RC Hobbies, how many have ground or air hobbies?

[AfterBurners]

I was just curious to see how many of us in the rocketry community share similar interests with the RC world or ground and air vehicles or both. I myself have a four nitro SCT trucks that I enjoy tinkering on...I have two of these trucks below along with a TRAXXAS Nitro Slayer and Nitro Slash.

When tuned right they haul butt.

I was thinking about attaching a trailer to one of the trucks and have it pull a portable launch pad with a low or mid power rocket and launch it remotely...I think thatwould be pretty cool

 

[dr wogz]

I fly RC.. but not as often as I would like!

(But I prefer to build!!)

 

[AfterBurners]

I fly RC.. but not as often as I would like!

(But I prefer to build!!)

i agree it seems like time is always an issue. There's always something else that takes priority with me.

 

[CaptainVideo]

Micro RC cars and quads.
[video=youtube;414A8q1GNp8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=414A8q1GNp8[/video]

 

[redleder]

I have RC. 2 Jato's, Revo 3.3, Mini Revo, Losi8T, HPI D8S, HPI WRX FLUX and a few more that I forgot the names of.


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[TRFfan]

Well too be honest i would like to get into RC planes but they are alot more expensive than rockets.

 

[AfterBurners]

I have RC. 2 Jato's, Revo 3.3, Mini Revo, Losi8T, HPI D8S, HPI WRX FLUX and a few more that I forgot the names of.


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You have a great collection. The REVO 3.3 is a great truck and design...and the Jato gets up and moves.

 

[redleder]

Thanks. Forgot I also have a Bandit VXL and Mini Losi Rally. 1 of my Jato's is bone stock and the other was custom built from the frame to be off-road. That one is a monster. My Revo 3.3 is a workhorse but needs to be worked on. My kids drive theirs more than I drive mine.


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[Mugs914]

I fly RC airplanes (as opposed to "drones" or whatever), mostly scratch built since I'm like Wogs and really enjoy building! I've gone electric with my RC planes, though I still fly control line stunt with nitro motors. My gliders, appropriately, have no motors... I also do RC boats, though it has been a while. Mostly nitro hydros, but some electrics too. Plus a couple of sailboats and scale tugs when relaxation is required.

Like you guys I don't have the time I would like to go flying or to the lake, but It is getting tough to do either one around here anyway. In SoCal there is a good portion of the population (and government) that lives in abject fear that someone else is going to have a good time. They have banned model flying of any type almost everywhere and have declared anything bigger than a small puddle a protected wetland.

Rockets aren't welcome either. No more heading down to the school yard or park with your friends on Saturday with your 'range box', Alpha and a pocket full of motors. Sad...

 

[AfterBurners]

I fly RC airplanes (as opposed to "drones" or whatever), mostly scratch built since I'm like Wogs and really enjoy building! I also do RC boats, though it has been a while. Mostly nitro hydros, but also some electric too. A couple of sailboats and scale tugs too when relaxation is required.

It is getting tough to do either one around here though. In SoCal there is a good portion of the population (and government) that lives in abject fear that someone else is going to have a good time. To that end, they have banned RC flying almost everywhere (Even electrics and gliders) and have declared anything bigger than a small puddle a protected wetland. Rockets aren't welcome either. No more heading down to the school yard on Saturday with your 'range box', Alpha and a pocket full of motors... Sad.

Hey Mugs I'm in SoCal too...what city you in?

You're right about all the restrictions. I can't even find an empty lot to run my trucks. I have to go to tracks if I want to see any dirt.

 

[MaxQ]

Been flying RC since around 1981.

The motive was seeing Luther Hux's 1/72 RC Space Shuttle on the cover of Model Aviation Sept. 1981.
Lucky for me, I was able to meet him at the local RC field he just happened to be flying at.
I built a Goldberg Falcon 56 with the intention of hauling my own scratch built shuttle from his plans.

I wasn't so good at power RC - so I tried a sailplane and got sidetracked into flying sailplanes with a great soaring club (CASA) for the next ten years.
In the meantime I found out about HPR when I saw the cover of the Tripoli magazine with a cover shot of Lovett Reddick at the local HPR launch site at Culpeper VA.

Been flying RC rocket gliders for awhile now....Aerotech RC Phoenix mostly.
Thanks for the thread...very interested in others that may have combined the RC and the HP rocketry thing.
I'm sure Frank and Scott will weigh in if they are reading this thread.

