Topic: 'I don't have the skill or knowledge to build'

Interesting comment from a young member in another thread.

'I don't have the skill or knowledge to build'

Raises the question, has the abundance of ARTF kits and ready to fly foamies falsely created a mentality in newcomers to the hobby that building is far too complicated?

Earlier this year I bought my 7 year old daughter a simple Airfix kit, she built it with very little help from me, so onto the next stage.

I bought one of these.

Anyone who has been in the hobby as long as I have will have started with something similar to this.













Although I've done most of the work, my daughter has helped and she certainly had no problem understanding the wing construction or the basic fuselage sides.  It's hardly rocket science.

Oooh! a 15 LA and a small rc model!
That what it's all about...

I like doing a kit build every xmas, to keep my interest up.
Have quite a few home-mades, next to the ARTF's.

I started with building from plans, and that's basically been my entire modelling 'career'. The past few years have seen an increase in ARTF's in my fleet, partly due to time constraints, but also the fact that most of the 'I'd like one of those' models are only available in ARTF form.

Last week I rekindled my love of proper balsa bashing by building the top wing of a Precedent Stampe, proper modelling that, and now I find myself searching for plans from both UK and USA sources in the hope that I find something that appeals.

I think the advent of cheap, 'throw-away' ARTF's and foamies has done most of the damage, that and the fact that the younger generation seem to have a 'want it now' view, and the very idea of spending months of building would probably put them off the hobby..

It probably put them off before. But as there were only kits at the time, the people who wanted to build, built. People who didn't either didn't, or bought a 2nd hand kit at a Swopmeet or off someone. I don't think it's made the massive change people think.
Infact it probably has helped to get more people into the hobby, then when they feel confident enough, might tackle a kit.

Isn't your daughter a little young to be drinking beer?! 

Oooh! a 15 LA and a small rc model!
That what it's all about...

Even smaller, it's a 10LA, my original Novice was powered by an ME Snipe 1.5cc Deisel.

Is she really as into it as she looks? Bloomin excellent! Maybe its time for a resurgence of 'proper' built models. Made me fancy a bit of building myself, as opposed to assembling....

Is she really as into it as she looks? Bloomin excellent! Maybe its time for a resurgence of 'proper' built models. Made me fancy a bit of building myself, as opposed to assembling....

Not as daft as it seems, kids love building things and there is masive educational value in a project like this.

Good for you and your daughter, Andy . 

I think our hobby teaches you so much - manual skills and pride in your work being just two.

These things seem to be sadly missing these days in hit-and-run, so-called "Tradesmen"

Paul

Well model finished, I tried to keep the the covering simple.

Excellent work 

Your daughter will soon experience the joy of watching something SHE built, take to the air. Something so many people miss out on in these ARTF times.

Mud 

Hope this is just a start for her,          now, a little story, my Lad Lee, who a few on here know, when he was of GCSE age, and going in for his exams,   decided, as a his project, to design and build a model glider--nothing daft, or complicated,  he had to prepare all the marketing stuff, a kit, means of production, and an actual finished glider,       he got one of the highest marks ever given for a project--they had not seen anything like it,     he also designed a kids toy pull along aircraft,  same thing, again, top marks,

what does he do now?   he is 25, and has an HND in aircraft engineering,   and is hoping to go onto a degree,      then he wants PDRs job

point i am making, is from little acorns grow,      our kids arnt thick, daft, or usless, they have it in them--all of them,  it just needs help like this to get it out,   you never know where it will lead      

Well model finished, I tried to keep the the covering simple.

That's come out really well.  Your daughter is to be congratulated, it is a real credit to her.     
I'm sure you will also find that she gets the hang of flying it PDQ too (being under 20 years of age).
   
Look forward to seeing the photograph of the maiden flight, but don't forget to get a photograph of her face as it first takes to the air!   That will certainly be one for the family album.

Alan

One word:

Brilliant!

 

This old worlds not too bad is it,nice to see something positive about todays young ones,show her the posts about what she has achieved on here and how proud we all are of her Andy
John

Excellent........really good to see a young kid getting enjoyment from spending time 'making' something with their own hands rather than pulling it from a box and wanting to use/fly it immediately.....................long may it continue

Working from my workshop bolted to the side of my house, on good days, we have the doors open onto the street, and many a time we get the local kids on their way home from school dropping in for a looksee...............the 1st question is normally does that fly, followed by where do you get it from (they automatically think you just go and buy a model). When we tell them we make them, they ask 'how?'...............to which we normally reply 'with our hands, from pieces of wood etc'........then follows a long silence and a blank look

Looking back 5 years to the time I spent teaching before doing what I do now full-time.......trying to get 11/12 year old kids interested in basic wood/metal/plastic working was like pulling teeth some days. For most, it was the 1st time they had ever handled any form of workable material and any form of simple hand tool. On many an occasion, I may as well have been speaking utter gibberish to them..........but you did yet one every now and again that you saw a spark ignite in and who you could see was taking real pride in what they were doing.

