Author Topic: Why no kids (except Sami & Michael) in Stunt today? (Read 9354 times)

Mike Keville · « **on:** March 31, 2016, 09:37:17 PM »

Easy: because you can't have your nose glued to an iPhone while texting and flying Stunt at the same time.

You've seen 'em: incapable of walking without staring at their phone screens.

Randy Powell · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2016, 09:39:24 PM »

Well, that and XBox.

wwwarbird · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:13:49 PM »

Mikey,

Do a Rachel Sandberg search here.

Brett Buck · « **Reply #3 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:33:29 PM »

Quote from: Mike Keville on March 31, 2016, 09:37:17 PM

Easy: because you can't have your nose glued to an iPhone while texting and flying Stunt at the same time.

You've seen 'em: incapable of walking without staring at their phone screens.

Aviation in all it's forms is about as interesting watching paint dry, to almost anyone younger than I am. Space is also old hat.

We cannot change any of this.

Brett

Dane Martin · « **Reply #4 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:41:26 PM »

Daviny and Aiden are 4 and pretty active. They both have an ama number and are LVCB members. Daviny has flown in three speed contests. Aiden has flown in one. Daviny is showing interest in stunt, in that she's already doing loops, and wants to learn more. Aiden just loves to go fast!

RknRusty · « **Reply #5 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:45:13 PM »

Don't forget Sam Londke, he's bugging his Dad Mike to teach him loops before they go to Huntersville in 4 weeks... but yeah, sadly I get your point.

A new neighbor moved in next to me a couple of years ago. Military Dad, Mom, and six year old boy. They saw me freestyle stunting my Norvel .061 1/2A Streak in the church yard across the street and thought it was the coolest thing they ever saw. He got all excited and had to try it.

He bought a Brodak P-51 and an .049, all the hardware, the whole setup. Built part of his wing across the table from me while I was kitbashing a big Streak from a Skyray kit. I took him out to learn to fly, but my fast Baby Streak was too quick for him for the first few tries. And then he realized the kit didn't just fall together when he opened the box. It was all too much trouble, and he was preoccupied with teaching his son to play Call of Duty on the X-Box. So they sat in the dark all the time and played the XB, and even lost interest in watching me fly.

They moved away and left me the Mustang and engine, hardware and Monokote. I was flummoxed. And irritated. Reminded me of Homer Simpson telling Bart when he was giving up learning the guitar, "Well son, things that are that hard to do... Just aren't worth it."
Jeez, just shoot me now, I can't stand to witness such laziness.
Rusty

Dan Berry · « **Reply #6 on:** March 31, 2016, 10:48:37 PM »

Airplanes can fly-------no one is impressed.

Another reason for no kids--- "Holy moly!!! You want my twelve year old kid to use a sharp knife? Noo!!!!! He'll cut his arm off!!!!! Glue? Noooooo!!!!!
he'll get addicted to sniffing glue after he loses the arm!!!!!! Go outside and play?

Really?

? Noooo!!!!! He'll get abducted or molested!!!!! Start that engine? With his finger? Noooo!!!!!! He'll die right there!!!!!"

But that's just random thinking........

Dennis Nunes · « **Reply #7 on:** April 01, 2016, 01:02:59 AM »

Base on a true story...

Back in November of 2013, I was in my garage with one of my 7 year old grandsons. On the wall of the garage hung two old control-line airplanes that I had built some 35+ years ago, a 1/2A stunter with 28” wingspan and a Cox TD 049 engine, and a larger stunter with a 56” wingspan powered with an OS 35. My grandson asked if they still worked, to which I replied that they didn’t. And then it hit me –-- he’s probably never seen a model airplane fly, let alone fly one. In fact I hadn't seen or flown a control-line model airplane fly in decades!

So I got this hare-brain idea – why don’t I show them that these planes can fly, what they can do and at the same time “teach” them how to fly them. So began my quest to go back to a hobby that I enjoyed when I was a 10 year old kid that would keep me busy and out of trouble into my late teens and early 20’s.

