Latest ama magazine

[Robert Zambelli]

I counted around 21 pages of drone related CRAP   

That's about ONE SIXTH of the total number of pages in the magazine.

And, the ama is now offering a special issue called "drone pilot".    

I am so disgusted with that rag that I won't even pass it on.    
Maybe it'll be a good shotgun target.

Bob Z.

[FLOYD CARTER]

It's hard to understand why AMA devotes so much print to drones.  A very few AMA members play with drones, and then an even smaller number stick with it for any time.  The magazine does not begin to reach the real drone market, which is non-modelers.  Perhaps the advertisers are hoping to tap into customers who are more than just casually interested in playing with toys.

[john e. holliday]

Well I just renewed with AMA and I wonder about you guys.   Yes drones(really they should be called quad copters) is the fad right now.   You think the free flight guys complained back in the day when control line became the main event/type of plane?  I have ran across some CL stuff or stuff I could apply to my control line flying.   Granted there have been some issues I went through in no time, but some I have saved.

[Jim Carter]

I know I have no business commenting on this post because this is probably going to really upset someone, but it's not intended to, by any means.  But the same point was brought up by one of my local flying buddies regarding the lack of control line articles, photos and such.  With about 5 other guys standing around, I asked "What did you submit and when did you submit it"  ??  The silence was deafening  !!

At that point a very brief discussion was held relating how on any given flying session, we have anywhere from two to ten guys showing up nearly every flying session, with nearly every one of them doing their own building, covering, painting, modifying, repairing, engine, airframe, lines and flightbox maintenance.  Not one of them, including me, has taken the time to put together anything that could even come close to being print worthy .

As such, what else, assuming other guys around the country who do and like what we do and like .... if nobody is taking the time to write and submit .... what should we expect to be published ??  Again, the silence was deafening until an old Fox 35  on an old VooDoo fired up  !!

[Tom Vieira]

what Jim said....

[Will Hinton]

What Doc and Jim and TJ said.  Grow up guys.

[Randy Powell]

Of course the cover drones extensively. Just follow the money.

[Gary Dowler]

I counted around 21 pages of drone related CRAP   

That's about ONE SIXTH of the total number of pages in the magazine.

And, the ama is now offering a special issue called "drone pilot".    

I am so disgusted with that rag that I won't even pass it on.    
Maybe it'll be a good shotgun target.

Bob Z.

Just did a count of drone vs CL pics in this issue. The score was 34-6.  And at 6 I thought CL was doing well, given recent issues.

Gary

[eric david conley]

     Just paying the bills.

[Randy Cuberly]

Sorry...but I just can't see any logic in calling these "things" Model Airplanes!  In my humble opinion they just don't meet that definition.  Models of WHAT?

I could be wrong but I cant remember, in my 70 year association with Model airplanes, any amount of coverage in a major AMA magazine that even came close to this last atrocity.  I somewhat doubt that there has ever been such a coverage of an entire Nationals Contest that rivals it.

For what it's worth...I've been grown up for many years and give the AMA just as much money for membership as anyone else.  BUT have never seen any fragment of Model aviation treated so lavishly!

Frankly if these things truly are the "future" of model aviation I will probably give it up and just concentrate on competitive shooting.  I consider them about as interesting as designing outside toilets.  Functional but not any real fun!

Actually I will happily turn the AMA over to these Toys!  I give this "Fad" about 6 years before most of these guys give up and move on to something else that they can buy and break!

There...Now I'm completely "All Grown Up".

Randy Cuberly

[Randy Cuberly]

Guys'  ....Yes I'm going to say it.  Some of you really need to wake up and smell the coffee and it's not the folks who are complaining that this applies to!

Control Line generates no advertising, Free Flight generates no advertising.  As Randy ( the other Randy) pointed out...Though the AMA is supposed to be a member supported organization, they truly are NOT!  They are in fact a monetarily supported organization supported mostly by their advertising in  "Model Aviation"  (still don't know why they call it that), and Control Line and Free flight just don't support that.

No matter how many CL and FF articles are submitted they will always get mediocre coverage simply because they don't monetarily support the usage of the magazine space!

