Hobby changing in leaps & bounds!!

[Avaiojet]

I just received my latest Tower catalog. Well, not really a full catalog, but that "almost a catalog" thing, they send out frequently.

The Tower catalog? I can remember when it had pages and pages of different kits offered from various manufacturers. You could order a "kit" to actually build. Hard to believe?

I recently spent a bit of time, unusual for me actually, digging through U-Tube.

Been thinking about a ducted fan power system for another project. Do you know which one? Does anyone care?  

Anyway, seen some great EPO stuff on U-Tube. Tempting.  

EPO!

Hey!  PnF, ARF, EPO, EPP, ADHD, I'm sure there's others.

I don't want to bore you to death, but it's become so noticeable, even so, I thought I'd mention it.

This once great hobby that I've been active in, I'm sure yourself included, I actually started at about six years old, been in and out, mostly in, to the present day.

For the better or worst, I won't comment on that because this Post isn't a judgment thing, it's just an observation, and by the looks of things, possibly a correct one. Possibly not?

Unfortunately, I don't think where the Hobby is going can be fixed or improved upon to any serious degree.

It's not just the hobby that has changed, and I see no solution.

Charles

Edited for spelling.

[55chevr]

We did a lot of fan stuff with RC in the 90-s ... speed is going to be the problem ... whatever you build will be fast ...

Joe

[Dan McEntee]

   This post makes absolutely no sense! What are you complaining about? On one hand it sounds like you are saying that nothing is available, then on the other it you expound on all the neat stuff on You Tube! When you get right down to it, there is absolutely NOTHING that has been done in the history of model aviation that you can not find or do today. Do you want to build simple balsa and bamboo R.O.G models like in the 20's and 30's? Do you want to fly Texaco limited engine run Free Flight like it was flown in the 40's? Ignition powered C/L like it was flown back in the day? Free flight gas competition models just as Sal Taibi designed them in the 50's? Rubber band driven escapement R?C equipment that was common in the 60's? Pick something, anything, that has been considered a model airplane since Penaud and you can do it, and pile on all of today's technology that can help make that happen. Not too much has really gone away, except for the pioneers and legends that showed us the way. There is nothing out there that can't be done and nothing that can hold you back, unless you just choose not to. Lots of stuff is being preserved on the internet and is just a click away. You can sit on your lazy butt in your chair at you computer and order anything you want. You can do all the designing you want and never waste a piece of paper.
    Push yourself away from the computer, and go do something!
   The only thing that is wrong with the hobby, is your attitude!
   There are one whole hell of a lot more people in the world that have a whole hell of a lot more to worry about than you do and a whole hell of a lot less than you do to do anything about it.
    
    Dan McEntee

[Serge_Krauss]

Dan, you don't have to read anything you don't want to read. Yes, Charles, it has changed, and as you say, there is no real "solution" in sight. Evolution happens, almost always before our very eyes, and perhaps we ourselves become "obsolete". Many good and worthwhile things have passed or are passing. I think that the world will be the worse for our passing, but as has happened before, we don't always prevail. As Dan suggests, I'm just going to keep doing what I want in our hobby, enjoy it, and hope to set a good example. Also as Dan hints, there probably isn't a hell of a lot to say on this. We'll see how any others feel.

SK

[Avaiojet]

What exactly happened to you, Dan McEntee?

A line from the movie Seabiscuit, "What are you so mad at?"

And it's the Holidays.  

Charles

[Joe Just]

I hope this subject doesn't get too viscous, and sometimes I think that progress within the hobby does get way ahead of my understanding, but despite that I still intend to do what I have always done and have fun.    Within my other hobby; Trout Fishing (and I do rank there as an expert) I see advancement in equipment and fly tying methods that were not thought of just a few years ago. I find that the fish haven't changed at all, and the flies that worked in 1950 still work today as they did back then.  I read articles  and adds in MA about development in the hobby that seem nearly "science fiction" to this old guy, but that can not change the fun I have in building something that would have been nothing special in 1950. If somebody does not like what is happening, then my honest opinion is to  NOT DO IT!
I will bow out now and let someone with better communication skills a chance to have their say.
Joe Just

[Dan McEntee]

What exactly happened to you, Dan McEntee?

