The future of the hobby?

[FiddleSticks]

I used to be in the hobby around 22 years ago and have only recently started to get back into it this year - kind of anyway lol.

 

What i've noticed is that

• model shops are in decline
• model magazines have vanished (eg model helicopter world and RCM and others)
• RCM&E seems to have become thinner
• Nexus has vanished
• Glow fuel is getting harder to find - the southern model show had NONE this year
• New modellers won't have local advice and local parts to look at and learn about (eg servo couplings, trays, horns etc - many newbies wouldn't even know what to search for on ebay so it's a steep learning curve without local shops)
• Balsa isn't exactly easy to find now with less shops
• Everything seems to be mail order adding extra cost onto things when ordering from multiple suppliers (and delays)

 

So I'm wondering what the future of this hobby is now? From my POV it's looking a bit grim despite the fact it really is a wonderful hobby. One point i'll come back to is the small fiddly parts that you need. It's not possible to guess the name of a lot of them so how do you even know what they are, if you need them and what to search for online? - New modellers will find this very hard.

 

What seems to be growing is the little toy park flyers that you get on ebay. Yeah i bought one for my son, great fun, cheap, works, stable etc.. but not the same as a real model made from balsa with a glow engine rumbling away!

 

Ending my rant now lol..

Edited October 22, 2023 by FiddleSticks

[kevin b]

The only constant is change.

Live for the moment. Look forward to the future. You cannot change the past.

 

Pretty deep for a sunday night, eh ?

 

🙂

[Bruce Collinson]

Just had an order fulfilled by Nexus, in a day, and Modelshop Leeds will I’m sure be able to advise by telephone.   They have balsa and fuel too.   I think you are overly pessimistic.

 

BTC

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

2 minutes ago, kevin b said:

The only constant is change.

Live for the moment. Look forward to the future. You cannot change the past.

 

Pretty deep for a sunday night, eh ?

 

🙂

 

Tis deep for any night Kev, true though. 😉

[Outrunner]

Oh no, not another gloom and doom thread.

 

Give it a rest, enjoy the hobby.

[Ron Gray]

9 minutes ago, FiddleSticks said:

It's not possible to guess the name of a lot of them so how do you even know what they are, if you need them and what to search for online? - New modellers will find this very hard.

That's one of the reasons why this forum is so good, someone will know. 

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Things change FS, the folk on here will soon inform you of the why/where/what, of todays modeling world.

[Futura57]

It's the Internet wot dunnit all to evryfin 😁

 

Seriously though, I think the future is electric power and ARTFs, sadly. It's increasingly difficult to get youngsters interested in actually building something. Too much time, effort and concentration, when it may all end in tears. They want instant gratification. But if flying Yanks their chain then some might just find the motivation to want to build. 

 

At the EDMAC club we are lucky enough to fly at a public site, Epsom Downs race course. It's nice to show off and answer questions from the public as well as chat to club mates. Today we had four members of the public, who were just out enjoying the Downs, have a flight on a buddy box setup with a club trainer. Our club chairman is very proactive at inviting people to come closer and have a go. Two participants we're 10 years old. They and many other youngsters came to watch with their parents. We hand out leaflets about joining the club and recommend the Riot V2 foamie as a trainer. Another recent member brought his Riot today and I took him up for a spin.

 

Judging by the response from many of the spectators I'm sure many of the kids will be pestering their parents on the way home. That was me 50 years ago. So they might want to build their own someday.

 

I appreciate the above is not possible out of a private club field.

Edited October 22, 2023 by Futura57
Expanded reply

[kevin b]

Man has always had a fascination with flight, from toys to full size.

Our grandparents built theirs with silk and bamboo.

Our parents used balsa and tissue.

We use liteply and covering film.

Todays kids use foamboard and 3D printers.

 

What next ?

[PeterF]

Not sure about thoughts of a disappearing hobby, I have taken and passed 7 modellers for their A tests in my club this year and there are still some beginners coming along. Never had it so busy for training. Club membership is between 50 & 60 so that is a good ratio of recent new starts.

