cutaway

So I'm out flying doing a wild "fly it like you stole it" demo for newbie guy who'd never seen a C/L plane before and one of the other R/C fliers at the field (who's been flying for several years) walks over to the C/L circle wanting to know what frequency I'm on ;->

Maybe one of the other guys sent him off looking for a left handed screwdriver or maybe he had radio problems and was looking for someone to blame ;->

Azcat59

Hey Cutaway, I'm an old U/C stunt pilot, and now fly RC (don't hold it against me!), and especially with the current influx of ARFs almost ready to fly, you wouldn't believe how dumb some of the newbies are! We see fewer and fewer owner-built airplanes at the field anymore...too bad, they don't now what they are missing!

Clair Sieverling
AMA 15654

downunder

I know what you mean. One day at the field I was running in an engine mounted on my portable work bench over by the car park to keep the noise away from the flight line. An RC guy asked me what frequency I was using for throttle control. Unbelievable.

Once when I was flying I was asked what frequency I was on but I knew he was just joking so I called out 21 metres .

cutaway

Yea I would. We got a similar crop of'em.

What's a little shocking is the ones who have been in it for decades and still can't tell when their engine is too lean (deadsticks near the end of every 4th flight or so), when the glow plug is shot, or constantly executing hard turns low and slow on landing resulting in tip stalls and cartwheels. I mention something like a clunk uniflow w/muffler pressure setup to cure some of their inverted climb deadsticks and get a blank stare from guys that have been doing this for 30 years.

gcb

Perhaps a good response would be, "One flight after another until someone else wants the circle".

I like the "21 merers" response also.

George

skaliwag

My Feedback: (1)

Reply to downunder..... Man ..29 meters...... That is awfully loud.

Lou Crane

I've threatened to go through a "full range check" at any RC field that requires it before flight:

Clothespin on board with " 2 x 0.015 x 60' "...(or whatever...)

Connect the lines:

Make like pulling the throttle lever on a Roberts' type 3-line handle and holler "Throttle... Check!"

Wave the handle left and right, and call out, "Rudder... Check!"

Twist the handle clockwise and counterclockwise on an axis through my forearm, and call out, "Aileron... Check!"

Move the handle up and down, and call out "Elevator...Check!"

If I get that far with this, no one can say I DIDN'T do the required range check. I expect some past, and potentially future returning, ukies would start laughing and destroy the mood...

Boeing727

My Feedback: (1)

I thought this thread was humorous until just the other day .... there was a ukie guy doing his thing while the R/Cers were doing theirs .
This older guy looked at me and asked , straight faced , why the guy was "flying around and around himself like that. What's he trying to prove, that he's good " ?
At first I didn't get it - and then it dawned on me - he honestly was convinced it was an R/Cer simply showing off..and when I briefly explained the painful details to him he continued to stare at this guy----------and then me -----------and then simply said " that's no reason to show off. Why can't he just get out there and FLY IT , like everyone else" !

At that point I gave up and didn't even have the energy or inclination to even waste time laughing at him.

What a world !

gcb

It's funny. When many of us started, you flew either CL or FF. Some gravitated to RC (assuming they had the money), which became a FF when the rubber band on the escapement wound down.

Now guys usually start with RC, and try CL or FF to expand their horizons.

Perhaps you should have walked the guy over close enough to see that the guy was holding a handle instead of a transmitter. Some folks occasionally have a "thick" moment.

George

rcdude7

My Feedback: (264)

Whaaaat?!?....................you mean I don't have to range check my flitestreak?

Wow, old habits die hard I guess..................

LSF2298

My Feedback: (4)

Should have told him. Majic 102.7, Oldies but Goodies.

da Rock

We fly on frequency .018 and it's dual conversion. At least we have two wires and they're usually oh-eighteens.

And we do range check. One guy holds the "transmitter" while the other walks out to the model and pull...... uh, insures the model has a solid connection to the transmitter.

gcb

Hmmm...I fly .008, .012, and .015's...don't think I currently have any .018's.

