ORIGINAL: hogflyer

Ice Fun,

Look at the map RCKen posted. There is a red and green tack that is the start and end point for a trip - from the existing club field to your park. Its 2 mi by road, even less as the crow flies (which is the way your radio signals will go). I'd love to have a club that close by to fly at.

I've gotten a pretty good impression that you’re leaning to the NextStar which will make a fantastic trainer for you. Ken has quite a bit of experience with that plane as do I and several others who have been flying and instructing for a while. With the NextStar you’ll be flying a 6.5 lb plane at around 50 mph, or more. Think about the kinetic energy the plane carries. Not to think if somebody at that club field flips on their radio which happens to be on the same frequency you’re on. There is more that enough energy in the plane to punch through somebody’s windshield and easily kill them. Now consider if you flip on your radio and somebody is flying their Composite ARF 42% Yak-54 with over $11,000.00 invested in it. Do you want them banging on your door wanting the money for a replacement?

Nobody is trying to rain down on you – you’re tapping into a wealth of information that I wish I had when I started flying RC and if anything we’re all trying to make sure you get a good start into the best hobby there is. If I fly at a park or school here in Wichita, it’s because the closest field is 11 miles away, and I fly low enough that there will be no issue with the plane if I loose radio connection (I have a Berg receiver that has the capability to have a fail safe programmed into it regardless if I fly an FM or PCM radio, and I also fly my radio in PCM mode which also has it programmed into the PCM receiver). My fail safe will reduce the power to idle and enter a tight spiral that will intentionally crash the plane on the field before it can get very far away.

The idea is to be safe, and make sure your actions don’t do others any harm just as you wouldn’t them to do the same to you. Besides, at the club there is a wealth of information for you to tap into.

I guess I’ll get off my soap box for now…..

Hogflyer


edit: Last I heard, the minimum distance between AMA clubs fields is 6 miles. AMA has some of the best minds in the business and they didn't come up with that distance as an arbirtary number.