Heli or airplane pilots

[laurens23]

Started in late 90s with fixed wing, stayed with fixed wing. Built several ground up, and bought several ARFs. Started getting into Quads in 2008. Now, almost exclusively Quads. Man, I tried the helo thing. Spent WAY too much money trying to master the art. I'm also a pilot (Single Engine Rated / Non-Instrument) who has friends in the helo-pilot world. Never could get the hang of it, lol. You are better than I am in the helo arena, that's for sure, lol. I'll stick with my "safe" Quads in my old age, lol

are you me!??

I also started late 90s with fixed wing, flew mainly 2 stroke 6.5-10cc some ARF some build by myself. Tried out (electric) helies, but it never "clicked".

Also got my PPL (SEL), also no instrument rating.

Got back into RC a few years back. Mainly with drones, I did buy two electric airplanes first, but only flew 2-3 times. had a Mi 4k, now basically only fly my MPP.

 

[lightbg]

Started with helis 10 years ago ( Blade CP, 400, then SR, 450, a pair of 300X), then went to small HH quads. Blade 350QX2, Yuneec Typhoon 500+, Mavic Pro, and Spark. Last year I wanted to ease into fixed wing and I bought the HH X-Vert. What a blast! I now have two of them (one has FPV) and last Friday at AMA East I picked up a UMX Timber which I plan to maiden tomorrow.

It's all good.

Jake

 

[BigAl07]

Started with helis 10 years ago ( Blade CP, 400, then SR, 450, a pair of 300X), then went to small HH quads. Blade 350QX2, Yuneec Typhoon 500+, Mavic Pro, and Spark. Last year I wanted to ease into fixed wing and I bought the HH X-Vert. What a blast! I now have two of them (one has FPV) and last Friday at AMA East I picked up a UMX Timber which I plan to maiden tomorrow.

It's all good.

Jake

I've had the pleasure of owning all of those except the Spark, V-Vert and the UMX Timber. Funny how so many of us have similar backgrounds LOL.

I picked up the Great Planes Eagle 580 (Max Chapman, Embry Riddle Version) last night for a steal. I literally got it Brand New, Ready to Go (RImFire Outrunner Motor and all) for $0.00 from a friend. I loaned him some $$ a while back and he gave me this as my "Interest Payment" on the small loan. Here's the promotional video for it:

 

[BluesDragon]

The addiction just keeps on groaning... so I feel I must feed it!

View media item 1683

 

[BluesDragon]

Finally got the Corsair setup to where I'm happy with it. Swapped the retracts with some more solid ones off another model... changed out the receiver to work with my DX6 RC.. added better wheels w/mag hubs.. and a couple other things. Still not ready to put it in the air though. I've just got to the point of flying the trainer in experienced mode. Then nosed 'er into the cotton fields, I fly over, as I was coming out of a loop way to low. Busted the prop, cowl, and motor mount... a whole $20. in parts. That's what the trainer is for though... and the Corsair can wait!

View media item 1734

 

[rfc]

My R/C Heli experience lasted one week. A friend of mine gave me a brand new gas powered thing...must have been 4' long; He said it was too hard to fly. I practiced on this spring loaded boom thingy for a couple days, hovering etc. Didn't seem too hard, so on the 4th of July took it to a pretty large gravel parking lot to "free fly" the thing. Of course none of my practice on the stand had any wind component to it.
The thing popped into the air and started drifting with the wind towards a large house with a deck filled with party goers, observing this chopper coming towards them. I was trying to fly it with my back to the wind, with it facing me (takes some skill to do that with a quad; with a conventional heli...forget it!
Nothing I was doing was keeping it from drifting ever close to smashing into the house raining debris on 50 inebriated party goers, so in a panic I just started cranking on the joysticks. Whatever I did looked like something out of a movie: The heli lifted up, rolled and dived...like a wing over on a fixed wing aircraft...it was almost completely inverted, nose down, perhaps 15' from the deck, descending at a high rate of speed, and exploded in a plume of dust and debris. it was spectacular!
I got a huge round of applause and an invite to come on deck for beers and burgers. That was the end of my heli flying.

 

[Tinmania]

As a kid growing up on Long Island, New York, in the 1970s, there was a farm a few hundred feet from my back door that had an RC field that was used in the off-season. To me those planes were the most amazing things ever. But suburban sprawl kicked in, the farm turned into a housing development, and those memories remained just a memory until 10 years ago when I finally got into R/C airplanes.

