Bugalooob

Anybody have a problem with heli pilots taking over their fields?...I don't mind if they fly them in maybe a circuit around the field like other rc pilots do or fly them off the field landing path but they all seem to just stay right in the middle of the field..I can forget about making a low speed pass to admire my plane and god forbid I have a dead stick..what are ya'll thoughts on the matter?

mogman

We have a rule in our club that if you are flying a heli and you are by yourself or with othe helis then do your own thing, if there is a fixed wing flying then the helis have to fly proper circuits. Most of the time we just wait for the helis to finish and then fly...lots of time for all to do their thing.

Cheers, Dave.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

I get out an old beater plane and do my fast passes

carrellh

We have a field rule against doing aerobatics and flying helis over the runway for extended periods.

Occasionally someone has to shout "MOVE OUT PAST THE RUNWAY" but it has rarely been an issue.

Also, if someone calls "DEAD STICK" everyone is supposed to move up and away from the runway immediately.

flyathome

My Feedback: (7)

Some years ago when I was living in Japan, I was watching a very nice Corsair on take off roll, just as he lifted off, a heli
popped up in front of the plane. The pilot jerked the stick left, stalled the plane and snapped it into the ground destroying the plane.
My comment was I would have continuned straight out, that way if the plane hit the heli, the heli pilot would have, at least, paid the
price for his stupidity!!!!

Steve

larry@coyotenet

My Feedback: (21)

Most clubs solve this problem by having a dedicated heli area away from the active runways. Ours does it this way after having some members complain about the heli pilots hovering in a fixed area of our active runway. We have the luxury of a heli pad well away from the runways and fixed wing flight path. If you don't have that solution available then some form of time sharing is the most common solution.

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

When I take the heli out, everyone loves to watch, but I don't hover over the runway. I fly the crud out of it. The new guys fly when noone is flying planes, or we take them some place else for teaching. Its only a problem here with the hard core "helicopter haters" but over the last couple of years, those guys have all bought helis and are learning to fly them. Its kind of funny how that works.

Mastertech

My Feedback: (31)

It's always the Heli pilots fault. Good grief.

They have as much right to fly down the runway as any plank pilot. In my Club Those that fly Heli's do so when the plank guys take a break or when the Heli guys are flying the plank guys just watch and give them the air space. The average Heli flight lasts 8 minutes while the plank guys tend to fly for 20 minutes. If you can't stand to fly while a Heli is up then don't. When some guys fly planks at my club I won't fly at the same time because they tend to fly low and in over the runway most of the flight. We know how the other guy is going to fly and out of respect give them the airspace to fly how they want. No one hogs the field for long.

What is the difference between a Heli hovering in the middle of the runway and a 30% 40 pound Yak doing the same thing?

P-51B

My Feedback: (5)

Personnally, I have both fixed and rotary wing (just learning on my T-Rex 500). At the fields I fly at there is no hovering of anything directly over the runway. You can hover just past the runway, but not over it simply to avoid any issues and out of respect for everyone's flying. For beginning heli-guys like me there is usually a dedicated area, or one that can be used, for hover practice.

I have found it interesting that I belong to several clubs all of which have a fair number of heli pilots and high alpha fixed wing flyers along with the usual sport airplane flyers. Everybody seems to be able to fly with each other without issue and have a great commraderie.

gboulton

My Feedback: (15)

Other than the fact that any 30% Yak that weighs 40 lbs ain't likely to FLY, much less hover, not a thing!

============

In all seriousness, I think you're dead on, Mastertech. Even as a pretty hard core fixed-wing guy (tried heli's for about 6-8 months...just never really got into them), I tend to agree...I think the heli guys, by and large, get a pretty bad shake in things.

The bottom line here is really pretty simple. We're all supposed to be enjoying a hobby, and playing with our toy aircraft, guys.

Aircraft come in all shapes and sizes. The capabilities of a particular aircraft can vary GREATLY from the capabilities of another. These things have been true since the earliest free flight, rubber powered, unpowered, and control line aircraft. Heck...these statements are true of PAPER AIRPLANES for crying out loud.

Why is it, then, that we "plankers" must suddenly take issue with, of all things, helicopters and their pilots?

THEY'RE AIRCRAFT!

You walk out to the flight line, and fly in such a way that you make it impossible for another pilot to operate his aircraft, you're an assclown, ok? I don't care if you're flying a helicopter, a giant scale aerobat, a parkzone Mustang, or Mary Poppins' umbrella...you operate it in such a way that you are unfairly monopolizing the field and its resources, then you suck. Period.

By the same token, if you want to start whining about some other guy because you don't WANT to fly with him, but can't be bothered to wait a measly 10 minutes before going up...then you're also an assclown. Unless your club has some specific by-laws about types of aircraft and their operation, or you happen to own the field, then sit down, shut up, and enjoy the time spent around aircraft and other aviation enthusiasts. Heck..who knows...open the ears more than the mouth, you might even LEARN something from those "heli guys".