[Peter Jenkins]

Well Fiddlesticks, you can sit there are wail or get up and do something about it.  Which is it going to be?

[David Davis 2]

There were fourteen of us at the field yesterday out of a total membership of thirty-three. Of those, six had joined in the last two years, four complete novices and two returning to the hobby after a lengthy break. Apart from the husband and wife who joined this summer, all are capable of flying to A Certificate standard.

[Outrunner]

Good positive comments so far 👍

 

Yes the hobby/sport is evolving but let's embrace the changes and keep moving forward.

 

If you don't like it do something else.

[Zflyer]

Nexus are still here. I heard Paul at the LMA show yesterday telling one of the visitors that he does not do shows anymore as the time was eating into his lesiure  i.e. flying.

Seems fair to me, work to live not the other way round.

[leccyflyer]

11 hours ago, FiddleSticks said:

I used to be in the hobby around 22 years ago and have only recently started to get back into it this year - kind of anyway lol.

 

What i've noticed is that

• model shops are in decline
• model magazines have vanished (eg model helicopter world and RCM and others)
• RCM&E seems to have become thinner
• Nexus has vanished
• Glow fuel is getting harder to find - the southern model show had NONE this year
• New modellers won't have local advice and local parts to look at and learn about (eg servo couplings, trays, horns etc - many newbies wouldn't even know what to search for on ebay so it's a steep learning curve without local shops)
• Balsa isn't exactly easy to find now with less shops
• Everything seems to be mail order adding extra cost onto things when ordering from multiple suppliers (and delays)

 

So I'm wondering what the future of this hobby is now? From my POV it's looking a bit grim despite the fact it really is a wonderful hobby. One point i'll come back to is the small fiddly parts that you need. It's not possible to guess the name of a lot of them so how do you even know what they are, if you need them and what to search for online? - New modellers will find this very hard.

 

What seems to be growing is the little toy park flyers that you get on ebay. Yeah i bought one for my son, great fun, cheap, works, stable etc.. but not the same as a real model made from balsa with a glow engine rumbling away!

 

Ending my rant now lol..

Have to address that last comment.

 

Yes, you are seeing more of those wee foam flyers for the simple reason that they actually work, which cannot always be said for the "real" model made from balsa with a glow engine rumbling away (or, more often than not screaming away for a few minutes before stopping unexpectedly). The chances of success with modern kit, such as those foam flyers is very high indeed, compared to yesteryear, when three months of building was all too often followed by ten seconds of flight and another two weeks of repairs, if the model was repairable at all.

 

Now, as it happens, I'm currently on a project to relive those yesteryears and am hugely enjoying dipping my toe into singe channel operations and getting to grips again with running small diesel engines in plan built balsa vintage models - but that's by choice, with the experience gained the hard way  which is then giving a better chance of success than in my teens. It's far easier for a lone beginner now than it ever was back in the days when glow engines were the norm. The whole "proper model" thing wears a bit thin, when many foam models have performance and capabilities that knock those "proper models" into a cocked hat. BTW, they are ALL toys, even the 20kg gas turbine fast jet.

[Cuban8]

I think that the hobby has survived very well considering the changes and upheavals that have taken place over the last few decades. 

Of course it's not the same as it was when I started out in the 60s and 70s, and I'm tempted to say that it's a good job that many changes have occurred.

The OP stated that fuel was hard to come by. With the greatest respect that is simply nonsense - the way we buy it has most certainly changed but the vast majority of us can obtain as much of the stuff as we want.

As for his other comments, magazines aside, I really don't recognise the issues and 'problems' stated.

 

 

-

 

[martin collins 1]

56 minutes ago, Zflyer said:

Nexus are still here. I heard Paul at the LMA show yesterday telling one of the visitors that he does not do shows anymore as the time was eating into his lesiure  i.e. flying.

Seems fair to me, work to live not the other way round.

