Using model planes to form model youth

[syscom3]

From todays OC Register. Click the link to see the pics.

News: About the Trabuco Flyers | boys, club, plane, joplin, planes - OCRegister.com

Saturday, November 22, 2008
Boys from the Joplin Youth Center, an alternative to juvenile detention, learn how to fly radio-controlled planes.
By MARK EADES
The Orange County Register

When George Dobilas saw an article last month in the Orange County Register about the Joplin Youth Center, he thought the members of his club, the Trabuco Flyers, could offer some help to the boys.

Dobilas said that in the past, many of the club's members, whose hobby is flying radio-controlled model airplanes and helicopters, spend time working with troubled boys and girls and saw this as an opportunity to reach out to their neighbors in the canyon.

"We had a boy come in here a few years ago who was having some problems," Dobilas said. "He learned to fly our model planes and then went on to become a pilot."

Dobilas talked with the board of directors of the club and convinced its members to take on the challenge. Then he contacted Chris Lillja, a transitional officer with OC Probation, which runs Joplin.

"These are the kinds of programs that, if done on a regular basis, show the kids that there are other things to do out there," Lillja said.

Many of the boys in the Joplin Youth Center are there for being involved in gang-related activities. According to officials, judges will send the boys to Joplin rather than to a juvenile detention center, giving them a chance to see alternative lifestyles to being in a gang and to learn trades before their sentences are completed.

While many of the boys are involved in community outreach and work projects at Joplin, Lillja saw this as an opportunity to show the boys that there are other things to do for fun, rather than just hanging out as members of a gang.

"Hopefully, it will inspire a couple of them to want to become pilots or take this up as a hobby," he said.

While at the Flyers' field, 25 boys got the chance to learn how to fly model planes on a simulator program the club has set up in its headquarters building. From there, the boys were shown how the planes work, from its engines to the radio controls.

Finally, each boy got at least one opportunity to fly a radio-controlled trainer plane. Trainer planes have a double controller. A skilled flyer on the main control dealt with getting the plane off the ground. Once the planes were airborne, they turned control over to the boys, ready to step in if there were problems.

"It's pretty hard," said Herriberto, one of the boys, who could only be identified by his first name under OC Probation rules. "You get confused about what lever does what."

"You got it, you got it," said club member Mike Domokos, as one of the boys flew a plane through some barrel rolls. Then when the plane flipped over and dove for the ground, Domokos took control back and landed the plane safely. "They want to fly these things as hard as they can. You know they're having fun when they keep asking for the controls."

"I like the acrobatic tricks," said Ricardo, one of the boys. "I want to learn more."

Most of the boys got a chance to fly a plane two or three times.

"It's a joy to have these kids here," said Ray Charpentier, a member of the club. "They seem to be very interested in it."

Club officials hope to make this a regular event with the Joplin Youth Center.

"We plan to try and do this every couple of months," said Eric Nelson, the club president. "We need to get more of our members out to volunteer and come out and help."

Contact the writer: meades@ocregister.com or 949-454-7352

[Matt308]

Syscom, sorry to see that nobody has posted on this thread. Too bad. It has come the to point that people (for the majority) are not willing to invest in "youth" who have erred with the law.

I am one of them. I'm tired of the trash in my neighborhood, the "tagging", the theft, the unlawfulness, the rudeness, the apathy. While I applaud the Trabuco Flyers, I must confess that I believe they are the proverbial Dutch boy with his finger in the dike.

Good and conscientious citizens cannot compensate for broken and single parent families. Gang banging to RC airplanes is laudable, but highly unrealistic.

We should quit rewarding failure with food stamps, subsidized housing and other social handouts for those who make stupid choices.

Life is tough. Quit sucking off the teat of my life energy and work for your own self-esteem.

Okay. I'm off my soapbox.

[syscom3]

And whats wrong with showing them an alternative?

I bet many of those boys wished they had an adult male in their life that could show them there's a lot of neat hobbies out there.

You seem to have an attitude of "since we cant make a difference for all of them, we shouldn't make an attempt to make a difference for a few of them".

[109ROAMING]

With ya 100% Matt

[Matt308]

Originally Posted by syscom3

And whats wrong with showing them an alternative?

I bet many of those boys wished they had an adult male in their life that could show them there's a lot of neat hobbies out there.

You seem to have an attitude of "since we cant make a difference for all of them, we shouldn't make an attempt to make a difference for a few of them".

As I said, their effort is laudable. But I have no illusions that they will make a difference. If they are going into it with the attitude of doing it for their own personal goals, fine.

I personally am tired of throwing life energy into the dreggs of society. We seem to "reward" those at the bottom of the bell curve with social programs, handouts, exceptions and second chances. Yet meanwhile those who are at the right side of the bell curve of performance get a pat on the back and are asked to help mentor those on the extreme left side.

I don't know if you have kids in school, but education is a PERFECT example. Look at all the programs for the left side of the performance bell curve (no child left behind, free breakfasts, free lunches, alternative schools, state sponsored programs, etc). When contrasted with the right side of the bell curve most of the commensurate programs are lip service with little actual money spent to maximize the potential of these future leaders. In fact they go out of their way to solicit the performers to act as teacher's assistants.

Damn, I'm making this a socio-political thread. If this is not the direction you intended syscom, I'm sorry.

Bottomline, they are doing a good thing. I would just suggest that we be realistic in their results. I personally would suggest that more kids would become interested in the hobby by tailoring their efforts to a different audience whom exhibit traits of performance that are likely to maximize the numbers. And gang bangers aint it.

[syscom3]

The kids are age 13 - 15.

Still time to get to a few of them.

[Matt308]

peace