For Openers
Fifty-three years! If you don't count the lost years of World War II-1942-45 inclusive-that many Nationals reach back to Calvin Coolidge, to before the Great Depression and Lindbergh's flight, to Babe Ruth, the Curtiss Condor and the Keystone bomber. To almost 15 years before AMA. The first, in 1923, saw a couple of dozen youngsters, mostly from a Chicago and a St. Louis club, fly their prehistoric rubber jobs near the city of Checkerboard Square. At the last, in Lincoln, Nebraska, specialists in highly evolved events-like Pylon, Team Race, Soaring, Pattern, Speed, to name a few-competed in what seemed like meets within meets, each a national activity in itself-simultaneous Nationals, if you will. Close up, each of the great events does seem like a world in itself, with its own breed of directors, timers, flagmen, pitmen, helmets, ear muffs, flags, stop watches, judges, techniques, sights and sounds.
For Openers
For 10 days nowwehave been AWOL from the editorial desk living a fantasy of years: to fly, just for once, until we had our fill of flipping props, tweaking sticks, chasing thermals, and all the super jazz. We are stiff, burned, and have a crick in the back from tossing that malevolent Sniffer. Only the real-world reality of having this column next Monday has taken us out of the high of a lifetime. Vacations around Model Aviation are as common as thermals in a blizzard, so we have a guilty twinge every time we think of publisher Wheeley, to whom six-day weeks are routine, riding herd on our loose ends while guarding the stockade.
For Openers
One of the more gratifying things observed at the little-used flying fields we are fond of visiting-where we can make long flights and chase illusive thermals without tying up several other people on the same frequency-is the fairly frequent appearance of teenagers with their first radio jobs. They are surprisingly determined. They seem to have much more luck than guys in their twenties who, perhaps having a somewhat broader base-tend to opt for colorful but offbeat crates, scratch built from magazines. We are impressed by the giant leaps the kids can make when some older hand lends friendly help. And from all this, our own confused notions about what a trainer should be-is there one among us who is not confused by this question?-is acquiring a sharper perspective.