In the meantime my 1/48th shuttle is "in the bones" as they say...parked on the back of a Telemaster 40.
Way Too many hobbies...as they say.

 

[Mugs914]

Hey Mugs I'm in SoCal too...what city you in?

You're right about all the restrictions. I can't even find an empty lot to run my trucks. I have to go to tracks if I want to see any dirt.

I'm in North San Diego county in Vista. We used to have a lot of places to go fly when I was a kid. Almost any open field was fair game. But now just about everything has been shut down unless it is a club field (way out of town).

We have a great LPR launch site on Fiesta Island and HPR at a disused airfield out in the desert, but only for designated club launches. No where to go just to burn a few motors on a nice afternoon!

 

[AfterBurners]

I'm in North San Diego county in Vista. We used to have a lot of places to go fly when I was a kid. Almost any open field was fair game. But now just about everything has been shut down unless it is a club field (way out of town).

We have a great LPR launch site on Fiesta Island and HPR at a disused airfield out in the desert, but only for designated club launches. No where to go just to burn a few motors on a nice afternoon!

I'm up here in Anaheim, at least there's some openness where you are at. I have brother that lives down Vista...was a nice area years ago. I remember 30 plus years you can head south on the 15 from the 91 during the afternoon and you'd be hard press to see a dozen cars either way to Temecula and at night no one was on the freeway. Times have changed!

 

[noffie79]

I've got a 29" RC replica of the Miss Geico offshore racing boat. If the winds are light, no waves, running 6S she'll get between 50-55 mph. She jumps out of the water from a stand still. Awesome boat, but I get nervous almost every time I open her up.

https://youtu.be/raEcw1N_K1g
https://youtu.be/CNkUDR9yxUg

 

[Donaldsrockets]

I've got numerous RC boats. My fastest one is a modified Pro Boat Blackjack 24 that will go about 40+ MPH on 3S. I've also got a few Blade helis and 3 of the E-flite UMX planes. Those are great bangs for the buck.:wink:

 

[Steven]

I have a 1/5th scale Mustang and an unfinished 1/9th scale B-17G. Also have a couple of Cox plastic fantastics including a Stuka, PT-19 Trainer and their Corsair. Had sold two Kavan Jet ranger helis to a fellow in Switzerland. Oh yeah, and an oldie but goody Sr. Telemaster. A real flying lumber yard.

 

[BEC]

My RC airplane stuff has gotten back-burnered by my return to rocketry about seven years ago now. I was active in electric power back when most folks said it wouldn't work (early 1980s) and eventually did many electronic speed control, charger and the occasional airframe articles for several of the print model airplane magazines and much more on what was then known as ezonemag.com (the parent/predecessor of the behemoth now known as RCGroups.com). The activity was gradually set aside as the rocketry bug took its second, stronger hold on me.

I still occasionally fly small RC electric sport planes and am getting ready to tackle RC boost gliders in the form of the North Coast North Hawk kit I have on hand. I am beginning to feel the itch to fly my Switchback again, for example, and build another Mountain Models SmoothE - one of my all time favorite small airplanes.

I got out about the time quadcopters started to be a "thing" called "drones". (To me "drone" means a robotic aircraft and conjures images of gunnery targets in the second world war and later rather than the progeny of the DraganFlyer.)

 

[GrouchoDuke]

I've been flying r/c aircraft for over 30 years. Pretty much all types: slope gliders, pattern, scale, sport, Quickie 500, park fliers, etc. Also, one of my little side businesses is selling quadcopter parts through Amazon (I've sold on the order of 2000 of the various Emax red bottom motors since they came out). Good fun!

