Tattoo

About a year ago I came in the clubhouse and voiced my opinion about how sick and tired I was of guys hovering around at the field (just isn't right man...airplanes are supposted to F-L-Y!!!)...and how overexposed the whole deal was in the magazines...every other page was pics of guys standing there hovering their planes.

Man did I get my ***** jumped big time!!!!

Then last summer I started messing with PBF's...and most recently designed my own version of a poorboy Spad fun fly plane...and guess what?...I'm having an absolute blast doing the very thing I couldn't stand when I wasn't doing it. Is this human nature? What is it that makes hobbyists so passionate for what they percieve as the way things should be, and so anti-what they aren't into?

I'm guickly approaching old fartism, but will have to admit, I'm still learning

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

What I see at the two clubs I belong to is that if some guy doesn't participate or do a certain thing he's against it. At one club heli's are banned because some guy decided he didn't like them so no one should. I'm open to anything, I'll try anything once. I plan on trying rubber powered flight someday. Yes I do hover my plane.

SDCrashmaster

Get a helicopter dangit!

rc-sport

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Thats one thing I won't try, a heli. Well....thats 2 things, the first thing has to do with vats of yogurt and....oh forget it.

phuffstatler

My Feedback: (20)

I do understand your attitude, Tattoo. I personally am totally bored with guys hanging $4000 airplanes 5 feet off the ground.... I like the slow knife edges and other low speed acts of defiance, but with 50 lb. thrust engines on 20 lb. airplanes, it kind of loses something....

This whole "3D" phenomena has gotten me totally bored, actually. We were doing that stuff with .40 profiles back in the early '90's, and were fussed at then because the profiles didn't really 'fly'. I guess it's all the same...

I'm still bored with it though. Most of those guys STILL can't draw a straight line across the sky, if you want to talk precision flying... They can hang on the prop all day, but can't fly straight otherwise...


phil in austin

wgeffon

My Feedback: (4)

Should I respond...........
Shouldnt I.......

Naww. been covered way to many times in the past.

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

Good idea Geffon. Hey did you guys get any snow on Tuesday down there?

wgeffon

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We got a little.

You want to do some flying wityh us this weekend?
A bunch of us are getting together down in Springfield on Saturday to do some flying.
E-mail me if you want to meet up with us.

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

I have always found that if a person is whining that something should be banned or something should not be done with a plane, they have either never tried it or they did and couldn't do it. I tend to discount it a lot. I used to say I would never fly combat because it was a waste. Then, wouldn't you know, I figured out that it was fun. People often mock what they can't do or don't understand. Human nature I guess.

phuffstatler

My Feedback: (20)

I'm not mocking or whining at all. Just bored to see that's all most fellows are trying to do. This is the same kind of chat I would do at the field... Is that whining? Hope not. Just comments. This thread was started to talk about the hovering practices at the fields, right?

I can hang it from the prop, after a fashion. I haven't practiced it very much. Would rather do low inverted passes.... Also love to do outside snaps at low speed, and slow knife edges wit hsnaps to inverted. My short stint in pattern has made me pay attention to what I'm doing, and how the plane presents itself when in the air. Just my style, is all. I like to rollover halfway on the upline for cubans, and I like to land the airplane right at the full stall mark. Just me...

It's fun to hang the little SPAD I've got about ten feet in front of me, for a few moments. Just eats up the fuel to stay there very long, plus uses up the air space for other pilots wanting to come by. I could stay there as long as I wanted, I think, but would rather not...

Oh well, more comments.. err whining... er ... whatevers....


phil in austin

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

I don't know, I think it takes quite a bit of talent to hang a plane on the prop, I'm just learning to do it.

