Off Topic: H Plus lured me into RC Fixed Wing Aircraft

Barton · Jul 26, 2018

Some of you may get a chuckle from my recent experience...

A long time ago, as a child, I was excited and interested in model airplanes but didn't have the resources to get involved so I let it all slide. Then life happened and 60 years zoomed by. And now I'm retired.

Time to enjoy the remaining time and photo drones seemed like a likely candidate. H+ was purchased on July 2. Looking for a place to fly, hassle free, I discovered that the county I live in (in Oregon) has a dedicated aerodrome park just 8 miles from my house. GREAT. Spent some time at the park learning to fly the H+ and of course, met some other pilots with their fixed wing planes. After getting more comfortable flying the H+ both going away from me and approaching me, flying a fixed wing planed seemed suddenly doable, looked enticing, and fun. Two days ago I purchased my first fixed wing RC plane

. Today was its maiden flight - only 10 minutes of flight time but no crashes and ready to go again tomorrow.

Between the H+ and the fixed wing plane, my wife isn't expecting to see much of me in the mornings, for a while...

PatR · Jul 26, 2018

As you’re near Corvalis, would that field be Mollala? Flew some big RC planes there a couple times. There used to be some very accomplished fliers there. It’s a very nice field in a great forest country setting. There’s another one in Woodburn south of the drag strip.

Barton · Jul 26, 2018

@PatR Mollala is further north, close to Portland. The aerodrome I'm flying at is just east of Adair Village (8 miles north of Corvallis). The name is Brian Unwin Field.

biltno · Jul 26, 2018

Barton said:
Some of you may get a chuckle from my recent experience...

A long time ago, as a child, I was excited and interested in model airplanes but didn't have the resources to get involved so I let it all slide. Then life happened and 60 years zoomed by. And now I'm retired.

Time to enjoy the remaining time and photo drones seemed like a likely candidate. H+ was purchased on July 2. Looking for a place to fly, hassle free, I discovered that the county I live in (in Oregon) has a dedicated aerodrome park just 8 miles from my house. GREAT. Spent some time at the park learning to fly the H+ and of course, met some other pilots with their fixed wing planes. After getting more comfortable flying the H+ both going away from me and approaching me, flying a fixed wing planed seemed suddenly doable, looked enticing, and fun. Two days ago I purchased my first fixed wing RC plane . Today was its maiden flight - only 10 minutes of flight time but no crashes and ready to go again tomorrow.

Between the H+ and the fixed wing plane, my wife isn't expecting to see much of me in the mornings, for a while...

I flew mostly 4 channel helicopters before my yuneec purchases. Had lots of crashes learning lol
The difference is crashes cost little or no money
I seldom fly them anymore

gwhuntoon · Jul 26, 2018

As technology marches on the same can be said for RC planes and helis. Back in the day having an electro mechanical gyro for a heli was considered by purists to be the equivalent of training wheels or that which separated pilots from wannabes. A big shift occurred in the early 2000's with auto pilots like one offered by Graupner and another by Revolectrix with the CoPilot II, again the derogatory training wheels comments, now with SAFE and AS3X from Horizon, as well as several other high end flybarless stabilization systems, RC and drone flying (still not on board with calling everything a UAS) has entered the mainstream.

An unfortunate side effect of this advancement has made it easy for people to just grab the sticks and go without worrying about the financial penalty from a crash. Hence a lot of the hot dogs going above a 400' ceiling, flying beyond LOS, pestering neighbors with cameras, and being a safety risk. This in turn has raised the specter of regulation which will curtail everyone's fun.

In the past, a natural barrier of entry into this hobby were many, such as time and skill needed to fly, financial. mechanical ability, patience, (with nitro or gas engines and all of the associated support gear), model building ability and major disappointment when weeks of buildup to the great event ends in a matter of seconds, so dealing with disappointment.

Personally I welcome the technological advancements and new flyers for which this hobby would otherwise have been off limits in the past. But the trade off is people with no experience, willingness to gain experience, seemingly no natural abilities of any kind whatsoever, creating havoc for everyone else.

In the States, the AMA used to be the go to place for model flyers but joining a club or being a part of an organization seems to be more of a thing of the past. Everything now is on a fast track or tutorial video. Without adequate representation, I'm afraid our hobby will suffer.

Maybe I'm too old or not old enough, but there was once a day when you had to be part radio tech, electronics tech, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, master modeler, painter, artist, photographer, I guess a jack of all trades with a basic curiosity about the world. No offense, but it seems like any pie hole with a wallet can join the fun now.

BTW, when I was a child the only flying experience I could afford was a Mattel VertiBird and some cheap spinning plane on a stick. I also took time out to raise a family and become a grandfather, where has the time gone...

Stevewh · Jul 26, 2018

Barton said:
Some of you may get a chuckle from my recent experience...

A long time ago, as a child, I was excited and interested in model airplanes but didn't have the resources to get involved so I let it all slide. Then life happened and 60 years zoomed by. And now I'm retired.

