Flying in a public park????? Shut em'down!

Bill, AMA 4720

[sm=confused.gif] Oooookay.

Jim,

He was in here too. See the post in the other thread.

Bill, AMA 4720

Yes to fly a "park" flyer in a public "park" is a real weird idea, isn't it, seeing that there are not too many private parks.

Blow it out your wazoo!

Bill, AMa 4720

Thank you, gentlemen, I think we've fully established that the day Dion and Bill agree on anything, the pigs will be flying to see the devil shovel snow off his walkway.
I find both of you actually make some good points in various forums, so I have no desire to block either of you, but you guys seem to feed off of each other's bickering.

Either PM your pointless insults or use the block icon. Sheesh.

- Jim

Naah, I clicked both him and CaptJohn. No more bickering (at least not from my end)

Bill, AMA 4720

It's easy to be unaware of current trends when one shuts himself off from the happenings. Never read/listen to the news and be ignorant of what is going on.

One need not campaign, however isn't it better if one knows the candidates?

Maybe one day there will be another issue of MA where you guys can legitimately complain about too much CL. One can only hope!

I've always flown electric and am an AMA member. You guys are getting a taste of what the electric guys see most months, tons of articles on planes you are not ever going to fly. The AMA even sent us electric guys a poll to vote on a new parkflyer membership, less insurance, lower price and an electric only magazine. It's easier to start in electric. You can get a Multiplex Easy Star RTF on sale for $150 with a transmitter, battery and charger and fly in a wash or soccer field.

I like watching the gas planes as much as any other RC. Some day I may fly both electric and gas as many people now do. Unfortunately some guys have developed an us v. them attitude. I think that we need to support each others efforts to keep this hobby going. Too many air fields are being closed. Electric does afford the chance to fly in some areas where gas is too noisy to use, or runways are inpractical. Electric is moving up in size. One of the more popular planes at Hobby Lobby is the Senior Telemaster Electric, with a 12 foot span. You can get 8000 size lipos now for under $200 that can last years. I think that the AMA may need bigger issues to include gas and electric.

Now we need a sloping issue.

Horrace, Would you rather see us fighting? I suppose that is your entertainment. Or would you rather see <click> Bye, Horrace?
Haven't yet. It might keep me from seeing something profound from one of these two, but I doubt it.

Bill, AMA 4720

Heh, Control-Lines had their issue a few months back, didn't they? Build article and everything, if I recall. However, Control-Line isn't "new" anymore, so I doubt we'll see more dedicated issues on it. I wouldn't mind a sloping issue. They got some slick birds these days. Wasn't the RC speed record held by a sloper for a number of years?

Blocking is fine. I don't think Stick joins for the purpose of arguing, so it's a fine solution. I like him better when he doesn't have someone constantly prodding him.

301mph by a dynamic soaring glider. Not sure if anything has gone faster.

Electric flight isn't new either. My first airplane was an Electrostreak kit. Kit, not ARF. Slack-jawed parkfliers are new, though.

I just got my issue and tossed it in the garbage without reading it. Trust me, you foamie-flyers have had more coverage than anything else lately. This issue is yet another spit in the face to the bulk of the AMA members. Maybe they'll get back to covering the majority interest when the membership drops even further.

Did you do the same thing when they covered the Jet Expo and showed a Fanjet on the cover, or do you own one?
One issue on electrics...and some of you guys get all bent out of shape. What kind of plane was on the previous 6 issues?

There is no problem with AMA concentration on one aspect or another. What bugs me is that there was never a proposal to make a "special" membership for fanjets, control-lines, slope-soarers, free-flighters, etc. The e-ticket is the only thing I find bothersome, as it will CREATE the kind of animosity you just expressed towards our section of the hobby.

We don't need AMA's help in feeling segregated.

One issue? Go back an look at the articles, and columns. It's been mostly electric stuff for months. I'm tired of it and since I'm in the mainstream of the AMA members (sport/glow), I expect better coverage if the current admin wants my vote. Since there's other segments, different coverage is ok to a point. MA has just gone overboard in kissing PF'er @$$ this time.

The Senior Telemaster has a 95" span. The 12 foot telemaster is a different model. MA haas been paying attention to electric planes for a decade, but they haven't done anything about the 3D planes yet and that has been here for a long time.

You ain' seen nuttin yet. Seems like the AMA REALLY wants to jump on the gen x boat these days. I'm sure there will be more to come ... Newton's law's ... you know things in motion and all.

Maybe it had something to do with the change in the new millennium 6 years back and they are just now realizing that it was more then just a date change. Or perhaps their computer systems were wiped out by the infamous Y2K bug and it took them a while to get things back on line and back to the now.

