draftman1

That just about sums it up Reverse!

Pecanpatch

but do ya have to wear them goofie BCD helmets? [:'(]

Fred420

My Feedback: (1)

Yep.............as long as your are in a contest that has been sanctioned, you have to have head protection.

THend2

Man, from Monty Python the Holy Grail.... "Bring out your dead!"..

You guys resurected this thread from 2004!

How to really enjoy RC flying.

1. Fly combat, everything else with a glow plane does seem VERY dull afterward..
2. Fly Dynamic Soaring aka DS. If you live anywhere where you can slope and find a hill that is DSable, you will be addicted to that too.

Pure adrenaline in both cases...

Then you throw together an EPP foamy DS ship and to DS combat!

fcomer84

The question is all wrong, Crazy-Ace!
It should be, "Why aren't you flying R/C Combat"?
All of the above things are true: Fun, Friends, Sharper Skills, Adenaline Rush, Increased Heart Rate... When you crash a plane, have fun doing it!! And most times you can pick it and fly it again!

Mr. Mugen

Wish I never looked here now. My adreneline is flowing already. I am a speed freak when I come to planes. Our local clubs have never done combat....wonder why? Heck I never heard of it until I was peeking in here. I might have to back out of here quietly. My addictive personallity will have me bored with my other 30 or so planes in no time. Might have to wait until I get bored with the fleet first. How would I go about getting my club to participate in such an event? Reading many posts here I have discovered I haven't heard of any of the planes mentioned for combat. I will be looking them up when I am done typing this. I am imagining a profile or similar? All the talk about crashing is no big deal and such has me wondering.

Thanks for the idea...and possible new addiction,
Kevin

Pecanpatch

I picked up this electric combat plane at the South Eastern Modellers show saturday....

man what a deal!

http://www.gwsprops.com/electric_com...as_seen_on.htm

$15 for the kit
$45 for power package

aint wearing no stinkin helmet

Juice

We don't wear helmets in our unsanctioned weekly combat days. We're just a bunch of guys having fun (with safety a top priority, of course).

I was thoroughly enjoying regular RC for many years before getting into combat. I had no idea any more fun can be had, but I'm having it!

I made a video of one of our combat days...
[link=http://www.vimeo.com/1868420]Battle Royale 2008[/link]

Juice

draftman1

Keven, oh man is it an addiction! full throttle in a tight box with 8 other planes. wow. alot of guys wont fly combat because they dont want to wreck there plane or dont think there good enough. yes it does sharpen the skills greatly. most combat guys use coroplast planes or a plane made out of foam. me, I prefer coro. there are alot of sites on combat and I think there is a group near you that does. We travel to other competitions. the main site is ww.rccombat.com. tons of info and the explanation of varius classes and theres a list of the upcoming events. theres even a nation points system. the most popular classes are Open B, SSC and a version of scale. you can even looks at my clubs website and there is a combat page with info also. Please remember that unless you find somebody in your club that likes speed and stuff, most people wont try it. its a slow building process to get people to try it. good luck Pm me if you want any info.

budleeman

My Feedback: (14)

Combat is with out a dought the most fun in RC flying, check out the clubs in the centrial valley ca. http://www.exeterthunderhawks.com/

antiquefer

Been flying combat for 5 years. Have never won. Been 2nd, or 3rd. Its not hard, and almost any skill level can compete. It will raise your skill level. Our planes have to be 3.5 lbs or less and powered with no more than a .25. Most of us build for performance and not surviveabilita. The crowd comes to see a wreck. We aims to please. I have my airframe down to $20 bucks and two hours build time. I always have three ready to go. I cant imagin not wearing head protection. Its only 4 minutes at a time. Just do it...........antiquefer.

Pecanpatch

I had a Blast at SEFF (Hodges Hobbies) last saturday.
55 combat planes in a mass launch.... FUN FUN FUN
Gotta love DSM

I lasted a pretty good while b4 T-boning this guys balsa plane
I cut him in half but couldn’t get away from him. Till it hit the ground

My plane was still flyable.

It was the coolest combating I have ever done, Bravo!
Cant wait till next time.

Raymond LeFlyr

My Feedback: (2)

Pull up a chair, let me tell you "Why I Fly Combat" . . .

In the beginning there was CL combat in Winston-Salem in the mid '70s. I thought I could never have so much fun doing anything else. Then came foamies and bell-crankers and it wasn't the same.