Yes totally understandable from his point of view, they and others are sorely missed at shows though, i am afraid we will never go back to the days of the shows packed with traders and good old fashioned balsa kits to choose from and buy. 

[Brian Cooper]

We are still seeing newcomers joining the hobby. 

 

However, what we are not seeing as much these days is new youngsters taking an interest. 

It seems that the kids who take up the hobby are kids, or grandkids, of people already in the hobby. . There is very little "new" blood from youngsters joining the hobby who don't have an existing link to the game. 

 

This might be partly due to our modern times where a "helicopter" parent feels they are required to constantly hover over the child.... and, sadly, many modern parents can't be bothered. 😞

 

But we keep trying to attract the youngsters. 

Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. 

 

 

[FiddleSticks]

13 hours ago, Futura57 said:

It's the Internet wot dunnit all to evryfin 😁

 

Seriously though, I think the future is electric power and ARTFs, sadly. It's increasingly difficult to get youngsters interested in actually building something. Too much time, effort and concentration, when it may all end in tears. They want instant gratification. But if flying Yanks their chain then some might just find the motivation to want to build. 

 

At the EDMAC club we are lucky enough to fly at a public site, Epsom Downs race course. It's nice to show off and answer questions from the public as well as chat to club mates. Today we had four members of the public, who were just out enjoying the Downs, have a flight on a buddy box setup with a club trainer. Our club chairman is very proactive at inviting people to come closer and have a go. Two participants we're 10 years old. They and many other youngsters came to watch with their parents. We hand out leaflets about joining the club and recommend the Riot V2 foamie as a trainer. Another recent member brought his Riot today and I took him up for a spin.

 

Judging by the response from many of the spectators I'm sure many of the kids will be pestering their parents on the way home. That was me 50 years ago. So they might want to build their own someday.

 

I appreciate the above is not possible out of a private club field.

 

When i was in another town we had a flying site on a public plot of land and it was also quite good at bringing in new people but where i am now the local club is on private land and limits new members / votes them in. It sounds to me like your club is doing wonders for the hobby so well done to you all for your efforts!

 

Despite some of the negative remarks I'm standing by many of my points - the mags have vanished, things are harder to find (my town has no model shop, I had to take a 40 minute drive each way to find fuel a couple of weeks back) and it seems to me that many kids are console characters these days rather than get out and do something or build something.

 

As someone who's come back after two decades, I've noticed a big difference that perhaps many of you have not. Sorry if any of you thought it was a bit deep but i was just wondering how others manage these days with things only seeming to get more tricky. I don't like mail order myself - it's a pain in the grass but it seems that everything is done online now!

[Simon Chaddock]

I do tend to agree with Futura57. Electric, ARTF and the internet will be dominent if they are not already!

As the world tries to go net zero carbon surely electric motors will become ever more significant to the population. It is possible future generations will show interest in using "model" versions of them just as did the older generations with IC.

Then of course who would have thought small UAVs would have become so significant to the military and so publically as in the Ukraine war. Maybe that explains all the Spitfire and P51 mdels from the previous generations.

 

Although all my planes are electric and are 95% made of foam they have all been 'built' from lots of thin sheet foam pieces all held together with glue. Almost conventional building? 😉  

 

  

[Cuban8]

20 minutes ago, FiddleSticks said:

 

When i was in another town we had a flying site on a public plot of land and it was also quite good at bringing in new people but where i am now the local club is on private land and limits new members / votes them in. It sounds to me like your club is doing wonders for the hobby so well done to you all for your efforts!

 

Despite some of the negative remarks I'm standing by many of my points - the mags have vanished, things are harder to find (my town has no model shop, I had to take a 40 minute drive each way to find fuel a couple of weeks back) and it seems to me that many kids are console characters these days rather than get out and do something or build something.

 

As someone who's come back after two decades, I've noticed a big difference that perhaps many of you have not. Sorry if any of you thought it was a bit deep but i was just wondering how others manage these days with things only seeming to get more tricky. I don't like mail order myself - it's a pain in the grass but it seems that everything is done online now!

