Model Aviation Online - President's Perspective (December 2006)



We cannot afford to do "dumb things if we are going to be allowed to enjoy our sport
A couple of years ago while on a trip, I came across a book with an interesting title and bought it as what I thought would be an interesting read. The title was Why Smart People Do Dumb Things. Are you wondering why I'm writing about a book I read? I'd bet you could answer your own question. Any of us is capable of a lapse in judgment; this is a fact of life. What gets us in the worst trouble are situations in which others don't step up and point out the folly of our ways. Back when we were kids, I can remember hearing that "individually kids were okay, but if you got a group of them together ... " Presumably adults could handle group dynamics in a more mature manner. It was and is thought that adults show a tendency almost opposite to that of kids. Typically adults behave better when in a group than when they are alone—or so most seem to think. We really need to police ourselves and avoid doing "dumb things" which end up having a negative effect on our sport. In this past month I've dealt with a modeler flying an RC aircraft at press-box altitude around a stadium taking pictures during a nationally televised football game. Another man thought that putting explosives into a model and filming it while he blew it up in flight and then posting the film on the Internet was a good idea. Last month the problem was a collision between an RC model and a hang glider. These are just the incidents of which I was made aware. I suspect that I only hear of a small percentage of the "dumb things" that some AMA members do, but those I am told of hurt the sport tremendously. I am often made aware of these incidents by governmental agencies such as the Federal Aviation Administration when we meet with them. Believe me, they watch our every move. We cannot afford to do "dumb things" if we are going to be allowed to enjoy our sport. Justifying our use of airspace, frequencies, and facilities is difficult enough without being our own worst enemy by doing things that appear to the public and the government to be irresponsible. We must police each other to avoid this. If you know someone who is doing something that fits into this category, then you need to speak up and try to stop it. Don't let something that could jeopardize our hobby happen because you were afraid to speak up. We held our annual Nats planning meeting recently. The 2007 Nats will be immediately preceded by the F3D RC Pylon World Championships, but it was the date planning of the 2008 Nats that created a new opportunity for AMA members. As of now we are planning for an open Sunday in the middle of the Nats that will give us an opportunity to have a national fly-in type of event. The average AMA member will be able to participate in this fly-in as a part of the Nats. Given the loss of our annual Homecoming event, I think this will be a fun time and enjoyed by all. A little planning should at least allow us to fly at two of the RC venues and one CL venue. FFers will fly wherever they can operate given the wind direction and positions of the other disciplines. I hope we can make this work because I think it could be a great event. Just think! You could brag to your grandchildren that you flew in the National Aeromodeling Championships in "aught eight." Our sport lost a couple of real supporters with the passing of Betty Stream, a longtime Nats official, and Christy Stillman, wife of District V Vice President Tony Stillman. It should remind us just how much support we all receive from the wives in the aeromodeling fraternity. Until next month. MA Til next month ... Dave Brown, AMA president

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