acdii

We builders are becoming extinct now with the proliferation of cheap ARF's.

Then again, for me, 2/3rds of the interest is IN the building!

Red Scholefield

My Feedback: (9)

Since we started having our monthly meetings at the field our attendance has improved significantly. We have them on the second saturday of the month starting at 10:00 am and they are over in less than an hour. Lots of flying before and after the meeting. Of course we are in Florida, doing this in Northern climates may not be practical for some months of the year.

cocobear

My Feedback: (2)

Hey Vert, an idea. I belonged to what turned out to be a great club in CT several years ago. By the time I moved, we had a field full of large scale WW1 planes. Every year, one yes one good friend and I would talk a couple of Arf guys into joining us in a group build, first year was tough. We would choose something from the BUSA family of plans, I would mark up the plans to simplify and pass out assignments. We would meet at my house every Saturday until framing was done. To knock down the cost, we were converting Homelight 25cc engines from Harbor Freight. Every club meeting we would drag in our junk and talk about it. Generated alot of interest and overcame resistance and we all got closer as a club. Rather than give up, turn it up. Badger a couple of guys into submission. A great first project is the BUSA Eindecker or blow there M1 up to 84" or so. Maybe not YOUR first choices but you can create your own future, or fly alone. We all wound up flying every Sat and Sun morning and would have breakfest on a camp stove, my personal Golden Age of RC. Didn't work while I worked in the industry as the locals looked at ya like you were some circus freak. Know that I am out of the RC biz and back in real engineering, I will probably give it another try as soon as I find a club.
DJ

buzzard bait

I'm disappointed that the hobby is not what it once was. Our Mall Show in the spring was so exciting because people would bring what they'd built over the winter and would be flying that summer and you always saw interesting planes. But there are still some builders, and the home built models definitely attract some interest. We have a great bunch of members. Everyone is very welcoming to new people and Monday training nights have gotten to be a real blast. We've got a new biplane event coming up next week and it looks like a lot of members got stimulated to come up with something a little different. One young fellow brought a cute biplane he'd made himself from plans on the internet and some foam board. It's not my thing, but I've got to admit it is pretty cool and the guy did it himself.

I think it's possible for one or two negative types in a club to really poison it if they get into leadership positions and people let them take over. Fortunately, we don't have that in our club. It seemed to threaten for awhile years back. I think if it happened again there are some of us who would push back and not let it happen. Those situations are really hard, and so despite my disappointment with the changes in the hobby, I'm very happy with our club.

Jim

abufletcher

I've recently had to completely re-evaluate my relationship with the RC hobby. I felt I had settled into a track that I liked and was doing more and more ambitious WWI scale projects. I loved what I was doing and had enough ongoing and upcoming building to keep me busy for several years. I was a die-hard engine guy with a Seidel 770 waiting for a 1/4 scale Strutter.

Then our club lost its field. That was four months ago. About a month ago the club got permission to use a small field about 10 miles away, but exclusively for electric. The strip is short, maybe even too short for a 1/6 scale model...made all the more difficult since the field has a slight slope to it. So here I am with only engine-powered models and work-benches full of models that are too big to fly at this strip anyway. The nearest alternate club is at least a 2-3 hour drive away. That's 4-6 hours round trip, and at $7 a gallon.

I guess I'll just continue doing my scale building, because I like doing scale building. And I guess I still hold out a faint glimmer of hope that the club will eventually find another (or a second) field for gas. But I also accept the possibility that I may never be able to fly these models I'm currently building.

And I'm wondering about trying one of the small-scale (30-40" wingspan) designs from AerodromeRC.

LesUyeda

Abu, that is way too familiar story. You just got away with it much longer than we have:-((((((((((((((((((((((

Les

abufletcher

Yeah, I know. But it's really forced me to think about how I feel about RC flying. I know I'm not at all interested in small foamies (3D or otherwise) or that sort of thing. I'm certainly not interested in RC flying just for RC flying's sake. The ONLY reason I got into RC flying is that I was (and still am) fascinated by the early WWI aircraft. If I can't fly WWI, frankly, I'm not sure I want to stay in the hobby. While there's a certain joy in communing with the lads and flying in great (or interesting) weather, there's also a lot of joy to be had in other non-RC activities.

LesUyeda

"there's also a lot of joy to be had in other non-RC activities"

That is the approach that I have taken over the years, but the airplanes keep whispering; Les----Les----Les. And I succumb and return.

