The Haught Corner
Last of the Originals
Twenty years ago in this issue (July 1975), Model Aviation began in its current format. It arose from the ashes of the defunct American Aircraft Modeler to become a stand-alone official AMA publication.
- Carl Wheeley was Publisher
- Bill Winter was Editor
- Frank Ehling was Advertising Manager
That's a heavyweight lineup! An array of Contributing Editors was also assembled to provide a well-rounded view of the modeling spectrum.
Much has happened since then—to the magazine and to AMA. Membership in AMA has more than tripled from the 52,000 level of 1975, and the magazine has increased from 80 to 168 pages.
Throughout this time there has been one constant: the "RC Aerobatics" column written by Ron Van Putte. Through nearly 250 columns and event reports, he has always been accounted for—until now.
Ron's final column will appear in this issue. He has finally tired of the monthly production grind and has asked to bow out, exactly 20 years after his first column appeared. And who can blame him? No matter how much you love something, writing 250,000 words about it can really stretch that "love" thin.
As our last "original" columnist, we salute Ron's longevity and dedication to Pattern. Now Emil Zutz (his alter ego) can really work on that comeback!
Passing the Torch
But the Pattern column will not suffer. Before he left, Ron recommended Rick Allison as his replacement, and Rick will join us in time for the August issue. Those of you who are familiar with Rick's work with NSRCA and his writing for other publications know that he can more than handle the job. Welcome aboard, Rick.
Ken Simpson of Cedarburg, Wisconsin has some interesting thoughts on the efforts to attract youths to modeling. Ken noted a passage in Wisconsin Natural Resources where hunters have lamented the competition kids have with video games, TV and other relatively new forms of recreational activities. Ken comments:
"Maybe those of us who have enjoyed our hobbies and recreational pursuits should remember that this is a changing world. What we did may not have been what our fathers and grandfathers wanted us to do.
"Maybe a couple decades from now, the elders will lament that the youth [are] no longer playing video games, soccer, and other interests of the youth of today. There will probably be some things we cannot even imagine in the next 20 or 30 years that will fill the leisure time of that generation.
"'Could it be that the best we can do is to treasure the time we have left doing those things that we value, and let those who follow determine for themselves what it is they value and want to do?
"'Maybe what we call the Junior Problem is not about them but about us.'"
Wow! Heresy, you say? I would have thought so too, except that I have heard some other longtime modelers express the same "dinosaur theory"—that extinction is inevitable, so we should live for the present.
Are we fighting a battle we can't win? Or do we really need to "win" anyway? In 10–15 years will we all have virtual-reality setups in our homes, thus making "real" model building and flying unnecessary? Will model aviation as we know it become a casualty of "progress"?
Never let it be said that we don't respond to reader requests. A recent Letter to the Editor had an interesting request concerning the photo in this column's logo:
"It's a nice photo and all that, but can't we see more of his face, and less of his armpit?"
Gee, I never really thought about it that way. Never thought anyone would actually want to see my mug "up close and personal," but elsewhere in this space you'll see a face that only a mother could love ... and I'm not too sure about that, either. Let's see now: is that Mangy Editor or Managing Editor?
Apologies to Du Pont
Apologies to Du Pont for an apparent misuse of a product name in our "Humbug 666" article (May 1995 issue). Humbug's bellcrank is made of 1/8 Delrin™ and our failure to use the ™ symbol was noted by a senior attorney from Du Pont. The omission was unintentional; while Kevlar™ and Mylar™ are listed in my copy of "A Guide to Proper Trademark Use" by the U.S. Trademark Association, Delrin™ was not.
Aerodrome '94
Several subscribers have called or written to advise that Frank Ryder and his family were killed in an airplane crash in December 1994, thus leaving the future of the event—as well as the museum—in doubt.
Thanks to Leo Opdycke, editor of World War I Aero, and others for bringing this to our attention; we were not aware of the situation before the article went to press.
Our condolences to surviving members of the Ryder family.
F.Y.I. — Model Flight
"I don't normally use this space for product endorsements, but Don Edberg's source list has proven to be an invaluable asset to staff in the short time since we received a preliminary copy of the 1995 edition. We get all sorts of 'unique inquiries' (read: off-the-wall stuff) from readers, and we can often solve the mysteries with this resource.
There is a product information directory (by subject), an alphabetical list of more than 2,300 companies, and an extensive set of model product data tables on nearly all types of model aircraft.
Can't find the address or phone number of the company that makes that Rim Shot 325? Or did you remember the model/accessory name, but forget the company? Chances are you can find it in FYI, with all kinds of cross-reference possibilities.
For more information, contact Dynamic Modelling, FYI MF Order Department, 4922 Rochelle Ave., Irvine, CA 92714-2941."
Jim Haught Managing Editor
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