I support AMA with my membership fee because it's necessary to compete in sanctioned contests.  They provide insurance (albeit somewhat questionable secondary insurance) that allows coverage to suppliers of flying space!  Actually that's fairly valuable!  To be fair however CL and FF members should be allowed to pay a reduced membership fee that only supports the insurance program without the stupid Model Aviation mag which will never be able to afford the luxury of printing CL and FF articles.

Yeah I know..."Good Luck With That".

Randy Cuberly

[Will Hinton]

I thoroughly enjoy the magazine.

[wwwarbird]

 Here we are, beating the dead horse, again and again, again and again, again...

 Myself, I'm about to begin my third year as a NON member. I absolutely refuse to support the AMA ever since their president proclaimed quads and/or drones as being the "Future of Model Aviation". At this point, and for quite some time (years), they have entirely lost touch with any semblance of true aero-modeling and the roots of their own history. With that in mind I'd already been debating cancelling for quite some time anyway, but that "Future of" proclamation was the last straw for me, I'm DONE with them.

[john e. holliday]

Not only does the people not submit articles or pictures to Model Aviation,  look at Stunt News.  How many times has Bobby Hunt begged for input to Stunt News.  I know I'm as guilty as any one else at not submitting any thing to either publication.   Do good with what I post on here.

[wwwarbird]

 On the topic of submissions, yes, I'm sure they could always use them. I'm also sure that there have been many submissions made over the years that never saw or were even considered for print.

 Here's an idea for them, the AMA (the people you're paying money to). Annually, they have a large Control Line contest that's held right in their own front yard, it's called the NATS. Maybe one or two of them could put down the donut and coffee, get up out of their cubicle, stretch, go outside and talk to the competitors, including the beginners, take a whole bunch of pictures, and write their own ARTICLE for the magazine on the event. When do you suppose the last time was that they published a feature article on the C/L NATS? Gee, maybe they could even publish the results! What a concept. 

[Mike Griffin]

"On the topic of submissions, yes, I'm sure they could always use them. I'm also sure that there have been many submissions made over the years that never saw or were even considered for print".  wwwarbird

Years ago, before this quadcopter junk was ever printed in Model Aviation, I submitted 4 different articles pertaining to control line spread out over a period of months.  Not only did they not get printed, they(AMA) never even acknowledged they received the articles.  I conferred with Allen Brickhaus about the subject matter before I submitted the articles and they were very pertinent to control line. 


I doubt very seriously if I was the only one who took the time to do this.


Wayne was exactly right. 

Mike

[Guy B Jr]

There are some good posts here that explain our plight. Since Model Aviation has a "reader comments" section, I suggest that you send these exact comments to them and see if they actually print them.

[JoeJust]

There are some good posts here that explain our plight. Since Model Aviation has a "reader comments" section, I suggest that you send these exact comments to them and see if they actually print them.

Guy, when was the last issue that had reader input printed?  I doubt that any serious negative letter about the AMA's love affair with a reluctant new lady on the block would ever see the light of MA! Also I seriously doubt that MA would cover the fact that stores like Wall Mart that sell bazillion drones are now posting a note in that department that reads, "Contact with the FAA may be required before flying any drone".
Joe Just

[john e. holliday]

I have not seen any signs/notes about contacting the FAA at Wally World,  Harbor Freight or even Ace Hardware where I've seen the quad copters/drones being sold.  I even asked the store manager at Ace about the requirement to sign up with FAA.   

[FLOYD CARTER]

Well, I happen to be one who does the required work and so I have submitted construction articles to magazines.  My work has been published in several leading magazines, including MODEL AVIATION.  In addition, two covers of MA have featured my planes!

[curtis mattikow]

Guys'  ....Yes I'm going to say it.  Some of you really need to wake up and smell the coffee and it's not the folks who are complaining that this applies to!

Control Line generates no advertising, Free Flight generates no advertising.  As Randy ( the other Randy) pointed out...Though the AMA is supposed to be a member supported organization, they truly are NOT!  They are in fact a monetarily supported organization supported mostly by their advertising in  "Model Aviation"  (still don't know why they call it that), and Control Line and Free flight just don't support that.

