Recruiting the next generation

I took my Vernon Hunt Warlord combat wing into school today to have a fly with a colleague who discovered my involvement with C/L activities. He hadn't flown since the seventies and volunteered to be my launcher.

The sound of the Oliver Tiger in the playing fields drew a large audience and some of my wild gyrations in the very turbulent air drew appreciative gasps from the kids and sharp intakes of breath coupled with some severe buttock clenching from me

Result, a long queue to join the C/L club that they insisted that I form in the new academic year this coming September. I even have two fellow teachers who want to get in on the act.

Way to go!!!!

Vernon,

Interesting. I thought I read somewhere that you were in England? I could be wrong, but this is what I thought.

Unfortunately, my experience flying control line around my hometown in the far northern suburbs of Chicago, draws very little interest. In fact, most of the people that stop to watch, or comment, ARE ALL people who are at least in their 40s, or older, seemingly charmed by observing an activity they remember from their youth.

The younger generations seem oblivious to my, attractive, good flying airplanes, and show zero interest.

And, check this out........

Last week I found an open, unoccupied baseball field behind a large church to fly in. I had brought one of my best flying; brightly finished stunters to the field. Across the narrow street was another baseball field that was packed with parents and kids engaged in a baseball game. When I started setting up my flight circle, (plant stooge, set lines, etc.) 3 or 4, 8-12 year old kids came over to watch. They were the only ones that seemed interested, the other 150 kids and their parents did their best to ignore me. I fired up the engine, and the thrust from the prop was blowing dust 30 feet back from the infield. It was impressive looking. I put up 3 flights, and by the end of the 3rd flight, some of the parents scolded their children for not paying attention to the baseball game! What really bothered me most was a fat old lady, with ugly legs had the temerity to utter the phrase: "hey goof-ball, can't you see we have a game going on here"? behind my back while I was rolling my lines.

In America, the children seem only interested in athletic sports, video games, or hanging out in gangs, and appears to be cultivated by their parents! I cannot tell you how many of the fields I use to fly in are either occupied with soccer kids, or baseball, and this seems to be an all year pastime.

Sometimes I think the future of model aviation will die off once the generation’s now involved pass. I just do not see many younger people getting involved, and especially control line.

Maybe it's different in Europe.

I have to agree with Paul (roymon). We are both members of the same C/L club, and are the youngest members, being in our early 40's.

I sometimes fly at a large school field near where I live (Chicago suburbs). They have soccer practice & softball there. Also the local teens not old enough to drive hang out there & play basketball, or ride their skateboards in the parking lot. When I fly there, starting my engine gets their attention, they watch for a bit, then go back to what they were doing. Only a couple have actually come up to ask me about it, and when I tell them I built the plane from a kit, they get so turned off it's unreal. The concept of investing time in an activity, and BUILDING something, is so foreign to them it's almost frightening.

On the other hand, several older adults have come up & told me what wonderful memories that brings back, and said they still have their old C/L stuff but haven't flown in years. Some have gotten into RC, others just kind of drifted away from it. The first thing they ask is if the Fox .35 is still being made. One had been to the NATS at Glenview Naval Air Station in the 60's, which was very interesting as I grew up in Glenview & had seen the NATS there as a kid, it was close enough to ride my bike over.

There is a large local RC club, ~150 members, but even at their flying field I don't really see many young people either.

>Vernon,
>
>
> Interesting.
>I thought I read somewhere
>that you were in England?
> I could be wrong,
>but this is what I
>thought.
>
You are correct with that assumption.

>Unfortunately, my experience flying control line
>around my hometown in the
>far northern suburbs of Chicago,
>draws very little interest.

My youngest son will stay and watch just in case I crash. If I show no indications of crashing he will wander off.

>In fact, most of the
>people that stop to watch,
>or comment, ARE ALL people
>who are at least in
>their 40s, or older, seemingly
>charmed by observing an activity
>they remember from their youth.

To some extent when I am flying in a public place, that is also my experience.
>
>
>The younger generations seem oblivious to
>my, attractive, good flying airplanes,
>and show zero interest.

The kids at the school where I teach aare quite interested and it will be interesting to see if the interest is maintained
>
>And, check this out........

> What
>really bothered me most was
>a fat old lady, with
>ugly legs had the temerity
>to utter the phrase: "hey
>goof-ball, can't you see we
>have a game going on
>here"? behind my back while
>I was rolling my lines.

That's what I like about Americans. They tell it like it is and don't mince their words

>I cannot tell you how
>many of the fields I
>use to fly in are
>either occupied with soccer kids,
>or baseball, and this seems
>to be an all year
>pastime.

I have been surrounded by kids when I have flown in the field at the end of my street. They have shown a lot of interest even when they discover that they would have to build a plane because there are no ARTF C/L planes with the exception of the Estes Cox planes and I do not recall seeing any of those recently in the model shops or UK mag adverts.

