Any day I can use the title of a Tom Petty song as my column headline is a good day.
Several weeks ago I wrote a story about a grant that the Brauer’s Aviators club was awarded by the Academy of Model Aeronautics to offer free model airplane flight lessons to those who wanted to learn.
I spoke with Glenn Topolski, president of the club, for about 15 minutes over the phone to get the information for the story, hung up and thought that was the end of that.
About 10 minutes later, my phone rang. It was Glenn.
“We need to sign you up for the classes,” he said, after a quick hello and announcement of who it was.
As surprised as I was by his to-the-point suggestion, I was even more surprised by my quick response.
“OK, why not?”
Flying or building model airplanes was never something that crossed my mind before. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m much more interested in the “feminine” hobbies: crocheting, baking, reading and such.
Tinkering around with little mechanical devices that go “vroom” has never been my thing. But I figured it couldn’t hurt. The classes didn’t interfere with any plans I already had, they were free and if nothing else, I’d get a good story out of it.
There were two classes. The first was held May 7 at the Wendleville Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, the second June 11 at Brauer’s Field in Pendleton.
I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about showing up to these classes, fully expecting to be the wildcard of the group. And I was. I was one of only a few women and upon first entering the Wendleville Fire Hall, I panicked a little, wondering what exactly I had gotten myself into.
I know I’m a reporter and I should be used to walking up to strangers and sparking conversation but I have my moments of shyness, and this was one of those times. I felt like an intruder ... I felt out of place.
I wasn’t there to interview anyone or observe to write a story and I suddenly realized why I’d always avoided doing such things without a friend to tag along.
This was going to be a test.
So I searched out Glenn, the one person I knew, even if I had only spoken to him twice over the phone. We spoke for a bit prior to the start of the class and I certainly felt more at ease.
I didn’t have to worry too much after that because we jumped right into the presentations, learning about different types of model airplanes, their parts and how they work, and even field etiquette. Lunch was served, then we all spent some time practicing with the flight simulators.
This is when I met Clarence.
Clarence runs ABC Hobby Shop in Lockport where he sells model airplanes and parts and also offers flight lessons. He worked with me on the simulator that first day and made it feel like flying one of these bad boys was a cinch — I never once crashed.
It was at this point that I also started feeling really comfortable with the group. Clarence was so encouraging, as were a few of the other guys standing around watching. One guy commented that I was a bit of a natural, exclaiming when I got the plane up in the air pretty fast. Still not sure if this was a good or bad thing.
But I was a little less sure of myself when I arrived at Brauer’s Field for the second class. I had a minor crash with the simulator that was set up at the field, but no pieces broke off of the virtual plane. Still, what if that happened with one of the instructors’ actual planes? They’re not so cheap to replace!
Members of the club assured me that there would be no crashes because the instructors would use buddy boxes when training the newbies. Buddy boxes are a companion remote control that allows the instructor to take over the airplane if need be.
I met up with Clarence again at the second class where he explained to me his love of instructing his new students — something, he said, not every model airplane afficionado likes to do.
He pointed out to me that he can get any newcomer up in the air, flying on their own in a matter of hours — he showed me one picture of a woman he taught who was flying without a buddy box after just 5 minutes.
I have to say, Clarence chatted my ear off while I was waiting my turn for the real-deal airplanes. He had tons of information to share with me and I quite suddenly found myself feeling very passionate about the future of this hobby. I was ready to hop in my car, head out to Lockport and snap up a trainer for myself to practice on.
I found that flying with an actual remote control airplane was a lot more nerve-wracking than the simulator. A couple of times I was sure it just wasn’t responding to the directions I was giving it and I came close to colliding with another plane head-on. I didn’t crash, thanks to the buddy box, which had to be put into use a handful of times when things got out of control.
In the end, I was glad when my turn was up. My nerves were shot.
The folks with Brauer’s Aviators are a fine bunch ... they were more than welcoming and never once looked at me sideways, wondering why I was there. I think, more than just learning to fly these airplanes, I learned to go outside of my comfort zone, as cliched as that might sound.
Sure, there were still a few awkward moments at the air field when I just stood around watching, but I never would have even shown up on my own a few years ago. I consider that quite the “take-off.”
I’d also like to take a moment to express my delight at the Mavericks’ recent NBA championship win. Most of you know by now that I was raised near Dallas and although I’m not a huge basketball fan, I found myself riveted by the finals this year.
Wish I was back home for all the celebrations, but alas, the parade will take place a mere few days before my upcoming trip.
It’s nice to see at least one team find success at the American Airlines Center.
Contact features editor Danielle Haynes at 693-1000, ext. 116.
