“As a former Civil Air Patrol (C A P) Public Affairs Officer, I witnessed first hand the positive affects of radio control (r c) model aircraft flying! Before our son was 12 years old, I taught him how to fly an r c model aircraft. He loved it and was fascinated by “flying things!” Then, when he turned 12 years old, he joined the C A P on his own accord and not out of any “suggestions” by me. As he matured in the ways of C A P, he eventually transformed from a new cadet, into the Cadet Squadron Commander! Along the way, he earned his full scale private pilot license and soloed at the age of 16 years old and he still kept flying r c aircraft also. After obtaining his private pilot license, he went on to obtain his instrument rating and his multi engine rating. Not too bad for a kid who learned so much about aviation – from a simple radio controlled airplane!! Flying r c airplanes was a huge part of his upbringing and his focus in life. Flying r c airplanes is definitely a GREAT Teacher. One learns S T E M (science, technology, engineering and math). And as we all know, our country needs to excel in those disciplines again! If model aviation disappears, it would be a huge loss not only personally, but a fantastic teaching tool would be rendered useless as well. So here is an idea for the F A A: Instead of suffocating or killing off the r c aircraft business and hobby, take the high road and create more r c airfields for the modeling community. As building and flying r c aircraft can be and definitely is a wholesome family activity with very positive results for all involved, please consider all of the upsides of this great sport and hobby. Think about puttingpeople and families first, instead of companies! Think about the positive results of model aviation! Think about kids growing into roles in full scale aviation! Think about how many F A A employees who started out in their aviation careers via model aviation! Think about doing something good instead of tearing something down! Finally, thank you for taking a moment to read this!”