The Haught Corner
I received an interesting letter from longtime FF modeler Mike Cook. (You might remember Mike's 1/4 A Ao-Go-Go, a Nats winner in 1/2A Gas in the 1960s.) He has some rather definite ideas about the differences between FF and RC modelers.
Mike Cook's observations
Mike wrote:
"The philosophical difference between the two is immense. In fact, it is close to impossible to explain the difference to some RC modelers who use their aircraft in the same way that they might use a tennis racket, a golf club, or even a race car.
"I do take issue with your comment [October 1995 column] about perhaps 1,500 competition FFers in an AMA membership of 100,000 (actually 160,000-plus). If all AMA RC fliers were competitors, this would be a valid statement, but they are not. Most AMA members, whatever their flying preference, are sport fliers. If you count the RC fliers who actually compete, the comparison would not be so lopsided. Similarly, add up all the AMA members who fly free flight for fun, then total the RC sport fliers for a fair comparison.
"How about putting these statistics together for a future 'Haught Corner'?"
Membership and participation statistics
I don't have all the stats Mike wants, but nearly every demographic survey done about this hobby reveals that the overwhelming majority of participants fly RC sport. From our last demographic survey:
- About 93% of respondents were active in some phase of RC.
- For FF the figure was 20.7%, or 594 persons.
(Important distinction here between number of AMA members and number of survey respondents—your mileage may vary.) There is a tremendous amount of crossover potential—quite a few FF modelers fly RC-assist Old-Timer events, for example. A check with National Free Flight Society president Bob Beecroft shows NFFS membership is currently about 1,800 persons.
I submit that the overwhelming majority of NFFS members are competition-oriented modelers, and that FF is basically a competition activity these days. I would estimate that at least 90% of the fliers at a given FF contest are NFFS members; that would put us close to the 1,500 figure mentioned above. All of that is a drop in the proverbial bucket compared to the overall AMA membership.
The comparison is not nearly so lopsided when we look at the overall percentage of competition modelers. RC has the largest number of competitors, and CL the smallest, but all competitors together are a small percentage of AMA. Perhaps this is a blow to self-esteem or perceived importance, but somewhere along the line the sheer force of numbers must be realized and accounted for.
Competition, technology, and the emotional side of modeling
As mentioned before in this space, this is in no way intended to slam competition; it's a vital part of this hobby. I believe competition is the ramrod (pun intended) for technological development that eventually benefits all modelers—and perhaps sport fliers most of all.
Almost any competition requires unusual amounts of dedication and intense effort. It's probably natural to want to be rewarded for that effort. But should the conscious decision to participate in a non-mainstream activity automatically bring about fame, wealth, or status (real or perceived) if one is successful?
As to Mike's discussion of "philosophical differences," I think that the elimination of the Builder of the Model rule in some classes has narrowed this gap somewhat. A number of FFers have "bought" models that have, in whole or in part, aided their efforts to gain a place on a World Championships team. Thus it's like a golfer or tennis player—or Pattern flier or Pylon racer—getting some new equipment.
What's missing in all these scenarios is what Jeff Troy calls the Emotional Debt Factor (EDF)—the attachment you have to a model because of all the time and effort that went into its construction.
Not so long ago, the engine on one of my better models suffered a broken rod in flight. The rod took a chunk out of the piston and then cracked the shaft near the crankpin—a total loss. My first reaction? "Oh, #%$ — there's $100 down the drain!" Now suppose the engine stayed intact, but I crashed the good model. The reaction would have been more intense—anguish at losing a good airplane and at the time involved to create a new model that might not be as good as the old one. Now that's emotional debt. And that's a big part of modeling for many of us. The model with only $20 worth of materials in it may have hundreds of hours of labor involved in its creation and flight trimming. Can the same be said of something that only requires the writing of a check?
Look at Scale modeling for a real EDF situation. One of its greatest appeals to spectators is the idea that "you're really going to fly that, after all the work you put into it?"
When we were still in Reston in early 1993, I remember Bob Underwood and Jay Mealy going out to lunch to test Bob's new RC scale model. Disaster struck, and the model crashed after only a few seconds of flight. It was impossible to feel anything but genuine sorrow; "that could have happened to me." Our usual give-and-take bantering was absent from the workplace that day.
So much of what we do in modeling is based on emotions like these. What model will I fly? When is the best time to fly? Will I fly at all—is it worth the risk?
But I don't think we can make modeling a better hobby, and AMA a better organization, by letting emotions rule the day. We need a calm, rational, realistic assessment of our hobby and our membership, and a carefully reasoned, well-thought-out plan for our success in the future. This separation of "church and state" will never be easy, but I think it's necessary for our favorite activity to prosper in the long term.
And while we're being so calm and rational, let's take a look out the window. Daydream a little bit. See that young kid, so fascinated with his toy plane? Does he look familiar? I thought you might recognize him. I bet there's a little bit of him locked up inside most of us.
If we ever forget him, and what that feeling is all about, we must hang on to it. We're not "boys playing with toys," but the childlike fascination with flight can and does last a long time.
Jim Haught Managing Editor
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