Fast forward a couple of years and I flew my first R/C combat with .15-powered, 3-foot wings. Ah the thrill was back again.

But then a heavy, heavy workload pretty much killed all R/C activity.

Finally, a move to the Raleigh area and a group started flying scale and SSC. That eventually wore thin - I guess for all the usual reasons.

However for the past couple of season we started developing standards for E-combat. WOW! Life is good again!

But to answer the original question "Why I Fly Combat"; no, its not about "competition" for our group. We rarely can remember who got what cuts and never keep score. What happens is that frequently we are all laughing and hooting at each other - a thing that never happens at any other time on the flight line. That's what's the most fun - sharing the light-hearted taunting of each other, praising a good pass, or even better - a short cut off a streamer ("kills" or string cuts are not considered your best effort).

And now with E-combat mid-airs are rarely dramatic enough to ground an airplane for the rest of the day. And any damage is quickly repaired with 5-minute epoxy and popsickle sticks and ready for the next bout - that is, if the two planes don't just bounce off and keep flying. But the best part of our local E-combat is that the plane, motor, battery, and props are all the same! Nobody has the advantage of hottest .25 or the tightest turning FW-whatever. Pilot skill is the great equalizer.

Thus endeth the "answer".

combatpigg

My Feedback: (3)

Nice post Raymond. I've wondered what the days of showing up to a C/L combat contest with an all balsa job covered in tissue and dope was like. By the time I got into it, I was building the McFadden type planes with the foam leading edge, spruce-balsa-spruce spar and those angled [geodetic?] ribs. Lots of time went into those, I've still got enough pre-fab laying around to build a few. I wonder what some nostalgic collector-nut would pay for one RTF?

rlipsett

there is another form of combat with slope soarers that is extremely fun and exhilirating. the object of slope soaring combat is to ram another aircraft out of the sky and fly away without crashing. This is an extremly fun sport with very little stress and worry. The slope soarers are practically indestructible. The most expensive repair I have ever done is to replace a servo that I broke a gear in and it could be done at the field in 20 minutes for under 20 dollars. Slope combat is like playing a video game in the real world and some of the situations and impacts are outstanding and hillariously funny.

Raymond LeFlyr

My Feedback: (2)

CP,

Talking about the good ole days when it was unusual for someone to come to a CL combat contest with more than two airplanes; I'm convinced that we flew "better" than the run-of-the-mill pilot of today. That is, we tried hard to get the smallest cut possible. 1. To get the opportunity for more cuts. 2. To minimize mid-airs (because re-building usually took a whole week). 3. Because string cuts/kills were considered bad form - careless.

Not only that but when you built a balsa plane that would be covered with clear laminating film, you made sure that things were sanded and there weren't any glue blobs - there was a sense of pride in your efforts. Hasty patches weren't all that common.

That carried over when we started cutting foam wings - mainly to try out different airfoil thicknesses (root to tip) and chord tapers. That was fun too. Then people started showing up with a half dozen "expendable" foamies and speeds for Slow crept up to 100 mph - and I couldn't keep up any more. Bummer.

Flying Slow CL Combat with someone who was closely matched still remains my favorite modelling experience. Yes, electric R/C combat is a hoot, but it just isn't as "close" as two guys in a circle, each at one end of the same length lines and a well-needled Fox Combat Special on the other. Ah good time, good times.

boiler1

I fly combat because I'm 63 years old and haven't had this much fun since I was a kid in High School. It's great when I can get a cut on a Jr. High kid that won the NATS.

Supervetteracer

Tellme more about comabt flying. Like where can I buy the most industructable type of cheap plane 9s)? Wht type of motor s do they run?

I want to get a bunch of local park flyers together and give this a try. Are zagi type planes the best? What sort of limits should be put in place?

Pecanpatch

I see your in the South.....
this one is pretty popular in GA.

http://www.gwsprops.com/electric_com...as_seen_on.htm

The prefered combat plane for SEFF

GSJames

Check out ALL the forums on the Radio Control Combat Association (RCCA) website. www.rccombat.com This is where you'll find info about the official and provisional events.

Also check out this thread on RC Groups http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1061750

This thread has some really good info about the "park flier" type of unofficial combat flying.

WHY do I fly combat??? Because it's the most fun you can have with your clothes on.

Pecanpatch

I tend to agree........ But I did some Nitro Monster Truck Oval racing last weekend with a bunch of old buds and I will have to say that was a blast! More like a demolition derby!