Children's aircraft modeling - at a decent level

Children's aircraft modeling is at the stage of deepest degradation. Here are a number of measures that can bring it to a decent level of modernity.

More than half a century ago, a child came to the model airplane circle of a district house as a pioneer as a fifth grader. He began by constructing a schematic model of a glider from a set. The following year, he made a more complex schematic model of a glider or an airplane, but not from a set, but from blanks, which he himself processed to the required dimensions. In the third year, he embarked on a fuselage model of a glider or an airplane with a rubber engine. And, only in the fourth year of classes he was allocated the so-called “gasoline” motor for installation on the model. By this time, a young "peasant" had formed out of the child, who completely coped with this motor, i.e. he had enough strength to start it, and quick wit, so as not to put his fingers into the rotational disk of the screw. Sometimes the finger did get there, but usually it led to a little bloodletting, and that was all.But not to a broken finger, as it could be the case with a fifth grader.

Maxim Sprinkle in newtonew.com/parenting/small-planes-for-education notes that the aircraft models have not changed anything since 1988, and I will say that they have not changed since 1955, except for the surface lining material. Then the models were covered with mikalent paper and varnished it 3-6 times with aviation enamel, and now polymer films are used. At the same time, of course, I mean cool models, according to which international competitions are held, and in Soviet times, children's ones were also held. The exception is free-flying, i.e. uncontrollable, models that are now saturated with modern composites and automation of electronic and mechanical sense, but they are mainly engaged in professional high-class athletes.

It’s almost impossible to engage in cool models with children in megalopolises, as these models require a very large area to run. An aerodrome is needed for free-flying and radio-controlled models, and a soccer field for cordovye models, because the minimum cord length is 16 meters.

For cool models and children, then no. A modern child without a motorized model can withstand a maximum of a year and no more in an aircraft model mug. And if he came into the circle as a fourth grader, then becoming a fifth grader he needs a model with a motor, and then he can’t get it. Naturally, the team leaders are trying to stimulate interest in their classes and arrange demonstration flights, while they start the engine themselves, and young aircraft designers are only allowed to hold on to the control stick. At the same time, on these demonstration flights they give the child their own model and take pictures of him from all angles to post the pictures on the official website of the children's organization.

Therefore, there are as many pictures of children with sophisticated aircraft models on such sites as possible, but it is impossible to find a video where a child is actually controlled by this model. The exception is the author’s site sites.google.com/site/1fanplan/home/flights-video . At one of the contests, a video of a model’s flight was shown, but there wasn’t a frame with an aircraft modeller presenting a project with this model. Surely, when shooting a video of this flight, the model was controlled by a circle commander. I emphasize that the video with the launch of models by men on the Internet as much as necessary and this creates the illusion that we have all tip-tops with aircraft modeling.

The reason for this situation is the fact that the classification of aircraft modeling is provided for adult athletes, and modern circle leaders intensively cultivate it among children and, of course, have little effect. The purpose of preserving cool models in the circle is to provide the opportunity to use the workshop of the circle with an athlete-circle leader. After all, an aircraft model (and not one) that stinks of poisonous fuel in an apartment cannot be stored. In addition, it must be repaired and new ones built. Young aircraft modellers will endure the stench, and this stink does not reach the offices of officials of further education. Parents, having learned that the fuel for the “gasoline” model aircraft engines is not gasoline at all, but methyl alcohol or a mixture containing 30% anesthetic ether, immediately take their child from the circle,in spite of his noble - patriotic aspirations to join aviation. Hence the lack of contingent in aircraft modeling circles. 15 people cannot find cash even for a photograph on the website of a children's organization.


In 1998, the author decided to return to the fascination of his childhood and youth by transferring him to a professional plane, i.e., becoming the head of an aircraft modeling circle. Having plunged into the modern conditions of children's technical creativity, it became clear that the technology of aircraft modeling of the 50s of the last century needed a radical transformation.

Having set a goal to make aircraft modeling harmless and accessible for children who dream about aviation, it was possible to find the required technical solutions protected by 5 RF patents for the invention. Based on these innovations, an environmentally friendly technology was developed in which not only all substances harmful to the human body are excluded, but the availability in the manufacture of cord models of aircraft equipped with electric motors is significantly expanded. At the same time, the flight characteristics of these models allow you to arrange competitions, in essence, similar to those that meet sports classification. There are no obstacles, except bureaucratic, to introduce national children's classes.


Thus, not only the problem of preserving the health of the younger generation is being solved, but also the prerequisites are being created for the widespread revival of aircraft modeling in children's institutions with a potential far exceeding the Soviet level. The collective does not require a special workshop; they can be held in a regular school classroom, in a regular office of a leisure center, or on a regular veranda in a children's camp.
For a one-year training course or for one camp shift, the pupil manages to build a model and learn how to manage it.

Compared with ordinary cordova, the author developed models have the following advantages:

1. Safety during collision of the model with the child, as the model has a mass of only 100 grams, and not 600 or more, and also has a speed of only 35 km / h, and not 80 or more.
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It is important to note the following advantage of the program - a trained child, independently, without the help of adults, is able to launch a self-made model into flight. This provides the possibility of meaningful filling in the child’s leisure time outside the planned classes.

There are seven degrees of complexity of models for ages from 10 to 16 years.



The relevance and pedagogical feasibility of the developed program is supported by a very important circumstance, namely that the team leader of the first year of study can be trained from beginners who are not familiar with aircraft modeling technologies within 10 training days. To work with older children, he must actively engage in self-education.

Since 2004, the author has repeatedly appealed to the leadership of further education with a proposal for the widespread introduction of this program in children's organizations. But officials, at the suggestion of venerable model aircraft athletes acting as experts, essentially rejected this proposal. Of course, athletes are not hard to understand. Some kind of Krasnov appeared, got Russian patents for an invention, and even without being a master of sports, he undertook to teach us, deserved ones, how we should work. And as a result, children's aircraft modeling continues to degrade.

In the State budgetary professional educational institution of the city of Moscow “Vorobyovy Gory” there is a team “Cordoba aircraft models”, in the schedulewhose work there are twelve hours of flight practice per week. However, there is no video of flights on the site of this institution, although video of the work of other teams is available there. A similar picture with aircraft modeling is also in other children's organizations, for example, in DDT "On Taganka". And on the aforementioned website of the author of video flights in an amount of more than sufficient.

Due to the fact that the country, it seems, has taken a course towards the reindustrialization of aviation production, one should expect a sharp increase in the need for aviation specialists.
Recently, instead of exhibitions made by schoolchildren of technical crafts and competitions using these crafts as sports equipment, project competitions are held, the vast majority of which are carried out in the form of science-based presentations and reports. Such science-based projects do not contribute to the formation of stable enthusiasm in children in a particular technical field, since the project does not have such a component necessary for children as a game. The project, in essence, is a continuation of the lessons with all the ensuing negative consequences. And in the simulation, this component plays, probably, one of the main roles. At the same time, the most important component, the scientific and technical component, does not suffer, for example, in the pilot-led aviation model circle the schoolchildren made 9 inventions registered by Rospatent.



It is interesting to note that for 20 years from 2001 to 2020, in total 13 inventions in the field of aircraft modeling were registered in the Russian Federation. Of these, 5 inventions of the author and 7 inventions of school model aircraft designers made under his leadership were registered.

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The author hopes that this article will help to introduce the younger generation to the technical creativity in the field of aviation.