A line from the movie Seabiscuit, "What are you so mad at?"

And it's the Holidays.  

Charles

     Where in my post does it say that I was mad?? I thought I would just point out the obvious. Yes, things have changed. Technology has advanced, new products come along to make things easier. But stop and think about it a minute. You have at your disposal, technology that just 10 or 15 years ago we wouldn't have thought possible, much less when you were six years old and first sticking your fingers with pins trying to put parts down on a plan. Stop and think about it. There is absolutely nothing that you might have done during your life time modeling wise that you can not do today, and probably have better technology at hand to do it better. After WW-2 it was thought that model aviation would die as technology advanced. Read the letters to the editors in the old mags, it's there. The spread of suburbia was touted as one reason why. That continued into the 50's and 60's as the electronic age came along along with shopping malls and more urban sprawl, and that was supposed to be the death knell for model airplanes, but they survived. Free flight was supposed to be dead and gone as R/C equipment became cheaper and more reliable in the 70's, but guys still pursue all types of free flight models as they circle down wind in search of a thermal. The largest turnouts at control line contests in recent years has been in Classic and Old Tyme Stunt, and designs that had long been thought lost have been revived and flown again. Yes things change, and just as has happened before, "The Hobby" may be going through some peaks and valleys now as technology changes and we figure out what we can or can not do with it, but it's still there. It's still there waiting for new blood to discover it and take part in some way. The best thing that has ever come along is that thing that you are staring at while you are reading this,...... The Internet and the personal computer. I believe that model aviation in all forms may change, ebb and flow, or what ever cliche you may want to use, but I don't think it will ever go away. At one point in history, model aviation was one of THE new burgeoning technologies, the newest and greatest thing, and that is what caused large crowds to flock to hobby shops, toy stores, and modeling events in large numbers. Times and technology have changed but model aviation is still hear. What is one of the number one selling items during this time of year? R/C helicopters and quad copters! Yes they are not C/L stunt, but it gets people exposed. Cox models were very hot at one time, millions of them have been sold, and not everyone that received one as a gift or bought one as a lark got them to fly or stayed with the hobby, but they got people exposed to the hobby that way, and there were some of us that did get them to fly and we did stay with the hobby. When something that flies is purchased today, and the buyer/flyer has some issues and sits down at his computer to help him figure out his problem, one of the things that is usually consulted is You Tube. I have looked up stuff related to my job as a maintenance technician at a printing plant and found it on You Tube. Tons of vintage and current model aviation stuff is on You Tube, and as long as You Tube doesn't go away, think how many people will see what is there now and what will be posted in the future? Think about it!!! One thing I think we all take for granted already is lazer cut balsa!! Who would have thought of that when SIG put out their first kit after Glenn Sig converted a letter press into a die cutting machine. And some of you can do it in your basement!!!!I work part time at a local hobby shop, and have been at it for over 30 years, more like 35. I still sell as much stick and tissue and C/L stuff as I think I ever did, in addition to what ever the latest and greatest thing is. I'll ask an older customer if I can help him find anything, and I'll usually get asked about balsa models "like we used to do." Their eyes light up when I tell them that we STILL can do that!. Every once in a while, I'll get a customer that just can't afford the expensive electric stuff for their kid, and I'll sell them some of the simple rubber stick and tissue stuff, and make mention of what is on the internet in the way of detailed instructions and how to sites. Your couldn't get that even in 1980 much less in 1950! Model aviation, right now, is probably as big or bigger than it ever was, in my opinion. Nothing has really gone away, you just have to look for it sometimes. To help keep it alive and growing, we just have to keep putting it out there, give it exposure, and be there to help when it's needed. I'm tellin' ya, "These Are The Good Old Days!"
     Think about it.
   Dan McEntee
    (Heading back into the basement to research some old stuff for a friend)

[john e. holliday]

If this person is talking about the Tower Mailer that comes out several times of the year, is missing the point of the time of year the latest mailer has arrived in.  Yes it has electric trains,  plastic kits(cars, planes and ships/boats).   There is also all the other stuff that is pushed this time of year.   But, lets remember the season or time of the year,  MERRY CHRISTMAS.

