F/FSport
“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me.”—FRED ROGERS
hobby, the emphasis is clearly on the quick- fix. The landscape is populated with an al- most overwhelming selection of ready-to-fly or nearly ready-to-fly models, the majority of which are radio controlled, high-glitz and high-glamour products promising to get the novice into the air almost immediately. There is, of course, nothing inherently wrong with that. Like all other commercial products, these models are volume driven. They must be sold in significant quantities in order for the chain of manufacturing, distributing, and retailing to make a profit and stay in busi- ness—and to offer increasingly more sophis- ticated products in order to expand the mar- ket base. Such is the nature of supply and demand in a consumer-driven economy. The major manufacturers’ need for high volume sales of hobby products has essentially elim- inated freeflight (with its limited numbers) from consideration as a viable market base. Running counter to this trend, however,
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an active freeflight cottage industry has arisen and is sustained by the ability to con- nect to potential customers through the web and through the modeling print media. The cottage industry approach emphasizes mod- el designs that must be constructed from wood (and in some cases some high tech ma- terials) by a builder who must put time and effort into creating a model that will fly. Along the way, these new builders will ac-
quire fine motor skills, learn modeling tech- niques, explore creativity, and develop a sense of accomplishment. Somehow, to me at least, these traits seem more valuable than the ability to open a brightly colored box and remove a ready-to-fly model from its Styrofoam packaging. This month I want to share with readers
iewing the landscape of new mod- eling products intended to attract and entice young (and in some cas- es not-so-young) beginners to our
by larry kruse You can reach Larry Kruseat 18 NW Heatherstone Drive, Lawton, Oklahoma 73505, or via e-mail at
aircats@att.net
PHOTO: MARK FREELAND
Students from Geisler Middle School in Walled Lake, Michigan are pleased with their Thinbad the Sailor models they built this past year as part of a modeling class conducted by Mark Freeland of Retro RC. More in the text.
some of the efforts being made by several freeflight cottage industries to introduce novices to a lifetime of satisfaction in our hobby. Since several of them are advertisers in this magazine, I would also urge you to consider purchasing their products in help- ing to perpetuate the lasting values of freeflight in this era of instant gratification.
Getting kids involved Mark Freeland, the owner of Retro RC
LLC, has just introduced two new kits to complement a growing array of freeflight de- signs. The Camp Racer is a laser-cut all-bal- sa hand launch glider intended for group ac- tivities, particularly as a first building project for young modelers. Its Golden Age- style open cockpit racing profile makes it stand out from the usual stick type fuse- lages found in such beginner’s planes. It con- tains 19 accurately cut parts of quality bal- sa and plywood, in addition to step-by-step photo instructions, and looking at the open- ing in the profile fuselage, it’s easy to imag-
ine a follow-up rubber powered version of this same plane. The second offering from Retro RC is a fine-flying No-Cal ship adapted from model- ing friend Mike Welshans’ Flying Aces de- sign. The profile and outline of the Dayton- Wright Racer has been maintained in the traditional No-Cal manner in a traditional “stick-and-tissue” airplane. The kit features 59 precision laser-cut parts (mostly of 1⁄16- inch balsa) with locating notches and gus- sets at vulnerable joints. It also has photo- illustrated plans, white Esaki tissue, a propeller and bearing assembly and trace- able full-scale markings. In keeping with FAC rules, the plane spans 16 inches and is competition legal. Mark also sent along a picture of some
very happy young people from a model building class he taught at Geisler Middle School in Walled Lake, Michigan last year. The kids are proudly holding their very in- dividually decorated ThinBad the Sailor models they built. ThinBad the Sailor is a
PHOTOS: MARK FREELAND
Intended for beginning modelers and building classes, this Camp Racer (above left) is one of the latest offerings from Retro RC. The model is all laser- cut balsa and spans 111⁄2 inches and includes 19 accurately cut parts. A second
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new kit from Retro RC (above right) is a traditional “stick-and-tissue” No-Cal Dayton Wright Racer, designed by Mike Welshans for FAC competition. Details in the text.
OCTOBER 2012
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