President's Perspective
Dave Brown AMA president
One's excellence as a pilot is more than an ability to fly the airplane.
Occasionally, anyone will have a bad month. For me, that would be an understatement this month.
As I write this in March, I have not only lost a few friends to death, I have lost a little faith in the judgment of some members of the AMA. These are people who know better than to endanger the sport/hobby by applauding conduct that shows a callous disregard for safety.
AMA has always embraced the basic concept of "it's not what you fly, but how you fly it" as the primary basis for regulation of safety. I can still hear John Worth repeating that phrase when a safety proposal would come up.
I have generally agreed with that expression, but I have always recognized that "how you fly" will always be a part of determining if "how you fly it" is considered safe.
Several rules have emerged throughout the years that have set increased safety requirements for certain types of models. Beyond these, we have mainly relied upon the common sense of the modelers to ensure that flying operations are conducted in a safe manner, appropriate to the type of model being flown.
While it isn't unreasonable to step out into a 100-foot-diameter clearing in your backyard and fly your radio-control helicopter, assuming you are an accomplished R/C helicopter pilot, it would be ridiculous to fly your Quicky 500 or your F1A free-flight model there.
The same is true of flying at night. With the proper model and proper lighting on that model, it is not unreasonable. I have participated in many "night glider" contests, where we would attach cyalumes (chemical lights) to the model, and tow them up with a hi-start or winch. It was fun, and not unreasonably risky.
I have seen or read articles about quite a number of powered models flown at night—most of which were lit up like a Christmas tree, using a myriad of techniques. Most of the models involved translucent covering with lights inside. These tend to be ghostly in flight, majestically lumbering in the darkness like a ghost hovering over the flying site.
I have heard of helicopters at night and never really became concerned, but I had never heard of people flying high-performance models at night. I always thought modelers had more sense than that.
That faith was shattered this month, when I read an account of someone flying a 190 mph turbine-powered model at an AMA-sanctioned event at night, using just a couple of green and red light-emitting diodes (LEDs) in the wingtips!
This occurred not once, but three times, on consecutive nights.
The modeler who did this is obviously very skilled, and a very good pilot—or is he?
One's excellence as a pilot is more than an ability to fly the airplane. It is also an ability to know when your flying would endanger others, and having the sense to exercise that control.
What made matters worse was the fact that many other "leaders" in this area of aeromodeling stood by and applauded this activity—even awarding the flier (I'll not call him a pilot, thank you) with a "best performer" award, in part for this show of stupidity.
Where was the contest director? He was off-site having dinner, and the fliers were using a loophole that defines the sanction as ceasing when the CD is not on the site.
Did they break any rules? Surprisingly, no—or at least not in this action—but they surely failed to apply any modicum of common sense. If we have to consider common sense unenforceable, as it was shown to be in this case, we will need to reconsider the need for absolute rules.
Taking this direction will undoubtedly prohibit many fun, safe activities in an attempt to compensate for what should be "common" sense.
In addition, the Competition Regulations will grow to the size of the Encyclopedia Britannica, and we will spend as much time finding out what's allowed as we will enjoying our hobby. All because of a little uncommon sense.
Before you see anything unusual, stop and ask yourself a question: "Could I stand in front of a jury or a victim's survivors, and convince them that my actions were reasonable?"
If the answer is anything but a resounding yes, you had better rethink that flight. If you see someone else doing something unusual, ask him or her that question.
In Memoriam
Aeromodeling lost some of its giants in March with the passing of:
- Earl Witt
- Don Dewey
- Charlie Chambers
- Bev Wisniewski
Earl Witt was the president of AMA when I first became a member of the Executive Council in 1980. He contributed more time and energy to AMA and aeromodeling than is imaginable.
Earl was involved in more National Aeromodeling Championships (Nats) than anyone I know in aeromodeling. He attended or served in some capacity in all but a few Nats in the competition's entire history.
Earl was the proudest past-president I have known, and I can envision him meeting up with Johnny Clemens and planning the next heavenly Nats.
Don Dewey was the visionary who started R/C Modeler back when RC was in its commercial infancy. Don took that dream and made it into one of the most successful aeromodeling publications in the world. His hundreds of articles and columns have contributed much to the sport/hobby of aeromodeling.
Charlie Chambers was among the best scale modelers, and his sudden passing was a shock to us all. He was only 55 years of age and an airline pilot. Best known for his military scale models like the beautiful Black Widow, I'll always remember him for that big, broad smile, that unforgettable gleam in his eye, and that distinctive laugh.
Charlie was an intense competitor, who recognized that the competition was supposed to be fun. The scale world, and all of aeromodeling, lost some of its fun forever.
Bev Wisniewski was my little buddy, and I was shocked to hear that she passed away from cancer. Anyone who has attended a Nats and has been involved in control line knows the level of dedication Bev gave to AMA, and particularly the CL community.
I'm really going to miss her friendship, but not nearly as much as her family will. The Wisniewskis would have a good chance of winning if "a first family of aeromodeling" was selected.
Although the aeromodeling community will miss these members of "our family," I can guarantee that anyone who knew any of these people will never forget them.
Dave
Dave Brown AMA president dbrown@dbproducts.com
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