[John Craig]

But, lets remember the season or time of the year,  MERRY CHRISTMAS.

I will Second the Motion!

A Very Merry Christmas

[L0U CRANE]

Dan and Charles,

You each bring up several interesting thoughts.

I agree with Charles, that the 'industry pressure' is on what is commercially, and seasonally, successful. It has always been that way. The "symbiosis" of the hobby and the industry that supports it has always been influenced to some degree by what keeps the hobby profitable enough to support the industry. I started reading the hobby magazines with the September 1949 Air Trails, then discovered Flying Models and Model Airplane News. This "problem" was there, then. Is it any surprise that it is still with us?

I strongly agree, Dan, that those of us who remember the days when there were only one or two RTFs, mostly Cox PT-19s (grin), but also rare, all-metal sparker CL models in the 1940's!

Everything else, until the PDQ and Sterling kits, was printed sheet, you-cut-it, parts, stripwood and (really POOR) plans... But casein glue powder, or even cellulose glue, WAS in SOME of the kits! Once die-crushing became common, the world changed!

Today, we face a slightly different problem: If it isn't a wide enough audience to demand support from "the Majors," it gets harder to find the traditional materials to use today. I even remember when AeroGloss dope was dependable from batch to batch. (20 years ago?)(Thank you, EPA!)

For the survival of "the Industry," we find many firms offering and 'pushing' what we might have considered toys 40 years ago. Ready to play with, disposable once they break, NOT an introduction to the joys of learning building skills, or seeing something WE have MADE actually FLY! (I've run a few Delta Dart programs with local Middle Schools, and the faces of the kids who see what they built actually fly, are magical!) (I'm glad the AMA is back to offering bulk packs to support the Delta Dart concept! They don't push or promote it actively, preferring a more expensive and less handwork system. The other system is more scientific, given, but price may be a limiting factor.)

As our hobby has evolved, we got more and more technically competent. Check out today's FAI FF models! FAI Team Racers! AMA Carrier models with 2.4gHz supplemental functions! Ditto, Scale CL.  The growth of electric power. How often do we see these at local flying fields? BUT, nostalgia events are still highly popular, at least among our older troops...

The small-market evolution may have cost us some nation-wide exposure. CLPA may be an example. Stunt News, from Wynn Paul's earliest editions to the present, has been an excellent, focused resource. CLPA would not likely have thrived and survived as well without it. It also is where we CAN find the small manufacturers dedicated to our needs... Mass-media magazines live on advertising, which affects what they offer, cover and study to a large extent. IMHO. The other CL Events have their focused journals, too.

So, Dan and Charles, Best Wishes for what I still call Christmas, and for 2014! Without gently comparing ideas, learning from areas of difference, we could become stagnant. Let's not?

[Douglas Ames]

I hope this subject doesn't get too viscous, and sometimes I think that progress within the hobby does get way ahead of my understanding, but despite that I still intend to do what I have always done and have fun.    Within my other hobby; Trout Fishing (and I do rank there as an expert) I see advancement in equipment and fly tying methods that were not thought of just a few years ago. I find that the fish haven't changed at all, and the flies that worked in 1950 still work today as they did back then.  I read articles  and adds in MA about development in the hobby that seem nearly "science fiction" to this old guy, but that can not change the fun I have in building something that would have been nothing special in 1950. If somebody does not like what is happening, then my honest opinion is to  NOT DO IT!
I will bow out now and let someone with better communication skills a chance to have their say.
Joe Just

Yes, it's hard to keep up sometimes. Elec. CL being one of them.
Now we have 3D printed tanks and CNC machines used for balsa carving. Laser cutting and CAD drawn plans. If your traditional build methods work for you - Go for it.

Joe, your other hobby sounds delicious! The first thing that popped in my head was a steaming plump Trout fillet with lemon butter, herbs and fresh cracked Black pepper, maybe a White Zinfandel to wash it down with.

[Chris Wilson]

....you don't have to read anything you don't want to read.

Paradoxically how does one arrive at the decision whether or not something is worthy to read unless you actually have read it first? 

Anyway, the Tower Catalog simply leaves me cold for everything except the IC engine page.

But as Dan says there are more things possible in this modern era than ever before, you simply have to know where to look.