I next rearranged my garage, built two work benches, purchased a few tools so I repaired and refinished the 1/2A plane. In January with my son, daughter and two grandsons we went to a local baseball field and showed them what 'old grandpa' could do. After a few successful flights they were amazed and so was I. I hadn't flow anything is 30+ years but it all came back as soon as the plane was in the air. Like riding a bike! Now it was time for the grandsons to give it a try. With my assistance, each of them got an opportunity to see what it was like to “fly”. What an exciting moment!

But something was missing. The fun and excitement wore off rather quickly. There attention turned to running around the bases at the ball field we were on, with little to no interest in what it took to get the plane ready for another flight or try to fly it again. It was like 'that's cool and neat, but is that all there is'?

It seems that today's children do not have the appreciation to work and build something with there hands and enjoy their accomplishment. It's like 'buy me this, play with it for a while, now buy me something else to play with' type attitude. I guess in today's world it's instant gratification with no appreciation.

However, the best thing about this experience is that it awaken in me the desire to build and fly again. And return to a hobby that I enjoyed and appreciated a long long time ago.

RC Storick · « **Reply #8 on:** April 01, 2016, 02:08:46 AM »

Quote from: Dennis Nunes on April 01, 2016, 01:02:59 AM

Base on a true story...

Back in November of 2013, I was in my garage with one of my 7 year old grandsons. On the wall of the garage hung two old control-line airplanes that I had built some 35+ years ago, a 1/2A stunter with 28” wingspan and a Cox TD 049 engine, and a larger stunter with a 56” wingspan powered with an OS 35. My grandson asked if they still worked, to which I replied that they didn’t. And then it hit me –-- he’s probably never seen a model airplane fly, let alone fly one. In fact I hadn't seen or flown a control-line model airplane fly in decades!

So I got this hare-brain idea – why don’t I show them that these planes can fly, what they can do and at the same time “teach” them how to fly them. So began my quest to go back to a hobby that I enjoyed when I was a 10 year old kid that would keep me busy and out of trouble into my late teens and early 20’s.

I next rearranged my garage, built two work benches, purchased a few tools so I repaired and refinished the 1/2A plane. In January with my son, daughter and two grandsons we went to a local baseball field and showed them what 'old grandpa' could do. After a few successful flights they were amazed and so was I. I hadn't flow anything is 30+ years but it all came back as soon as the plane was in the air. Like riding a bike! Now it was time for the grandsons to give it a try. With my assistance, each of them got an opportunity to see what it was like to “fly”. What an exciting moment!

But something was missing. The fun and excitement wore off rather quickly. There attention turned to running around the bases at the ball field we were on, with little to no interest in what it took to get the plane ready for another flight or try to fly it again. It was like 'that's cool and neat, but is that all there is'?

It seems that today's children do not have the appreciation to work and build something with there hands and enjoy their accomplishment. It's like 'buy me this, play with it for a while, now buy me something else to play with' type attitude. I guess in today's world it's instant gratification with no appreciation.

However, the best thing about this experience is that it awaken in me the desire to build and fly again. And return to a hobby that I enjoyed and appreciated a long long time ago.

Welcome back. Once the sickness sets in it always comes back.

Elwyn Aud · « **Reply #9 on:** April 01, 2016, 05:28:37 AM »

Aside from all of the other activities to occupy a young mind and that aviation no longer has the mystique it once did, most youth are probably never even exposed to control-line unless they happen to have a relative who is active in the hobby.

Dave_Trible · « **Reply #10 on:** April 01, 2016, 05:52:50 AM »

I'd say all of the above are true but I'll add that it's always been true that at best only a small percentage of kids and people in general have the model airplane 'gene'. Lest there would still be a million of us. What hurts us in this last generation or two has been the advent of far too many other things to do and, most importantly, the lack of the local hobby shops for people to wander in to and catch/ maintain the craze. That was usually the center of gravity for local hobby activity. Kids? It's usually about what their crowd is doing at the time.

