zvez

HI,
For all intents and purposes a beginner. I actually flew RC back when I was 12-13 years old ca. 1973-5. I even worked as an RC runner at the nats at Lake Charles in 73-and 74! Kinda thinking I might like to get back into the hobby. Lots of things have changed and yet many have stayed the same.

It seems to me a lot of the electronics have gotten much better, and is it my imagination or in comparison to other things have the radios gotten less expensive than they were in the 70s?

Any rate, shall enjoy looking around and seeing all the changes. Used to love building kits but I see now that ARFs and RTFs have come a looooooooong way since I flew.

Chris

ho2zoo

My Feedback: (5)

Gosh, they had RC back in 1973?!?
I'm JUST KIDDING!
Yes, the electronics are a lot cheaper and smaller! And it seems to be pretty rare that anyone would build a kit any more. And that's a shame!
But welcome back!

skylark-flier

Hey Chris, welcome back to the world of insanity!!! Yeah, much has changed since '73, some is still the same - but more fun. Electronics are smaller, lighter, and GROSSLY more reliable, engines have evolved hugely. If you have glow engines from that period and intend to run them, be sure to add a fair amount of castor oil to your fuel - about 9 ounces per gallon of modern fuel. But, then, glow engines aren't the "king" of flying that they used to be - there's the modern ignition engines that are really great now, and the electrics - - well, there are affordable electrics out there today that can lift almost anything. That's probably the biggest change in the whole hobby over the past 40 years.

Speaking of old radios, I still have a couple of the old Krafts and Cox Sanwas from the early 1970's - and they still work just fine - but I don't fly them anymore. They're just not narrow bandwidth enough for today's radio environment. The big radio push today is the 2.4GHZ bunch, and every one of them seems to be outstanding. One transmitter is capable of handling a nearly unlimited number of planes - a big change from back then.

It's true about ARFs/RTFs - they're apparently the wave of the future, which, I think, is kinda sad. People today either don't have the time or don't want to MAKE time to build a plane and learn about it - they just want to fly - and there's really nothing wrong with that. I'm an "old timer" now, I learned to build with Guillows kits in the 1950's, and I'm actually in the middle of a build right now - SIG Kadet Mk-II. I'm thinking that this will probably be my last build so I'm going "old school" a bit, covering will be SIG Koverall and dope, and there's no CA anywhere in the plane - all old glues and glue styles. Kinda fun this way.

The build, as it stands today:
First pic is what it looks like, from the SIG website. Wings are done and waiting to be mated to the fuselage, fuse is sanded and ready to go together, tail is framed and ready for covering. I'm getting there, slowly.

Anyway, the kits ARE still out there, just not as many and you sometimes have to look a bit to find what you want.

Anyway, welcome back. Have fun!!

jetmech05

Welcome back if you're near Jacksonville come on down to gateway rc.
Then Feb 28 and March 1st in Perry Ga is the worlds largest swap meet if you need something it is fore sale there

zvez

Thanks for all the details! Amazingly enough, I learned to fly with a K&B 45 Sig Kommander. That plane caught hell from me and crashed more times than I cared to remember!

My friend learned (same time as me) on a Sig Kadet.

Must same I'm a bit overwhelmed by how all the big scale planes have come along. It was a big deal back in the 70s when our club founder brought is 9 ft. wingspan aeronca champ!
Chris

zvez

I'm actually in Columbus GA which is not too far from Perry, I might try to ride down to that.

hookedonrc

I for one can't imagine what the changes are like for you. I took 5 yrs off when the hobby went from 72 MHz to 2.4 and the switch to gas from glow began to appear in the smaller engines. For me, it is the electronics, mostly the radios. The first time I programmed a new plane I kept thinking I had forgotten to do something because it has become so easy with the new interfaces. I have a Spektrum DX8 that holds up to 30 planes in it's memory and you can load programming through the SD card. I never have 30 planes flying at one time, so I have a new goal to reach.

Welcome back to the madness!

jester_s1

Yep, we've got 'em both bigger and smaller than you remember, and the equipment is worlds better than it used to be. There are purpose built gas engines for RC all the way up to 250cc for the 40% scale aerobats, electric power systems that have better power to weight ratios than glow, factory built ARF planes that are nearly as good as what a skilled builder can produce, foam planes that perform pretty well, ducted fan jets and real turbines, and helicopters that will blow your mind. That said, the classics are still around- the Sig Kadets and 4 Stars, Ugly Sticks, Cubs in every size you can imagine, and contests. Some older pilots complain that things have changed since the good ol' days, but nothing has to change for you if you don't want it to. We have more choices than ever, better quality equipment than ever, and it's cheaper and easier than ever. Welcome back to the hobby.

