November 23, 2008
More than five years have passed since Bhagat Dhillon started a small website dedicated to small flying models. During those years we have made friends and lost friends. Some lost to other interests, some to mis-spoken words, and some to their final thermal. November 23, 2007 we received the news that Bhagat Dhillon had passed away. In the community he had created on Small Flying Arts there were a thousand moments of silence. We were all shocked and dismayed. We all lost a friend that most had never met. A leader we did not know we were following. Bhagat was a presence and guide on Small Flying Arts who is missed and cannot be replaced.
Since that day in November we have had a difficult time. A sense of not knowing what the future holds for us as a community and a plethora of technical challenges. Unfortunately one challenge tends to heighten our concerns of other challenges. Yet, as a group we have teamed up to face these challenges. Arjun Dhillon has stepped in to continue the community created by his father. The SFA World Tour continues thanks to the work of a couple of members, and the World Tour pages have been updated to reflect this activity. Members have written articles and stories that we put up for all to see and enjoy. We continue to enjoy the company of fellow modelers in the SFA Forum
.We have also seen the birth of other communities with some members enjoying both and some members preferring one over the other. The presence of these other communities is a good sign; our small part of the modeling world is establishing itself and expanding to accept varied interests and personalities. I personally need to thank the Hippocketaeronautics forum for allowing us to keep in contact with members during our recent struggles.
What does the future of SFA hold for us? I would like to say that SFA will be like it was on November 22, 2007. SFA has changed without Bhagat Dhillon. Our community cannot return to what we first found. We plan to continue SFA, as a place for modelers of different interests to come together and share and learn. Unexpected words of encouragement and support remind us for whom this community is meant. I would like our members to take a little time to visit some of what Mr. B left for us, visit the About Us section read his editorials – this is truly About Us.
Bruce Robertson