I could not help but to chime in here.
Since Doctor Hacker's name has been mentioned a few times I would like to
say a few words about him and his influence on me.
I first showed up to a S.O. meet with a kit built model which was in a state
of perpetual stalling. Hack saw something in me, a fire worth stoking, which
he stoked. He reached out to me by contacting my school and asking me to
build a pennyplane. Hack took me under his wing and introduced me to a hobby
which has shaped my life in numerous ways. I feel fortunate to be have been
a part of the initial influx of juniors into the hobby, which was only
initiated by the S.O. Without the involvement of Hack, not to mention John
Kagen, Don and Chuck S, Larry Lucka, and many others, my involvement would
have fizzled. They not only motivated and supported me with ideas,
techniques, and rubber, but also with kindness and friendship. I take
personal offense to the comments that called my friends introverted or nuts
or crazy. This is not the case.
Without my involvement in Indoor FF, I would have never been able to pursue
my passions the way that I do today. I developed a love for balsa wood and
model making that drew me to the field of Architecture. The act of making,
the craft that is inherent in building a model and the subsequent testing
and tweaking involved in flying it taught me how to think critically and how
to be a creative problem solver. I was also fascinated by the personalities
of my fellow competitors. There were times where I walked too fast next to a
stooge and was asked to walk slowly. However, I never felt unwelcome or
experienced any negativity from anyone.
I have not been actively involved in the indoor community for about 6 years,
and I regret not maintaining my involvement. Despite that, I still read the
indoor emails daily, and have kept my AMA membership current. I have
difficulty managing my time now with a full time job and the daily rigors of
life. I find it inspiring to think about the people who work, have a family
and social life and still find the time to build and fly models. I need to
re-prioritize and get Indoor back up to the top of my list.
I do not believe that there are "structural problems" with the hobby. It has
existed, for the most part unchanged, for roughly half a century. The Wright
brothers built in essence a large scale model airplane that relied on the
same aerodynamic principles which we employ in our planes (wing warping) to
fly. In the last 100 years aviation has advanced in leaps and bounds. We can
now fly non-stop across the united stated in 5 hours, when in 1900 it was a
week long affair.
Even though Indoor is a highly specialized form of model aviation, I think
that what is not broken should not be fixed. Instead of criticizing the
hobby in general, we should be looking for creative ways to engage new
people with our hobby. We should be collaborating on ideas about how to
market the hobby to younger people (outside of S.O.), working together to
procure flying sites on a regional level and strive to build and maintain
solid relationships with the owners/operators of these sites (An example is
the strong ties to Lakehurst that Romash has built)
It is clear to me that I need to make time for indoor once again, not only
because I need it to fill a void in my life but also because I would be
happy to help with the issues I just mentioned.
On Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 2:58 PM, Don DeLoach <ddeloach_at_comcast.net> wrote:
>
>
> Wow.
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com<Indoor_Construction%40yahoogroups.com>
> [mailto:Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com<Indoor_Construction%40yahoogroups.com>]
> On Behalf Of Don Slusarczyk
> Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 3:18 PM
> To: Indoor_Construction_at_yahoogroups.com<Indoor_Construction%40yahoogroups.com>
> Subject: Re: [Indoor_Construction] Solutions for Indoor FF
>
> >
> >
> >
> > Don, give me a break with the nitpicking. I did not know F1L was in
> > the AMA
> > rulebook. Of course I knew it was an FAI event.
> >
> > What does this have to do with my core message--that indoor FF has some
> > serious problems that need fixing?
> >
>
> It has to do with your posts and your continued negative
> characterizations of the indoor free flight community. Your perception
> of an indoor free flight modeler shows both arrogance and ignorance. For
> a person who claims to be a "progressive" thinker I find your general
> attitude to be continuously insulting and condescending. Perhaps when
> you can stop name calling the whole indoor community perhaps you will be
> taken seriously and perhaps get some respect back . Boasting about how
> great YOUR outdoor FF sport is and saying how archaic and out of touch
> the indoor FF guys are is getting old and I am tired of hearing that
> horse manure spread across the internet.
>
> Indoor is a highly specialized aspect of aero modeling that has always
> had a relatively low number of participants. Criticizing an indoor
> modeler for asking a person to walk slow or asking a parent to gain some
> control over their child in a public place at a model event is hardly a
> valid criticism. Have you spent days or weeks on a model only to have it
> destroyed by a careless spectator? Ask my dad how is Manhattan Cabin was
> destroyed by a spectator at USIC, or his EZB? A simple "Sorry" means
> nothing and does nothing when you spent months preparing your models to
> attend the USIC. If a person tells you to slow down then that means you
> were walking too fast. If you talk too loud in the library thy tell you
> to be quiet. It is a matter of respect and courtesy in the venue you are
> in. So until you stop characterizing the indoor community the way you
> do, you comments on what our "problems" are nothing more than spam.
>
> Don
>
> ------------------------------------
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
--
BEN SAKS
Project Designer
bsaks_at_wetdesign.com
WET
10817 Sherman Way
Sun Valley, CA 91352
T 818.769.6200
F 818.301.6111
www.wetdesign.com
Received on Tue Jun 02 2009 - 15:40:21 CEST