Originally Posted by airsteve172

As a lifelong lover of aviation who flies full scale (that means a real airplane for those who might be confused), I enjoy RC from a somewhat different perspective than I think most who are in this hobby.

First of all, let me make it clear that I'm a terrible model pilot and though I think it would be nice for me to gain skills in that area, it really doesn't matter that much to me. There is a variety of reasons for that with the first one being that I live in NYC and there's not a whole lot of places to fly anywhere near me. Of the fields that I do know of and have visited, the predominant occupants have been what I can only describe as geriatric curmudgeons who made me feel almost as welcome as ants to a picnic. I don't mean this to be a blanket statement, but a great amount of model airplane guys that I've encountered strike me as being at least a little strange, which I can't say about real pilots regardless of their age. The RC airplane environment to which I have been exposed has not inspired me to hang around let alone seek flying instruction within. Fortunately I like to build and currently getting my jollies by trying my hand at scale building techniques with the help of having constant access to real aircraft for reference. If I succeed in my building endeavors to the extent that I hope, then this airplane will never leave the ground due to the inherent risk factors.

So now to finally get to the point. I like to fly models also, but not being skilled as a model pilot, I can find a lot of pleasure and satisfaction from flying foamies in SAFE mode. It doesn't matter the slightest bit to me that the airplane is doing the flying, it's doing what I want it to do most and that is fly without crashing! It also fascinates me to observe the amazing technology that's involved in this toy!

I fully appreciate the effort needed to become a proficient model pilot, but why do I need to go through the hassle when SAFE works for me? I don't need to stroke my ego by becoming an accomplished model pilot when I can fly a real plane and my ego is plenty satisfied with that. When it comes to flying models, I just want to do it for casual recreation with the least effort and leave the business of being a sky god with a toy airplane to those who feel the need for that status.