 

[TangoJuliet]

As a kid I really wanted to get into R/C airplanes and would drool every time I went into the hobby shop (Phil's Hobby Shop, Ft. Wayne, IN), but they were too expensive so I stuck with my rockets. I also remember seeing some of the first (I think) competitive R/C R/G's at a NAR Regional event at Chanute AFB, IL, around 1986(?) and thought maybe that was my in, but it was still too cost prohibitive for me (my family) then. I bought my first R/C airplane kit, a Super Sportster 20, after I joined the USAF in 1989. I finished it in 1991! I had an experienced friend fly it first. That's when I learned the lesson of "biting off more than I could chew" - That airplane was NOT a beginners model! I got wise and sold it for a trainer style model and solo'd by 1993. I've stayed in R/C off and on over the years, though I'm kind of in an off period right now. I started a 1/6 scale Fairey Firefly about a year and a half ago, but got burnt out and put it aside. I had also gotten into R/C sailplanes in recent years and really enjoyed the relaxation they provided (I had a high-stress job at the time) - no nitro/gas engines to tune/tweak! The one thing about R/C though, it's still expensive! I've built about two dozen LPR/MPR rockets in the last 9 months for a fraction of the cost of one R/C airplane and the requisite parts. I'd really like to build a competitive R/C R/G though. :wink:

 

[Jackball74]

I've been intrigued by R/C aircraft forever, but never got into it due to the price. Now that it's getting harder to launch in my area, I'm considering biting the bullet and shopping around for a glider.

 

[TangoJuliet]

By far the best beginners glider I have flown is the Radian! https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/airplanes/airplanes-14501--1/ready-to-fly/radian-rtf-pkz4700

Yes, it's an ARF. Yes, it's made of foam. Yes, it has an electric motor with a folding prop on it. None of those things I typically care much for, but all that aside, it is the model that got me hooked on sailplanes. It'll catch a thermal and be nearly out of sight before you know it! After my Radian, I bought an Oly II from https://www.skybench.com/index.html?https://www.skybench.com/home.html and built it. I was also in the process of building a Skybird XL before I bought my house and moved (it's now on a shelf in a closet, half built).

 

[ttabbal]

Getting started in R/C planes doesn't have to be expensive. Orange, FlySky, FrSky radio gear, servos etc from Hobbyking.. For a trainer plane, I love the Crash Test Hobbies Albatross. Super tough EPP foam, easy to build and fly. From there, lots of options. I actually started in large part to learn to fly to I could do RC/RG. I got hooked and still fly my electric foamies. I do have a nice boost glider ready to go though. Just waiting for nice weather for it at a launch. I could fly it on my own, but I like the open spaces at the club field.

 

[AfterBurners]

I've got a 29" RC replica of the Miss Geico offshore racing boat. If the winds are light, no waves, running 6S she'll get between 50-55 mph. She jumps out of the water from a stand still. Awesome boat, but I get nervous almost every time I open her up.
View attachment 317268View attachment 317269
https://youtu.be/raEcw1N_K1g
https://youtu.be/CNkUDR9yxUg

Awesome!!!

 

[georgegassaway]

Been doing RC since 1975, with an Ace "Baby" rudder-only system (Magnetic Actuator). Although most of that was with a glider tossed off a small hill for 30 second flights. In 1977-78 I really got into flying RC once I got an Orbit digital RC system (4 channels with servos) and a Goldberg Ranger 42 ARF foam plane powered by an .049 engine that ran for 5 minutes (no throttle!). Learned to fly it myself. Only time it crashed was 1980 when the old nicads went bad over time, the plane went out of control and crashed vertically very fast, totaled (killed the receiver too). After that I mostly did RC Sailplanes (Goldberg Gentle Lady) off a hi-start, as I wanted to learn flying thermals.

First R/C Rocket Boosted Glider was in 1980, rudder-only with the old Ace Baby system. A homebuilt glider based on the "Flagship" design. And later made a bit bigger model using 2-channel R/C gear.

Many different kinds of R/C RBG's since then. Contest and sport.

Orbital Skydart Project

And lots of contest Rocket Boosted Gliders, including at NARAM and S8E at WSMC's.

Non-rocket planes of recent years have mostly been electric powered gliders. I had converted one of my HLG's to electric, then began flying Radians. Also fly non-gliders, like a Flying Wing, and an Easy Star which handles much like the old Ranger 42. i'm not into aerobatics or screaming-fast planes.

Last few years, also got into multicopters. Built my own from "scratch", in a way. Got a bare nylon frame for a 250 sized Quad , googled a shopping list of parts to get for it, and how to assembly/wire it up. And learned about setting up the Flight Controller for it, using the Arducopter Mission Planner software. Plus adding GPS to it so it could fly back by itself or loiter in one place without drifting downwind. Got it flying, and flying well. And that gave me the experience and confidence to build the 1/16 R/C Lunar Module Quad: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?137174

That's my ultimate 100% R/C aircraft project. Not too far from completion now. Descent Stage no longer naked balsa.

