Can't be True!?!?

[Mithrandir]

So.. the other day, my friend hands me a copy of the local Hesperia California newspaper. There is an article about a local boy who flies IMAC. The story tells about his injury in Soccer and his father got him into RC. The Article comments about some of the trials and tribulations this young man experianced advancing thru the ranks of IMAC....

One Comment bothered me.....

The article said that the "Older Competition Pilots" would essentially mess with his head to throw him off so he wouldn't do good in competition and on several occasions he was so upset he cried.....

This bothers me because;
if it is true... shame on those pilots who resort to taunting/torturing/teasing a young boy so they can place higher.... (I can't honestly imagine anything being done towards a young boy that wasn't intended as good natured razzing)

if it is false.... how did the newspaper get this idea? They quoted his mother (I think) making the comment.... or is this another example of the media hyping the story with ...well... lies....???

Either way.... if I was an IMAC competitor, I would not be happy with this type of remark being made as it portrays IMAC Competitors in a bad way....
I have met a lot of IMAC pilots... and everyone (except in the Invitational Class.. lol) was a really nice and decent person.

I will try to get a copy of the story if people like.

[Mithrandir]

I found the article online... here is a quote.....

"His average competitor is 40 years old," his father said. "They play head games with kids."
"He used to cry," said his mother, Judy. "The guys were mean to him."

[JimC-MD]

http://www.hesperiastar.com/news/cod..._shootout.html

[stung93]

Thats horrible I don't know why anyone would want to do that to a child, if anything they should go out of their way to be nice, we need more children and younger people to get interested in our hobby and that is just wrong. It's a shame some older guys think they need to mess with a kid's head so they can beat him, maybe they need to practice more and stop trying get into kid's heads to beat them.

[Dan767]

Read the article. He was at TAS last year.

[Mithrandir]

	Quote: Originally Posted by stung93
	Thats horrible I don't know why anyone would want to do that to a child, if anything they should go out of their way to be nice, we need more children and younger people to get interested in our hobby and that is just wrong. It's a shame some older guys think they need to mess with a kid's head so they can beat him, maybe they need to practice more and stop trying get into kid's heads to beat them.

Well.. I am involved in a company that is frequently in the news... and the media gets about 50% of their facts wrong!! So it is entirely possible the "Media" embellished this story...
maybe not..
I suppose only his parents really know for sure wether or not they made those remarks....

Either way... it doesn't reflect positively or accurately.... (OK.. out of 2567 IMAC pilots in the USA.. there might be two who resort to head games with a teenager)

[pepatrick]

If in fact these 40 year olds taunted the kid they should be banned from IMAC competition. More than likely the kid was razzled a little bit..and the mother did and said what a mother does...I would like to think that most adults in this hobby would respect a kid..espeically one that is an exeptional pilot, but there are always jerks out there. A couple of years ago when I was flying with my son (at the time he was 9 and a pretty good RC pilot), a jet jockey decided he was going to fly and told my son he needed to land his plane so he could fly his jet. He had only been up for a couple of minutes and when he landed I went out to ask him why he landed. He told me the guy standing to my left said he needed to land his plane because he (my son) had been up too long and it was his turn to fly his jet. I immediatly told my son to get his plane back in the air..and went over to the other member and had it out with him...It really ticks me off that there are people like this out there. So...for the IMAC kid...your best revenge is to beat these a holes in IMAC...And if you jerks are out there taunting the kid...You need to pack your stuff and go find another hobby.

[Jonathan Ott]

Here is the article:

	Quote:
	A high flying phenom November 17, 2008 - 5:29 PM BY PETER DAY STAR EDITOR Three years ago, Cody McLean dreamed of following in his older brother's footsteps on the soccer field. But an injury forced him to look to the skies instead. "I broke my growth plate," the 14-year-old Sultana freshman said. "He couldn't walk on it for a year," added his father, Mike McClean. So the boy's parent bought him a small remote-controlled airplane. Since then he's become a veritable David Beckham with wings. Eventually he graduated from an 20-inch miniature to a 35-pound, ZN line aircraft with a wingspan of about 10 feet and a 32-inch propeller. "It's 42 percent the size of a real airplane," Cody said. Each plane - Cody has two - costs $8,000 to $10,000. The remote control, which is a 12-channel device controlling numerous rudders on independent channels, costs nearly $2,000. Cody began competing soon after his parents gave him his first plane. But recently his piloting skills have taken him to competitions in Tennessee, Indiana, Oregon, Utah and Idaho and more. "I've won seven major contests." Last year at the 2007 Tucson Aerobatic Shootout, which is one of most prestigious events in the U.S., Cody lost communication with his servos but was able to land his precious plane without incident. Coming off a second-place finish at the Nationals in Indianapolis over the summer, Cody was determined do one step better. Facing the top intermediate fliers in the world, his skills impressed the judges, and he walked away with a coveted first place win at the 2008 edition of the Tucson Aerobatic Shootout in early October. "Cody was ranked No. 5 in world," said his father, Mike, who drives to Oceanside to work every weekday morning. "Now he's ranked No. 1." Cody not only had to master the remote and knowledge of small-plane aeronautics, but he had to endure sometimes unpleasant tactics from usually older competitors. "His average competitor is 40 years old," his father said. "They play head games with kids." "He used to cry," said his mother, Judy McLean. "The guys were mean to him." Competing has taught Cody numerous things. Besides learning to take heated competition in stride, he's also learned hand-eye coordination, mechanical skills and geometry. A testament to that as a Ranchero Middle School 8th-grader, Cody had the highest STAR test score in math in the Victor Valley. Having seen other competitors make an error and crash their aircraft, he's learned take care of an expensive piece of equipment. "Now he understands money," his mother said. As the winner of the recent shootout, he has been invited to travel to Australia for the Queensland Challenge, but he'll need to raise more than $10,000. It wouldn't be surprising if the smart, math-and-science minded teen were to become a doctor like his older brother, Ryan. But he has his own flight path to success in mind. "I want to work for ‘Mythbusters.'"

Is Cody a member here on FG? If so, I'd like to hear, in his words, what kind of 'Head Games' the 'Older competetors' pulled on him.

It does sound as if the media is spinning it, but if he was razzed to the point of tears, it didn't hurt his game. He aparently is ranked #1 in intermediate from the TAS. "What does not kill me, only makes me stronger" or something like that.

[JimC-MD]

http://www.flyinggiants.com/forums/f...tml#post625920

Perhaps it is just a case of the type of good natured joking from the above thread that was misunderstood by overly protective parents. At least that is what I hope. There is always a danger when children mix with adults in a competitive activity. Adults play head games. Some in fun, some out of spitefulness. Competitions are in large part mental. Like golf, martial arts etc. If a young adult is going to compete in the same environment as adults, they need to be prepared for the dynamics that go along with it.

Note, I am not condoning mean spirited comments. I met some of these "young guns" last year. Heck, my 15 year old brother in law is one of them. (Not in IMAC but he has very good RC skills) I have razzed him to push him and at the same time I have made sure that the reason was to prod him to reach his real potential. The change in him over the past couple of years has been remarkable. He was very quiet and shy at the field when he started. He would almost not talk to anyone and would only fly when no one else was up. Now he talks to just about everybody and is even asked to maiden other pilots planes. He has the potential to be very good. If he wants it, I will do everything I can to help him get there. Even if I have to razz and push him a little.

Yea Mike, I am talking about you, little bro.

[Mithrandir]

My son is 10 years old... he would think something is wrong if we didn't barrage him with a constant hazing!!! lol...
but when he sends it back at us... we gotta take it too...
and sometimes these little 10 year old snots are pretty witty and cutting with their humor!!

[Mithrandir]

See below

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[mike6294]

This comment was taken a little out of context, my wife was talking about when we used to pylon race and was the reason we switched to IMAC. It was the answer to why we started flying precision from racing. The IMAC community is a great group of people as well as most of the RC community. It was not intended to reflect poorly on anyone and we have recieved nothing but help and support from the group that we fly with. We have nothing but respect for the IMAC community and Cody loves to fly and I dont want this to turn negative he would never say anything to hurt anyone.

Thanks,

Mike

[Mithrandir]

	Quote: Originally Posted by mike6294
	This comment was taken a little out of context, my wife was talking about when we used to pylon race and was the reason we switched to IMAC. It was the answer to why we started flying precision from racing. The IMAC community is a great group of people as well as most of the RC community. It was not intended to reflect poorly on anyone and we have recieved nothing but help and support from the group that we fly with. We have nothing but respect for the IMAC community and Cody loves to fly and I dont want this to turn negative he would never say anything to hurt anyone. Thanks, Mike

Just like the media to get the story right huh???

He is good at math and science??? Get Cody to go into engineering.... I need about 6 Aero/Mechanical engineers right now!!!

[prizzy]

I doubt there was any ill remarks. I very rarely see unsportsmanlike conduct, except once at Nats, and a small incident at TAS. And they weren't directed toward anyone.

[Mithrandir]

see what I mean....the media sucks..... they can't get a story straight about a kid and his model planes.... how much have they gotten wrong about Obama??? or McCain.. or Bush.... ????