Dave

Mike Griffin · « **Reply #11 on:** April 01, 2016, 09:58:47 AM »

I have grandchildren who could probably hack into the computers at NSA but have no concept of how to look at a plan of a simple control line airplane, take the kit and turn it into a 3 dimensional object (build the model from the plan). I know because I bought the kits, offered my help and got absolutely no indication that there was even the faintest spark of interest. Brett is right, with the exception of a rare few, mentioned here in previous posts, there is no interest from these kids today in model aviation. Our club even got involved with a local Cub Scout pack, put on a workshop with some simple gliders and rubber power stick models and that died immediately after the meeting.

To Mike's original point, when we have our kids And grandkids over for dinner, I insist they turn the damn phones off but they still sneak off and use them.

I guess us old guys are the last of a dying breed in relation to model aviation.

Mike

Dave_Trible · « **Reply #12 on:** April 01, 2016, 10:48:45 AM »

I was surprised recently when I attended the AMA district meeting here. There were MANY RC clubs represented there which had memberships into 200-300 each. I'd say quite a bit of modeling activity. Just not controline. I think we could do some recruiting inside the RC crowd.

Dave

Tim Wescott · « **Reply #13 on:** April 01, 2016, 11:23:40 AM »

Quote from: Dave_Trible on April 01, 2016, 10:48:45 AM

I was surprised recently when I attended the AMA district meeting here. There were MANY RC clubs represented there which had memberships into 200-300 each. I'd say quite a bit of modeling activity. Just not controline. I think we could do some recruiting inside the RC crowd.

Dave

My RC club has also been amazingly receptive to CL flying. I don't think I've managed to recruit anyone into it, but word's getting out that the Fun Flyers has fun flying all sorts of things.

Will Davis · « **Reply #14 on:** April 01, 2016, 04:36:23 PM »

We had a couple new flyers lately, . Trent , grandson of Stan Powell and Kyle , the grandson of James duck worth started flying a couple weeks ago. I believe the fact that both of them are the same age showing the same interest helps a lot to get them involved. They enjoy each other's company , seem to be having fun,

I do not have the answer to getting more kids involved in model airplanes. we will have no shortage of kids wanting to fly in a few weeks when I spend 7 days at Joe Nall trying our best to promote our hobby to kids of all ages .

All we can do is hope that if we plant enough seeds , .......someday we can reap what we sow .

Paul Smith · « **Reply #15 on:** April 01, 2016, 05:37:21 PM »

Not just kids.

Today I saw and 80-year old woman texting while driving a Suburban in heavy traffic. The kids are all right.

John Rist · « **Reply #16 on:** April 01, 2016, 05:43:18 PM »

Nothing is new the way the world turns. I learned to fly in 1953 at the age of 13. At that time aviation was growing at a blinding pace. Flying was the new exciting thing. Every kid wanted to build and fly an airplane. Now it's computers that are growing at a blinding pace. So it's no wander that a 13 year old is into the world of computing (games, internet, or whatever).

mike londke · « **Reply #17 on:** April 01, 2016, 06:46:28 PM »

Nice job with the kids Will.

Steve Hines · « **Reply #18 on:** April 01, 2016, 07:59:03 PM »

I hate to say it, Samantha can and has text when she was flying. I though she was listening to music. When Dick ask is she texting. When she got done I ask her about it, she said it was OK she was only doing it on the level lap and she knew where the plane was. Now she has to leave the phone in the truck when we fly.

Steve

Will Davis · « **Reply #19 on:** April 01, 2016, 08:10:41 PM »

Quote from: mike londke on April 01, 2016, 06:46:28 PM

Nice job with the kids Will.

Thanks Mike, the model as built by Watt Moore, Trent and Kyle are having fun flying it , the motor was set extra rich to slow things down some ..

Hope you are recovering on schedule ,

RknRusty · « **Reply #20 on:** April 01, 2016, 08:12:05 PM »

Kyle and Trent are getting good. they flew all day with various planes at Watt's, back in February. Will's a great teacher with the kids.

