Any Radio Control Aircraft pilots around?

[Dazz]

Just wanted to see if we had any others that enjoyed another expensive hobby outside of arcade cabinets... 

I have only flown RC for 1 season now, but I'm addicted and want to fly more.  The cost of gas/glow planes is a bit too much for me so I started out with silent flight flying sailplanes.  Currently have a electric Carl Goldberg Electra kit that I built and converted to a brushless engine setup for last season and to learn flying with.  With the brushless system this thing will get up to glide altitude in about 10 seconds and will go completely vertical.

I think being a gamer my whole life and practicing with the RealFlight G3.5 simulator on PC while building my kit gave me a HUGE advantage.  Of course probably having some knowledge of aerodynamics and having my private pilot license (haven't flown a real plane in about 10 years) might have something to do with my easy learning of this hobby...  After the trim flight of my plane by the club instructor and a buddy flight in one of the club glow trainers I was immediately given permission to solo.  The old geezers at the field were pretty impressed with my RC skills that I picked up so fast...   

I know there are many RC forums around, but just want to see if any BYOAC'ers are also into the hobby as well. 

Below is a pic of my Electra... Be gentle as it is the first aircraft I have built and covered using monokote...  At the trim flight it only required 1 notch of up elevator trim to fly perfectly level.  I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out.



So, anyone else in the RC hobby as well?

[TOK]

I have a Zagi, a couple of foamies, a Pica Mustang and a few others. All electric, which is what I went with because thats what the guy that got me into it was flying. That buddy moved to North Carolina and opened a hobby shop, so it's been about a year since I've been into it.

I did used to read and post on ezonemag.com quite a bit (same user name). Great forum for electrics.

[danny_galaga]

i used to (kinda) fly rc planes, but

1) i kept crashing them

2) didnt like staring up at the sky (although it was never for long!)

so i got into model boats instead because

1) when you crash them, they normally survive

2) looking down at them is easier than looking up!

funny thing is, i was into model planes since i was about 8. it was only once i soloed on the real deal (piper pa28) that i finally 'got it'. after that though, flying a model or a flight sim seems really disconnected, since you feel nothing...

what i do love about model planes is building them. wooden kits or from plans is great. none of those new fangled ready to fly foamies for me (",)

[boykster]

I have never flown an RC plane but I raced RC electric offroad buggies for years in the 90's as well as 1/10th and 1/12th scale electrics on carpet, then got into electric 1/10th sedans again about 5 years ago.  During the interim I had a short stint racing scale electric hydros.

I'd LOVE to get into flying, but never had the nerve....

[Dartful Dodger]

I have an Air Hog Havoc.

[Dazz]

I have an Air Hog Havoc.

Haha, I have a couple of those that I buzz around my living room and house in.  I've done a couple mods to them to make them more responsive and I can land them on a quarter from the other side of the living room.  They helped make waiting through the winter a bit more bearable.

[Dazz]

More then likely their land was land owned by the Army Core of Engineers like a lot of flying fields...   The Army Core lets them use the land and the club is supposed to verify that the people flying are covered by the AMA.  The AMA provides members with insurance to cover any accidents that happen to property in the event of a crash.  This was probably their main concern...

I am a AMA member and have my so called "license".  The license posting on their board is normally to identify what frequency your radio is using.  Having more then one person on the same frequency can be a very bad thing.  The board is done as a precaution at most flying fields.  We are starting to see less and less of this as the new radios use 2.4GHZ spread spectrum technology.  The radios and receivers change frequencies every 2000ms and it is virtually impossible to be on the same frequency now even with 25+ people flying at the same time. 

Now as far as having to be a paying member of the flying field; I have no clue.  If they called the police, I don't think they would have done anything about it...

I have been looking for a club to join, but in the mean time I went to several flying fields around and was welcomed with open arms to every one of them.  I was allowed to fly my own aircraft several times on their fields without being a member of that club.  Towards the end of last season I finally settled down with this one club that I like, but they haven't re-opened their membership yet.  However to this day they still allow me to fly there as much as I like, free of charge.  In return I have been to the field for mowing/weed eating/clean up days to help out with the field...   

Go pick up a cheap little plane and try it out if you have been wanting to get into the hobby...  Personally I would suggest getting a GWS Pico Stick Slow Flyer as this is an EXCELLENT first flyer.  Just add a radio and battery pack and you are in the air within a couple hours work.  Much better than getting the cheap Air Hogs stuff that will fall apart or the LiPo battery will stop charging after 5 charges...

The hobby is great, so don't let one elitist ruin getting into the hobby.  Unfortunately you will run into people like this in anything you do...  Hell... Even here on BYOAC it is pretty easy to see the people who consider themselves the elitist are.

[TOK]

The AMA membership is all about insurance. You get one million dollars in liability coverage by being a member. This is typically the only thing that allows a club to operate anywhere near the public.
Its usuallly some bonehead that would come uninsured, smash his plane into some kid and get sued into oblivion that would get a field closed.

[Samstag]

Well, I can understand your points.  I think this was just another example about how anything involving a form was VERY SERIOUS BUSINESS in Missouri.

The guy you talked to sounds clueless.  The proper explanation to ignorant questions like yours is that there are a limited number of frequencies available which are tightly controlled by the club.  All it takes is one bonehead with a duplicate frequency to endanger everyone's safety, let alone hundreds of dollars worth of aircraft.

It's not about the forms, it's about safety first.

[boykster]

The guy you talked to sounds clueless.  The proper explanation to ignorant questions like yours is that there are a limited number of frequencies available which are tightly controlled by the club.  All it takes is one bonehead with a duplicate frequency to endanger everyone's safety, let alone hundreds of dollars worth of aircraft.

It takes a license to say "hey, what frequencies are you guys on?"

no, but the rationale is that it takes a process in place to make sure that the behaviour is reproduced every time.  I think the licensing thing, and having to pay,is a bit silly, but that's the route they chose to go.  We have a field nearby and you don't have to be a "member" or pay anything, but you DO have to check in to "check out" a frequency clip to ensure that you're not going to crash someone else's plane.

[TOK]

The AMA regs are about the liability insurance! 

The frequency board does absolutely nothing to prevent someone from turning on a radio at the field. It prevents guys on the flight line from doing it, but thats about it. Even a transmitter impound does nothing if an idiot doesn't turn his in and switches it on.

[Dazz]

I love my 2.4ghz radio...  No need to ever worry about freqs.