Education Through Aviation
by Bill Pritchett, Education Director
billp@modelaircraft.org
“You have the privilege of working with your students for a lifetime. When you are responsible for the content and the design of learning experiences, it has the potential to reach people for a lifetime. That’s a long time.” —Anonymous Teacher
Teaching is a privilege. Teaching is also a huge responsibility. When you take on the role of teacher, those under your guidance and leadership count on you. They trust you. They remember what you’ve taught them. And, if you’re ultimately successful, they will share what they’ve learned from you with others. They’ll share it with their family, friends, and most importantly, their children. Before you know it, what you’ve taught many years ago is still being shared with others.
Yes, teaching is a huge responsibility. Teaching is a job that many don’t want—be especially kind to those who accept the task. Teaching is a job that many believe to be easy. Be very careful with this one. The best of teachers might make it look easy, but just as you watch the PGA on television, go hit a golf ball. It’s just not as easy as it looks. And so it goes within model aviation.
We are desperately looking for a few good teachers—willing participants to share the wonder of model aviation.
People who will passionately inspire young people to build a small, rubber-powered airplane. People who are still fascinated by things that fly, still look up when something goes overhead, and still believe in the quality, diversity, and effectiveness of learning that surrounds everything model aviation.
In 1981, I returned to Muncie, Indiana, after three years of teaching in another community. Ball State University, my alma mater, is here, so coming back was comfortable. One of the first things I wanted was to get back into model aviation. I guess I went through the usual college “drop-out-from-flying” period.
At that time, there were two hobby shops in town. I asked where the flying was happening and was pointed to the nearby reservoir. Many years later it’s funny to me how close the AMA is to that same reservoir.
I rode my super-cool Suzuki GS1100E out there one day and met a man named Gary Bussell. Gary told me what I needed to jump back into modeling. I guess my Citizenship radio had been replaced. I went for all he suggested—a Futaba radio setup, an O.S. .10 engine, and a Dynaflite Butterfly to put it all
into. I called it the Attack Butterfly. For reasons known only to area psychologists, I made that airplane olive green. Quite possibly the ugliest Butterfly ever built. I still have that airplane, I might include a photo of it here. Or maybe not. Let your imagination run wild …
Gary taught me how to really fly. Although I flew quite a bit in middle school (Control Line) and high school (Mode 1), he got me on Mode 2 and I never looked back. Throughout the last 36 or so years, Gary and I still see each other and fly together quite a bit. The latest thing Gary did that completely shut me down was at the Toledo Show: R/C Model Expo, in Toledo, Ohio.
I had heard he was working on a boat of some kind, which was taking a while, and although he’s built many boats throughout the years, this one was special according to the talk at the field. When I saw his ship, I simply wasn’t ready for it. Gary, and his wife, Connie, gave me the full tour.
Looking at the ship isn’t all you need to do. You must review photos of every deck that he covered up in making it. Thousands of hours, no doubt, that can’t be seen, and all with the same incredible detail that can be seen from the outside. It weighs, with keel, roughly 90 pounds and Gary plans to sail it this season.
He said something a long time ago that I’ve never forgotten: When you build a kit, it’s a good job of building if it looks like an ARF! Gary has built so many beautiful models that it reminds me of the obvious. I’m a flier—Gary is a modeler.
The AMA Alpha, our new rubber-powered indoor airplane, is coming along on schedule. Our people have completed the box graphics and the model’s scheme. We’re proud of this effort and look forward to thousands of them being flown by individuals, clubs, groups, and our partners across the US.
I’ve previously mentioned the critical role of “the clip,” using thermal-formed foam for flying surfaces, including controlled flight capabilities, and three motors worth of FAI rubber. Oh, and a 20:1 winder. Twenty years ago we had video cameras, cameras, telephones, a watch, calculator, and computers. Now we have a “phone.” I think you’ll find the same huge jump between the AMA Alpha and the Delta Dart!
Fly and have fun!
