Topic: Any Radio Controlled Aircraft nuts out there?

[oldfordguy]

I noticed quite a few of you are interested in model aircraft, anyone fly R/C?  I've been flying since about 1974 (haven't flown since I started working on the bike though  )

[Rsnip988]

The bikes take over time and space,

disrupting the time space continuum with the wife

[Killer Canary]

I have a Sig Kadet with O.S. 40 and Futaba 4 channel FM that I bought and built SIXTEEN years ago and still  haven't flown! So, last winter I bought a Park Zone electric RTF with the intention of learning on and then switching to gas  and I haven't flown it yet either!The wife bought me a park flier's manual for Christmas so I guess I'll have to do something soon.
Last summer I found a killer deal on a fun scale Midwest Me-109 which I am much more interested in as I love warbirds, but guess what, I haven't built it yet either!
Are you sorry you asked?
PS
When I was 10, 30 yrs ago(give or take a few decades) my Grandma found a left behind engine in a dorm room she was cleaning in Bemidji, it said "McCoy 35"on the crankcase. I've always been curious; do you know anything about this device?
Sorry bout all the words.

[oldfordguy]

Wow, I haven't heard of a McCoy engine in long time.  I think they went out of business in the early '70s.  I've never owned one, but I remember other members of the R/C club running them.  There are guys who collect old model engines, I imagine that one would be quite collectible now.

The cadet is a great plane to learn to fly on, I've flown several myself.  The last thing I was interested in was flying combat.  Had a scratch built flying wing that was a piece of square 2" PVC downspout pipe, with a foam core wing, and elevons.  We tow a crepe paper streamer behind our planes about 30' long and then try to cut each other's streamers.  This is a lot of fun, but a lot harder than it sounds.  The plane mounts a Magnum .36 ball-bearning engine, so top speed is somewhere around 80-90 mph, and it can turn about a 12' loop at full speed.  We tried to count the roll rate once, but couldn't count that fast!  For solo flying I have a Ultrasport with a .40 and retracts. 

[nickjtc]

Like most, I dabbled in model aircraft in my youth. Started with the rubber powered ones (tissue covered, built up fuselages and wings.....aaaah the heady aroma of dope!!) and progressed to bigger stuff, both self-designed and kits. I loved building them but never really did much flying.

I'm sitting on a HOB 2-T sailplane kit that I bought 17 years ago and have decided to build this winter. Some hope, along with the reno's to Sophie and putting on all the bits acquired for the Norton and trying to get the CB175 ready for this summers Motogiro BC.......

Too much to do, not enough time....... yadda, yadda, yadda!

[Troy R]

I got a $30.00 Helicopter for christmas It has a flight time of 8 min...Then I gotta recharge it. Oh ya It's an indoor r/c

[nickjtc]

I got a $30.00 Helicopter for christmas It has a flight time of 8 min...Then I gotta recharge it. Oh ya It's an indoor r/c

Now that sounds like a lot of fun. Was it ready to fly?

[Troy R]

Ya ..It comes in a.b.or c channel .The remote actually has the selector. The actual hili is made of foam with the engine inside. It dose steer and go up and down . It is pretty cool .

[kghost]

Does yelling at the Co-pilot count as remote control? 

[tsflstb]

I got the bug for an R/C plane once.  Spent about 3 months building a kit, cutting the balsa frame, sanding, trimming, ironing on the detailed coverings.  It was beautiful.  I broke in and carefully tuned the engine on the bench.  Then I decided to fly it one day.  I checked and re-checked all the controls and had everything working perfectly. 

I powered up, took off and about 3 seconds later the sonofa#$%* hit the ground and was in hundreds of pieces.  That was the end of my model airplane career.

[oldbiker]

When I was a boy (late 1930's) I used to buy and build Americam 'Megow'  airplane kits which cost 9 old English pence. That is about 7-8 cents today. They were 9" wingspan and if you were very good they would fly about15 feet. Those were the good days!

[eldar]

well years ago I got a corsair. A low wing combat plane. cheap kit and small. used a .10 size engine. Got it together and was able to launch it by hand. Well I launched it once and was so floored that it was actually flying that I completely forgot about controlling it! It went 100-200 feet and then wingtipped into the dirt and cartwheeled. All that happened was the elevator linkage broke and a wheel came off! pretty tough for a cheap kit. Then various moves later and the rear section crushed by some clod and a rebuild completely from scratch later, I had it built and never flew it. Then I got a beechcraft staggerwing and that should have been a cool model but time never permitted me to finish it, having a kid will do that! I want to get into flying but North dakota has more wind in 5 minutes than a hurricane has in 5 weeks! or it seems like it.

[Rushoid]

I always wanted to get into it. I have too many hobbies and not enough money.

2 summers ago, my dad and I went to a r/c air show in Bardstown, KY. Mostly hand-built jets (gas turbines). Man, those things were screaming across the sky! Out of a couple hundred planes there, I only saw 2 mishaps - both minor. One guy lost control and his model slammed into the deck, perpendicular to the runway - heading right toward the cluster of other models! Somebody sacrificed his ankle by jumping in front of it to save the other aircraft. 

[dusterdude]

i think the planes are cool,i just dont have enough time to indulge all my wants as far as hobbies are concerned