Working Toward the Future

Beautiful wooden gliders are a great way to start a model flying career. Foam RC models may follow, since they come ready to fly. More sophisticated ARF models, however, are not. They require a significant amount of work to equip them with a powerplant—except for pure gliders—and an RC system. This consists of:

• Motor
• Speed controller
• Battery
• Propeller/spinner
• Servos
• Receiver

All of these components must be handled and installed with expertise and technical skill. Even for experienced modelers, this work takes a lot of time. Care is essential. Mistakes can have devastating consequences. We set aside two days for this, which was only possible thanks to extensive preparation but was still a tight schedule.

All of the participants interested in the aerobatic model had some prior experience. This was evident not only during the installation work but also, in particular, while flying. By the end of the introductory flight day, everyone had launched, flown, and landed their model perfectly on their own. Getting started with the gliders proved to be a bit more challenging. Some personal coaching will still be necessary here. It would, of course, be a success if the two female participants could be the first to give electric gliding a female face.

As is well known, model-building workshops can take place in various locations. Until last year, we were able to hold our training sessions at the Dübendorf Aviation Museum. Every now and then, individual museum visitors would wander into our—

their area of work. This time, the NOS region invested more in public relations and not only moved our workshop to the Technorama premises but also promoted it with signs and posters to encourage visits. On the first day, over 100 visitors—families and individuals—stopped by to learn more about what we have to offer. This requires assigning a volunteer to handle reception and, in some cases, to accompany visitors. Let’s get out there with our diverse activities! Model-building courses don’t belong in

school buildings, but to places where we can be seen.

GZ