Aeromodelling: An emerging hobby

Still in its early stages, the hobby is findin­g its feet in the twin cities۔

ISLAMABAD: Qasim Ali Shigri had a passion for cars, so when his father decided to quit selling digital cameras in 2004 and stocked his shop in Rawalpindi with remote-controlled cars and aircrafts, Shigri naturally tagged along to help. Eight years later, he’s considered an expert on aeromodelling and a guru for other flying enthusiasts in the twin cities.

Shigri is part of a small but growing community of flyers who gather every Sunday in Bahria Town to fly their planes.

“It’s not a hobby or a passion. It’s like an addiction,” Syed Nayyar Abbas, another hobbyist, said. Abbas has been flying model planes since 1991, and while the hobby has been around for a while, it still isn’t very popular. “It is still in its early stages,” said Shigri. “There isn’t enough awareness about flying in Pakistan.”

The presence of hobby clubs, however, is bridging that gap. The Model Airplane Club in Islamabad is one such body whose 30 members meet every weekend in the fields near Tarnol Interchange for their flying sessions.

Usman Ahmed, who works in the IT department of a local non-profit organisation, has been a member of the club for four years. He said he did not know much about the hobby when he started, but received help along the way. “The senior members help juniors a lot. They tell us what equipment we need and teach us the techniques to control the planes,” he said.

According to Abbas, anyone with a model plane can join the club, but the only problem is that they don’t come cheap. A basic model plane kit can cost around Rs8,000, while advanced models go up to Rs100,000.

Shigri explained that the commonly available kits only provide the body without the motors or engines, which have to be bought separately. The kits are usually imported from China, but local flyers and engineers build their own models as well.

Flying the plane is just a part of the entire exercise — there is also the time-consuming preparation of the aircraft which comes before it can fly.

“We have to prepare the aircraft, which sometimes needs to be assembled from the kit.” said Ahmed. “We have to make sure everything is in working order so we can confidently fly without worrying about accidents.”

In addition to learning the skill of flying, the hobbyists also have to develop expertise on technical equipment, such as engines, motors and wings to maintain the aircrafts. Ahmed said he works on his planes after office hours on weekdays to get them in flying condition by Sunday.

The internet also comes in handy for guidance. There is a strong international community of model airplane hobbyists, which shares its knowledge online.

“Internet has made things easy for us,” said Ahmed. “YouTube videos give instant information, but it’s mostly the discussion threads on online forums that give in-depth information.” He explained that he once used information from the internet to improve the centre of gravity of one of his planes.

With the passage of time, aeromodelling is finding its feet among the youth. “Earlier it used to be mostly middle-aged people who flew them. These days, youngsters are picking up the hobby as well,” said Shigri.

Like most hobbies, flying model planes is a self-fulfilling activity. Sometimes, however, the flyers get a chance to exhibit their skills and compete against each other. Shigri is looking forward to participating in the All Pakistan 3rd Flying Competition in Lahore in November. If he wins, it might just spur the hobby’s popularity in the twin cities.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2012.