Hi all:
Here's the official announcement; I've just retired as the Aeromodeling Editor of Model Aviation magazine. This essentially ends a 22 year stint as the Editor of one modeling magazine or the other.
I have been asked to accept the post of Editor Emeritus of Model Aviation, and have just signed the contract for that post. Essentially this is a stipened consulting position with a few monthly duties. It suits me just fine, as I will still have some influence on what construction features get published. Rest assured I will always do what I can to keep CL as an integral part of the mix as often as possible.
This move gives me a lot of freedom to do many other things that I have wanted to get involved in, and it also finally gives me freedom to come on here and comment from time to time on some controversial subjects. As the Editor of MA I had to be very careful what I posted on the various forums. As a spokesperson for the magazine and the AMA I could not always voice my own personal feelings on many matters. Trust me, all that is about to change.
What am I going to do now? Well I don't have the time or energy right now to lay it all out for you, but I'll try to encapsulate it a bit.
First of all I'm reopening Robin's View Productions for business. I had to all but shut down my personal hobby business concerns due to a possible perceived conflict of interest while I was the editor of MA. You may not have noticed, but I have not advertised any of my wares in the modeling magazines or in Stunt News for many years. Thankfully I have had a very large and loyal group of customers who kept all of it going in a part time and unofficial manner.
I have lots of new stuff to offer and many new concepts to promote. I will soon have a new web site (I shut down the old RVP web site many years ago) and will inform everyone of the myriad products and services I will now offer. These of course include foam wing cutting services and Lost-Foam wings and cradle sets.
If you have specific questions for me now on what I have to offer at this point, please do not hesitate to call or email me. My phone number is: 610-746-0106 and my email address is: robinhunt@rcn.com
Another venture that I've begun with a close personal friend is an aerial photography service. We take commercial and residential aerial photos from a very innovative new RC model design. This model was purpose-designed by Dean Pappas and it is just fantastic. If you would care to take a look at it or at some of our work, please visit our Shutterhawk Aerial Photography web site at:
www.shutterhawkap.comWe are very pleased with the initial results and are getting new accounts on an almost daily basis. Talk about making your hobby your job...
As many of you know, I'm also a motorcycle fanatic. I've been a Pennsylvania Motorcycle Safety Program Rider Coach for 6 years, and for the past three years I've been a Site Coordinator and state licenser as well. When students pass our 15 hour course I stamp their permits and it becomes a valid PA motorcycle license, good until they get an update card from Harrisburg. This has been a very rewarding job in both personal satisfaction and in dollars, as we get paid quite well as Site Coordinators.
So, it seems that my retirement will usher in the most busy time of my life, and I'll be working more than ever before. Seems to be a Hunt family trait...
Anyway, just thought you all might like to know what's happening.
Bob Hunt