> I just do
>not see many younger people
>getting involved, and especially control
>line.
>
>Maybe it's different in Europe.

It's not too different in the UK. The major problem is that it is not seen too often as most flying is done at club fields generally out of view of the public. A chap called Tom Jolley organised several competitions for youngsters with great prizes by apalling levels of interest and particpation.

Vernon
>
>PR

>They
>have shown a lot of
>interest even when they discover
>that they would have to
>build a plane because there
>are no ARTF C/L planes
>with the exception of the
>Estes Cox planes and I
>do not recall seeing any
>of those recently in the
>model shops or UK mag
>adverts.

The U-Key series are ARTFs, and come in a variety of sizes.

They are deliberately programmed to be that way.

"Games played with the ball are too rough for the body, and stamp no character upon the mind".

Thomas Jefferson

Like all such communal activities, it supresses individuality and creative independant thinking, both dangerous qualities to the State, which wants good little workers (one vast human herd) who only produce, consume, and die when their usefulness is at an end. It has taken since about 1950 to produce the current sorry crop of humanity; television and "sports" have been primary tools, as have the schools. Why do you think they call them "schools"? they are designed to produce easily managed drones, not citizens, and it is only getting worse by the year.

My Dad, Son ,and I have just formed a CL club in our town. I have planes that kids can fly with me always. If a kid shows some interest , he /she flies. Currently it is a KISS 15 with a foX 19 on the nose. It has limited ele travel and is a tad nose heavy, very stable and easy for the kids to fly on maybe the first try. I use 60x15 lines so that the laps are 6.0 or slower. They love it. It's name is "Thumper". It hits the ground many times, goes right back up.
I like combat, and fly it often. The Spectators go crazy for it!!!. The kids will try it as soon as they can run out of gas. This has turned out to be the big attraction for the planes. I have sold a few RTF planes and these kids want to pull streamers as soon as they can. This is all on 52' lines and 15 size planes. My Son's is Magnum 10 powered, most are Thunder Tiger 15 powered or Fox 15. 12oz - 17oz. Michael has no interest in stunt, but if he gets a cut on Dad, he's cool. He is now trying to get better at outside loops and inverted, for combat moves.
Try combat and see the kids pop for it. The excitment is what drives kids , a stunter is kinda boring for most bystanders,til it waks it. I'll bet that if you put on combat tails and two guys in the circle the base ball game will stop.
Please post what else works. All.
.03,MM

LAST EDITED ON Jul-07-01 AT 06:49 AM (EST)

To All Above --

Echoing all your sentiments, I suspect most of today's youth grew up in a world of video games and non-tactile / sensual activites. They don't know the dfference between FEELING an airplane do a maneuver and WATCHING an airplane do a maneuver. They will tend to be more interested in R/C than CL, because they don't know the FEEL is missing. They are used to it being missing! "Push a button, and something happens" is a far different world than using fine motor skills and getting instant feedback, right there in your hand. It is the difference between flying Flight Simulator and actually flying an airplane.

When I decided to got back into models after a 35 year absence, I assumed I would go R/C. Then I remembered what I enjoyed about the flying part of the hobby, and it was all feel. I wouldn't enjoy an R/C flight. It wouldn't be real.

We all make our choices, but I decided to let following generations do what they wish, and fly my little airplanes on "strings" without worrying about them.

One of my favorite quotes is from Terry Bradshaw, the last year the Steelers won the Super Bowl. "Whenever I pick up a newspaper, I read how stupid I am. I am getting bald. My wife left me. To hell with everybody, I'm gonna go play some football, a game I really like."

There is some of that feeling in what is perhaps the last generation of CL flyers. This is a "game" I really like.

According to Jay Mealy, AMA Program Director, 25,000 of the 165,000 AMA members are juniors, That's some 15%. This is appparently the largest number in recent history. Also the average age of AMA members is 47. I was surprised at that. My recollection of previous AMA surveys was that the median age of members was somewhat older. Does anyone have one of the older surveys at hand?

To diverge a bit,I'm not in complete agreement with JAK's analysis of the situation. However, group learning, team projects, study groups, team teaching, etc. have become common in higher education over the last 15 years or so. Part of it is that the methods that worked for me don't work well for a majority of today's students. Another part is that ability to function effectivly as part of a team or group is very important in today's real world.

Ah yes, but the so called "Real World" is made by humans, and the old ways worked MUCH better.
One only has to look at the number of single parent households, and the children in the schools to know the system doesn't work and is failing. I have been able to be an onsite observer at a local school district (around 70 schools) while performing work on their communications and LAN (computer networking) systems (including time in the classrooms and around the students and teachers and staff), for several months now, and I can tell you for a fact that what I have seen was unknown in the days I was in grade school on up, and is both scary and sad.
A failed program is a failed program, no matter how much you might try to pretty it up and call it "today's reality"...