Hossfly

Welcome back Chris. There are lots of good kits around. Some are mail-order and depending on the size you want, there are a number of suppliers. One has to go on-line to find them. Dumas has many kits, mostly of rubber band and some electric. www.dumasproducts.com There is www.easybuiltmodels, mostly in small rubber powered stuff, but a BUILDER can do wonders with using those kits and build up for electric or .15-.40 engines. Great for the real modeler. BTDT Took a E.B. Hurricane kit, 50" span, added some ribs and planking and flew it very competitively using a .28, in RC Scale Pylon Racing. Don't ask me how it became disabled? Of course it was the WIND? Surely!
Another cute small operation is Retro Models. Excellent people, www.RetroRC.us.com some neat stuff mostly different from the run-of-the-mill electric kits.

One small error: theAMA '73 NATs were in OSHKOSH in 1973. The next year was Lake Charles. In 1972, the Navy canceled Glenview Nats. I grabbed some friendly persons in the hobby and we got Glenview back for 1972. Even AMA's Ex. Director was difficult for the event, but we "got 'er done!" Thanks to the late Johny Clemens, then AMA Pres. we got it back, but for only ONE week and NO Navy Manpower allowed. I served as the Manpower Director, but not a problem as there were many Volunteers in Chicago Land.
In 1973 we invaded Oshkosh right after the large Air Show. One "L" of a mess. There I served as the Man Power Director and Assistant Control-Line Director.
It was difficult to get all that we needed there in Oshkosh, but we made it. Most of the RC folks had brought help. Excellent! CL and FF folks knew me as I was still active in CL and FF since coming to Chicago-Land in 1968 as a new United Air Lines pilot. In late 1975-81 I served a term as AMA Contest Coordinator in AMA Dist. VI
then 2 terms as Dist. VI AMA Vice President.
So there we were and here we are. Best of luck to you and all. Jump in the new stuff and enjoy, just don't forget all the stuff.

zvez

thanks for the tips! I noted that towerhobbies is still around and I bought loads of stuff from them in the past. They've got an rtf that looks pretty good and got good reviews the avistar. I'm going to get back in touch with my old club (I was a charter member) and only a couple charter members still in the club.

So it must've 74, 75 for Lake CHarles, I did go two years in a row. Didn't the nats stay there for several years? One thing I'm disappointed, it seems quarter midget racing is gone, the small race series with .15 engines.(the rossi was the kick butt motor then). It also seems formula 1 pylon racing is gone as well.

Heck you might remember one of the guys I came out with to the Lake Charles events. Al Algood, he did all the radio checks with a spec analyzer to make sure all were correct frequency. Learned alot from him, a really sharp guy. He always had the latest and greatest of everything. First in our club with a helicopter and he had the bud nosen 9' wing aeronca champ which was always a crowd pleaser.

jester_s1

Racing is still around, though it has changed. There are a couple of Q500 divisions depending on how much engine you put on and how fast you go. A fairly new thing is Electric Formula 1 if the electrics interest you.

And I can vouch for the Avistar. It's the trainer of choice in my club due to the wind that is always there. It's stable enough and slow enough for training, but handles wind decently and isn't half bad for sport flying and the most basic aerobatics.

Hossfly

Tower Hobbies is still around alright. Tower is a subject of Great Planes (to me Great PAINS) which is a step down from Hobbico, INC. Horizon became, In my Opinion, the first step off Great Planes. They all became a subject of B.Paul in Philadelphia. I was up on that in the '70s and '80s but not anymore. In 1970, I was afraid that I was going to get furloughed from UAL so I opened a Hobby Shop in Mt. Prospect, IL. Worked very well. About 1980 I sold it out to another big store in Wheeling, IL.
Needed more time to play and scare up the folks at AMA. HA HA! Around 1981, I devised a procedure to entice the FCC to let go of the new RC Frequencies and with that I, AMA Dist VI DVP, and the AMA Frequency Chairman, decided to ..."get out of Dodge." It worked! 'Nuff said! Enough of that.
The NATs were in several places. I went to one other in Kansas or Nebraska. Can't remember. Went to one out East but for a short stay. I have made several at Muncie, however all those were for just visiting and chewing the fat with some buddies.
Modeling is still a big thing, way beyond those 60s thru year 2000. There is so much available and so much to do with so much available. Wherever you are, my bet is there is a good club nearby. Some are snotty but most will welcome a new guy. I live back in TX now. So much activity around the SE TX area. I am sure you will find same wherever you are. Some folks do have trouble with clubs and club (AMA) rules. I do but can let it go when I see a need for such. Real newbies have trouble with rules and regulations, especially in the Clubs. It all falls away after a while. Some newbies P&M about rules. Then after a while you can find them telling some other newbie how important the discipline is.
If you are in the SE TX area, check out my main Club. www.jetero.com. Great site. I am on the Instructor list. Lots more to talk about.
Best of luck to you.