I've told this story here before. About 3 years ago my neighbor had two kids, an 8 year old girl and a tweenage boy. The girl was fascinated with my 1/2A church yard flying and asked me if I would make her make an airplane. When we settled on what sort of plane, it was to be a blue kitty cat. A sheet of foamboard and a couple of paint sticks later I came up with this:

While I was building it, my son dropped in for a visit. He said it looked like I was building a tick

She was thrilled when it was finally ready to fly

We had a fun time with it, especially when I botched a handoff and it flew across the road and was headed over the house before the maple tree caught the handle and dropped it on my front lawn. They moved away, but whenever they come to visit, she always wants to tour the shop and fly the Kitty Cat. I think we have a future engineer on our hands.
Rusty

Matt Colan · « **Reply #21 on:** April 01, 2016, 10:42:29 PM »

I have now built two airplanes while here at college, one of which is currently being finished right now. Every time someone comes over to the apartment and they see the Staris, Thundergazer or the new one say, "I have no idea how you do it!" People aren't exposed to it. Anytime I mention model airplanes to my friends who don't know what I do think I'm flying RC. I then have to explain to them what Control-line is, and how they fly. I had a group of about five people in the ATC labs watching me draw out on the whiteboard how these airplanes work and they were mesmerized. Almost everytime I got out to the soccer field on campus to fly, somebody new shows up and asks how this flies, they've never seen something like this before, how they thought I was gonna crash on the wingover pullout, and that they thought it was awesome! I don't have a trainer with me so I can't teach them how to fly, but I bring them inside the circle and show them a pattern from my perspective. Usually they're impressed.

The big thing is exposure. There isn't enough exposure for CL compared to RC. There's a ton of youth in RC. I have flown with a 10 year old who is sponsored by PAU, Desert Aircraft, JR radios and placed in the top 7 in XFC (Xtreme Flight Championships). RC is where everyone goes to because they see that a lot more than someone building and flying an airplane that takes them months to build. When I bench ran my Staris before flying it, I ended up with a group of 6 or 7 watching the engine run and ask me questions after it quit. One person asked me if I built it, and when I told him I did and it took me two years to build it and that it was going to fly in the next couple days, he said, "I wouldn't fly this airplane! I would go buy one of the pre-built factory airplanes and hang this one above the fireplace." I then explained that I needed to build airplanes like this in order to fly in competition and he couldn't believe it.

If we can all buy a trainer and have it in the car with us when we take an airplane out to practice with, and someone comes by mesmerized at the flying, show them the trainer and offer to teach them. That's how we grow this sport. Not sitting here thinking of ways to get the youth off our phones, xbox etc. I have many many friends here at Riddle who do not play video games, and who spend more time tinkering with stuff than playing those video games.

Just my .02

James Mills · « **Reply #22 on:** April 02, 2016, 09:27:28 PM »

Ben is still flying, already had his first crash of the year. He's going to have a foam wing Twister finished for this summers Nat's.

James

Brent Williams · « **Reply #23 on:** April 02, 2016, 10:54:33 PM »

Exposure to control line airplanes (Lack thereof)
+
Expense of control line airplanes. (Time+Money)
÷
Modern lifestyle, mindset and distractions of kids and parents.
=
Lack of kids and new fliers.

(I went flying yesterday with my own kids, ages 10,7,4,>1)

Steve Helmick · « **Reply #24 on:** April 02, 2016, 11:05:21 PM »

Last summer, we had an older guy (i.e., a contemporary), an R/C flier, stop by and watch a couple of flights, hanging on the airport's cyclone fence. We carried our planes and handles into the circle, did the pattern, while he watched. After a couple of flights, he asked something about how come we could fly at the airport ramp, found out we weren't flying R/C, and went away in disgust, having wasted 20 minutes of his life.

