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Rakstu sērija par lidmodelismu Anglijā un Zviedrijā
Sveicināti lidmodelisti! Sen nekas nav rakstīts, tam jau ir iemesls - aktīvā sezona ir beigusies, ārā ne tik jauks laiks ka gribētos, nu neko darīt... Å odien gribētos jūs visus iepazistināt ar mūsu jaunu kolēÄ£i, arī lidmodelistu, kurš ir atbraucis no Anglijas un ir piekritis uzrakstīt rakstu sēriju par sevi un lidmodelistu dzīvi Anglijā. Å odien publicējam raksta pirmo daļu, rīt droši vien pieliksim arī kādu bildīti. Vismaz tās tika absolītas Un tā...
Is There Anybody Out There? (Part 1)
By Johan Johansson
The idea
When I was asked to write something about model-flying in England, I didn’t realise what a challenge I was up against! After much pondering upon the subject, I decided that it would have to be a mix of facts and personal impressions, accumulated during my 7 years of living there. As I am Swedish originally and started flying model-airplanes there in my youth (I am still young though!!!), I thought it might be interesting to include some of my experiences from there as well, which could be compared both to London and to the impressions I have had about flying here in Latvia. Deciding on this I realised it would have to be divided into different parts, hence it has taken the form of a series of short articles that will be posted at different intervals, so please check back for more!
Nostalgic memories
I started flying radio-controlled airplanes when I was about 13 or 14, with my friends 3-meter glider - double the recommended weight - repaired 10-times too many - very thick glass-fibre fuselage - lots of weight in the nose - limping - crashing "every time" Basically, Mission Impossible! After receiving (after much begging) a 2-channel Phoenix glider in kit-form for my birthday, I spent the next five months or so building it and test-flew it in early spring. Lots of stringers to cut This plane was completely different animal and after flying it more or less into bits I naturally moved up to a 4-channel glow-fuel powered trainer, which I had more or less received for free from my sister's friend. This guy proved to be a great help teaching me a lot about flying and building, which I am still very thankful for. He was an excellent teacher and a very generous guy, which is something I have met several times through my model-flying life - Generous and helpful people. (For example the guy that asked me to write this article!). Next move was to a low-wing plane when I got interested in Aerobatics and Air-combat, giving me a reason to build more planes and develop my flying skills to be able to compete. But enough about me...
Starting out
It was quite a long time ago since I lived in Sweden so I can't comment on what is happening there at the moment, but at the time I lived and grew up there, there was quite a lot of activity around the country. The Swedish Model Flying Association (SMFF) had a magazine coming out every month to its members, where they were constantly asking people to join their organisation. I remember thinking at the time, why would I possibly want to be a member? At that time I was only flying at my local club, and I knew of many people flying in fields and other remote places not even being members of the local club, so I didn't really see the point at the time, but after having a look in the magazine from SMFF I understood that there was a lot more to model-flying in Sweden than I had ever imagined… This was at the time when the Internet was just being introduced so it is obviously very different now, but one thing that keeps striking me is that there seems to be a lot of people interested in this sport (or hobby), and a lot of money is being spent on it, without people wanting to unite and be part of a bigger community. One of the biggest advantages of joining SMFF (except for the magazine of course!), was that it included an insurance for accidents (personal injury, not for the models!!!). This might not be so acute in Latvia at the moment, but a couple of years ago there was a little girl killed by a model-plane in South East London, and if the pilot had not been part of BMFA (British Model Flying Association) one can only imagine how he/she would have paid for the lawsuits and compensations to the parents, without the insurance BMFA provides.
When I first got in contact with Model-flying in the United Kingdom I realised that the situation there was a bit different from Sweden. There more or less everybody was a member of BMFA through the local club, and I was filled with the feeling that model-flying there was much more organised and accessible to the general public than it had seemed in Sweden, and also the impressions I have had so far of Latvia. A large amount of people in a small space has probably forced people to create clubs and be part of a bigger organisation to be able to keep flying, which has also fuelled the exposure of the sport to even more people, which has created a bigger need for organisation, which…kind of getting like a circle here…Im getting dizzy!
More bits'n bobs
In the remaining parts of this series of articles I am intending to write about a quite varied pool of subjects, kind of like…you never know what you are going to get, but still something for everyone! Christmas anyone?! It will probably include things like, shops, shows, clubs, learning to fly, safety, equipment, lala with the main focus on what it is like in the United Kingdom. Please check back to see when the next part is posted!