Free Flight (FF) we have reduced the engine run to compensate for the additional power available.
We currently have some problems associated with technological advancements that have affected the RC Scale events. The advent of the turbine and the increasing size of RC Scale models have resulted in the aircraft flying over more territory in a typical flight.
At the International Aeromodelling Center in Muncie, this has resulted in some models flying over areas not under the flight path when the site was designed. This has created some safety concerns and requires that we address the issue.
Although it's possible to address the problem through rules adjustment, it doesn't fit into our mission to encourage advances in technology. By the same token, we obviously can't condone a situation that is viewed as unsafe by the majority of people.
The solution would be easy if we could simply pick up the sites and move them. Since that can't be done, we are faced with solving this problem by building additional facilities, making modifications to existing facilities, designing ground rules at the Nats that would restrict the flight paths, or changing the event schedules.
The ultimate solution will involve some combination of the above, but it's a juggling act since we have a lot of activities going on simultaneously and any changes made in one event will affect all the other events.
I'm sure we will find a solution to the puzzle, but I'm also sure that some people will take exception to whatever solution is found. It's called compromise, and it's an art form we practice constantly.
Each sport has its heroes, and each kid seems to worship one of those heroes. Few kids are ever able to meet those heroes, much less work with them.
I have been incredibly lucky in my life to have been able to meet and work with many of the heroes of my youth, but none of them loomed larger than George Aldrich in any sense of the word.
We lost George on the Fourth of July, and somehow that date seemed fitting. George was one of those rare guys whose talent had an effect on virtually every aspect of our sport.
As a CL stunt champion, George was revered. As an engine builder he was looked at in a way by modelers in many categories.
I'll remember George not only as the hero of my youth, but as a man who was the Contest Director of the first RC Pattern contest I ever flew in and as a District Vice President whom I worked with on the Executive Council.
Such was the all-around modeler he represented. I believe God needed someone to work with all of the aeromodellers in heaven, and George was the best candidate.
'Til next month.
Dave Brown AMA president dbrown@<REDACTED>
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