Steve

Gerald Arana · « **Reply #25 on:** April 03, 2016, 08:44:57 AM »

Quote from: Steve Hines on April 01, 2016, 07:59:03 PM

I hate to say it, Samantha can and has text when she was flying. I though she was listening to music. When Dick ask is she texting. When she got done I ask her about it, she said it was OK she was only doing it on the level lap and she knew where the plane was. Now she has to leave the phone in the truck when we fly.

Steve

Hahahahahahahahhahahaha Ain't kids wonderful?!

Jerry

Sean McEntee · « **Reply #26 on:** April 03, 2016, 12:57:15 PM »

Matt hit pretty close to the mark. Exposure is one factor. The far bigger issue isn't the kids...it's the parents.

Let's face it; if Sammi, Mike and Rachael didn't have parents doing it, they probably would be flying. That has to do, in part with the exposure factor, but also the fact that they have in-home help, and family members willing to put in the time and effort.

Go to any little league practice...not a game, but practice. Watch how many parents just drop their kids off and disappear. Also note how many (or few) kids are actually enthusiastic about playing that particular sport. It's less activity and more daycare.

I've seen this behavioral model many times up at Kidventure. Parents will be interested until they find out that it will require time and effort on their part.

Best we can do for kids is expose them to it and hope that the seed that is planted takes root later. It's highly unlikely that you will see them at the flying field the next weekend.

Matt: Speaking of Kidventure, hit up my old man for a copy of the "Tuffbaby" plans. Build one of those and throw it in the car. If you're drawing that much attention, you could probably "infect" a few of them if you show them that it could be a lot simpler than the PA ships you're building.

wwwarbird · « **Reply #27 on:** April 03, 2016, 01:02:43 PM »

Quote from: Sean McEntee on April 03, 2016, 12:57:15 PM

Matt hit pretty close to the mark. Exposure is one factor. The far bigger issue isn't the kids...it's the parents.

Go to any little league practice...not a game, but practice. Watch how many parents just drop their kids off and disappear. Also note how many (or few) kids are actually enthusiastic about playing that particular sport. It's less activity and more daycare.

I've seen this behavioral model many times up at Kidventure. Parents will be interested until they find out that it will require time and effort on their part.

Best we can do for kids is expose them to it and hope that the seed that is planted takes root later. It's highly unlikely that you will see them at the flying field the next weekend.

Hits the nail right on the head Sean.

Dennis Moritz · « **Reply #28 on:** April 03, 2016, 01:41:27 PM »

We have three kids flying. Oldest 9. Or 10. Same family. They love it. Parents bring them. Week after week. Dan Banjock fab ambassador is a contributing factor. Frankly. Far as I can tell biggest factor is the parents' commitment to their kids' interest. We've had many kids get excited flying our trainers. Danny's the best at helping young folks. The kids want to fly. Love it. The adults fail to bring them back. Richard Martinez does outreach to Public Schools. Kids are enthusiastic. When it comes to bringing their kids to our flying field parents are out to lunch.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Warren Walker · « **Reply #29 on:** April 03, 2016, 10:31:53 PM »

To quote my pal Larry R, One day someone's widow will own every C/L motor and kit left on earth.

W.W.

FLOYD CARTER · « **Reply #30 on:** April 04, 2016, 03:43:26 PM »

My two sons were heavily exposed to all types of model activity from their first day on earth. At one point, they were able to fly R/C gliders (daddy-built) but the modeling bug didn't take. They both went on to successful careers not associated with aviation.

So, just exposing them to modeling doesn't always work.

Floyd

Mike Griffin · « **Reply #31 on:** April 04, 2016, 04:10:21 PM »

Ty, I have to reinforce what you said. I coached a little league baseball team years ago. The Kids were 10 years old. The kids were great, the parents were A holes. I will not go into all the crap that went on at the games and practices between parents, parents and their kids and the verbal abuse I took. Needless to say I did it one season and that was it. Never again.

Floyd is also correct, you can expose these kids to model aviation and it may or may not take. I don't blame this on the kids, they have tons more activities available to them today than I did when growing up.