No matter how many CL and FF articles are submitted they will always get mediocre coverage simply because they don't monetarily support the usage of the magazine space!

I support AMA with my membership fee because it's necessary to compete in sanctioned contests.  They provide insurance (albeit somewhat questionable secondary insurance) that allows coverage to suppliers of flying space!  Actually that's fairly valuable!  To be fair however CL and FF members should be allowed to pay a reduced membership fee that only supports the insurance program without the stupid Model Aviation mag which will never be able to afford the luxury of printing CL and FF articles.

Yeah I know..."Good Luck With That".

Randy Cuberly

Respectfully...just want to correct something.  The advertising revenue in Model Aviation does not even come close to covering the cost of publishing the magazine, which has long been a money loser.
So if you are not seeing CL articles...that's not the reason why.
Far and away the biggest source of revenue for AMA is membership dues.

[EddyR]

 Going back a few years I remember a guy who got his model articles published. I would see his articles 2-3 times a year. I bet you remember them,they were the large cardboard CL models with .50-.60 size motors in them.  They looked unsafe to me with there metal bellcranks mounted on a piece of 1/8" plywood between the cardboard sides of the model. I often wondered if many plans were sold.  He submitted them and got them published.Good for him if that is what the AMA was getting. He also got them into FM.
 In the early days of PAMPA I submitted small articles and they all  got published.
Ed

[curtis mattikow]

It's hard to understand why AMA devotes so much print to drones.  A very few AMA members play with drones, and then an even smaller number stick with it for any time.  The magazine does not begin to reach the real drone market, which is non-modelers.  Perhaps the advertisers are hoping to tap into customers who are more than just casually interested in playing with toys.

They made a gross miscalculation some years ago that these drone guys would join AMA and none of them did. 
AMA refuses to admit the direction that they have taken was just wrong, and they still keep hoping things will somehow change...but they won't.

[curtis mattikow]

Going back a few years I remember a guy who got his model articles published. I would see his articles 2-3 times a year. I bet you remember them,they were the large cardboard CL models with .50-.60 size motors in them.  They looked unsafe to me with there metal bellcranks mounted on a piece of 1/8" plywood between the cardboard sides of the model. I often wondered if many plans were sold.  He submitted them and got them published.Good for him if that is what the AMA was getting. He also got them into FM.
 In the early days of PAMPA I submitted small articles and they all  got published.
Ed

I've had just about 100 articles published in various model magazines, including the AMA one, over the years.  I'd say they can always USE more submissions, but I doubt these days they are going to publish much about CL, whether or not you submit it.  It's just the direction the organization has taken, foamies and drones.

[Frank Imbriaco]

Is now the right time for the AMA to concentrate solely on  model aviation policy and providing insurance ?
Printing an unpopular magazine maybe hurting them.

[curtis mattikow]

Is now the right time for the AMA to concentrate solely on  model aviation policy and providing insurance ?
Printing an unpopular magazine maybe hurting them.

I do not understand the question, can you rephrase it?
I'm OK with publishing the magazine, even at a loss.  As long as the magazine is GOOD.
It's the last magazine published in the USA, save for Model Airplane News, and I highly doubt MAN will survive more than a year or two.
Really...look around.  Aside from maybe Stunt News, which is a very focused thing...all the other magazines in the USA are...GONE.  Over.

[Tony Drago]

Years ago. The late Kenn Smith use to write articles for MA right just before or right at the time that MA went to every other issue for CL articles. Kenn was told by MA not to send in any more articles. Kenn told them that he could supply a full years worth of articles and would be more then happy to do so.  Their reply was thanks BUT NO THANKS.
  The AMA has forgotten their roots and basically have told C/L and F/F to go look elsewhere.

[curtis mattikow]

Years ago. The late Kenn Smith use to write articles for MA right just before or right at the time that MA went to every other issue for CL articles. Kenn was told by MA not to send in any more articles. Kenn told them that he could supply a full years worth of articles and would be more then happy to do so.  Their reply was thanks BUT NO THANKS.
  The AMA has forgotten their roots and basically have told C/L and F/F to go look elsewhere.