Les

cocobear

My Feedback: (2)

Abu, why not try a 1/7th scale electric? Get an outline, blow it up to size and start building. Electric will allow much lighter construction as the vibrations are minimized. 1/7th scale yields a fighter in the 40 +" range and will almost always run on a reasonably priced 3S battery. I have several designs which were deemed unsailable in my previous life at Hobbico including a very nice Albi DIII (go figure). That one I got framed and made all the plugs for the vac formed pieces. It is now being finished by my buddy Dave Semeraro. Don't despair, adapt!!!! As you can probably tell by my tone, I have recharged a bit. I am dieing to get back on the building horse as soon as we find a house and get settled. I probably will not be as prolific as once do to my other hobby which filled my void while I wa burned out. video attached.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_AmqVcVCPw

[email protected]

My Feedback: (1)

once a month schould not hurt you to go to the other field make a day of it

abufletcher

I'll certainly have to change my whole (rather extreme) outlook on WWI scale modeling. But, hey, maybe it'll force me to learn new skills...and maybe even try some subjects which I wouldn't have tried with gas.

abufletcher

That's possible...though the prospect of spending $100 or so on gas (for the car) for a day's flying doesn't sit too well.

buzzard bait

I'm really sorry to hear that. It must be a real blow; I know it would be for me. I'm lucky so far, but it could happen here too.

Jim

funnotcrazy

I was in the hobby big time mid 80's to late 90's. Co-Founded a nice club with some great guys. Enjoyed the comradery & all that. Then club kept voting to up the membership. Granted, we were in the city with a great site, no other field ANYWHERE near, and flooded with "please let me fly here". The club was previously at a much smaller site, with much smaller field. You had to KNOW how to fly to use this field it was so small. It was a small club with some great guys. Membership was capped & closed at 40 members. Those years are some of my best RC memories. When we lost the lease we had to find another. We stumbled upon a giant county flood retention area. It was abandoned by a soccer association & the fields were easy enough to make really nice huge runway. The club grew & grew, and in slipped some real dillholes. I fell out of the hobby. Fast forward 12 years & now moved out to the country. My place is surrounded by 60 acres of manicured hayfields. The owner says fly all you want. Pulled all my old planes & gear out of storage earlier this year. Now I sit here drinking a couple of cold ones & flying out of my front yard. Model airplane heaven. Now I enjoy the hobby again...

bogbeagle

"and would have breakfast on a camp stove,"


That's a good idea. Used to take a stove and barbecue along on some summer afternoons ... never considered doing breakfasts, though. Gonna try that.

LesUyeda

"never considered doing breakfasts, though"

My life used to love to go trailer camping because I cooked up fantastic breakfasts on the Coleman. Easier than a barbeque but still outdoor cooked.

Les

Thayer

Abu, I have been watching your projects for quite a while and feel your pain at a necessary downsizing. That said, just because it is small, doesn't make a model less meaningful.


I have to say, one of the most enjoyable projects I have been involved with was a certain Albatros B1 designed by some punk kid 40 years ago. It's nothing fancy, decidedly standoff scale and can be built with the most basic gear, but like any project, can also be dressed up as much as you want. And Isn't the whole point to have fun? Sometimes a forced change of pace can work out for the best.


You can see more details on my Albie here.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1448764


Thayer

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

Sorry to hear that Abu. While I always got the impression from your threads that building was a bigger part of the hobby for you than flying, You certainly want to be able to fly your creations once in a while.

Coco, now that you are back as a civilian, I wonder if you may give an impression of where the industry sees the hobby going? It seems that there are so many things going on. Our relationship with the FAA, higher ARF costs (production costs), Helicopters killing their pilots etc.

Oh Abu, not sure if it interests you, but BUSA is working on a 1/6th DR1. That might be a good small field, electric candidate. I am sure you could bash it more scale if you want to. Or build it stock for an easy flier.

vertical grimmace

My Feedback: (1)

All of my projects are currently on hold as well until I get my shop set up again. I had to move it in kind of a hasty fashion. Now having to get all of my machines and tools setup and organized is gonna take some time. I first have to finish insulating and dry walling my new space. I have these grand allusions of competing nationally in scale, but I seem to be running into many stumbling blocks. I will get there though. This would be easier if I just needed a space to throw together ARF's, but then I would not be happy. All of this work is worth it in the end. At least I was able to get my latest DR1 finished before the move.

Thayer

As Dave mentioned, a group build is a great way to get some blood flowing.

Over the last year I coordinated a group of builders to get some planes ready for a demo at the 2013 NEAT Fair. We picked Golden Age air racers and had a ball. As you can see, we also built pylons and even had t-shirts printed up. Everyone involved was really happy to have done it and a bunch of guys were asking how they could play with us next year. Yeah, that's me with my Caudron C.450.