 

[BEC]

George,

Putting an Ace actuator in a boost glider.....that's a really intriguing idea. I wonder what the rudder actually did while it was on boost, considering the torque those things didn't have.

My first RCs were also Ace rudder only. I tried to start flying them while in High School, but being in Santa Fe, NM in the summer (where small glow engines don't work very well - but rockets fly higher) worked against me. I had also attempted to fly a Carl Goldberg Skylane 42 on Ace pulse rudder. Had to put an O.S. 10 on it to get it to fly at all in Santa Fe.

I never really had any RC success until after college and moving to Washington state. I think my first successful Ace R/O airplane was a Nomad - designed by Ted Strader and kitted by House of Balsa - a 48 inch span glider with a Cox Pee Wee .020 on a pylon. This was a plane started in college and not finished until after I started working for Boeing.

Then I built an Airtronics Q-Tee - parasol wing .049 airplane. It successfully lugged a Hobby People two channel proportional system around - two 1.5 ounce servos, a receiver that weighed about two, and four AA cells for power. My first somewhat successful electric was a 6/7 downscale Q-Tee powered by an Astro Flight 020 (can motor from Igarashi) on four 550 mAh GE NiCds. Radio was a small Royal receiver and two Ace R/C micro servos (which, at 0.7 oz. each are huge compared to what is a micro servo these days). That airplane was probably good for three minutes or so on a charge before it no longer had enough power to maintain level flight. This would have been in 1980 or 81. I was fully electric from not too long after that, though I still own a couple of Medallion .049s and an O.S. Wankel .30 (thereby hangs another story for another time).

 

[Steven]

I would have enjoyed getting my hands on a "Heath Kit" radio. Boy, those things looked quite impressive and reasonably priced too as you 'built' it yourself with not much more than a knife and soldering gun. I remember the 'escapement' radios of the time too. I believe Ace was in this category as well as others. Another radio I would have enjoyed getting my hands on were the "Kraft" series. Top of the line as far as radios went back then.

 

[Steven]

I also remember the "Galloping Ghost" systems as well.

 

[JoeG]

For those who think the "R/C" hobby it too expensive it all depends on what you want to do. Actually, it is much like the rocket hobby. The cost depends on your involvement. You can fly Estes model rockets for just pennies compared to a level 3 project. There are small foam airplanes and quadcopters (I really do not like the term drone) that you can purchase ready to fly for between $25 and $100. Yes, on the high side, you can spend as much as you have on any hobby. Estes, of all companies, has an indoor quadcopter called Proto X that is very cheap and flies very well.

I have been flying R/C since 1975 and have dabbled in many different aspects of the hobby. I have spent enough money to give cause for my wife to ask for a divorce.....but she hasn't yet. I could say the same of my expenditures in the rocket hobby. My son and I have traveled all around the country to R/C and rocket events over the years. The time we spend together is probably the saving grace. Currently we are competing in R/C Scale. Technically, He's competing and I'm entering some of the lower classes. I have airplanes from the small "foamies to 40% scale giants and engines (internal combustion) from .020cid Cox glow engines to 160cc gasoline 7 cylinder radials. There are much larger engines out there and we haven't even discussed turbines.

I love anything that leaves the ground. Kites, rockets, airplanes, balloons, etc. Good thing I wasn't around during the barnstorming days because I just know my life would have been shorter.

 

[jadebox]

I have a couple of quadcopters, but I think of them more as supporting my photography hobby. They don't require much skill to fly (you basically just tell them where to go). Sometimes, I fly one just for fun, but not often. If I had the time, I think I'd enjoy building a larger one from the large selection of parts available and tinkering with it. Also, if I had the time, I'd love to build, and learn to fly, a traditional R/C helicopter. Since I don't have the time, I'll just read about the cool stuff George is doing!

I have an R/C model of a 2005 Ford Mustang that I enjoy playing with sometimes. I saw one in the dealership when we picked up our full-scale Mustang and decided I needed one of those. It took a while to find one for sale online. Even though it's a battery-powered toy, it reaches impressive speeds and accelerates quickly. The first time I set it loose in the street in front of our house, I managed to run it straight into a curb at high speed. Fortunately, there was no damage.

-- Roger

 

[jazzviper1]

I have both cars and planes, been doing both on and off for a couple of decades.