I would agree.  BUT...there was ONE editor who was a big CL guy and he went way overboard with CL articles.  That's the other side of the coin.  Forgetting drones, keep in mind that today the vast majority of AMA members do mostly RC.  So it's no surprise that CL and FF get short shrift.
That being said... I WANT the CL and FF articles.  Even if they do not appeal the the majority.  Because it's NOT a for profit magazine...why not just make it as cool and interesting as possible?  Where else will you see that stuff?

[JoeJust]

I have not seen any signs/notes about contacting the FAA at Wally World,  Harbor Freight or even Ace Hardware where I've seen the quad copters/drones being sold.  I even asked the store manager at Ace about the requirement to sign up with FAA.   

Doc, Jut got back from Wall Mart. The sign is still there, and is almost exactly as I quoted earlier. I asked the clerk in the isle as we stood next to an end cap with at least 30 Drones for sale @ $129 each. He said that the sign means what it says; anyone purchasing a drone is made aware that FAA info on the sign is correct.  Then in the check out lane as I waited for Ginny to catch up with me I saw a guy with one of he drones in his cart. I asked him if he was aware of the FAA involvement. Basically he told me to go pound sand up my....!!

[curtis mattikow]

Doc, Jut got back from Wall Mart. The sign is still there, and is almost exactly as I quoted earlier. I asked the clerk in the isle as we stood next to an end cap with at least 30 Drones for sale @ $129 each. He said that the sign means what it says; anyone purchasing a drone is made aware that FAA info on the sign is correct.  Then in the check out lane as I waited for Ginny to catch up with me I saw a guy with one of he drones in his cart. I asked him if he was aware of the FAA involvement. Basically he told me to go pound sand up my....!!

Don't worry, that drone is going to get flown ONCE and then get tossed in the corner of the garage along with the Bread Maker his wife bought the year before and the Bowflex execise machine he used twice.  Drones, at least the hobby types, don't have any staying power, we are already far onto the backside of the power curve here, they are going the way of the Pet Rock.

[Randy Cuberly]

Respectfully...just want to correct something.  The advertising revenue in Model Aviation does not even come close to covering the cost of publishing the magazine, which has long been a money loser.
So if you are not seeing CL articles...that's not the reason why.
Far and away the biggest source of revenue for AMA is membership dues.

Sorry but I would have to see the source of this information because I simply Do Not Believe It!

I do not for a minute believe that the membership fees would support the entire AMA organization period!!!

Randy Cuberly

[Frank Imbriaco]

I do not understand the question, can you rephrase it?
I'm OK with publishing the magazine, even at a loss.  As long as the magazine is GOOD.
It's the last magazine published in the USA, save for Model Airplane News, and I highly doubt MAN will survive more than a year or two.
Really...look around.  Aside from maybe Stunt News, which is a very focused thing...all the other magazines in the USA are...GONE.  Over.

Curtis :
There was a time in the 60s or 70s when the AMA published only a supplement to a magazine. If my memory serves me, the magazine was American Aircraft Modeler.
My point is that the magazine causes a great deal of dissension among the ranks, so it may be prudent for them to exit. BTW, I've been reading modeling magazines since the very early 60s so I think I've got a pretty sound basis of comparison .

[curtis mattikow]

Sorry but I would have to see the source of this information because I simply Do Not Believe It!

I do not for a minute believe that the membership fees would support the entire AMA organization period!!!

Randy Cuberly

You may choose not to beleive it.
The magazine has always been a loss, at least for the last twenty years.
You can see the AMA budget for details.
Given that, you can also just add up the number of advertising pages and multiply them by $2000 a month(the "rack rate" for a page in MA, which nobody actually pays) and then you can add up about 100,000 actual paying AMA members at $75 a pop, and you can see for yourself.
I worked with MA magazine for many years as an author.  I also worked with them for many years as an ADVERTISER, typically two pages a month.
Not sure where you got the notion that MA advertising revenue supported the AMA, it's not true, but you can choose to simply not beleive it...you need to do some research, and you might have your head turned around.  I have found that some beleifs I held have been wrong.  Once or twice!  But I won't spend any more time trying to convince you...I has been my own personal experience that nobody ever gets their mind changed on the internet...people come into an argument with one idea and pretty much always come out the other side with the exact same fixed idea.
So...I don't really debate with people online,  You are free to do so if you enjoy it!

