Aero Mail
If you have a letter to the editor, please submit it to MA Editor-in-Chief Jay Smith at 5161 E. Memorial Dr., Muncie IN 47302, or email to jays@modelaircraft.org or at www.ModelAviation.com/editor
Letter Sparks Good Memories
I was reading the letters to the editor in my April Model Aviation, and specifically the letter from Mr. Kenny Daus, who emphasized the fun of model aviation. I agree with him heartily, but I would suggest it goes a lot further than that.
Unfortunately, when my son was growing up I did not have custody of him, but many weekends we spent at the local flying field together, flying aircraft that I had built. Some days we would be all alone at the local field and would get in a few flights on a warm October afternoon, then we would sit on the grass and just talk. It is one of the fondest memories I have of a period that was full of strife in our lives.
My son and I are still very close to this day. When he grew up and went off to college, my nephew became interested in model aviation. I mailed our radio equipment to him and he was off to the races! He was soon hot-wire cutting his own designs and at a young age knew what he wanted to do with his life. Today he is an AMA contest director, is building his own experimental aircraft, and last, but not least, is a propulsion engineer working in the private sector of the space industry. I dare say these might not have happened if we were hampered in our interest in model aviation.
We mustn’t allow uninformed legislators [to] take this healthy hobby away from us. I understand they are trying to resolve a problem brought on largely by advances in technology, and also by a relatively few individuals who are selfish scofflaws who will be unimpressed by any new laws enacted, but if you sit back and look hard at all the proposed regulations, they do not really address those issues, and a lot of law-abiding citizens will pay the price.
I applaud the AMA’s efforts to preserve this segment of our freedom in our country.
—Larry Gould
