Rufcut

My friends and I were talking about the cost of our hobbies a few weeks back. Everyone seemed to think RC airplanes were the most expensive until we compared the costs. I estimate I've spent about 3K since I started 10 years ago. Admitedly, I took about 4 years off and just recently started back flying.
Lets see.........
RC model airplane guy - 3k
Gun guy - more than that in 2 pistols
Fisherman guy - more than that in one fly rod
Boating guy - more than that for a boat motor
Motorcycle guy - more than that for accessories on his Harley
Don't foget the wife - she has more than that in one saddle

The big grin on my face........priceless

Come to think of it, I think I'll take another look at the sale going on at Tower Hobbies.

Rufcut

flyX

You just have to take it one model at a time.
ya know..I got into this hobbie becuase I quite drinking.lol

But the love of aviation came before the booze and the girls.
It's more of an obsession. On a good day..I can aprrociate that an ex drunk like me can actaully glue a bunch of sticks
together and actaully make it fly.lol On a bad day I'll just put her into a death spiral just for kicks.
Something about being acoc.lol i like to build things and just destroy them. I nevered really wanted to belive about some
of the BS of those 13 triats.lol

Somtimes..on a quite evening before the sunset as I watch her soar through the heavens full of pink clouds.
For a moment i feel peace in the mist of this crazy thing call life.
i still have a rough time with the g-d thing after all these year of doing those 12 things but know what peace is.
Nutt'in like waking up he smell of nitro.lmao

a65l

My Feedback: (17)

It wouldn't be so bad if it was just the planes. But nobody I know has just planes. They usually have a car, or two, or three, and maybee a boat, or a tank, or a couple racing boats. And it's addictive. I started in cars, and got out of them for airplanes, now I find myself with a few. And boats.... half my flying field's racing boats this year. <sigh> It never ends....


A

fozjared

we must be some kin, i have so many life long hobbies it is unreal! and i can't afford any of them! i followed you from drag racing to handguns (minus oil painting) and digital electronics to airplanes, plus several more along the way! (mountain bikes, dirt bikes, crotch rockets, cruisers, fast cars galore, 4x4 monster mudder with a corvette engine, classic car restoration, and i can't forget metal fab!!) i have more hobbies than anyone should be allowed, the price of any hobby is high when you get in as deep as i get into each of them!

fozjared

haha, i wonder if you have as much time on ls1tech.com as i do?

ErikElvis

My Feedback: (2)

Yup use to live on there before I jumped into this hobby.

daveopam

My Feedback: (9)

I don't think it's that bad. Not that I'm loaded, I have to choose between a hot rod or this. But people outside the hobby are always telling me how expensive it is. Mean time they have a $30,000 bass boat in the drive. Or drop $125 a stick on new club's or have a Harley they ride 25 times a year.

Also don't forget the therapeutic aspect of it. Going to the bar once a week cost way more than glow fuel.

David

kid chuckles

I also came to this sport from Dirt Track racing besides just 25-30 dollar pit passes just a tire was 100.00 I spent for 14yrs straight at least 300.00 a week and when it came a motor changing week the price went to around 5000.00 over the yrs. I would say 300.000.00 and that is just a guess probabaly more. This sport is cheap compared to some. Not Cheap but comparing to Dirt Racing the right way cheap is understatemet.

JPMacG

My Feedback: (2)

I don't see it as an expensive hobby. Just about any other hobby I can think of is equally or more expensive. RC was a more expensive hobby years ago. RC radios and engines are much less expensive today (in inflation adjusted dollars) than when I was a kid in the 1960s.

I probably spend more driving to the flying field twice a week than I do on RC stuff.

Stick 40

After being in awhile, you can move hardware from a old plane to a new one. But it takes time to build the warehouse to get the used parts from.

I did not know what it would cost, but my son and I were racing rc cars and planes could not be worse. They are not, but I quit smoking and I needed something to do with my hands and time. Flying and kit building looked like a good idea. My wife agreed that I could take the money I spent on smoking and use it anyway I wanted to, and thats the start of it. I don't think my planes cost me anything, I would have smoked the money up anyway. That was 25 years ago sence I quit, glad I quit smoking.

Hossfly

ErikElvis, I voted that I knew it was expensive, however I don't think the SPORT is expensive relatively to other sports and for what one can get out of the model aviation SPORT.
I started building models around 5 years old. Im now 72. First, they were just stick and tissue, plus solid models. Then came some "rubber powered" ???? and then gas CL. I mean GAS, the old time spark ignitions, and then into glow. I have never been wealthy, however I have been able to afford my basic needs and some family fun.
Compared to Bass Boats, Deer Hunting, select fishing trips, Golf and keeping school kids in the world of school sports, this Model Airplane Sport is CHEAP, especially after one gets into it for a few years.
After one gets to flying fairly well, IMO, one misses a whole 'nother part of the sport if one fails to build on his own. Actually, I think I rather build than fly.

Hang in there and do what YOU ENJOY. In this sport one does NOT have to stay ahead of the Joneses, or have the latest gadget someone is selling, to have many hours of enjoyment. It is YOUR hobby/sport so do what pleases YOU! That helps control costs unless you are a compulsive shopper, then look out big time. There is so much to HAVE!

flynte

I kinda knew the hobby could get addictive, just didn't know how addictive r/c is. Started by building a kit, then another kit, then a couple ARFs, a truck, another ARF, another truck, another ARF, heli, nitro bike, 2 more ARFs, nitro snowmbile, another ARF.

Now I'm looking at another ARF and looking at starting another kit. [sm=drowning.gif].

But as Hossfly puts it, it's actually 2 hobbies in one, the building/assembling and operating. Kinda a 2 fer 1 deal. So not that bad..lol

I guess if you factor in that it's almost to the point where I need to add another bay to the shop and need to buy a trailor [sm=spinnyeyes.gif] I guess it could be considered expensive.

flynte

timothy thompson

My Feedback: (1)

20,000 a year easy

Stick 40

Your right to a point, but I think its three. Building, flying and motors (elect or glow and gas). Its takes a lot to make a rc plane fly, one mastake and it goes into the ground. I don't think I lot of us realize how much goes into making these things fly, you guys do something great and we don't thinks about it.
I fly there fore I am!!!!!!!!

kid chuckles

Like the others said once you get some inventory built up then you don't have to spend as much. But alos when your switching gear form one to another you usually have just crashed lol. But the planes are realitivly then smaller price of rebuilding. The motors, electronics, wiring, batteries, etc. this is what ends up costing. You can have a 1200.00 ARF and the plane was only a small part. Then if something happens you take everything and put it in something else of the same plane. I would hate to have worked on a plane for months crash and have to start over. For me that is not fun and why I use ARF's. To each his own and hopefully when you get new stuff it is just for a new plane and the swapping of parts is not necessary. Unless your just taking from old and putting in new. I hate robbing parts from crashed planes as I intend to get the same plane at some time or another and know I have just what it will need. So i end up with alot of stuff. NOT ENOUGH THOUGH lol.

Jetdesign

My Feedback: (8)

Good points above. I thought this was expensive, and waited until 30 to get into flying planes. But I just realized I have a $1200 pair of skis in my closet- yes, just skis!

kid chuckles

Edited:Sorry got way off topic and was talking about weather. Expence is great in this sport there you go.