How dedicated are you?

By Dave Wingate

Marin Aero Club is a laid back group of people who build and fly models mostly for the fun of it. But that is not to say we aren’t serious about modelling. This hobby requires a certain amount of dedication.


Laid back but serious

I thought it would be interesting to find out how dedicated each of us really is. But how do you measure that? A test seems like a good idea, but the problem is that it takes skill to design a test that will produce meaningful, quantifiable results.


University of California at Berkeley

Fortunately, I know a few people at U.C. Berkeley. I called my friend, Ari, a scientist who just happens to have a black belt in statistics. Together we developed this test to measure a person's dedication to the hobby/sport of Free Flight:

1. How many years have you participated in FF, not counting inactive periods?

a) 1-9 years (+1)
b) 10-29 years (+2)
c) 30-49 years (+3)
d) 50 years or more (+4)

2. How many FF airplanes do you build in the average year?

a) None (0)
b) 1-3 (+1)
c) 4-9 (+2)
d) 10 or more (+3)

3. You prefer to build:

a) your own designs (+5)
b) from scratch (+3)
c) kits (+1)
d) don’t build (–5)

4. You have:

a) Carved a prop (+1)
b) Published modelling articles or plans (+2)
c) Mixed your own microfilm (+3)
d) Paid a lot of money for a prefabricated FF model (+4)
e) None of the above (0)
(count each that applies)

5. You own a rubber stripper:

a) Yes* (+5)
b) No (0)
*If you forgot/don’t know how it works (–5)

6. You would like others to consider your interest in FF:

a) evidence of skill and patience (+3)
b) an expression of individuality or creativity (+2)
c) interesting (+1)
d) anachronistic (0)
e) odd (–2)

7. On online forums, you’re considered:

a) a master builder (+3)
b) an up-and-coming modeller (+1)
c) hardly noticeable (0)
d) likely to get upset and quit the forum (–3)
e) don’t know what an online forum is (+4)

8. You consider R/C airplanes:

a) Part of your multidisciplinary approach to model aviation (+1)
b) OK for other people (+2)
c) A complete waste of time (+4)

9. The aviator you most admire is:

a) The Wright Brothers (+3)
b) Charles Lindbergh (–5)
c) Amelia Earhart (+2)
d) Howard Hughes (+7)

10. You keep the models you’ve built:

a) in boxes, to protect them from damage (+3)
b) neatly arranged on shelves, or hanging from walls/ceiling* (+2)
c) anywhere and everywhere (+1)
*If one plane appears to be shooting down another (+4)

11. You would rather be at:

a) FAC Nats (+3)
b) AMA’s National Model Aviation Museum (+1)
c) Your workbench finishing a project you started two years ago (+2)
d) Your computer waiting to snipe Tan II on eBay (+7)

12. Your work space is:

a) Temporary: everything in storage when not in use (+1)
b) Basic: small dedicated work space (+2)
c) Deluxe: large workshop with all the bells and whistles (+4)
d) Problematic: subject to negotiation with spouse (–5)

Your score:

Less than 0: Why not try stamp collecting?
0-20: Keep trying, even a genius has to work at it.
21-40: Your proficiency is its own reward.
41-60: You need to cultivate other interests.