Flying for Fun
What's in a name? George Myers' April column discussed AMA's evolution from a primarily scientific study group of the 1930s to a sport fliers group of the 1990s. His well-thought-out treatise traces AMA's change in emphasis and perceived mission. Reading his column made me ponder the difference between an academy and an association. My old dictionary defines an association as "an associated body of persons formed for a common objective; a society." Academy is defined as "a school for instruction in special subjects: an association of men eminent in literature, science, and art."
Flying for Fun
SOME OF MY LIFE'S greatest moments have been spent watching free flight models lock into thermals and climb as if they were being moved by the hand of God to become mere specks in the sky. Some of my happiest days were spent flying free fight with my sons at events all over the US. Unfortunately, as my sons grew up, retrieving free flight models became increasingly arduous. The mile markers got farther and farther apart.
Flying for Fun
PLANTING SEEDS: Some seeds sprout very quickly and bloom almost overnight, while others lie dormant for many years until the correct conditions occur, whereupon they burst forth in full bloom. I hold that not all modeling programs that promote modeling to the public bloom immediately. We can plant the seeds and carefully nurture them, but often we must wait patiently for the program to germinate and finally bloom. If a modeling promotion project doesn't immediately produce a mass rush to the hobby shop, we should not consider the seeds dead. Rather, they are just dormant and may remain so for many years until suddenly the proper stimulus triggers their maturation.
Flying for Fun
A RC SCALE DURATION: During the nearly twenty years I've been writing for model magazines, nothing has equaled the response to my comments on A RC Scale Duration in the October 1994 column. Many others agree that building and thermaling scale models of this size would be terrific fun. Input has varied regarding the mechanisms to develop rules, but the response to the concept has been totally favorable. Several letters indicate a preference for using a fuel allotment approach, similar to Norm Rosenstock's A Texaco proposal in the July 1994 issue of this magazine. Other writers prefer using the power duration or climb-and-glide rules currently in the AMA rule book. Some express concerns over my suggested use of a standard engine, while still others are uneasy about the ROG requirements.
A Little History
Aeronca, A Photo History by Hollenbaugh and House is highly recommended to anyone with an interest in Aeroncas. This delightful soft-cover book includes an excellent section on the numerous variations of the T (trainer) series. This was Aeronca's first tandem-seat aircraft, and their first design with a four-longeron box fuselage and aluminum wing ribs. When the threat of war became apparent in 1939, the US military had a serious shortage of aircraft and an even more alarming undersupply of pilots. The government instituted an emergency program to train a pool of civilians in the basic piloting skills, to be activated as aviation cadets when the military training programs were developed.