Unstable

what i dont like is people that sit and hover... and hover... and hover ... and hover..


its one thing if you are practiceing to hover... but to me hovering is one trick... its the same thing to me as if someone was just sitting there doing loops... a few is ok but after a while it gets boring.

and yes.. I do hover but again.. its only one trick in my bag... my favorite trick?... nah... thats a lomcevak

JohnW

My Feedback: (6)

Hovering is a blast, but everything in moderation is the key for me. But, whatever turns your crank... if someone only wants to hover between takeoff and landing and they are having a blast doing it, who am I to say they are wrong? Sure, I'll be bored out of my skull watching it, but if the pilot is having fun what does it really matter?

However, if you are flying for spectator enjoyment as well as your own then I think you need to mix it up.

At a large IMAA fly-in last year I was one of four planes that put on a little impromptu 3D lunch time show. We did a lot more than hover, such as walls, parachutes, high alpha KE, rolling harriers, etc. But I'll admit, there was a lot of hovering and torque rolls.

When I needed to cool my engine, I fly out and perform thirty seconds of conventional IMAC aerobatics on the back side of the pattern before I reentered the 3D nest. I mixed it up... everything from point rolls to rolling loops. I was the only one doing this. Everyone else just powered out and quickly reentered the 3D nest.

After the show, much to my surprise, I had many pilots and spectators comment they really liked the conventional aerobatic stuff I performed. This caught me by surprise especially since I was just practicing IMAC to cool the engine before I did some more "show time" 3D stuff.

Cheers

wgeffon

My Feedback: (4)

John,
I totally agree with everything you just said...

Taildrager-inactive

My Feedback: (11)

We have a guy at the field that flys a pattern ship, and when he flys everyone watches because his flying is so precise, and crisp. Then when the hovers go up a few look but you seen one hover you have seen them all, git's pretty boring, but to each his own.

Joss Stick

My Feedback: (1)

I don't want to mention any names here, but I was talking to a well known model aircraft designer/pilot a year or so ago and I mentioned a well known model pilot that he knew well. He told me that he had been to a meet where this fellow hovered over the runway for "6 of the 9 hours he was there." He finally walked up to him and asked, "Well we know you can do that ... what else can you do?".

I've tried it and either don't have the plane for it or the skill. If others want to do it, I don't care ... but it does get a little old to watch after a while.

wgeffon

My Feedback: (4)

Hey guys.....
Everythng gets old after a while.

If all a guy does is hover, thats boring.

If all a guy does is fly his plane in the same sequence practicing for a pattern or IMAC contest flight after flight thats boring.

If all you do is go fast and turn left, thats boring after a while

If all you do is do slow rolls with your warbird, thats boring


It just seems that if someone is doing something that your not into or, dont have any deisre to do, it will get boring for you as a spectator faster.

Joss Stick

My Feedback: (1)

This is true .. went to a pattern meet once ... you guessed it .... bored. Actually I have to admit that when I go to the field it's not to entertain everyone else, it's for my enjoyment.

So hover away, matey!

JohnW

My Feedback: (6)

Joss brought up an important subject for all of us to consider when we hover, fly 3D, combat, fly helis, whatever. Be considerate of your fellow pilots and sympathize with their position. I'm sure this has be covered before, but I don't think it can be covered too much.

This could really apply to many types of flying, but I'll use a hover/torque roll as an example. To really practice a hover/torque roll you need to be in close where you can see the plane... this means close to or even over the runway. The noise (from giant scale) and blocking the runway can really intimidate and bother other pilots. I always try to ask the other pilots in the air if they mind if I hover over the runway for awhile. Typically they don't mind, but occasionally one will want to land first, etc., and many thank me for just asking them if they mind.

The hover really isn't any different than someone making a low pass over the runway, launching a quickie, combat practice, you name it. Everyone has different things they don't like happening when they are in the air. Quickies scare the bejesus out of me... so do high speed passes over the runway... and combat practice makes me nervous. If someone wants to do any of the above, Great! Have fun, but let me know so I can land, that's all I ask. Consider how your activity will effect other pilots, compromise, and we all will have fun.

Cheers