9
MAY
WING
SPAN
MAAALogo.
Despite the usual sibling rivelry and
competition when it comes to their
hobby of flying, as soon as the boys
step onto the flying field, they band
together, ensuring all their models
take to the skies safely.
“It’s really important for the future of
the sport, to encourage the younger
generation to fly, especially when it
comes to traditional modelling,” said
John.
“Not only is it a great bonding
experience for my family to all fly
together, but for my boys to be able
to create something with their hands,
firing up their imagination and
watching their models fly, is a great
source of knowledge and achievement
for them. They are learning to
build an aircraft as well as learning
aerodynamics,“ said John about the
educational aspect of the sport.
But themost powerful aspect of
this hobby passed on through the
generations is the freedom to fly. Billy
knew it and John recognises it too.
John said, “I can see why they love
it somuch. It’s easy to love the pure
thrill that comes with free flight flying,
where you can watch your model fly
like a bird.”
John said he is overwhelmed by how
welcoming both the SSME and NSW
FFS have been in welcoming his boys
into their clubs; sharing their stories,
teaching them skills they have learned
over lifetimes of flying, broadening his
boys knowledge of flying more than he
could do alone.
With a bright future ahead of them,
John hopes that more young people
take up the sport of modelling.
His dream is for high schools to
incorporatemodel building and
flying into their curriculumas part of
a science elective on aeronautical
engineering or construction perhaps,
where students put down the Ipads
and learn to create something from
scratch with their own hands; turning
their imagination into a reality.