Model Aviation Online - Modeling Spoken Here (May 2007)

Perhaps it's time to get a fresh perspective and do something outside your comfort zone ...

We all have a comfort zone. It is the space in our lives where we feel confident and secure. It's a place where we are not threatened and/or prodded to do anything more than that on which we already have a good grasp. It is also a place in which we are not likely to grow very much.

     None of us likes to be pushed into things we don't enjoy or for which we do not have an (obvious) aptitude. But if everyone stayed only in his or her comfort zone, very little would get accomplished in the way of progress.

     Every morning I try to reaffirm just what it is I'm supposed to be accomplishing in life, in my job, and especially in my modeling. (Hey, I have my priorities straight!) In my case those three elements are pretty much intertwined. If I can't learn anything new or add to the sum of knowledge that already exists, I wonder why I am even here.

     I've always believed that each of us is a genius in our own way. Each of us has talents and, well, gifts to accomplish different tasks.

     And the way we choose to do these tasks is a physical manifestation of our inner genius. No two people will do a task in exactly the same manner. The problem comes when we choose not to take on the challenge to do the tasks at all.

     Genius doesn't necessarily have to be manifested in, or applied to, only big, important, or groundbreaking things. Simple tasks can be improved upon in miniscule ways, and that still qualifies as using our individual genius. Often it is a combination of infinitesimal and incremental improvements or innovations that produce earth-shattering results.

     Moving something forward just a fraction will, in some cases, significantly change the whole geometry of a situation, and entire whole new worlds of possibilities result. Unfortunately many stop just short of the realization of some huge innovation and never know how close they came to shifting an existing paradigm.

Okay, how does all this relate to modeling? In the past few weeks I have been on one of those designing and building highs after several months of lounging around in my "comfort zone." The rush of inspiration has been so intense and enjoyable that I wonder why I ever let myself stop thinking this way in the first place.

     Do you feel the same way often? Perhaps it's time to get a fresh perspective and do something outside your comfort zone in modeling.

     It could be as simple as trying a new type of model that requires you to learn different piloting techniques. Or you might try modifying one of your models in an attempt to achieve better (or just different) performance. As always, my suggestion is to try building a model from scratch. (There are lots of opportunities to leave a comfort zone there!)

     You could focus on your club and what it needs to better serve its existing members or what innovation by which you might produce some new blood. When volunteers are asked to spearhead a club project, free that arm that has been resting under you on that hammock in your comfy comfort zone and hold it high in the air to be counted.

      Thinking back, it was another modeler who was emerging from his comfort zone that in turn shoved me out of mine. My good friend Buddy Weider wanted to learn more about designing and building. He contacted me and that got me started in earnest again. Now we are both energized and we keep pushing each other toward innovations and accomplishments.

     In this issue there is another example of someone venturing outside a comfort zone to explore an unfamiliar technical modeling area. Don Ogren came to that point in his flying where he needed to know more about the propellers he was using and how to adjust them to suit his specific needs. (That is something a competition flier really needs, but also something from which a sport flier could benefit.)

     Unable to easily find what he needed on the existing market, Don designed and built his own pitch gauge and developed the required charts and graphs to enable him to accurately read the data and apply it effectively.

     That's an excursion away from comfort to be sure. But the result for him was a whole new "action zone" of knowledge. Don developed the project into an interesting and informative how-to so we all might benefit.

     Whatever the task or challenge you choose to get you booted, have the willingness and courage to see it through to completion. You might find that one road you start down will lead you to many other interesting side roads and occasionally to a superhighway of knowledge and possibilities.

The preceding thoughts are solemnly dedicated to the memory of Addie Naccarato and Bill Wisniewski. We lost both of these innovative and energetic modelers just as this editorial was due to be written, and I want to mention them here.

There will soon be detailed obituaries for Addie and Bill. I don't think either of them ever wasted any time in a comfort zone.

In or out of my comfort zone I can be reached at (610) 614-1747, via E-mail at robinhunt@rcn.com, or via mail at Box 68, Stockertown PA 18083. MA