Access

RCU recently added a new feature where you can see the most active threads and I was wondering how come we almost never see one related to ground RC?It seems like the aircraft sections are much more popular?Are we just spending more timing running (while the aircraft guys are spending more time posting) or are there just a lot more aircraft RC'ers out there? Just curious where ground vehicles rank in the overall scheme of things.

Irarely see model aircraft at local parks, though you can typically count on 3-4 flyers at a field that is adjacent to the freeway on a weekend. Whereas I've come across a lot of people who have their own ground RC, especially the newer crowd with their slashes or another popular RTR. Not to mention, most of the local hobby shops, they are either 50/50 between ground and aircraft / heli, or primarily focussed on ground.

guver

My Feedback: (325)

I just checked this out for the first time, The top 10 were split 5 and 5. The air stuff did seem a bit more active below that. Maybe I need to post more.

AMOUREDTANK

LOL that's crazy i never noticed that either. I agree with your assumption access we are probably just mainly having too much fun running ours to be posting as much lol!

sheograth

Even at my LHS I find that planes and helis get more attention, but there are still tons of people there who are into cars and trucks.

redfisher1974

When we did have a hobby shop here in town it was all aircraft..not one ground rc....

AMOUREDTANK

That is the way it is at my local hobby shop too. It's called High Fly hobbies for god sake lol. The only reason they even have ground RC's is because one of the guys in town started working there and convinced him to carry them,

rc rock

cars and trucks are way more popular here. we have one flying field and 5 race tracks on the entire island...

Druss

You'll almost never see planes and helis at a park.  The liabilities are too high.

AMA (MAAC here in Canada) offer insurance but only if you fly in an approved field with danger markings and a frequency board.  Plus you need some fairly flat ground to take off and land on for planes.

For helis, the blades spin at 1500 to 4000 rpms (depending on size) which at the tips equate to over 60mph, i don't want any curious kids around those blades at any time.

Foxy

RCU was always plane orientated. It's owners and 90% of the moderators are plane/heli guys. They call us DCGs! lol, Damn Car Guys. Ground RC is more popular in general simply because it's easier to do and cheaper to get into, but on the flip side, plane guys have better sense of community, they all have to fly in the same places, so word of mouth spreads very quickly, and a big site like RCU becomes a vast source of information, why would they go anywhere else? Hence there may be a few less plane guys, but they are a lot busier than us, cos of their level of interaction.

Access

Happens rarely down here, but enough to remember. I've had to share a popular park with both a plane and a heli before. I've flown my planes at (only) two different parks before, no need for a frequency board or anything antiquated like that.

The one guy who had a 3D foam plane did yell to ask me what frequency Iwas on, but that was the only communication we had. The heli guys were either newbies who crashed right away or willing to wait their turn (and we were willing to watch)but again totally silent, no actual communication. I talked more with two line-control plane guys than with the rest of the plane and heli guys combined.

The people running trucks are much more common, and always very chatty. Or people who have run them in the past. If I am flying Iget a lot of adults like people walking their dogs interested in it but the kids don't seem to care. But I've never had a plane guy come up to me and talk to me about planes, even when or after flying at the park, which admittedly Idon't do too much right now compared to how often Irun the trucks.

rcpowerhorse

at my local track us car guys are usually outnumbered somewhere near 2:1

larryf333

My Feedback: (2)

The reason the airplane forum is more active is because they are all old and retired.  They don't work all day like us car/truck guys, so they sit at the 'puter all day and punch keys, waiting on their social security and retirement checks so they can buy new planes and parts.  I can't wait to be retired...

breezerboat

I am sure there are a lot more questions to ask and things to learn with air RC's.  That may be why there is more activity.  I think that with ground RC a person will learn most of what they need to learn within the first few gallons of nitro, then they either quit all together or have it all figured out and can take care of themselves.  Either way,they may stop posting.