[curtis mattikow]

Curtis :
There was a time in the 60s or 70s when the AMA published only a supplement to a magazine. If my memory serves me, the magazine was American Aircraft Modeler.
My point is that the magazine causes a great deal of dissension among the ranks, so it may be prudent for them to exit. BTW, I've been reading modeling magazines since the very early 60s so I think I've got a pretty sound basis of comparison .

Correct,  It was just a few pages in AAM. 
Yes...the magazine has caused dissention since day one.  Nobody asked the membership if they wanted it in the first place.  Me, personally?  I think it's a great thing,  Well..,not with its present content.  Which sucks.  But better than no magazine.
BUT...the fact of the matter is...we are a dying breed.  Right now there are MAYBE 100000 actual paying members,  The number of members has been falsely inflated to 180000 or so with the simulator trailer scam and such...but I would be pretty certain that the number of actual members is going to drop rapidly as we die.  Or lose interest.  And no new modellers are made.
SOOOOO...expect the AMA to be in more serious financial straits in the future.  And I would not be surprised a bit if the magazine is one of the things that goes by the wayside. 

[wwwarbird]

The magazine has always been a loss, at least for the last twenty years.
You can see the AMA budget for details.

 Not debating the accuracy of the above information either way, but in most cases the paid "bean counters" can make it all look however the boss wants it to look. Showing the magazine as a loss could just be a smooth way of discontinuing it all together, which I could easily see happening before long.

 For the most part I'd agree with Curtis, and feel he is pretty much hitting the nail on the head with his comments in this thread.

[curtis mattikow]

Not debating the accuracy of the above information either way, but in most cases the paid "bean counters" can make it all look however the boss wants it to look. Showing the magazine as a loss could just be a smooth way of discontinuing it all together, which I could easily see happening before long.

 For the most part I'd agree with Curtis, and feel he is pretty much hitting the nail on the head with his comments in this thread.

Very true...there is plenty of "creative accounting" that goes on, particularly with the membership numbers, which are nothing like people think they are.
But in the case of the magazine...those numbers are not really hidden, the magazine has been at a loss for a long time, and that has been no big secret.  They have always maintained that the magazine is REQUIRED to maintain their tax free status, saying that a newsletter of some sort is part of the federal requirements.  There has never been any hint whatsoever that AMA has any intention whatsoever of discontinuting Model Aviation at any point...never seen an AMA official do anything but totally dismiss the idea.  As a matter of fact, in the last ten years, they started a SECOND money losing magazine, Park Pilot..for the failed Park Pilot program.
My point being...YOU may be talking about getting rid of the magazine...I do NOT think AMA is talking about it.  Me, myself?  I want to see the magazine continue.  But I want to see it full of rich, creamy, intense, luxurious articles about how to build Curtiss Headless Pushers from South African Babingawood and Valintin .001 Diesel powered team racers carved from a single block of carbon fiber by old men living in the Caucasus Mountains.
I have NO need to see another article about how to cut flaps into a RTF foamie RC job, or another "review" of a new Horizon RTF BNF UMX AS3X Micro Carbon Z, which flies perfectly out of the box, with no assembly required, and no input from the pilot required on the sticks...press the GO button and it flies the whole Aresti routine without your help,,,
Let those foam and drone guys do RC groups or whatever...none of them are even looking at the magazine anyway...
Maybe just let the serious modellers HAVE THE MAGAZINE.  Can we have just that?  Can you throw us that one little scrap of bone?  Because the foamie dronies have everything ELSE the AMA has...

