We have recently been talking about the dearth of youngsters flying CL. Yes, for what seems like the 183rd time.
Nothing seems to change. We must finally admit that our approaches have been horribly flawed.
A better approach was put forth in my Bad Boy Stunt column for the May/June 2001 issue of Stunt News. As five years have gone by, seems time to drag this sucker out and dust it off.
Dan
The Problem: No Kids. The Solution: Chase 'Em Away.
For all the ink which has been dribbled across blank sheets of paper, all efforts to bring in new blood, all the hand-wringing, here we are in 2001 with the same old problem: Very few youngsters feel inclined to take up CL modeling.
The difference today, the reason I intend to use more ink on the subject, is simple: I alone--amongst a small number of concerned modelers and the rest who have simply given up--understand the solution to our problem.
But first let's look at what we--or some of us, certainly not my selfish self for quite a number of years--have been doing. We have literally been begging kids to fly CL. An air show comes along, demonstrations of CL are organized. In some cases there are bunches of trainers made available to urchins drawn to mere noise. No previous involvement in modeling is required; indeed, the soccer midget doesn't even have to show any sort of actual interest in CL flying and of a sudden he's got a handle in his hand.
Sometimes, very rarely methinks, an individual or two will show some sort of real interest. As the supply of Old Bashers is kinda high and we have well-intended notions of helping the little buggers along, soon enough minimal interest results in maximum return as complete and flyable models, motors, kits, wood, glue, and tons of related equipment are donated to the cause.
Such an approach is ill-advised. Sure, there are probably a few anecdotal stories out there concerning kids who have entered modeling, been flooded with contributions and even thus handicapped have gone on to succeed. But as a scheme to attract new CL modelers, this approach--along with all others tried over the past 30 years--is obviously a failure. If you disagree, please point out the resulting young modelers. I cannot find them.
Instead of the Try this! or Buddy-buddy, if-you-want-it-I'll-give-it-to-you approaches, we need to emphasize the negative aspects to CL modeling. To tell today's young boys and girls this is a hobby for adults only. We don't need them. We don't want them hanging around. And GET OFF the damned lines!
Actually, we involved in Stunt have made a beginning toward this very approach. Our objectives have not been defined properly, more needs to be done. In order to understand the first baby steps we have taken, consider what actually happens when a 14-year-old kid with an interest in CL comes along.
Those in Stunt just go completely nuts. This is good. Because we bring out superb-running motors, these attached to models which have been finished to a high gloss, have not one apparent flaw, fly graceful loops, bang hard corners, touch down as lightly as a feather. The kid knows he's toast, knows it right up front.
Should he not yet be scared off by a level of finishing skills which exceeds those seen at the factory which painted Daddy's new car, we have a couple more shots left: "Hey, kid, this type of model cannot be purchased as a ready-to-fly; ya gotta unplug the TV, diss 90% of your homework, all household chores. Even at that a simple profile will take tons of time and money to complete. Yes, you can learn to fly on a donor model, but nobody gives away their good stuff. Besides, we have this rule which says that while you can enter and fly a model you didn't build, we'll take away each and every appearance point, thus lowering your score. Yes, your flying score. Look, don't ask why the appearance of your model sitting on the ground should effect the results of your flying. It just does. Get over it. And besides it doesn't make that much difference. Well, yes, if it doesn't make much difference there sure are a lot of nicely-finished models around. And, true enough, all the winners fly real good stuff. But you're not a winner yet, probably never will be. Watch those lines, will ya?"
If the message doesn't appear to sink in, shove any issue of Stunt News under his nose. The average SN reader has been doing this stuff for many years. Yet getting a motor to run properly, building straight and light, applying a finish and flying the pattern are evidently so difficult that even at this stage of our involvement 100-plus pages of bi-monthly advice are not enough. If the kids don't understand that just reading how to do things right will take them years and years before they are minimally qualified to lay a number 11 to white wood, sit 'em down and explain the real world.
This is a pretty good start. But let's get serious. We must do everything possible toward discouraging young people from getting into modeling. If we do so, if all our resources are brought to bear on the problem, we won't be able to fight off the herds of kids flooding to the CL circles.
Or are you so far out of the loop you can't see that many youngsters do everything they can to in general just totally @#$% off their parents? Kids that look as if they have rolled in a tackle box there are so many pins, studs and earrings stuck in various body parts did so because punching a hole through living flesh and then having metal pieces inserted is convenient, inexpensive and will please Mommy to no end?
