What's wholesome and good
about this hobby was beaming ... 

It was a Saturday afternoon and the boys couldn't wait to go flying. Their enthusiasm of course keeps me energized, and there are often times that it's the three of us, hands clasped, jumping up and down begging mommy to let us go out and play. Even though I'm the biggest kid in the house, it's still smart to ask permission first.
    
     On this particular day we arrived at the field just as an IMAC judging seminar was finishing. Many of the class attendees were still relaxing in their fold-up recliners discussing point deductions, obviously well versed in the finer points of critiquing Aresti sequences.
    
     Undaunted by the credentials of the audience, my two boys walked up to their flight stations, tested the controls, and placed their aircraft on the flightline. I stood back and watched. Neither had flown in front of a crowd, so I was first off very proud that they wanted to get into the air so fast. (Hear me patting myself on the back?) I wasn't the only one watching and not the only one totally envious either as William took off and popped immediately into a hover—never had he attempted this maneuver before.
    
     Then his little brother Jacob, while holding a transmitter seemingly the size of his head, flew away in a normal manner but during most of the flight was laughing and cheering. (I heard him say "Awesome!" more than a few times.)

     Let me repeat that. He was laughing and cheering during the flight. What's wholesome and good about this hobby was beaming in a way I think only a father can appreciate.

     Technically I'm their instructor, but at that moment they were teaching me something. Seeing them laugh and "play" with RC airplanes painted a picture (I guess the current phrase is "digitally captured") what this sport/hobby is all about: having fun! What surprised me even more, though, was that they had improved exponentially since our last outing.

     Both boys are solo "foamie" pilots—not the trainer type, but the full-tilt, 3-D-throw aerobatics type. Those are the same models they learned with. Sound crazy?

     Teaching the finer points of flight is not typically started with a turn-on-a-dime aircraft; the slow and stable high-wing model has been the accepted method. So why have my "students" been so successful up to this point?

     Even though their study of RC has been somewhat nontraditional, their enjoyment of the hobby has been very rewarding. Yes, I've been professionally involved in the hobby for as long as they've known, but I never forced aeromodeling on them.

     We've always done, for the most part, what they've wanted to do because it looked like fun. I'm grateful that they see aeromodeling as something fun to do.

     Our family schedule is all over the place, and "typical" or "traditional" hasn't always been practical in terms of fitting aeromodeling into our lifestyle. Foamie models became popular and my own curiosities led me to experiment and learn how they worked. Most would agree that these types of models aren't traditional.

     The qualities in these aircraft I found to be valuable were that they were quick to build, cost effective, and took a massive beating. Hello! That sounds like the recipe to suit the aeromodeling appetite of the modern family lifestyle, doesn't it?

     The foamies, in many ways, are like the aircraft of early RC computer flight simulators: unrealistically too easy to fly, gravity defiant, and divinely noninteractive with the ground. As a student of 3-D aerobatics at the time, I found foamies great for learning.

     Why not let my boys learn to fly on them? They saw how much fun I was having and that a crash wasn't the end of a model to which they'd grown emotionally attached.

     What they had to do first, though, was get used not to how the model flew, but how the transmitter worked. The family computer became the new club flying field. When they saw that I was having fun with the simulator, they took right to it.

     Gradually, and at their own pace, they'd "play" on the simulator. It easily adapted to our schedule and established a pattern of recognition between the ability of the aircraft and what the student needed to learn to keep the aircraft recognizable.

     Eventually the anything-is-possible attitude on the simulator built up the boys' confidence. It wasn't long before I was able to assign them tasks like landing on the center of the runway and other procedures they'd have to do unconsciously at the field.

    One of those procedures they got good at very quickly was the preflight checklist. The act was strengthened when they were told that full-scale pilots perform the exact same things before they fly. "You mean real pilots do it just like that, daddy?"

     The proof of how well that time was spent was at the flying field with the foamie. They didn't take right to flying at first. I think the whole "realness" of everything made them extremely nervous. The connection missing was a relation to how flying on the simulator was a lot like flying for real. That's the beauty of the simulator-and-foamie relationship.

     Realizing that the environment was drastically different, I had to be patient and allow them to learn that the model would be familiar to them once they got it into the air. Like a switch, suddenly the boys started to feel comfortable and were flying more often.

     On the off days they'd go back to the simulator on their own and practice flying in the wind. That was a challenge they gave themselves. (Patting myself on the back again.) That's why they improved so much between trips to the flying field.

     The RC simulator has been a tremendous asset in making aeromodeling fit the "today" lifestyle. What they learn on the simulator directly translates to the experience in the field. The foamie model has reinforced everything they learned and has encouraged the boys to learn more.

     I've teased them with the idea of emergency training—where they practice engine-out procedures. They've also asked to try some of my other airplanes, like the traditional glow-powered trainer.

     It will be interesting to see how well everything they've learned has prepared them for models that fly more like the real thing. Aircraft with heavier wing loadings aren't as forgiving as foamies. I believe their confidence will reinforce any difficulties they happen upon.  MA