Let me be clear...there are many people who bash every single thing the AMA does.  There are many people who conversely DEFEND everything AMA does.  I am neither.  I want to be fair.
But for me, it was very, very painful to watch over the years as a group of misguided people took over an organization I supported to much and was so passionate about and took it in such a terrible direction.  Frankly, they turned their back on the people who brought them to the dance, all those people who were members for thirty plus years already.  I hate to speak ill of the dead, but it all began with Dave Matthewson. 
Yeah, I know, I just lit a fuse, but it needs to be said.

[john e. holliday]

I remember back in the 50-0's there used to be an annual issue that was printed that cover the Model Airplane Nationals.  It also included a couple of articles on a plane.  It was not part of the magazine subscription and I would buy/order it.  But they all got ruined when my basement got flooded as well as all the other magazine I had up to that time.   With the Nationals spread out like it is I can understand why they don't do it any more.   How any remember the little paper issue that we would get in the mail every so often back in the 50's.  My picture of my first Nobler was in one of the issues.    I get the magazine now as it is part of being a member and I do read it   

[Frank Imbriaco]

Today, I came across a "professional" drone pilot who works filming for  the real estate field. He never heard of the AMA, even though he's been doing this for several years.
I gave him the last 3 issues of MA .

[wwwarbird]

But for me, it was very, very painful to watch over the years as a group of misguided people took over an organization I supported to much and was so passionate about and took it in such a terrible direction.  Frankly, they turned their back on the people who brought them to the dance, all those people who were members for thirty plus years already.

 Yep.
 

[wwwarbird]

I have NO need to see another article about how to cut flaps into a RTF foamie RC job, or another "review" of a new Horizon RTF BNF UMX AS3X Micro Carbon Z, which flies perfectly out of the box, with no assembly required...

 Ditto to that one! 

[wwwarbird]

I remember back in the 50-0's there used to be an annual issue that was printed that cover the Model Airplane Nationals.  It also included a couple of articles on a plane.  It was not part of the magazine subscription and I would buy/order it.  But they all got ruined when my basement got flooded as well as all the other magazine I had up to that time.   With the Nationals spread out like it is I can understand why they don't do it any more.   How any remember the little paper issue that we would get in the mail every so often back in the 50's.  My picture of my first Nobler was in one of the issues.

 Doc's AMA time started well before my own but I remember they used to do a separate "NATS Issue" that was actually pretty decent. I think it was somewhere around 2007 when they discontinued it though, probably a move in gearing up for "the future".

[Avaiojet]

I've been a life long member of the AMA, even when I wasn't active in modeling here and there.

The AMA isn't run by robots, it's run by great people and I strongly believe they know exactly what they are doing.

And they have reasons for everything they do.

[curtis mattikow]

I've been a life long member of the AMA, even when I wasn't active in modeling here and there.

The AMA isn't run by robots, it's run by great people and I strongly believe they know exactly what they are doing.

And they have reasons for everything they do.

I respect your opinion.  I don't really want to try to change it.  For many years I felt the same way.

[Brett Buck]

I've been a life long member of the AMA, even when I wasn't active in modeling here and there.

The AMA isn't run by robots, it's run by great people and I strongly believe they know exactly what they are doing.

And they have reasons for everything they do.

   For once, you are exactly right. Unfortunately, what they are doing is selling traditional modeling "down the river", no matter how sincere they are about it.

     Brett

[curtis mattikow]

   For once, you are exactly right. Unfortunately, what they are doing is selling traditional modeling "down the river", no matter how sincere they are about it.

     Brett

My OPINION, after lengthy conversations with Dave Matthewson and others, face to face...is that they do NOT have model aviation at heart at all.  What they care about is the ORGANIZATION.  The budget, the staff, the benefits, the revenue.  They long ago lost sight of the hobby itself,  It;s about AMA, but AMA was supposed to be about modellers.
Ever see Dave Matthewson fly a model? Ever?  Even when I tried to stick a transmitter in his hands, he would not fly.  Not that interested.
Yes, I feel like we were sold up the river.

[curtis mattikow]

I've been a life long member of the AMA, even when I wasn't active in modeling here and there.

The AMA isn't run by robots, it's run by great people and I strongly believe they know exactly what they are doing.

And they have reasons for everything they do.