Time to enjoy the remaining time and photo drones seemed like a likely candidate. H+ was purchased on July 2. Looking for a place to fly, hassle free, I discovered that the county I live in (in Oregon) has a dedicated aerodrome park just 8 miles from my house. GREAT. Spent some time at the park learning to fly the H+ and of course, met some other pilots with their fixed wing planes. After getting more comfortable flying the H+ both going away from me and approaching me, flying a fixed wing planed seemed suddenly doable, looked enticing, and fun. Two days ago I purchased my first fixed wing RC plane . Today was its maiden flight - only 10 minutes of flight time but no crashes and ready to go again tomorrow.

Between the H+ and the fixed wing plane, my wife isn't expecting to see much of me in the mornings, for a while...

Enjoy every minute!!! It's all very familiar to myself

Ty Pilot · Jul 26, 2018

gwhuntoon said:
As technology marches on the same can be said for RC planes and helis. Back in the day having an electro mechanical gyro for a heli was considered by purists to be the equivalent of training wheels or that which separated pilots from wannabes. A big shift occurred in the early 2000's with auto pilots like one offered by Graupner and another by Revolectrix with the CoPilot II, again the derogatory training wheels comments, now with SAFE and AS3X from Horizon, as well as several other high end flybarless stabilization systems, RC and drone flying (still not on board with calling everything a UAS) has entered the mainstream.

An unfortunate side effect of this advancement has made it easy for people to just grab the sticks and go without worrying about the financial penalty from a crash. Hence a lot of the hot dogs going above a 400' ceiling, flying beyond LOS, pestering neighbors with cameras, and being a safety risk. This in turn has raised the specter of regulation which will curtail everyone's fun.

In the past, a natural barrier of entry into this hobby were many, such as time and skill needed to fly, financial. mechanical ability, patience, (with nitro or gas engines and all of the associated support gear), model building ability and major disappointment when weeks of buildup to the great event ends in a matter of seconds, so dealing with disappointment.

Personally I welcome the technological advancements and new flyers for which this hobby would otherwise have been off limits in the past. But the trade off is people with no experience, willingness to gain experience, seemingly no natural abilities of any kind whatsoever, creating havoc for everyone else.

In the States, the AMA used to be the go to place for model flyers but joining a club or being a part of an organization seems to be more of a thing of the past. Everything now is on a fast track or tutorial video. Without adequate representation, I'm afraid our hobby will suffer.

Maybe I'm too old or not old enough, but there was once a day when you had to be part radio tech, electronics tech, mechanical engineer, aerospace engineer, master modeler, painter, artist, photographer, I guess a jack of all trades with a basic curiosity about the world. No offense, but it seems like any pie hole with a wallet can join the fun now.

BTW, when I was a child the only flying experience I could afford was a Mattel VertiBird and some cheap spinning plane on a stick. I also took time out to raise a family and become a grandfather, where has the time gone...

Well said especially the part about natural barriers. By early 2000 I was saddened by what I saw in RC with the rise of the ARF and foamies flooding into the hobby and the numbers of modelers that actually took the time to learn about the craft was dwindling. I was forced close my RC Scale kitting business in 2006 and went to work designing for another RC manufacturer, the bottom fell out and was let go in 2008. Today that company is owned by a Chinese company and only a handful of the employees are left.

I hate to say it but that was (to me) effectively the death of RC as I remember it but I guess that just the way things are and I am getting old too and longing for the good ole days.

Barton · Jul 26, 2018

While I do have a wallet that has recently allowed me to participate in a couple of hobbies new to me, I have made every attempt to not be a pie hole.

That said, technology has definitely allowed me to participate in these new hobbies that I would otherwise likely have avoided as being too expensive, tedious, time consuming, and having too high a risk/reward ratio or too low a satisfaction/effort ratio. I'm very familiar with participation in a hobby with a significant entry cost and a long learning curve to become competent (windsurfing) - I don't need any more hobbies like this at my age.

As I look to the future, the H+ may be relatively short-lived hobby experience. With inertia behind increasing regulations and restrictions on locations to fly, I had serious reservations about even purchasing a serious photo UAV but decided that the situation would only get worse. If I liked it, I could stick it out, otherwise... Oregon still has a lot of open space (national forests, etc) that are not yet off limits although much of the coast has already been made off limits due to sensitive wildlife breeding locations. How many videos/pictures of fir trees I want to take remains to be seen. Flying the H+ at the aerodrome has been fun as I improve my piloting skills but I'm already starting to get bored with just flying around in circles at that location. I have no interest in being hassled by the general public when flying the H+ so that alone may curtail this hobby.

On the other hand, I can see flying a fixed wing UAV as having a lot more potential for lasting enjoyment. Yes, I did purchase a foamy plane which has AX3S and SAFE, but as my skills increase, I can turn off the training wheels, and the cost exposure is significantly less than the H+. I'm interested in learning more about the physics of flight so I'm not particularly sorry that I don't have to learn about gluing, painting, electronics repair, etc that was required by the previous generation of RC modelers. All of this keeps open the required 'on the water time' for my primary hobby. Also, the 'general public' hassle factor is gone as long as I fly at the aerodrome. For the fixed wing UAV, new locations are not necessary because the obvious enjoyment is in perfecting a skill level, which can be done at one location, not in filming something new. In addition, I've met some great pilots at the aerodrome that clearly enjoy the fix wing UAV hobby.