And tongue studs! Oh, yeah, all the parents in my neighborhood are looking forward to the day when Dear Daughter comes home with a new internship, one which evidently involves delivering pizza. She'll be wearing a blue dress, carrying a tin of Altoids, a piece of stainless plugged into her tongue: "Well, honey, you are a little chubby; at least now you'll finally be able to get a date..."
We must begin emphasizing the dangers in modeling. This will prove to be quite easy. Especially in today's society where there are actually laws requiring one to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. Areas such as the one in which I live, for example.
As an aside with a point--demonstrating current attitudes toward personal risk, having Safety Weenies determine what risks are inappropriate for the rest of us and how we CL fliers can take advantage--I once was asked to entertain a friend's visiting Russian for an afternoon. We went bicycle riding on the Burke-Gilman trail. A dedicated walking/bicycling trail. Smooth pavement. No cars. No curbs. So safe it is mind-numbing boring, the most salient dangers being spinning out on a yukky slug or a pile of goose crap. The pant-load County Mountie said, "Hmmm, y'all don't have helmets. I'll give you a warning." On the way back to the van, walking the bikes along, Ludmilla could not understand the situation. And as a "small-l" libertarian I could not offer much help. Finally she annoyingly announced: "America! Land of the free, home of the brave!" Yes, it was very ugly. We lugged the bikes to another county. We celebrated being free and brave, flaunting personal safety, risking total devastation with no-hands riding, even when greasing slugs. Nyet helmets.
Alas, such is the state of affairs in our country. But can we not turn this to our advantage by emphasizing the ever-present dangers in modeling? As in showing young people yet more ways to drive their parents over the edge, thus making the activities under discussion supremely attractive.
Prop cuts are a natural and we've all got the most interesting of scars to show around, much as skate boarders relish showing off asphalt rash. Keep at hand, even if you're afraid to actually fly with it, a carbon prop which has been sharpened to the point where no modeler you know will even handle the thing. As a demonstration, mount this prop on a Fox 78 which has been loaded with after-run oil. Even if the kid doesn't get a--Look-at-this, dude!--cut from casually flipping the prop, surely it'll get him as the motor snaps over TDC. Remember to sharpen both the leading and trailing edges...
Above demonstration might not be enough to make the point. Be prepared to talk about inch-ounces of torque applied to prop while engine is running. Point out the obvious, the prop is spinning so fast the blades seem to disappear. Compare spinning prop to the blade on a table saw. Note that table saw blades don't spin very fast when compared to a healthy 60 spinning a 12" finger-chopper.
The ultimate might be to stage an actual demonstration of the destructive nature of a spinning prop: Toss a small bird or maybe a gerbil through the prop arc. For kids who puke and run home, move on. No sense wasting your time with a sissy. If the candidate's eyes get wide, he looks up and says, "Kewl!" you've got a potential fellow traveler on your hands.
Fuel is another area where danger and riding on the wild side can easily be shown. We needn't discuss what a healthy slug of castor oil can do to one's body, especially as it can be so messy. But methanol can kill ya. Or cause one to go blind, the same exact warning some parents give to their youngsters concerning, well, you remember those days.
When it comes to fuel that evil nitromethane will prove to be the ultimate attraction: (1) Nitro fumes are like a drug. The only Stunt folk who might know what I am talking about here are probably Bob Whitely and Tom Lay, but it's a fact that during each and every pro-class drag race held in the U.S., one can encounter whole groups of teens going from one pit area to the next looking for a fuel car being prepped for functional test of the engine and fuel system. As the engine is heavily primed and spun up a dense fog of nearly pure nitromethane floods the air. You can literally see it. Or watch the kids. They are going for the highest concentration of nitro they can find, breathing deeply of a mix that once damn near knocked me to my knees. (Details never.)
For further points of persuasion, go with facts and/or spin the truth, your choice. (2) Nitromethane is so nasty UPS charges $3.00 extra per gallon of 5% fuel just to ship it. (Ignore the obvious: these same UPS trucks are driving around with partially-full tanks of gasoline.) (3) Nitro is what makes the big bang in our motors; without it, small mammals and birds would pass through the prop arc only lightly bruised. (4) Nitro is real expensive, upwards of $50.00 a gallon. If the kid is wearing Air Jordans inflate this figure to $120.00. (5) Fuel is so dangerous it should never, ever be stored in a house, nor should it be dropped to the ground lest it just blow up. I suppose there are other truths and spins which can be applied, but you get the idea: The kids have to know they are risking their lives and the lives of family members when handling fuel and fuel ingredients. Hint: Compare mixing fuel in a garage to having a meth lab in their bedroom.