PS
Your opinion is shared by a majority of AMA members. 
Mine is not.
It IS a democracy, and time and time again, the Membership has agreed with YOU when it comes time to vote.
Although only about 13 percent bothered to vote, those who did voted resoundingly for status quo.

[Jim Carter]

   For once, you are exactly right. Unfortunately, what they are doing is selling traditional modeling "down the river", no matter how sincere they are about it.

     Brett

Hi guys!  Allow me to put forth a bit of an analogy.  Just imagine our joint interest/hobby is a ship like the "African Queen" with the best interchangeable skippers and crew called the "AMA" responsible the the running of the ship.  OK, got it!  Now imagine that interest/sport/hobby is on a river called the "Way of the Future" an ever changing, winding river in life similar to the Nile, the Oranoco or even the good old Mississippi.  Okay!!

No matter how skilled the crew, no matter how well built the ship, that river is going to contain and present some ever changing, unforeseen obstacles, trials, tribulations, rapids, sandbanks etcetera to include even changing it's course and position of the banks forcing the crew and us the passengers to constantly adapt, get seasick and puke, cleanup, paint, repaint etceteras.  Does this make sense?  In another example that many of us should remember, what would have happened if the crews on battleship row had bailed when the Japanese started their attack?  Those troops had no control of what was about to happen.  Thousands fought back as best they could with what they had even if it was just a pistol of rifle and, Yes, many made the ultimate sacrifice.  Nonetheless, they did what they could under circumstances that they had no control over.

What does this mean to each of us associated with that ship .... simple, pitch in and help steer, bail, and support the crew, the AMA, as needed or jump ship and enjoy another lifestyle. But I don't think anyone who stay aboard should be like Shimei son of Gera, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family who cursed King David as he came out .... (2 Samuel 16:5-13).   Just one man's opinion and thought .... in for a penny, in for a pound. (Having started something, one must see it through to its end, rather than stopping short; one must “go the whole hog”.  ‎English · ‎Proverb)

[curtis mattikow]

Hi guys!  Allow me to put forth a bit of an analogy.  Just imagine our joint interest/hobby is a ship like the "African Queen" with the best interchangeable skippers and crew called the "AMA" responsible the the running of the ship.  OK, got it!  Now imagine that interest/sport/hobby is on a river called the "Way of the Future" an ever changing, winding river in life similar to the Nile, the Oranoco or even the good old Mississippi.  Okay!!

No matter how skilled the crew, no matter how well built the ship, that river is going to contain and present some ever changing, unforeseen obstacles, trials, tribulations, rapids, sandbanks etcetera to include even changing it's course and position of the banks forcing the crew and us the passengers to constantly adapt, get seasick and puke, cleanup, paint, repaint etceteras.  Does this make sense?  In another example that many of us should remember, what would have happened if the crews on battleship row had bailed when the Japanese started their attack?  Those troops had no control of what was about to happen.  Thousands fought back as best they could with what they had even if it was just a pistol of rifle and, Yes, many made the ultimate sacrifice.  Nonetheless, they did what they could under circumstances that they had no control over.

What does this mean to each of us associated with that ship .... simple, pitch in and help steer, bail, and support the crew, the AMA, as needed or jump ship and enjoy another lifestyle. But I don't think anyone who stay aboard should be like Shimei son of Gera, a man from the same clan as Saul’s family who cursed King David as he came out .... (2 Samuel 16:5-13).   Just one man's opinion and thought .... in for a penny, in for a pound. (Having started something, one must see it through to its end, rather than stopping short; one must “go the whole hog”.  ‎English · ‎Proverb)

Good post.  I respect your opinion, but I'm one of the guys who feels like they KNOW this river, and have been trying to tell the Captain for YEARS that there are rocks ahead, but the capatain will not listen.

[curtis mattikow]

I don't feel like the future of model aviation is in drones.
I don't think drones ARE model aviation.
They are just something different.

[Jim Carter]

Good post.  I respect your opinion, but I'm one of the guys who feels like they KNOW this river, and have been trying to tell the Captain for YEARS that there are rocks ahead, but the capatain will not listen.

    Good one!!