Several weeks ago I wrote a story about a grant that the Brauer’s Aviators club was awarded by the Academy of Model Aeronautics to offer free model airplane flight lessons to those who wanted to learn.
I spoke with Glenn Topolski, president of the club, for about 15 minutes over the phone to get the information for the story, hung up and thought that was the end of that.
About 10 minutes later, my phone rang. It was Glenn.
“We need to sign you up for the classes,” he said, after a quick hello and announcement of who it was.
As surprised as I was by his to-the-point suggestion, I was even more surprised by my quick response.
“OK, why not?”
Flying or building model airplanes was never something that crossed my mind before. As much as I hate to admit it, I’m much more interested in the “feminine” hobbies: crocheting, baking, reading and such.
Tinkering around with little mechanical devices that go “vroom” has never been my thing. But I figured it couldn’t hurt. The classes didn’t interfere with any plans I already had, they were free and if nothing else, I’d get a good story out of it.
There were two classes. The first was held May 7 at the Wendleville Fire Hall in North Tonawanda, the second June 11 at Brauer’s Field in Pendleton.
I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about showing up to these classes, fully expecting to be the wildcard of the group. And I was. I was one of only a few women and upon first entering the Wendleville Fire Hall, I panicked a little, wondering what exactly I had gotten myself into.
I know I’m a reporter and I should be used to walking up to strangers and sparking conversation but I have my moments of shyness, and this was one of those times. I felt like an intruder ... I felt out of place.
I wasn’t there to interview anyone or observe to write a story and I suddenly realized why I’d always avoided doing such things without a friend to tag along.
This was going to be a test.
So I searched out Glenn, the one person I knew, even if I had only spoken to him twice over the phone. We spoke for a bit prior to the start of the class and I certainly felt more at ease.
I didn’t have to worry too much after that because we jumped right into the presentations, learning about different types of model airplanes, their parts and how they work, and even field etiquette. Lunch was served, then we all spent some time practicing with the flight simulators.
This is when I met Clarence.
Clarence runs ABC Hobby Shop in Lockport where he sells model airplanes and parts and also offers flight lessons. He worked with me on the simulator that first day and made it feel like flying one of these bad boys was a cinch — I never once crashed.
It was at this point that I also started feeling really comfortable with the group. Clarence was so encouraging, as were a few of the other guys standing around watching. One guy commented that I was a bit of a natural, exclaiming when I got the plane up in the air pretty fast. Still not sure if this was a good or bad thing.
But I was a little less sure of myself when I arrived at Brauer’s Field for the second class. I had a minor crash with the simulator that was set up at the field, but no pieces broke off of the virtual plane. Still, what if that happened with one of the instructors’ actual planes? They’re not so cheap to replace!
Members of the club assured me that there would be no crashes because the instructors would use buddy boxes when training the newbies. Buddy boxes are a companion remote control that allows the instructor to take over the airplane if need be.
I met up with Clarence again at the second class where he explained to me his love of instructing his new students — something, he said, not every model airplane afficionado likes to do.
He pointed out to me that he can get any newcomer up in the air, flying on their own in a matter of hours — he showed me one picture of a woman he taught who was flying without a buddy box after just 5 minutes.
I have to say, Clarence chatted my ear off while I was waiting my turn for the real-deal airplanes. He had tons of information to share with me and I quite suddenly found myself feeling very passionate about the future of this hobby. I was ready to hop in my car, head out to Lockport and snap up a trainer for myself to practice on.
I found that flying with an actual remote control airplane was a lot more nerve-wracking than the simulator. A couple of times I was sure it just wasn’t responding to the directions I was giving it and I came close to colliding with another plane head-on. I didn’t crash, thanks to the buddy box, which had to be put into use a handful of times when things got out of control.
In the end, I was glad when my turn was up. My nerves were shot.
The folks with Brauer’s Aviators are a fine bunch ... they were more than welcoming and never once looked at me sideways, wondering why I was there. I think, more than just learning to fly these airplanes, I learned to go outside of my comfort zone, as cliched as that might sound.
Sure, there were still a few awkward moments at the air field when I just stood around watching, but I never would have even shown up on my own a few years ago. I consider that quite the “take-off.”
I’d also like to take a moment to express my delight at the Mavericks’ recent NBA championship win. Most of you know by now that I was raised near Dallas and although I’m not a huge basketball fan, I found myself riveted by the finals this year.
Wish I was back home for all the celebrations, but alas, the parade will take place a mere few days before my upcoming trip.
It’s nice to see at least one team find success at the American Airlines Center.
Contact features editor Danielle Haynes at 693-1000, ext. 116.
