Well, here's my two cents worth on this subject.
It has been interesting and sometimes frustrating going to the hobby shop to buy just about anything related to this build it your self, finish it your self, buy your fuel/engine/prop C/l hobby.
If I am going to a hobby shop here in SOCAL, I look for the oldest guy I can find to ask for anything. They remember (A certified old guy) the "old" days of building a kit and flying the "string control" stuff of old better than anyone else that may be in attendance for "customer service"
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The young guy that approaches me when I enter the store will approach me and ask if he can help me find something on the shelves, this is where it gets interesting if not stressful. They will invariably ask what I want that odd item for and I have to think of something to say that will not be disrespectful, but I have to tell him it would take awhile to explain "Build it yourself" airplanes that have a wire coming out the wing tip and why we still do that.
They don't understand that C/L has continued to evolve and mature as a sort of sub-modeling culture mostly out of the mainstream public eye. The last hobbyshop service person I spoke with was in the less than 17 yr. age bracket and was actually somewhat interested in my answers to his questions about how this C/L hobby has managed quite well underground and we really build some very hightech and up to date aircraft that function at the national and international levels of competion.
The current crop of the next generation has no idea that a long forgotten world of aeromodeling with wires attached even exists here in the LA area.(Or anywhere else) I told this young person that indeed two very nice C/L flying facilities were present within forty miles of each other and there are still a few enthusiastic purveyors of the C/L art still out flying on most weekends.
Certified old guys albeit to this lad, he did indeed come out and visit the Whittier Narrows flying site one Sat. morning and was surprised by what he saw. The lad stayed around for awhile and spoke to a couple of us.
There is a wide and growing gap in this hobby and I don't know how or if the tide of young folks could be vectored back to the simpler ways and times of C/L flying.
The concept (of C/L flying) is not in their perview by way of whats offered on the market today or socially involved at the neighborhood level. In the 60.s and 70.s on any given evening after dinner you could hear someone trying to fire up one of those plastic ARFs in their yard or out at the school playground.
Times have changed and the young who attempt to offer help at our hobbyshops are a new breed.
Plug and play, no concept of commitment to a sport, but just a trial of the next sensation. Sometimes it sticks, but usually it's on to the next sensation or the next better thing all with no commitment.
The fuel that's offered on the shelf doesn't really matter, the quart or two of fuel it takes to run out of interest in the now moment infatuation with the r/c toy is enough.
We (the certified old guys) speak a different language. The point is well prooven when we ask the hobby shop person if they have any fuel for stunt engines. 5% w/ Castor/synthetic mix fuel? Comes the question: What would you use that in dude?
Our commitment to our stunt engines is like the rest of the plane, we come from a time when you respected your own stuff enough to care for it and learn how to do that.
I walk by the dumpster at my C/L flying site in Sepulvida Basin and I regularly see whole planes just thrown in there just like it hit the ground, or r/c cars/trucks that were smashed up. ( Sometimes the engines or batteries are taken out). Repair is too expensive or they just don't want to go through the trouble of repair/replacement. Just buy another one I guess.
It's a sign of the times we live in I think, just my two cents worth.
The cool thing is that niche items come into being because of the need to fill a void that was created by the now receding hobby industry. (At least at the local level)
America at it's greatest is what I see happening, Hobbyists are filling the need for stuff where and when it's needed like props, the increasing development of electric motors/electronics for our C/L specific needs.
It's market driven and I love this about our sport and about this country!
Now if I go into a hobby shop, I go prepared to take a little time to talk with the sales person and sometimes it generates some interest in what we do in C/L.
Just a thought, thanks for reading this wondering bit of prose.
James Dean
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