How is mail order a pain? I recently  ordered a 10X6 prop from Inwoods Ebay site and it was with me the day after next and with free postage. All of my modelling stuff comes via post now and I find it works for me perfectly. 

TBH most of our domestic shopping with the exception of food and some clothing is on-line now. 

Tried to buy some particular high quality oil for my motorbike last week....no local dealer stocked it in 4L bottles that I needed for an oil change.

Sportsbikeshop had it couriered to me next day post free.

I can't understand why some folks like to make their lives difficult but as always what suits one may not work for another. 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Cuban8

[PDB]

IMO the hobby and clubs are targeting the wrong demographic, people in their 50s plus with the time and disposable income should be their focus. 👍

 

The two clubs I’m a member of are in good shape, one has a waiting list and the other has greatly increased its membership this year.

[PDB]

21 minutes ago, FiddleSticks said:

I had to take a 40 minute drive each way to find fuel a couple of weeks back

You need to adapt to the way of purchasing today, a quick search of these forums would have revealed at least three retailers I know of who will deliver fuel to you.

[Peter Jenkins]

Fiddle Sticks, if you compare anything with what it was 22 years ago you will find it has all changed.  Why do you think our High Streets are struggling?  The impact of the internet and the growth of out of town warehouse type operations are what are closing down the High Street.  Try and find a Bank Branch where you can talk to someone about your account - you are pushed on-line.

Things change so you either adapt or flounder.

I sometimes have to buy stuff from the EU or the USA as the part of the hobby I follow has only 1 retail outlets in the UK only 1 of which has the stuff I need.  The cost of holding stock is another big issue these days.  OTOH, the growth of laser cut kits done to order were never there in the "old days".  We made do with die crushed parts.

 

Balsa is being hoovered up by the wind turbine industry and that drives up the cost of balsa.  That wasn't there 22 years ago.

 

Personally, I've never seen such a wide choice of good quality radio equipment at a reasonable price.   It is unrealistic to expect everything to remain the same as 22 years ago.  There is a thriving FPV drone racing community and even a world championship with big money prizes - who would have thought that would happen?

 

Today, the internet is uniquitous and if you don't use it then you are missing out big time.  You Tube has many tutuorials covering how you do stuff.  If, like me, you'd never thought of looking on YT for "how to videos" you will be surprised at what you find.

I entirely agree with PDB that we tend to forget thst our biggest potential recruiting ground is those approaching retirement or already retired.  They have the time and usually some disposable income to light up their retirement.

[FiddleSticks]

7 minutes ago, Peter Jenkins said:

You Tube has many tutuorials covering how you do stuff.  If, like me, you'd never thought of looking on YT for "how to videos" you will be surprised at what you find.

 

Oh I use youtube all the time lol. I watch it more than the TV (though there will always be those who don't think of it). I've spent the last 3 days watching videos of RC planes being built from plans as I've just ordered a plan that I saw in RCM&E 25 years ago -finally found it and the spare money for it lol (more on that when it turns up).

 

I've learnt a lot from YT - everything from how to do engine rebuilds on cars to fixing my van and so much more. The great thing about YT is that you aren't restricted to what one person tells you either - I always watch multiple videos about the same thing and use the best bits of advice from each to get the job done (there's always someone with that magic tip that can't be beaten!).

 

Agreed on radio, tons of it available now! Last time i was in this hobby it was daunting, only 4-5 brands and it was expensive!

 

40 minutes ago, Cuban8 said:

How is mail order a pain? I recently  ordered a 10X6 prop from Inwoods Ebay site and it was with me the day after next and with free postage.

 

You had to wait two days? That would drive me crazy! Admittedly thanks to ebay I've become a lot more patient these days but even so I still have that silent frustration eating away at me inside that i can't just go and get the thing in a shop down the road and use it the same day. The southern airshow was great for that, a reasonably healthy selection of traders and loads of stuff to be found, bought, taken home, used **same day**. It was marvellous. The only stupid thing is I didn't buy anything to fly.. what a prat!