ES CONTROL

When I started out with this hobby I bought only what I needed it cost me $150.00 over a 8 Mo. time in 1985.
and than around 200. a year for 1986 and 1987 .

20 years later I wanted back in. I bought a Tower60 trainer with a La65 OS engine. Tower 4Ch. Radio. And a flight box with everything . for around $500.00
year 2 another 600.
Year 3 500.
year 4 700.
year 5 500.
year6 2000.

Most people tell me this hobby as very expensive. But never think twice about 20.00 a day to stop at a Min. Mart. for lunch. or the price of the other hobby they have justified.

ES CONTROL

Sorry I forgot  to include Props ,Fuel and  Lipo battery packs.

ES CONTROL

I am not able to account for cost of repair .  so add 200 a year to my first post.  And I think It would be close.

KitBuilder

A roiund of golf at a descent course is $40 say 2 rounds per month.. . Clubs 300-ish.. shoes 40, balls 20, more balls 20...ball retreiver 10, bag 50, gadgets 50...

I play golf but not at 40 dollar courses... maybe 1 once a month. Even though I play with firends.. I have much much much more fun at the field dollar per dollar. Everyone has thier vice and mine is building and flying. The cost has come way down as well over years past.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Its all about prioritys. As a retired single widower its near the top of the list, sooooooooo

Jim_Purcha

My Feedback: (8)

Let's not forget our weekly or bi-weekly fix coffee fix at Starbucks or Tim Hortons. Easy to burn through $20.00. (20x52)=$1040.00.
Don't show my wife this thread.

Jim

Pylonracr

Compared to full scale pylon racing this is downright cheap. We all have hobbies, addictions, or whatever you want to call them, and manage to fit them into our budgets. This hobby is not too bad, and the fun per dollaris hard tobeat.

speedracerntrixie

My Feedback: (29)

I agree and in my case it can be a family activity. I do some side work on other guys models to help out as well. When I build an airplane I want, sometimes I build 2 and sell off the second one.

jester_s1

I do it on the cheap. I scan the local classifieds for guys getting out of the hobby. My most recent find was 3 airplanes with 3 engines, a radio, a field box, and a big box of "stuff." I paid $170 and went to pick it up. I didn't need the engines or the radio, so they brought $160. So after shipping, I'm about $40 invested in three banged up but flyable planes, a new field box, and probably $200 worth of props, tanks, fasteners, etc.

bdtsr

My Feedback: (5)

Picked up a LOT of my planes from those moving up, moving to something different, those just moving, and those that were crashed but repairable. The most I ever spent on a plane and engine combo was $1000 and I won that at a casino in the Bahamas! My son and I have over 60 planes at the moment, everything from a Vapor to a 103" Edge 540.

We also boat and fish. Boat tank holds 140 gallons and burns 11gph. Much better than the 18gph motor that was on it though. Still a good day on the water is a $100 or better for fuel alone. Slip rent is $1800 but I work that off by fixing their rental boats.

Bartering and swapping is how I can make most of this happen.

jester_s1

Once you're in the hobby and know the equipment bargains can be easy to find. Of course, money pits can be easy to find too!

MetallicaJunkie

its about the same considering inflation.... todays generation will probably benefit even more beacuae of the technology and how easy it is to copy .... what cost150 in 1985 at min wage would cost more than double now

kind of how a custodian in Ny, Ny will make more than a teacher here in south texas.... the high cost of living in NY will be offset by the low cost here in south texas....now one thing to consder is... have a high paying job in a big city like NYC where the cost of living is high, then retire after 50 years and live like a king in a poor region of the states

SBOT

Exspensive hobby? That would be sailing!

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Historically it seems buyouts of folks moving into and out of the hobby/sport has always been a viable and effective way to enjoy oneself and I have always indulged but in this economy its is very scary and sellouts are almost too easy. I have only rarely found it neccessary to have stuff shipped when doing a buyout anyway shipping is a major cost these days.