It is in my eyes a sad state of affairs that kids these days are not encouraged to make things (other than in schools which can only do so much) even as I was 30 years ago as a 5 year old. I do believe the influx of ARTF's has had a dramatic effect on our hobby (both good and bad), but I think the general world around us has changed dramatically from a 'make things to last' society of 30/40 years ago, to the 'buy a box, use it, then chuck it away' one of today.

Phil

I agree with what you're saying Phil, but I don't think we'll see the death of aero modelling anytime soon. After all, how far ahead are you booked up for?

Whilst model draughting/designing/building will, I think, be forever now in the minority there will always be individuals who prefer to make rather than buy or those who find it easier to spend, say £20 a week on balsa and build bit by bit than to save for months to get an off the shelf model.

although I've only been in this hobby a year (and have scarily little flight time under my belt) I already enjoy building as much as flying and am not alone. Ok, so this is my middle aged crisis, but still....

I'm not explaining myself very well here- it could be the beer (it may be Monday to you, but this week this is my weekend!), but in the same vein that folk do DIY because they enjoy it, then folk will also build model aircraft.

I'm personally on my third scratchbuilt now and am using the lessons learnt from the previous two to try and make this one better!

I'm proud of what Abby has achieved, fair enough there are things that you would not allow a 7 year old to do however, her enthusiasm durring the build, her understanding of the plans and her input in the covering stage must be aplauded, she makes it very clear to me that this is her aeroplane and she wants to fly it.

I agree with what you're saying Phil, but I don't think we'll see the death of aero modelling anytime soon. After all, how far ahead are you booked up for?

About 12 months & counting!!

Whilst model draughting/designing/building will, I think, be forever now in the minority there will always be individuals who prefer to make rather than buy or those who find it easier to spend, say £20 a week on balsa and build bit by bit than to save for months to get an off the shelf model.

although I've only been in this hobby a year (and have scarily little flight time under my belt) I already enjoy building as much as flying and am not alone. Ok, so this is my middle aged crisis, but still....

I'm not explaining myself very well here- it could be the beer (it may be Monday to you, but this week this is my weekend!), but in the same vein that folk do DIY because they enjoy it, then folk will also build model aircraft.

I'm personally on my third scratchbuilt now and am using the lessons learnt from the previous two to try and make this one better!

I agree......I don't think we'll ever see the death as aeromodelling in general, but the art of 'building', be it from kits, from plans of from scratch is getting to be a dieing art which I see as a real shame.

The point you make about 'progression' is an important one to me as well. Not only do I aim to make the next project better than the current, but I too like to pick more and more unusual & complex subjects that require different technique from my last project......this can be as small as a different constructional technique, or the use of a new material, right through to major jobs such as making your own plugs & tools to mould your own components etc. This give me a lot of enjoyment and a buzz when (hopefully) it works.....if it doesn't, they I've learned something not to do next time.

To me, the ARTF world seems to limit 'progression' in this area, but maybe speeds up progression in flying skill (Their major benefit). My 1st trainer took me 6 months to build and lasted me well over a year as at the time, I couldn't afford a 2nd model, and even of I could, it'd have taken another 6/9 months to build. ARTF's make for rapid skill development in flying, but I think limit the 'technical' know how as the tasks required to assemble your average club size sports ARTF model are predominantly similar model to model.

Phil

Great to see your daughter doing some balsa basing Alan. I agree with what's been said about the decline of these skills in the younger AND older generations. I know several people who say they will never again make anything from a plan (30-40 years flying experience) and others who can and do build the most beautifully made (kit and plan) scale vintage gliders.

I think that a lot of the joy I had as a kid was making something from other peoples rubbish.. 'rescuing' the wheels and axles from an old pram, finding some timber and ply panels, and a bolt and nut for the steering rack. A piece of rope and we had a trolly to go down the park hills.

I suppose that with the advent of computers, various game consoles, and instant gratification that some children have, they simply don't have the 'make it yourself' gene. Education in schools is now geared to a didactic and often way off the mark struture. We had a control line aircraft club at school, run by a maths teacher, it would be unheard of now.. the elf and safety Carp, the risk assessment..The school getting sued by a parent cos their kid got whacked by a prop on an .049...

The decline of apprenticeships is also a tragedy.. too late now to turn that around.

The decline of apprenticeships is also a tragedy.. too late now to turn that around.

  I wonder if it is really too late,maybe the current Government which  does seem to want to change things, could fund apprenticeship schemes properly instead of paying people to stay at home. When my dad left the RAF he went through a Govt retraining scheme and became a typewriter mechanic (readers aged under 20 may need to Google "typewriter" ). I wonder what happened to schemes like that, and Work Experience etc.