My father was all excited, "We 're going to the Chicago Science Museum!" WW2 had ended and the museum just hung a real Spitfire and Stuka from the entrance rotunda. That was about 81 years ago when I was 6. The 2 planes had me in awe, but the souvenir shop set the course of my life. I brought home my first 2 kits ... a Comet Spad XIIi stick model kit and a Strombecker P-38 wood kit. I broke a Gillet double edge razor blade in half for cutting the parts out, and my mother had to find where to buy a tube of glue. How to cover with the thin tissue was a mystery, so I covered with typewriter paper. Not bad considering that I never saw a model airplane before.
In the mid-50s, my uncle gave me a tube-type RC radio. The high school drafting teacher let me draw up plans for converting a Thermic glider to RC. The uncle also gave me a UC Avro Baby biplane with an Arden .09 engine. I still fly UC but now they have electric motors and throttle control. Spectators wonder how the ol' geezer doesn't get dizzy and fall over.
In the late 1950s, I joined the AMA and under the white paint of the old Pith helmet is the original 4-digit AMA number. Raising a family caused a couple breaks in the membership, but it is now current with only 5 digits. As an AMA and club instructor, I use a different technique. First, we have to find the comfortable way for the student to hold the Tx and work the sticks. In the air, I use the rule of 3; only do a new procedure 3 times and then switch to another and do it 3 times, and then another also 3 times. Then start over with the first procedure. Add something new to each cycle. In one afternoon, my son went from never flown RC to soloing 3 times with verbal guidance. On the 7th flight, I handed him the Tx and my best aerobatic plane. "Have fun." I went and sat with the other members. One finally asked, "How long has he been flying?" "Only today." What a smile on both our faces when he landed.
My real airplane flight instructor was an airshow pilot. He was ready to solo me in only 7 hours. He said I was a natural pilot. The "kissing disease" from high school graduation caused me to lose coordination for 2 years and I never soloed. A corrupt politician ruined my 2 nominations to the new Air Force Academy. All this was for the best because an instant change in vision occurred and would have happened if I was in the Air force and at that time flying over North Vietnam at 1,000 miles per hour.
We bought our home right across the street from an elementary school with a large grass field and a big, paved area. Perfect for RC and UC flying. Mr. Petro was known by the neighborhood kids because he taught them how to fly 1/2A UC. Sad to report that only 1 boy went into an aviation career and 1 boy flies RC. The school is now shut down and the few kids in the neighborhood don't even look when I am out with an RC plane. Recently, I was waiting for my wife at the local YMCA, and I brought an RC set to program with a stabilizer unit. Only1 boy came over and was interested.
The lack of youth entering the model airplane hobby is caused by multi-faceted conditions. True, smart phones have their attention. But I think also a major deterrent is the silent electric motors. "Gas model airplanes" drew spectators to the sound. But now, even if there was a loud sound, the multiple local schools have been closed and there are very few urban flying sites. Hobby shops are almost all gone.
Some 30+ years ago, we organized a new RC club, Deep River RC Club, with a unique flying field. The County Park System bought the farm which used to be owned by the infamous Al Capone. This was his refuge outside of Chicago. It included a sulky racetrack. Our field is the center field. Over the years, we have had programs to interest kids and adults at both the large shopping mall and at our club field. We enjoy showing off, but the arousing interests has been nil.
The Federal Government has also caused a loss in RC flyers. The FAA has been much discussed, but the National Park Service has done worse. Some years ago, the NPS suddenly banned model flying in the parks. I flew slope gliders for 35 years off a large sand dune overlooking Lake Michigan. Both hang gliders and model airplanes shared the air space. The reason for closing this site was that we were stepping on the dune grass. Mount Baldy was a shifting dune caused by the winds. Planting dune grass was never successful in making it stable. The head of the NPS made a unilateral decision and there was no appeal. We always had people using the beach coming up the dune to ask questions from us flyers. No more.
All the years until retirement were in engineering, but never aviation. I was in the beginning of electric RC and computers. I met an assortment of interesting people; wrote 30 published model airplane and other major magazine articles; did model testing; and once entered the AMA Nats with a plane and a special e-power motor and battery sponsored by the makers. One son used his interest in my thoughts of replacing moveable flight controls with active electrostatic control. This got him to the National Science Fair and then into graduating from West Point. Best of all, his younger brother finally, a year ago, approached me about teaching him to fly RC. We have different interests but always fly as a team.
No one can escape aging. Techniques have prevented major skill losses. My son is now usually the test pilot of new things. A few months ago at the field, a club member cautiously approached me. "Jim, the fellas have been talking about you. We know how old you are and are amazed that you still walk around this big field like the rest of us." So am I because I was born with offset knees.
I am the perennial club vice president. The meetings expect me to have a story and some "different" item to show-n-tell. My son has a solitary job, and I am glad to see how the club has opened him to friends and interests.
During a trip to the AMA headquarters, I went to the National Model Aviation Museum. There was the old hobby shop similar to the one I worked in during high school. But, when I turned, I saw the glass display case, and everything stopped. In it were a Comet Spad XIII stick model kit and a Strombecker wood P-38 kit Yes, the same.
May your landings be where intended,
Jim