I started with an LT-40, a venerable SIG Kadet. Within a few months I had graduated to giant scale composites with 100-150cc gasoline engines and flying IMAC. An expensive hobby though, for sure, but I wasn’t married then.

I’m glad I got into the happy when I did because there were still many all timers around and I loved hearing about the technology back in the 1950s (escapements, etc.) and then advances through the years.

I drifted away from the hobby after getting married, but still have several planes out in the garage, with a lot of associated gear (which I have been “selling soon” for 3 years now).

Getting into drones, specifically my Mavic Pro, has been a real joy. It’s got the excitement, to a degree, like RC flying, but with a whole lot more technology and reliability.



Mike

 

[chezedog]

After racing Kyosho Mini-Z RC cars in my employer's basement for awhile, a couple of us bought Fighterbirds, electric RC aircraft that would "shoot" at each other using a "Sonic Combat Module". Lotsa fun, but replacing the foam wings could get expensive...

 

[BluesDragon]

View media item 1764View media item 1763
I'm lovin' this fixed wing flying! This is my most recent purchase... the PT-17 Stearman. She flies like an eagle soaring in the wind. Still got a lot to learn before I attempt to put the Corsair up. Gettin' closer to scratching that itch though!

 

[BigAl07]

View media item 1764View media item 1763
I'm lovin' this fixed wing flying! This is my most recent purchase... the PT-17 Stearman. She flies like an eagle soaring in the wind. Still got a lot to learn before I attempt to put the Corsair up. Gettin' closer to scratching that itch though!

I couldn't get the pics to come up but I know the PT-17 very well. I owned a gas 30CC version for many years and it was a BLAST to fly!!

It only gets better and better

 

[BluesDragon]

There's a lot of gaser's that fly down at the club field. I'm sticking with electrics until my skills get really good. These lil' foam electrics are easy to repair after a mishap.. or two. My mechanical/repair skills are most definitely ahead of my piloting skills so far! Which is a good thing for me and my wallet. The PNP planes are a bit less expensive then the BNF's.

 

[BigAl07]

We flew "Gassers" for many years and I still love the sound of a 4-stroker but I LOVE the convenience of the Electrics. Once I converted I never looked back

 

[Former Member]

We flew "Gassers" for many years and I still love the sound of a 4-stroker but I LOVE the convenience of the Electrics. Once I converted I never looked back

Ditto. No carbs to tune, no blades to adjust pitch. Just charge and fly. Gassers were sometimes such a pain to start.

 

[BluesDragon]

Learning on my own, I too love the sound of the gassers. Especially when they're doing the various maneuvers, I can hear how they're using throttle control to get through them. When they had the Pattern Challenge at the field, I had asked why there was not more gassers involved (there was one) and was told that the electrics just provide more torque and power... especially when going vertical. Still got a lot to learn about the differences in the electric motor sizes. I'm gettin' there though.

 

[BluesDragon]

We've been getting some heavy winds here lately. Tends to keep a lot of planes grounded. So I took the Mavic down there and did a little video of the club field.

 

[Former Member]

We've been getting some heavy winds here lately. Tends to keep a lot of planes grounded. So I took the Mavic down there and did a little video of the club field.

Looks like the windsock is fully inflated and shows a 90° crosswind. No fun for taildraggers.

It still pleases and amazes me that a drone can fly when all other fixed wings are grounded.

 

[BluesDragon]

The bigger guys don't mind a little wind, but most of them are now gone for the summer. We got a lot of snow birds in the club. I won't put up my little foamies up when the wind gets going... especially with the gusts kickin up even harder. Once my skills improve, and I can stay off the gyro, I may try more. For now, my foam tac is being used too often enough!

I also get a kick, and a few dirty looks, when they ground and I lift off with the Mavic.

 

[Drone Man Dan]

Gassers are no problem starting if you have a descent engine, like OS, Saito, Super Tiger, etc
Never had any problems in 30+ years of flying Nitro.

 

[BluesDragon]

Well, it seems the fixed wing bug has got a pretty good hold me now. The more I learn, the more my Mavic gets set to the back burner! I know... not cool, but so much creativity to be had just building these planes... and then putting them in the air. Yeah, just too much fun...

View media item 1880

 

[Former Member]

Well, it seems the fixed wing bug has got a pretty good hold me now. The more I learn, the more my Mavic gets set to the back burner! I know... not cool, but so much creativity to be had just building these planes... and then putting them in the air. Yeah, just too much fun...

View media item 1880

What are you building and do you have a place to fly them?