Mike

john e. holliday · « **Reply #32 on:** April 04, 2016, 06:53:26 PM »

Most of my grandkids can fly my planes. Some may remember Emmy who used to go to contest and flying with. But they all discovered other things and school work came first.

WR Crane aka MrClean · « **Reply #33 on:** April 05, 2016, 07:58:01 AM »

I remember at MNC Hobbies one day a customer brought in a box of old magazines, OLD magazines. Some were just post WWII. I was scanning through articles and then called the shop owner over for one. The Article? Where did the kids in our hobby go?

Some things never change.

When I was in high school I was in a school with 1600+ students. One guy built plastic and I built RC, that was it. Wish I'd have known the Lee's lived about half a mile away. I'd have dumped the expensive RC stuff and had 10 times the fun with the CL on the same budget.

Jim Kraft · « **Reply #34 on:** April 05, 2016, 09:18:36 AM »

One problem is places to fly. We use to fly at school yards and ball diamonds until the noise police shut that down. When ever people complain they do not realize that they are at the same time taking away their own freedom. It only takes a few to destroy the freedom of many, and our government is only to happy to take control of any and all situations.

When we use to fly at the school yard there was much exposure and the few that were interested got hooked. Parks were also a good place to fly and let others see what we do. Now we fly at some obscured R/C flying field where only the R/C guys know of our existence.

I have to agree with Dave though, and only a few ever become interested to the point of commitment to a hobby such as this. Some have the gene and some do not. To many other things to do with instant gratification. I have had kids ask me how long it took to build my Ringmaster. I told them about a month to build and finish it. They said no way. If you can't build it in a couple of hours why would you want to. These same kids jump from one thing to another faster than their parents can keep buying things for them that are obsolete in a few weeks.

Of course, these are my own opinions. Kids are still kids and sometimes take a while to grow up. I thank God my parents did not force me into all of the structured activities while growing up and let me do what I was interested in. They let me be a kid while I was one.

proparc · « **Reply #35 on:** April 06, 2016, 10:42:01 AM »

Because control line stunt is very hard!!

GallopingGhostler · « **Reply #36 on:** April 07, 2016, 08:49:16 AM »

I gather that personal electronics are largely to blame, along with sensation of flying diminishing. Back in the 1950's and 1960's, the only personal electronics were radios. Advent of the transistor allowed for relatively inexpensive pocket transistor radios, but one could listen to music on the bench while doing other things, building model planes, during breaks from flying. Then, aircraft were still relatively new technology, especially with advent of jets, helicopters and missiles. There was some TV watching, but most kids played after school. Texting consisted of those with Ham radio interests in the form of Morse Code, which only a minority did. Modern cell phones are computers with streaming video capability, along with impersonal texting and calling to communicate. No longer does one need to visit others (like after school) to socialize (play).

Sometime back, a friend, also a good Christian minister told us, WW1 took the Daddy away. WW2 took the Mommy away. Now, the government wants to take the kids away. In some ways, considering all the non-beneficial societal agendas around us becoming more exposed, that seems to hold a good bit of truth. However, now I am deviating into political debate, and thus I stop.

I think that there will still be a few kids interested (not all). Dane Martin's kids are involved, which goes to show that with the right prompting, kids can be involved. Singapore and Malaysia have high school clubs with CL fliers involved. General selfish nature of a few in our society who have prevented flying in public places considered previously adequate in the 1960s and 1950s aside, with the right type of people gifted in working with children, I think a lot of beneficial good can occur to involve children in CL activities. Thus, we shouldn't give up, but where opportunities occur, with gentle prodding, encourage the youth. Who knows, we can sow positive things into young adult's lives, give them things they would never have experienced otherwise, which they can carry with them into adulthood.