George

Brokenprop

My Feedback: (6)

We have a circle about 100 yards from the r/c pits. It's not uncommon for an r/c pilot(??) to storm over to see what frequency the c/l flyers are on. What was more surprising was the decision one youngster made. After learning to fly both R/C and C/L fairly well past the beginner level, with his dads support, he annouced that C/L was more fun and abandoned R/C.

Overheard in the R/C pits more than once, "Those guys are using radios over there, I'm getting hit!"

Lou Crane

Hey,Clair,

One of my favorite models was your El Conquistador/Fox35. Missed you at a Tucson VSC a few years ago... Much regretted! The El C and Phoenician were stone basic CL Classic greats. Your other published models were also FINE!

CL is still much more physical than spring-loaded Q-Tips in a cigar box (my personal reaction to RC) and we don't have to wait to see what the model does to decide what to do next... We FEEL it right now before the model moves...

Good to see you in here! There are some excellent CL fliers in the Phoenix area, in Stunt, Racing, Speed, Carrier AND Scale! And we are still the best friends you'll find in model flying - we have to trust our launchers, and earn the trust of those others who launch for us...

"What goes around comes around..."

Azcat59

Thanks for the compliments, Lou!

While I am now in RC and enjoy it, I fondly remember my U/C days, and get tempted at times to build one and learn not to get dizzy all over again!
Some young lads showed up at our RC field several years ago wanting help with a half-A stunter somebody had given them, and I got elected to help. I didn't figure my buddies could get the .049 running anyway.....well, they did, and that plane flew pretty well, but I figured it would last about seven laps or so and then run out of gas, but it went, and went, and went......and I got really dizzy. Figured I'd do a loop since it seemed to have enough power to do it, and that was worse, looking up at the top of the loop I thought I'd fall over backwards! So you guys can have a good laugh at my expense! The second flight I got the young man out on the handle, and he did very well with it.

I made the VSC last year and was greatly honored to sign the wings of two Phoenicians that were there, and saw the flight of one that would have probably beaten any flight I ever flew with it! I had intended to make the VSC this year as well, but due to a knee replacement followed by the flu, I was grounded. I hope it all went well with the guys, it is always good to see them.

Clair

ARUP

Hi- I just read this post today. Very funny posts here. I used to get 'what ARF is that?' asked of me frequently by RC flyers at the LRCC field when they would look at my airplanes. It was almost insulting! Those folks didn't know much about anything- FF, CL, RC or otherwise!

50+AirYears

Believe it or not, there are people in my RC club are trying to find space for a CL circle at our field. Most of them flew CL at one time or another. Out of over 100 fliers, there are even several of us who fly CL, FF, and RC.

As far as a previous comment about how even long-term RC only fliers have some aeronautical knowledge gaps, some years ago, one of the club's better fliers, and an instructor, (over 30 years with the club) was trying to sort out a newbies flat bottomed wing trainer. The trouble they were having was that when the elevator was trimmed out for level flight at about 3/4 throttle, if the throttle was advanced, the plane would nose up, and at lower speeds, up elevator had to be cranked in. He was going nuts trying to adjust the elevator trim. He actually askled me for advice. My suggestion was to apply some washers to shim the back of the engine lugs. In other words add some downthrust. Took 2 6-32 washers, under each rear lug, plane became well behaved, kid learned to fly, went on to aerobatics and fun flyers, then cars, girls, and Navy. Haven't seen him since.

Some FF and CL experience can help all of us. One Saturday, about 15 years ago, several members of a local FF club were out on the edge of our previous field, trying to trim some of their planes (FAC scale) for a contest at the nearby Community College. Most guys were spending as much time watching them as flying their own RC planes. Finally, I got asked to see if the FFers could have a few minutes to try one of the larger models. I passed the word, an not only did RC flying stop, but there was no dirth of volunteers to help Dennis Norman set up and wind his 4 motored rubber scale Tupulov Bear bomber. The RCers who were there were talking about watching it get it's 1:22 flight for weeks afterward. Some of the guys who went to some of the contests as spectators were astounded the FFers would fly even Peanut scale rubber models in winds the RCes wouldn't even bring their planes out in

RVman

Nice thread, no one up here fly CL anymore but most club guys at least know what it is. I fly RC and CL, love the comments.