How many of you guys are former/current R/C modellers?

russfarris · Post by **russfarris** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 3:29 am

That post on a beautiful Cessna 170A electric R/C, and the comments about it got me to wondering...how many of you are R/C flyers, past and present?

I'll start it off. I loved airplanes as a kid - a local man flew single channel and reeds, and I was fascinated. In 1969 I saved enough for my first model, a Lanier Transit ARF powered with an O.S. 35 and a Controlaire 5 radio. Flew R/C like crazy until 1972, when I soloed a Cessna 150, but I still fooled around with models throughout my aviation career right to the present day. Now I've converted entirely to electrics, my favorite is a Mini-Funtana with an AXI 2808 outrunner. Building a Grumman Mallard from a kit, I also have a GWS Tiger Moth.

Lately, I've gotten interested in vintage equipment and models (comes with advancing age.) I fired up my 1968 M.A.N. 2-3-4 transmitter the other night, and it worked a modern Futaba rx and servos perfectly. I'll be installing the gear in a Lanier Caprice with a K & B .61, for a big vintage R/C meet in North Carolina in May.

Let's hear some more stories...Russ Farris

P.S. If any of you happen to have any pre-1970 radio systems cluttering up your garage, I would be interested!

pdb · Post by **pdb** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 8:14 am

About 2 decades ago, I had a reversal of fortune and had to sell my 1975 Taylorcraft F-19..it was a great bird. The mid 80s were tough in Alaska...

After recovering a bit financially, I decided to get an RC glider. I had built of a lot of freeflight when I was a kid so I though this would be a snap, I could fly full scale power and gliders, could build free flight, so what's the problem.

I built a beautiful 2 meter balsa glider covered in silk and installed radio gear. Trimmed out it flew hands off perfectly. The problems only started when I got my hands on the controls.

Throw, crash, throw, crash almost as quickly. The mean time between crashes was about 10 seconds but getting longer with each flight. After about a dozen crashes with only one possible rebuild left after the next crash, I humilated myself and got a foam Cox .049 EZ Bee. Dirt simple, but it flew by itself.

The mean time between crashes grew exponetially until I could actually deal with the apparent control reversal when it turns back at you. I could soon thermal it so I figured it was time to give the glider another, one last, chance.

Boy did it fly. I flew it for about another two years w/o a crash. I finally got struck by inrteference when it was about 500 ft and it spiraled in.

I still don't know which is more fun, full scale, or 2m, power or sailplanes. I am lucky because I still get to do all combinations.

Death to monocote

pdb · Post by **pdb** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 8:20 am

Russ:

PS

I think I also have the largest inventory of unbuilt Jetco Models Cessna 170 kits remaining in the free world (3). 36" 1/2A.

The electric 170 looks superb as well. I will have to get out of the mid 60s and get electrified..

Dave Clark · Post by **Dave Clark** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:18 pm

I started control line when I was about 10 and learned RC in 1972. Still do RC, mostly scale power and some soaring but have not done much in the last year or so due to other activities.

Got my pilots license in 1975.

AMA 494 CD

Bill Hart · Post by **Bill Hart** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 1:34 pm

My grandfather made models for my dad who made them for my brother and me and is still making them for my boys. My dad had free flight airplanes and progressed to control line and R/C. We still fly them occasionally. But I come from an airplane family My grandfather had an Aeronca C3 on floats and my dad had a C-140 and a Swift. Both my Dad and brother fly professionally.

Post by **Bruce Fenstermacher** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:09 pm

As a teenager I flew every Cox control line airplane that COULD fly. I didn't have the patents or the expertise at home to actually build one.

At 21 after moving out of my parents and getting married I needed a hobby. I bought a RingMaster but never built it instead getting bit by the RC bug. This would be about 1979.

I had the good fortune to have a RC club locally. One of the members names you electric guys may recognize was a fellow named Bob Kopski.

Bob an electrical engineer was one of a handful of people in the forefront of the electric powered model movement. Bob would build his own battery packs out of sub c cells that weren't readily available and wind his own motors because you couldn't buy them. Bob went on to write the Electric column for Model Aviation for many years and may still be writing it today.

Bob as well as a few others taught me how to fly model RC airplanes. In fact Bob is responsible for a saying and philosophy I still use today. He use to say when asked if it wasn't too windy to fly, "Wind is a state of mind". "If you don't mind, it won't matter". His point being don't let the wind bother you enough to crash just control the aircraft as necessary to get the job at hand done.

About 1984 I bought my first RC helicopter and learned to fly it. This without the help of any computer controlled radio mixing or rate gyro stabilization found today.

In 1986 at Army flight school I simply transferred my knowledge and skill learned with RC models to full scale and was able, to my instructors surprise and delight, hover within a 20 foot box in my first 15 minutes.

I continued flying RC becoming an instructor/test pilot for our club until I bought my first 1:1 scale Cherokee about 1991. After that my budget and free time would only allow one hobby and so model flying has taken a back seat to full scale.

Along the way two of the many people I taught to fly RC grew up from the 12 year olds when I taught them into adults getting their A&P and Private ratings. One is a CFII passing on the knowledge of flight and the other has an IA endorsement.

