Save your hobby!

Dear Readers

With the holidays just around the corner, I’d like to quote the well-known author and philosophy professor Rüdiger Safranski:

“Our time is socially managed; asserting our own time against this requires an incredible power struggle.”

Who among us model airplane enthusiasts isn’t familiar with this struggle for our own free time? Even as teenagers, we have to juggle our model flying hobby with school, parties, and other events, sports, and staying active on various social media platforms. It gets even harder as we enter the workforce and climb the career ladder. Higher demands and an increasingly heavy professional workload mean that many people can only decide how to spend a modest portion of their time on their own. When starting a family happens almost simultaneously, this personal time melts away like snow in the sun; for in modern families, husbands and wives share the responsibilities of raising children and doing household chores. The partner is entitled to her own free time and hobbies. Our young families face a myriad of additional obligations. These range from school events to various invitations that are almost impossible to decline, organizing barbecue parties, and—not to be forgotten—responding to all those emails as well as “continuing education” via TV channels and websites, etc. How is there supposed to be room for model aircraft flying in all of this? Some will ask how important this really is. I’m convinced that pursuing a hobby is of the utmost importance for every person’s personal balance. Those who fail to find this balance are putting a strain on their mental and physical health.

Everyone has to find their own way. There are few one-size-fits-all solutions. So I recommend not giving up on building your own model airplane, but rather continuing to work on it in small steps, keeping it going. Half an hour every day will ultimately lead to success. Switching to cheap “Ready2Crash” models is a false solution and frustrating in the long run. It’s not for nothing that these models are also called a “gateway drug.” Furthermore, when it comes to newer media, I recommend limiting yourself to important emails and phone calls and reducing passive media consumption, which does the exact opposite of helping you relax—it puts additional strain on the brain. During a discussion about model aircraft building, I realized once again that our houses and apartments are getting bigger and bigger. We have large spaces and impressive apartments that often make professional furniture showrooms look cramped—yet we no longer have room for our hobby. But model aircraft building isn’t possible without a room where balsa dust swirls around every now and then and where we’re allowed to leave our works of art lying around—even if we don’t get around to building for a few weeks. That’s why my Christmas wish is that this realization might take hold among our real estate tycoons, architects, and interior designers.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday season and success in your fight for some time to yourself.

Best regards
, Emil Ch. Giezendanner

The opinions expressed on this page by the editor—as well as by other authors of this issue—do not necessarily reflect the official position of the SMV. Readers can find official association announcements in the “SMV” section.