Either way the AMA see something very ...peculiar... in how the world works these days, obviously. While just about everything else in the world is growing, even gas companies are making record earnings and growth, the AMA is shrinking. Guess they want a piece of the action which everyone else is benefitting from this "forward progress" movement.

Many of company, both NFP and FP have resisted to mold their business models with the times and tried to maintain old school mentalities, most of which wished they molded sooner then later. One of the big problems with having an NFP is that you have to focus more on trying to constantly obtain "growth" funds rather trying to obtain the actual mission statement's goals which you set out for. Perhaps the AMA should consider what MANY NFP's have done to stay alive, convert from NFP to FP maybe even IPO and go public.

STL, I normally refrain from even reading your posts, but I was bored this time. Let me be clear. Progress made in electric flight is just that. It effects only those who like it. The mainstream still is sport/glow. There's plenty of new stuff coming out every single day for that segment. Just because you and a few others favor the electric segment doesn't make it the wave of the future. Frankly, that's the stupidest, most self-absorbed thing I've read recently. That's like saying giant scale gas is the wave of the future. Sure, both are segments. Maybe even growing segments, but IC is still what it is. Internal Cumbustion. Mechanically inclined people like me aren't gonna give it up for anything and this hobby is dominated by mech types like me.

This "outreach" to the parkfliers will be a short lived program. Especially when it costs more to implement than it makes. How many additional people would have to sign up to make up for one guy dropping his full membership for the E-membership?

Ya know what, people always said that 40% planes would never be for anyone other than sponsored "TOC" pilots. Take a look around. I know many fine folks who aren't sponsored flying 40%s. Many more flying 33%-35%s.


Frankly, I'm starting to see many electric planes other than just parkflyers being flown. A few folks in the club that I fly at now have considered bigger electics. A few guys even fly the bigger electrics. Look around on the internet forums. There are numerous threads relating to electric planes that are more than just the average 2 pound foamie. The sponsored pilots are flying the electrics now and people are seeing that it can be done well and are copying that example.

Have you been to a flying field recently??


50%

Oh man, here we go again....
PLEASE, let's not get into a spitting match about the future popularity of electric versus glo! I can already hear the rampant banging on the keyboards of insulted e-flyers who want to say how much the gas flyers "don't get it." Trust me, they've already heard it.

We Park Flyers think electrics will take over because it is the ONLY THING WE SEE at our parks, for obvious reasons. The gas-flyers at the chartered flying sites will see electrics as only a nitch market because they only see a couple at most...since the rest are flying at the parks! Since we're not all members of AMA, there is NO WAY to tell which is more popular amongst the more serious modelers. Sure, if you want to include all the $30 Airhogs stocking-stuffers, then I suppose electrics are more popular, but those aren't the modelers in question here.

Can we at least agree that electrics will grow in popularity the same way that 4-strokes did? Some will switch. Some won't. And there will always be new pilots who start using either kind. The only thing electrics really have going for them is that many new modelers will start with an electric. But, that has little bearing on what they will choose when they decide to upgrade to something more maneuverable. There will always be the population of modelers who get that "electric" thrill when that tuned pipe cuts a resonant tone on the fly-by! And, there will always be the modelers who prefer the stealth of electrics.

well said Jim!!!!

"Have you been to a flying field recently??"

Yes, on Sunday.
1 turbine, a 42% Ultimate, a 1/3 scale Cub, a 1/4 scale Cub, a Great Lakes trainer, 60 size Spitfire, a couple of 30%-35% Extra types, a couple of trainers and probably a few more I forgot about.
No electrics and no PF's.
Jon

1 electric PF'er, and a pile of .40 to 1.20 size airplanes. Our runway won't handle anything bigger. There's a whole different club in our area that has the gassers. Way more giant gassers there on any given Sunday than all the PF'ers I've ever seen. I daresay there's more .40 size ARF trainers sold than electric planes of any kind. Much less the more serious stuff.

Why do you guys get your feathers ruffled about not being mainstream. I have a few .40 sized ARFs, but they served a purpose. "My" airplanes are 1/2a. That's not mainstream, but I'm not griping. I really don't care who gets offended. It won't stop me from telling the truth. I won't lie to make you feel better.

When you can get an electric ARF this big for this price, you'll be close. [link=http://cgi.ebay.com/25-40-RC-Trainer-Plane-R-C-Airplane-ARF-Kit_W0QQitemZ6061482729QQcategoryZ19164QQssPageNam eZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem]glow trainer[/link]