How to Get Young People Into the Hobby

The Problem

The average pilot at my local field is over 60 years old. We're keenly aware of the fact; we announce the average age at every club meeting. People get excited when a kid joins because it drops the figure a few years. Still, the fact remains that young people aren't joining the hobby in the numbers we'd like.

The Solution? 

What to do? I'm starting an RC club at my high school. I teach there, so it's easy for me to put some real time into the project.

When we first started up I only managed to snag two real prospects. We were flying simulators and scratch building nutballs and having a ball, but for most kids it seemed like too much work.

Enter the Syma Helicopter, the Mini Beetle Quad Copter and the Night Vapor.

At first I let kids fly my Symas, but they didn't take much care with them. Although the Syma is a robust little heli, if it is abused it will eventually break. Kids needed some sense of ownership, I decided, so I bought a bunch of Syma S107G's from Amazon (I have Prime) and sold them at cost to students and teachers. They were gone in a day. Anybody can fly this thing, and it's only $20. What's more, Albert, the student who I taught to fly, learned to fly coaxial helis first and was able to solo a nutball in 6 flights, so the skills are transferrable.

Of course the S107G works on infrared. For the price of two of them you can get a Mini Beetle Quad Copter or a Syma Quad, and those operate on 2.4. They can even fly outside in low wind, and they're very tough. They're easy to fly; rank beginners can hover them in just a few minutes.  This is probably one of the few upsides of hours of video game playing; kids pick up on this quickly. So far two of my Syma pilots have purchased their own quadcopters, and they love them.

Indoor Fun Fly

Our efforts culminated in an indoor fun fly, at which we had 11 student pilots and 3 staff pilots in attendance. Several of the students approached me, wanting to know how they could build a "big" airplane like the ones I fly.

My Father brought his Night Vapor and the kids loved it. All it cost him was a set of landing gear, easily replaced. This thing costs about 2.5 quad copters, or 5 Syma's, but it's a sweetheart. It's easily the easiest plane to fly currently on the market.

Lessons Learned

 1. Kids should own their equipment. This promotes responsibility.

2. Have a safety briefing. Make sure kids understand the line of infinity.

3. Discuss RC etiquette. Kids need to know that you do not ask a pilot if you can fly his or her plane. It's rude. Also you don't just grab somebody's equipment and play. Basic manners are important, and people who don't follow them can't fly.

4. Adults, especially staff, need to lead by example (see rule 3).

5. There's nothing like flying a quadcopter through the halls just before passing period to pique a student's interest.

Links

Syma S107G

Mini Beetle Quad Copter

Night Vapor

Cascade Model Aviation Student Club Blog

Miracle Air Blog