Dane Martin · « **Reply #37 on:** April 07, 2016, 08:52:43 AM »

Hey George! How are you?
The question is, why are there no kids in stunt?
Well in Aiden's case, speed is more fun! Lol.
Daviny is showing interest in stunt, but i think might lean into combat....

john e. holliday · « **Reply #38 on:** April 07, 2016, 09:30:26 AM »

Why do we keep pushing youngsters into stunt? I remember as a teenager I loved flying the planes, 1/2A at the time, just taking off and flying until they ran out of fuel. Then I got my Guillows Rat Racer with a McCoy Red Head 35. It was fast too me after the first time on the handle, thanks to Mr. Brooks for test flying it. I was a nervous wreck. Went to my first contest and the family and I watched after a DQ for a wheel falling off my plane. Combat held my Dad's attention all day plus the racing. So I learned to loop and maneuver the combat wings and tried combat. But Racing was where it was at for me especially after Mother told me to be a pit man and let another person fly. This was a few years after Dad had passed away. Then I get my son to flying and he loved flying fast. Oh he learned the pattern, but didn't like the precision part of it. He didn't really like combat. But Carrier and racing is what he enjoyed the most. His first NATS he got first in Jr Profile Carrier and 4th in Mouse with Jim Lee pitting. I was drafted to be on F2C jury that year. My daughters have all flown, all 3 of them. Most of my grand kids have flown. Emmy would go with me to contests and I would enter her in the beginners class. She had more fun helping at contests than flying, must have been the grumpy old man yelling at her asking for help. So I don't push any of them about contests or learning to loop or do maneuvers unless they ask. If I knew then what I know now I would have a dozen kids flying with no regards for competition, just fly for the fun of it. Even now I'm happy if I get a good engine run, nice take off, plane does what I want it to and a no bounce landing. With a change of flying handle and richening the engine I can have a person soloed in a couple of flights. I guess I ramble too much. Signing off, DOC Holliday

By the way my son asked me at the last SIG contest he attended not to enter him in stunt anymore. In fact that contest he was soured on carrier flying as he did not get to fly and he was entered. Another long story. So don't ask.

Steve Helmick · « **Reply #39 on:** April 07, 2016, 11:21:55 AM »

I've always thought that the "salvation" of CL model flying was in the small towns. They probably haven't caught up with the 21st Century and may actually allow flying in a school yard, or the ever-present community softball field. If they have an ordinance or school/park rule that bans model planes, it may specify R/C planes....a win for us!

Might be worthwhile to take a sport/stunt model (i.e., Ringmaster or Primary Force) with you on any "road trip" you take this summer. Take along some info sheets, telling what you need and where you can buy it online, to pass out to any kids who are interested, and include your name and phone number or email address, and the url for Stunthanging, so they can ask questions. Wouldn't hurt to try.

Steve

Duke.Johnson · « **Reply #40 on:** April 07, 2016, 02:19:35 PM »

Well I know work and girlfriends have gotten in the way of some of the flying I do with my boys (16&18 now). BUT, I'm training up my next flying buddy, my 5 year old nephew. I'm trying to get him over to the house right now to build a couple free flight planes. He sure loves our models.

Richard Logston · « **Reply #41 on:** April 07, 2016, 03:13:23 PM »

I have been teaching kids to fly model airplanes at our church summer school program for the last six years, the exception being last year as we were in the process of hiring a new pastor. The airplanes were ones I designed for ease of construction but still looked like a airplane. The kids wanted them to have wheels and windows as they described it. Of course they were rubber powered. It was a learning experience for me being the first time teaching kids to do something. I found out real quick who had what it took and those that just seem to be in a state of confusion. We had four days to build starting on Monday through Thursday with Friday our fly day. We flew at the local grade school field. All in all we had several planes that required little trimming and flew very well. The kids were fascinated with the flying and seemed to marvel that something they built was really flying. The same kids come back every year except those that left for college or work. I don't know if they will build airplanes on their own, but the seed was planted. I personally believe we should start kids out on rubber powered airplanes to start and introduce them to engine powered airplanes later. Of course there are exceptions to everything, allot depends on their age I think. I will post some pictures. Richard