The main thing to remember is, you can let the other guy get you down, or you can dedicate some energy to doing what you want to do. Just get off the couch and do something!

buzzard bait

Those are absolutely fantastic. Did that all come from within your club? Or did you go regional, and if so, how? I can't imagine a single club doing anything like that. We've got maybe a half dozen who even build sport models anymore, let alone serious scale.

abufletcher

My sadness regarding the prospect of "downsizing" is that I'll have to abandon the sort of (obsessive) scale building I have become fond of, for example, making and/or adapting 300+ teeny parts to create a scratch-built Benz BzII for my CI...or for that matter that hand-formed metal cowlings or the 300+ piece Hazet radiators or the scratch-built Madson machine gun...and so on.

Going smaller means down shifting into a whole different approach to modeling, a direction that is 180 degrees opposite of where I've been heading for the last few years. More and more, I've become convinced that "scale everything" actually works as long as you actually do scale EVERYTHING. And I'm not talking about scale "detailing" but rather scale structure. That approach, however, clearly only works at a certain size. Anyway, I'm sure I'll find something to do with my time and my hands.

TFF

Keep building what you normally do and build for the electric too. The big models can be shipped back to the US for flying when you come home. Might be better with some like minded modelers. Keep the flying skill honed at the electric field.

Thayer

Abu, I personally think you need to focus on the positive, hard as it may be to see right now.

As for 300+ pieces in a dummy engine, no problem. Electric lets you model the entire original engine without worrying about vibration or oil contamination. All you have to do is find a way to hid the relatively small electric motor in the crankcase. Doing high level detail is certainly possible in smaller scales and can be just as challenging. Steven Stratt is well known for building beautifully detailed models that are relatively small. In his later years they were also electric powered.

Also, Take a look at the engine and overall detail on Rob Caso's original 32-inch Hall Springfield Bulldog, Halberstadt CLII. All are remarkably detailed. If you want to go really hardcore, you may think that his latest 1:6 scale Bulldog has a bit of cheat on it with an impeccably finished P&W Wasp radial from the Williams Brothers kit. Still, it looks absolutely fantastic and is a true showcase for his plastic modeling and finishing skills.

He also has a small and stunning DH-2, but I can't find a thread on that.

Here are a few links to his build threads.

Halberstadt build
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1424713

Original Bulldog
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1733790

Large Bulldog
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1740175

Thayer

Buzzard,

Thanks for the kind words. No, those are not all from the same actual club. We are scattered around the Northeast, hailing from VT, MA, CT, PA and NY. At last year's NEAT Fair a few of us were sitting around lamenting the apparent lack of traditional built models and decided to do something about it. We chose Golden Age air racers as a theme because of their colorful appeal and diversity of design. Of the eight models planned, seven made the starting line. The last missed due to a Midwestern house sale and interstate move the week of the NEAT Fair and start of a new job the Monday after. I know, weak excuses, right?

Our virtual club kept in touch via email and phone throughout the last year, swapping advice and other help pretty consistently. There was also a stream of near constant chiding toward the end about who was going to be ready and who wasn't. In the end, my Caudron was the last to fly, but that didn't matter. We put up two well-received demo flights on Saturday and Sunday and had a great time doing it. And the best part is, we each now have a nice shiny new model to enjoy. The design goal was to work for 3-4 pound models to make use of a readily affordable 3S power system and to size them for practical every day flying. We were not looking for competitive scale hangar queens but instead unique models we could take out and enjoy flying as often as possible. In the end we all are happy with the results. I do know that at least one will be kitted, the Howard Pete. I had the chance to fly it on Sunday afternoon and it was a real ball. It tracks beautifully and really grooves well, looking every bit the part of a winning racer.

It looks like you are pretty close to the event. By all means, come on down to the NEAT Fair next fall. You might be surprised at what you see. There are exquisite models of all sizes. Martin Newell came from California with a micro P-51, and I do mean micro. IIRC, it was 1:100 scale, spanning 4.4 inches with full house control. In addition to aileron, elevator, rudder and throttle, it also featured retracts and switchable nav lights. The final touch was two sets of flashing red LEDs on the wing leading edges to simulate gunfire. Yes, they were switchable as well. Yeah, that is 8 channels! On the other end of the scale, Dave Perrone was there with a 1:3 scale Moraine Saulnier and over the last year talked his father into finishing a 1/4 scale SE-5a that was also spectacular. Yes, there are a lot of ARFs at the show, just like most flight lines these days. There are also a lot of gems worth looking for and a lot of great people. Come on down. It was a delightful weekend, despite C+ weather.

Thayer