Ty Pilot · Jul 26, 2018

Barton, I was not directing anything at you of course - just observing or recollecting.

Actually some of my fondest memories are of the RC days. I remember the time when I finally flew for the first time with the confidence that I was not going have any problems and it was magical. I got into RC at the time just about when the radios became reliable. I remember walking into a hobby store and dreaming of getting the next model.

road_rascal · Jul 26, 2018

I've been flying planks (airplanes) since around 2006. It became a sickness (had over 40+ flyable planes) and I loved every minute of it. Mainly electric but I had a few glow powered ones, and a couple giant scale planes. Unfortunately all the big flying fields/ clubs near me closed and I would have had to drive 45 mintues to be able to fly the big ones. So I mainly fly small park flyers and a few float planes on the lake. It's a ton of fun!

Barton · Jul 26, 2018

Ty Pilot said:
Barton, I was not directing anything at you of course - just observing or recollecting. Actually some of my fondest memories are of the RC days. I remember the time when I finally flew for the first time with the confidence that I was not going have any problems and it was magical. I got into RC at the time just about when the radios became reliable. I remember walking into a hobby store and dreaming of getting the next model.

Patrick, the first part of my response was not with respect to anything you had posted. I respect your views and observations.
Actually, as I was reading your observations and recollections, I was mentally reliving parts of my own career and how much my work environment changed from around 1990 until I retired in 2006. From 1990 to about 1998 I loved my work and it was a joy to leave the house each day. By the time 2006 had rolled around I could not wait to leave the job. Amazing (and sad) what a couple of very poor CEO choices in a row can do to company.

Barton · Jul 26, 2018

road_rascal said:
I've been flying planks (airplanes) since around 2006. It became a sickness (had over 40+ flyable planes) and I loved every minute of it. Mainly electric but I had a few glow powered ones, and a couple giant scale planes. Unfortunately all the big flying fields/ clubs near me closed and I would have had to drive 45 mintues to be able to fly the big ones. So I mainly fly small park flyers and a few float planes on the lake. It's a ton of fun!

Great to read this. I'm hoping my local aerodrome (8 miles from my house) will be around for a while since it is a county park dedicated to RC planes and drones. It is somewhat out in the boonies so no commercial pressure to close it down and turn it into a housing development. And, because it has been in existence for a while, no need to make phone calls to the 'local' airports with their dirt strip runways each time someone wants to fly.

gwhuntoon · Jul 27, 2018

Barton, my prior comment was more of a rant in general and not directed at you. On the contrary, I think it's awesome you're getting into RC and approaching it the right way.

Barton · Jul 27, 2018

gwhuntoon said:
Barton, my prior comment was more of a rant in general and not directed at you. On the contrary, I think it's awesome you're getting into RC and approaching it the right way.

@gwhuntoon Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.

biltno · Jul 27, 2018

Barton said:
@gwhuntoon Thank you. I appreciate the feedback.

Rc planes and helicopters are much much more difficult to fly compared to something that has stabilization from gps
In a way there is actually no comparison.
The challenge of just keeping my helicopters hovering in my early days of flying kept the drive going for me to continue

road_rascal · Jul 30, 2018

Barton, since you're expanding into different aspects of R/C do not, I repeat, DO NOT get involved with RC crawler/ scaler trucks. It's a perpetual money pit. Don't ask me (or my wife) how I know.

rdonson · Jul 30, 2018

Back in the day I flew RC sailplanes. I was just fascinated by riding invisible currents of air through astute observation. No noise other than a swoosh if it flew close over head.

PatR · Jul 30, 2018

That’s where my RC side of this hobby started, with thermal and slope sailplanes in 1977. Back in the early ‘60’s to mid 70’s it was control line stuff starting with the now ancient line of Cox glow fueled .049 plastic stuff. In many ways model aviation paved the way for a late career in unmanned flight systems, where user programmable auto pilots were and still are critical to the equipment list.

I tried those “new fangled” rate gyros for 3D fixed wing flight shortly after they became wide spread around 2003 but found them less than useful for fixed wing at the time, being more of a crutch than a tool. They were too slow. They have improved a bunch since then.

Ty,

There is a very high probability that I bought quite a few of those kits you were involved with. Great Planes, Mark’s Models, Airtronics, Goldberg, and many others were commonly in construction in my shop

Ty Pilot · Jul 30, 2018

Same here. First RC flight was in 1978 on a Cox Foam replica of a 172 with an .049 but second flight went pear shaped.

Second model was a Goldberg 'Gentle Lady' (Two Meter Sailplane) then; shortly after getting to grips with the basics, hacked the nose off, mounted trike gear and the .049 to learn take-offs and landings with powered flight and I was hooked. I still remember in the instructions (Yuneec you listening) they described how to kneel in tall grass and pick a spot 20 yards in the distance to to throw the model at and begin the process of learning to fly.