RknRusty · « **Reply #42 on:** April 07, 2016, 05:23:04 PM »

Quote from: Richard Logston on April 07, 2016, 03:13:23 PM

....I personally believe we should start kids out on rubber powered airplanes to start and introduce them to engine powered airplanes later. Of course there are exceptions to everything, allot depends on their age I think. I will post some pictures. Richard

Richard, I think you're right. When I was a kid my Mom or Dad would bring me a couple of American Juniors home from shopping trips, no doubt to keep me busy while fixing supper or whatever. I spent hours fiddling with the wings and seeing how tight I could wind up the rubber bands. At Christmas there would sometimes be one of those D-Cell powered planes on a 6' sheathed wire, and you can guess the rest. Oddly though, I don't remember many other kids in the neighborhood playing with planes. One guy plastic one with a big scary engine. Thinking back, probably a .15. And then my best friend and me tried to make rockets on string with cardboard tubes and cotton soaked with gasoline... on the back porch... until his Dad caught us Lol.

Here's a picture I love drawn by my friend Kim from Coxengineforum. Daydreaming

GallopingGhostler · « **Reply #43 on:** April 07, 2016, 07:35:00 PM »

Quote from: Dane Martin on April 07, 2016, 08:52:43 AM

Hey George! How are you? The question is, why are there no kids in stunt? Well in Aiden's case, speed is more fun! Lol. Daviny is showing interest in stunt, but i think might lean into combat....

Hello, Dane, my bad. I was reading it as "why there aren't more kids in C/L?" Beginners are interested in just being able to go round and round, land without crashing. Everyone has a starting place. Yes, I imagine that getting involved with AMA speed would be fun, too. it is a different style of competition. I suppose one could even try balloon busts.

Regarding me I'm doing fine. Trying to overcome pre-diabetes, but other than that doing okay. Just don't want to wind up like others with insulin shots and declining health.

Sean McEntee · « **Reply #44 on:** April 07, 2016, 09:39:33 PM »

Quote from: Steve Hines on April 01, 2016, 07:59:03 PM

I hate to say it, Samantha can and has text when she was flying. I though she was listening to music. When Dick ask is she texting. When she got done I ask her about it, she said it was OK she was only doing it on the level lap and she knew where the plane was. Now she has to leave the phone in the truck when we fly.

Steve

Haha I've flown while talking, texting, taking selfies. I was that age not too long ago...alot can happen in a teenagers social life in 7 minutes!

One does have to be a LIIIIIITTLE crazy to fly stunt or scale for that matter. The amount of patience and attention to detail, in my opinion, is second only to indoor FF (If I ever want to abuse myself emotionally, ill sit down and build a penny plane

) Those traits are something a lot of people just don't have, let alone in kids. I know I didn't, at least on the building side. As I mentioned in my previous post, it takes a lot of parental support (which I was fortunate enough to have) and most importantly the zeal for flying. Kids will pick up stunt for one reason or another but you know that they truly dig the hobby when they hit the open category and keep flying. That seems to be the big barrier, and allot of junior/seniors in my era alone to have seemed to hit that point and just disappeared, be it because they went off to college (Matt Colan isn't letting that get him down!), got married and started a family (Chris Rudd, please teach MY wife how to cut ribs!) , did something crazy like join the military

or quit simply because flying as an open contestant meant that they weren't "special" anymore--and I can think of a few people who fit that category.

The more I sit and think about it, the more I think that size doesn't matter. Sure, it would be amazing if we had the same quantity of participation as there was 50-60 years ago. On the other hand, my "work" keeps me so damn busy that I haven't been to a contest in years, and the one person close by (Fred von Gortler) might as well be the only other CL flyer left in the world, yet it sure is nice to have one person who can appreciate the smell of balsa wood, dope, and burning fuel.

BTW, as mentioned in another thread, we got Fred flying last weekend for the first time in quite awhile and brought it home in one piece! Looking to get out and do it again this weekend, weather permitting. Will try to remember to take a few pictures this time.