I beleve its true and of course only my speculation that for every flyer you actually meet at a field or even a casual flying spot there are at least ten possibly more builder/assembler/closet flyers that never go anywhere near the local field. I beleve these folks for whatever reason never actually fly but do the full spectrum of projects. They are out there everyehere big city and small.

Its these folks where sometimes the very best buyouts can be made, often when the survivors are stuck with large collections.

John

bigdanusa

Year 6....$2000? Was that the year you switched to 2.4 and had to buy new receivers for all your planes?

ES CONTROL

Thats the price of going in to my first Gas 30cc

rgburrill

Many many years ago I lived in Scottsdale Arizona and the local Rolls Royce dealership was run by Max of Switzerland.  Max had a rule - if a buyer asked about the price he was told he couldn't afford it and escorted out.

The only thing you need to ask yourself is can you pay for what you are buying right now.  If you have to keep track of your yearly expenditures like this you really should find another hobby.

bigdanusa

That sounds about like my ex father in law...walked in a dealership with his grimy (tire factory) clothes on right after work and asked the price of a car on their showroom floor. The salesman told him, "I think that's a little out of your price range." He walked out the door and across the street to another dealership and paid "cash" for one on their showroom floor!

bigdanusa

Are you saying you're going to quit playing at the local $25 golf course and join Pebble Beach?

ES CONTROL

I wish I would have a better track . Because beginners are under the wrong impression.

ES CONTROL

Correction- Everyone should look back in the rear view . every now and than.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

You can do it on the cheap or go first class. Bottom line it's up to you. Our hobby like most industries sells; good, better and best The other thing to consider is how often do you use the items you purchase because in most cases the cheap items ware out or break rapidly. One last point is buying used merchandize and I have done that. In most cases you get what you pay for and buyer beware.

Gypsy56

A friend once asked me how much money I had invested in my old .60 size bipe. When I told him "about $400.00" he had some sort of spasm/fit and could'nt believe that I would sink that kind of money into "a toy" (his words, not mine). Well, this is the same guy who has a $30.000 boat in his backyard which only gets used two or three times a year and a $40.000 SUV to pull it! I think I came out ahead in this deal!

Prop_Washer2

My Feedback: (26)

Reminds me of a friend of mine starting out as a new car salesman, an older gray haired man in crummy work clothes walked onto the new car sales lot. The experienced salesmen saw him and said, "He ain't got no money and I am not going to waste my time", my friend the noobie salesman went outand greeted the customer.The man wanted to see thebest and most fully loaded new pickup truck, top ofthe line with all options. He showed a new Ford Lariat Platinum with Nav, camera, leather, 4-wheel drive, loaded to the 9's...and they test drove it. He then asked todrive the low end worktruck version with no bells and whistles. After he drove the low end truck, he seemed to be pleased. My friend asked him which one he liked and he replied "Both, I'll take 7 of the fancy ones, and 40 of the work trucks", my friend about fell over. He pulled out his checkbook and wrote a check for all 47. Come to find out he owned a large construction company and was buying the fancy trucksfor his managers and supervisors, and the work trucks for key employees...Nice sale..!!

Billmeister

I love it when people get burned because they judge a person by their looks only. Your own neighbor could be a millionaire and you have no clue. Not everyone with cash blows it on all kinds of things to project the typical stereotype image of the rich. Someone with a lot of cash could be going around looking like a bum in a used car that needs a paint job.

As for me, I'm going to try to avoid spending more money on servos for my Air Force air boat since it seems to eat them and spit them out all the time. If I want to wash the servos to make sure they are clean and not working, I put them in that boat and run it.

As for money pits, I have found that replacement parts can hit you and when companies stop stocking parts it can be a p.i.t.a. Thanks AquaCraft and Tower Hobbies for dropping the Nitro SuperVee 27 from your radar. Some of us still enjoy running them and now what happens if the starter goes kaput or the engine is shot?