Glue. Avoid any and all references to water-based glues. While a number of people use them, these types of glues rarely cause damage to flesh, clothing, carpeting or siblings. Much too safe to even discuss. As the "instant" CA glues are widely used, demonstrate gluing body parts together or to odd household items. The flush handle on the toilet comes to mind, as does gluing the cat's feet to the kitchen ceiling. Don't go too far here. Any youngster who fails to instantly see the many possible uses of a glue which looks like water yet can cause lots of damage is a youngster who deserves spending most of his early days chasing soccer balls around what would otherwise be nearly perfect flying sites.
Demonstrations of CA glue must include generation of those noxious fumes none of us care for. The easiest way is to "do a line" of micro balloons (note the drug reference), hitting it with a huge dollop of thin CA. Grab the kid by the neck, forcing him to breathe in the fumes. Claim to enjoy it yourself, that over the years it gives you some sort of high. Not a high to be compared to breathing nitro fumes, but worth the effort nonetheless.
Epoxy can be shown to generate lots of heat when left in a mixing cup. And the permanence of such a glue is in itself a hazard. But we don't use a whole lot of this stuff; indeed, new modelers might not use it at all. Instead, go for volume, introducing the candidate to Ambroid, teaching him to slather it all around when building. Refer to your own childhood memories for the negative reaction to jeans and shirts nearly ruined when wiping excess Ambroid from your fingers.
While I am a fan--Ooops, make that a user--of various sorts of plastic film when it comes to finishing a Stunt plane, in all cases the new modeler must be steered toward dope finishes. (Another drug reference. This is a good thing.) Use the word "dope" whenever possible in discussing the stages of finishing a model, a relatively easy task what with dope, dope and more dope being used from bare wood to clear coat. Suggested option: Give the kid a good-sized can of dope which has been thinned 20% dope, 80% thinner. In large letters write "DOPE" on the can.
With this include an old brush, a piece of 220-grit and a chunk of really soft wood. Tell him to get a feel for the application of dope by completely filling the grain. If the wood is truly soft this will take many coats over a period of days. His room will stink for weeks, as will the rest of the house. And won't our mutual enemy--his mother--get so sideways she'll next be seen running in the streets, screaming with rage after seeing that can and what is written on the side...
While still in these stages of discussion, slip in demonstrations of sharp tools, pins, razor saws, all the hand-held implements of destruction we take for granted. But can (and will) be used in ways which make parents shriek.
See what's going on here? We as modelers first tell kids they ought not get into modeling simply because they are too young, fully incompetent and totally ignorant. This is a hobby for adults only and it's way too dangerous for goofy kids. This will cause them to like it; CL modeling is verboten, thus it must be a good thing. Then we slyly show them all the neat stuff we do, the dangers involved. Word gets to Mommy, she's overprotective, puts her foot down. And that will settle it: If we adult modelers reject the little boogers, Mom and Dad go ballistic over the very idea of so many hazardous activities, such is irrefutable proof that CL modeling must be pursued.
At the flying field we can continue to encourage participation by showing all the dangerous aspects to CL modeling. The lines themselves, to a novice, look marginal at best. Reinforce this perception by explaining, "Yeah, the lines are a little weak, but the models fly like crap with anything heavier. So we just take our chances. After all, it's a free country. Besides, there are few things in this world quite as entertaining as seeing a CL model pop off the lines and fly away. Sooner or later it's going to come down. The crash really ruins the model, you'll have lots to tell your friends at school the next day. And you might get lucky, seeing the model hit something really expensive. Like the time a lowly Slow Combat model drug a set of flying lines across high-tension power lines, blowing up a whole series of transformers. I'll show you the video. It was a Really Kewl Deal. Thousands and thousands of dollars in damage. Maybe we'll even show it to your mother..."
There are more ideas, many more. But we modelers are an inventive lot, there is no need to go into more detail here. And I think as we gain success from trying to chase kids away from modeling, then subtly twisting the situation into an us-versus-parents deal, we can further define and refine this campaign to our benefit.
We might even get to the point where one of those fraudulent prime-time TV "news" shows will do a segment on the dangers of modeling and how kids are beginning to engage in destructive behavior based upon flying toy model airplanes in a circle. When that happens, we'll know that once again CL modeling has arrived, a rebirth has taken place.
And won't it be terrific to have enough political clout to begin taking over, maybe paving over, about 15% of those damned "Hey, boy! You can't fly here!" soccer fields?
Dan
Topic: No kids in CL? Here's the solution... (Read 2317 times)