Guess who performs the annual inspections on my Cub. That's right my former RC student who never lets the opportunity go buy to tell someone that I taught him how to fly RC planes so many years before. The hours spent with that 12 year old looking up at his RC plane and keeping it from hitting the ground has paid of in spades I've got to tell you.

Will I ever fly RC again? Pretty good chance I will. In fact I believe though it's been more than 10 years since I last tried, I could pick up a radio and start nearly back where I left off. In fact when I view another aircraft performing aerobatics I don't visualize the stick movements that must take place in the cockpit to perform the maneuver but what movements my thumbs and index fingers would be making on the radio transmitter.

Post by **GAHorn** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 6:28 pm

N9149A wrote: At 21 after moving out of my parents and getting married I needed a hobby.

Hey, Bruce,...what does Teresa say about that comment?

Post by **Bruce Fenstermacher** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 9:56 pm

Well I think she would agree George. I don't think she envisioned being drug all over the east coast going to the AMA Nationals and baking in some very hot sun on many occasions while I competed but we had fun and she kept going.

And look what its lead up to. I now make a living flying and she now gets to travel all over the country to all the TIC170A affairs meeting fine folks like yourself and seeing places like San Diego this coming weekend. If it were not for airplanes the two of us simply would not travel.

(I know you were just joking by the comment)

N170CT · Post by **N170CT** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:38 pm

FWIW, I flew control line for several years..mostly during high school. This was before RC and during the introduction of single channel. Did some control line combat if any of you are old enough to remember that. It was a "Kill" if you got the other guys knot. Designed many of my own planes by modifying available kits. Still have one original Ringmaster kit by Sterling and a few old engines such as a brand new, never run (rare) FOX 29R engine and a slightly used FOX 35. Some props and control lines. Built a few free-flight models too. a Fubar comes to mind. We used an eye dropper for a fuel tank on some small free flight models. Anybody remember the lit fuze that burned through the rubber bands after a certain time lapse to trip the horizontal tail and bring the model down?? Just think what that would do to the authorities today

. I never used a muffler although I guess they are required now. Memories......
chuck

3958v · Post by **3958v** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:55 pm

Back in the late 80"s I got bit by the rc bug. Taught my self to fly with out an instructer. Thats not recomended for economic and safety reasons. But we survived and built several Cubs, Smith miniplane, Corsair ultimate biplane but my coolest plane was a 77" Staggerwing Beech with working flaps and retracts. RC was some of the most fun I ever had in my life. Its nice to do aerobatics and not worry about your life or your lunch. RC teaches you a lot about flying I can't count the number of guys who crashed after loseing an engine on takeoff and trying to return to the field. I had a twin for a while. It lost an engine once and I managed to figure out which one died and fed in the appropriate rudder. Then proceded to show off for my buddies. Brought it around and did a high speed pass where they could all clearly see the prop stopped. But on climb out from that pass I slowed to VMC. That was the end of being cool. The plane snapped over so fast I had no control at all. I survived that day after I cut the throttle an recovered a few feet off the ground. A few days latter I lost an engine on take off and that was the end of it. I will go back to RC some day. Its a cool way to fly several different types of planes and you dont need a medical.

Jr.CubBuilder · Post by **Jr.CubBuilder** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:05 pm

I flew and crashed 3 Carl Goldberg Eaglets, 1 Butterfly, 1 BipStik, Kaos .40, Scale P47 (on the maiden flight) and a foam SuperCub that I bought already assembled from someone else. That last one the SuperCub was great because every time it got wrecked I would just epoxy it back together, we called it frankenplane after a while.

Pavewlc · Post by **Pavewlc** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:44 am

I was big into in high school; worked 6 days a week as a line boy gassing planes and begging rides only to take my paycheck and put a Swizzle Stick .40 into the dirt every Sunday afternoon.
I think the R/C may be just as exspensive as real flying...of course I'm new to that too.

Lee

Dave Clark · Post by **Dave Clark** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 2:48 am

Build Em, Fly EM, Crash Em, Fix Em, Fly Em......well you get the idea. It can suck up more time than the internet

4-Shipp · Post by **4-Shipp** » Thu Feb 23, 2006 2:21 am

Been flying all types of models for over 35 years. Still active in RC and free flight but my main interest is still control line. Many folks think it is dead but there are actually as many members in the national control line aerobatics association than there are in the Int 170 Association!

Always fought the time issue - not enough time to go to the model field and the airport, so I brought the model field to the back yard (and am working on the full scale strip as well).

My youngest son can fly circles around me and spends several evenings every week (even in the cold) flying out back. Joy of joys!

Bruce

edit: Oh yea, actually met fellow 170er Dave Clark at a model sailplane contest!

russfarris · Post by **russfarris** » Sun Feb 26, 2006 4:21 pm

Great stories, guys! We're all fascinated by flight, from model airplanes to jet airliners. Bruce - your experience about transfering R/C skills to full-scale mirrors mine. I soloed a Cessna 150 in 1972 after six hours of dual; my instructor accused me of being a ringer...
Russ Farris