Safety is closely tied to the future of our sport. This point was clearly made during a recent aerial cinematography event held in Hollywood. The attendees were mostly professional and semiprofessional operators of remotely controlled, camera-carrying aircraft.
The AMA was represented by Rich Hanson (AMA’s director of public relations and government affairs and a recent inductee of the AMA Model Aviation Hall of Fame), who provided an update on the federal government versus modelers, and sUAS operators. There is a large technology overlap between hobbyists and commercial users.
Quadcopters and similar machines can be flown for recreational, scientific, and commercial purposes, and competitively. These aircraft come in all sizes and shapes, and any given machine might be a large sport model or a small commercial camera platform.
My concern (shared by many serious-minded commercial operators) is that some foolish outlaw pilot will make the news with a disastrous failed stunt and the incident will reflect badly on more level-headed hobbyists and cinematographers. I’ve seen online footage that makes me fear for the future of our hobby. The commercial users feel the same about their jobs!
Rich made friends and allies in Hollywood, and I hope these people will stand with the AMA in supporting safe operation of small unmanned aircraft—whether they are recreationally flown or used to shoot a movie.
This conference was hosted by Canon USA, at its building on Sunset Boulevard—pretty glamorous! After the company generously sponsored the conference and let me attend, I felt like a heel taking photos with my Nikon, but Canon officials were even gracious about that.
There were some fantastic four- and six-rotor multicopters on display, along with beautiful state-of-the-art airborne Canon camera equipment. I heard the same thing from all the factory reps: “Hey! Don’t touch that!”
After the guest speakers finished, we all went outside for flight demonstrations. Wow! Those aircraft equipped with cameras are amazing. The pilots are serious—not only are they acutely aware of the importance of safely flying near people, they also have expensive cameras onboard, and usually an entire movie crew “on the clock.”
These are methodical and prudent fliers. They are the type of people who I think we need on our side as we work with the FAA, and the light commercial sUAS industry could also benefit from our help.
Thinking Outside of the Circle
Larry Renger told me about a different effort to shape the future of aeromodeling. He and the Knights of the Round Circle club have been using the new ET-1 CL electric trainer indoors and outdoors to give kids their first taste of CL flight. The rugged models are made from recycled Coroplast political-campaign signs (insert your own joke here).
The brilliant part is that the electric power system has an RC throttle control operated by an assistant outside of the circle. The instructor and trainee-pilot can concentrate on flying, and the throttle-jockey stands ready to cut the power when needed.
At the 2014 AMA Expo, the club taught approximately 60 kids how to use the ET-1. Airspace and flight times were available for the CL fliers. That RC room was booked to the max with product demos and aerobatic shows, so it was a big deal to give this project a priority. Kudos to the organizers! I tried to get in on the fun, but my white beard stood out among the school kids and I was booted out of line.
For new readers, CL flying is where the pilot holds a handle that attaches to the aircraft with two thin wires. The model flies in a circle with the pilot controlling the elevator. It is the only type of model flying where you can actually feel your control inputs affecting the airplane. You don’t get dizzy if you do it properly, I promise. If you have never tried CL, you are missing something great.
Crashes Happen
Do you crave danger; excitement? If so, visit the Education Resource Area (the “Free Flight room”) at the next AMA Expo.
Gorilla Glue again sponsored a build-and-fly program at the 2014 event, where hundreds of new modelers test-flew their new rubber-powered Sky Streaks. The little aircraft went everywhere. One airplane made it past our bird-netting defenses and crashed into a Denny Dart display model. My witty friends saw the wing insignia and said, “At least it was a military target.”
The kid who launched the kamikaze model thought she was in trouble. I had a chance to either scar her psyche for life, or make her feel like a real modeler. I handed her airplane back and said, “Nice flight! You really got some altitude.” Then I repaired my airplane and made sure she saw it fly again.
Kids are surprised that most models can be fixed and flown again after a crash. They are accustomed to “it’s broken, I need a new one.”
My model was an inexpensive indoor sport aircraft. How would you react if your pricey RC airplane was damaged by another model? Sometimes a midair happens, and is no one’s fault. Other crashes are because of a pilot’s foolish actions or negligence. I’ve seen pilots accept a wrecked model with grace and forgiveness, although anger might be justified.
If I accidentally hurt someone else’s flying machine, especially in an avoidable accident, I would feel awful and want to make restitution. An ARF can easily be replaced, but how about a scratch-built airplane? Money and apologies won’t bring it back, but neither will hollering and insults.
We take a risk when we share the air with other pilots. Flying with friends is more fun, but mishaps are always a possibility. It takes a mature, classy flier to gracefully accept the loss of an airplane or helicopter, and to keep in mind that the accident spared our friends and only hurt our things.
Levitation Schmevitation
I admit to being dazzled and confused by new technologies, but “new” does not always mean “good.” The latest fad appears to be a breadbox-size device that can sense and align with the Earth’s magnetic field.
Perhaps you’ve seen the video? It has a three-sided electromagnet that somehow compensates for the weight of the device, allowing the machine to float in the air. Essentially, it uses the planet’s magnetic field to compensate for the force of gravity. The energy requirement is impossibly high, but improvements are coming.
Apparently, the effect only works when the magnets are aligned north and south, but diabolical nerds are trying to figure a way to make the monstrosity not only hover but move in any direction, via infrared remote control (because radio control obviously wouldn’t work on this thing).
So far, AMA leadership has been silent on this subject. I am repulsed by the concept of weight-compensation levitation. The whole idea of “flight” via gravitational magnetic force has no pull on me.
Note that this is not a helicopter or airplane, and I think it is not an aircraft at all. In my opinion, AMA should pull the plug on this technology and not allow the machines to be called model aircraft. Let’s keep our feet on the ground, so to speak.
We don’t need some electronic mess with no wings or rotors hovering around our flying sites. What fun is it to simply levitate? Aviation means using the air to become airborne, not just flipping a switch and eliminating gravity.
