Interview with "Pull, Don't Push" Author Julie Newman | Model Aviation Magazine

[@michaelhankes7587]

I am a retired Boeing design engineer. I grew up with model airplanes that actually flew - thanks to my dad. I learned how to build them. My second of 3 degrees was a mechanical engineering degree. The first was a teaching degree. The third was an MBA. So your comments about teachers made me smile. My career spanned 43.5 years. I actually had an engineering career discussion with one of my daughters. But she chose nursing instead and has had a wonderful career so far. My one son is a pilot. If there was ever a person made for that profession it was him. I also had the privilege of speaking to a seventh grade class about "what I do". I spoke about how I work with others to create something - and some roles those others play in the process. I got lots of questions - including about what I make. McDonnell Douglas/Boeing has used all of my 3 degrees - sometimes in combination with each other. It was a very good, stable career. Thanks for the video.

[@badskpr]

It is a shame that the Civil Air Patrol ended the program and now even the drone.

[@timmytom]

Great interview. Look forward to reading the book. Thank you for sharing.

[@FreeFlightDigest]

Very nice Interview. Julie is a motivator for young women and advocate for aeromodelling as a learning tool.

[@flynbenny]

I liked the part about math, yes I had to go through math hell to get my BSEE, but I might use a differential equation four times a year and I have done one triple vector calculus problem in the five years I've been out of school.

[@aeromodeller1]

Up until 2010 the Oakland Cloud Dusters had a youth program at Moreland Gym in the San Jose Recreation Department. We noticed that the girls did very well. Mentors in similar programs reported the same thing. We know that girls do better in school, at least until high school, when the boys realize that they have to get serious. But also, there were many fewer girls, so we were seeing only the best. The girls were about as good as the best boys. I noticed the girls would stick with it longer if there was at least another girl present. They are segregated in school and that carries over to after school activities. It is more fun if you can share the activity with a friend. I taught my daughter to build an AMA Cub. We went over to the park and I showed her how to wind the motor and launch it. We wound the motor again and I handed it to her to launch, just as a neighbor mother came by with her two daughters, one about my daughter's age, the other a bit younger. The younger was asking "What are they doing, Mommie?" The mother answered "Don't look. Girls don't do that." My daughter looked up at me and said "Can we go home?" I asked "Don't you want to fly your plane?" She said "No. I want to go home." The girls have all been told by their mothers, their friends mothers, their female teachers, grandmothers and aunts that if a girl does that, no boy will like her and she will never get married. My part of pay equity, I taught fifteen women to pass the Civil Service exams for Engineering Technician I, Engineering Technician II and Associate Engineering Technician. They all passed and were promoted. They were making three to five times what they had been making in the clerical series. One of these ladies was a single mother with a teenage son and daughter. I told her to encourage her daughter to take all the science and math classes she could. It's free and would significantly improve her career opportunities. She says "She doesn't have to take all those hard courses. She is good looking and will get married right out of high school." Just like mom. You can do only so much. I have been asked to coach a Science Olympiad Flight team. I am explaining rubber powered flight from an engineering perspective. A few years ago I taught about a half dozen 8 to 10, year olds how to measure the horsepower of a paper glider. We made and trimmed the gliders, they made all the measurements, wrote the numbers in the forms, did the calculations, drew the diagrams. They all got proper results. I was told this would not work. The kids loved it. If you explain things simply and clearly, they will get it. I think they appreciated that an adult respected their intelligence. This is a STEM activity. An adult woman came in to our Moreland class and told me that she always wanted to do something scientific, but she had been told that girls couldn't do that. She asked me whether I thought she could build an airplane. I assured her that she could and taught her the AMA Cub. It flew fine and she was thrilled. It was a personal vindication that she had what it takes.

[@badskpr]

It is amazing the Civil Air Patrol stopped model Rocketry and drone program as orders from Maxwell AFB in Alabama. Due to no funding.

[@FreeFlightDigest]

Robert.. Civil Air Patrol Cadet program is a perfect opportunity to introduce Free Flight models.. relatively inexpensive and teach all the mechanics of flight.. please reach out to Natinal Free Flight Society and lets see what kind of program we might be able to put together!