The bigger, the better?

Dear Reader

When animal welfare groups criticize, for example, the heavy cowbells—known in standard Swiss German as “Treicheln” or “Trycheln” in the Swiss heartland—that cows wear on ceremonial occasions, such as the Alpine descent, I do wonder why we model airplane enthusiasts patiently put up with the notion that modern RC transmitters, due to their increasing “excess weight,” do not violate human rights conventions.

We protect ourselves with carrying straps and even full harnesses or “Gstältli” to prevent them from cutting into our necks. Some colleagues even strap themselves in so tightly that, with just a few additions, their harnesses could easily serve as safety gear for dangerous glacier crossings. Modern technology? What a load of nonsense! The batteries have become much lighter. Potentiometers are being replaced by lightweight sensors, and miniaturization in electronics in general has made incredible strides in recent years. That’s why I can assume that it’s not the engineers who are developing these massive devices, but—as is the case everywhere—the marketing department.

As a consumer and complete layman, I’m calling for a counter-movement—away from the underutilized “model-aircraft super-PC” toward a small, light, and handy “model-aircraft tablet.” Small, modest, but mighty!

Sincerely

Emil Ch. Giezendanner