This whole thing just ticks me off. I mean, sheesh. Fly what you enjoy, in the manner in which you enjoy it. And if that means we sometimes have to take turns, well for cryin out loud...we were supposed to have learned to do that in Kindergarten.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

They can fly down the runway all they want. It's that "Loitering over the runway" that people complain about.

Food for thought:

Why is it that no one complains that you can't spin donuts with your car on a 4-lane highway?

Think about it. When the roads are icy, we've all (if you live in an area where the roads get icy) gone to a big open parking lot and spun donuts at some point in our lives.

It's fun!

So why limit it to unused parking lots? Why not do it on the interstate?

The answer is OBVIOUS!!!!! THERE IS TRAFFIC ON THE INTERSTATE TRAVELING AT 65MPH!!!!!

So why is it that people think they have the RIGHT to hover ANYTHING over the runway?????

ctdahle

Hey, do you guys know how a snowboarder says hello to a skier?

"Whoa, sorry dude, I didn't see ya..."

I saw my first model helicopter in the early seventies. A DuBro ?505? and back then it was so amazing that anyone would even TRY to fly one, that everyone parked their planes to watch.

For a while, ski areas banished snowboarders to some remote part of the mountain until they realized that snowboarders were becoming a sizeable part of their customer base.

Here at 8000 feet, I am told helicopter models are marginal and so far I have resisted the urge to buy one, but when I see them, they sure look fun. If I was a dues paying member of a club, I'd be a bit upset if a helicopter was hovering over the runway, but if I was a helicopter pilot, I'd be equally miffed if I couldn't fly. Seems like there ought to be a way to share the field and maybe it involves designating dedicated helicopter areas and frequencies. Certainly though, helicopters need to fly the designated traffic pattern, or stay well clear of fix wing operators, same as they are required to do under the full scale rules I think.

There, my two cents worth on a topic about which I know nothing!

foodstick

I suppose my main grief with helicopters is

1. I hate the sound of 2 cycle motors, Now I know electric and other things are around...but most are still 2 strokes.

2. Every helicopter trick sounds like a helicopter crashing out of control ..you either have to keep looking to see if its going in .. or not look and pray it won't hit you.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

Amen brother! (Minn knew I'd see this sooner than later)

Here's our solution, separate flight lines.

For single runways, just take turns and act like adults. The problem usually arises when someone with a particular aircraft (or helicopter) thinks they get first dibs because they paid more for their toy.

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

I just hate the when they crash, the blades become flying knives of death. I had one miss my head by a foot once.

MetallicaJunkie

+1

Im glad its not a problem at my club we only have one heli pilot

Mastertech

My Feedback: (31)

So the airplanes that have wings folded and pilots losing control while landing and coming through the pits are any less dangerous? Thrown props are also a nasty deal. So what we do, can be a dangerous sport.

IMHO the MOST dangerous aspect of our hobby is over weight war birds flown by less than stellar pilots. I've been hit by a few airplanes over the years none doing much damage, I have seen a few accidents with large and small airplanes that sent people to the E room and some stayed a long time.

Not much difference between a 32" Heli rotor and a 32" Prop flying through the air except the Heli rotor is turning 3,000 rpm and the prop is turning 9,000 rpm.

LSF2298

My Feedback: (4)

From the looks of those silos, it looks like you guys have to contend with rockets also!!

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

LOL nah thats just cooling towers for a coal fired power plant. They are a pretty good ways off too.

littlecrankshaf

My Feedback: (58)

I have never had a problem with flying my model airplanes at the field with heli pilots.

We do have quite a few heli pilots that fly at our field just about everyday. And yes they routinely fly over the runway and do 3D but still no problem that I have found. We also have many giant scale planes that fly 3D simultaneously and still no problems. And yes we have just about every other type of model and modeler flying simultaneously as well and still no problems... I can't figure why some of you have problems with a particular type of model flying since it is really more about how considerate the pilots are, no matter what is being flown... most men can work that out between themselves if they just try a little. We routinely discuss immediate operational issues between ourselves and everything is ok…no formal rules…and guess what??? it brings us all a little closer together. We get along with each other very well.

BTW FWIW I have often wondered why strictly heli only pilots even show up at the field anyway. I am glad they do but most of the times when I fly my helis I fly elsewhere since they need no runway. If I do bring a heli to the field it is because I also brought my airplane and would like to fly the heli as well while there. Why to make a special trip to the field just to fly a heli is hard to figure, unless just to hang out with others and/or as a matter of convenience.

Bottom line; Dispose of all your preconceived notions, don’t be afraid talk to each other and work things out like men always should be able to do… It really does work.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

We have 20 to 30 helis at our field on an average weekend and 80 + registered pilots for our yearly helicopter fly in.

LCS, as you say, its because we like to hang out together, give and get help, and push each other to progress in our flying.

Another nail hit square on the head.

rc-sport

My Feedback: (12)

I've never had to dodge an airplane at our field but I did have to dodge a heli in the pits. We don't allow large planes at our field due to noise restrictions and a crabby neighbor.

Stickbuilder

A high speed pass at about 10 feet tends to scatter those models who tend to hog the runway.

Bill, AMA 4720

gboulton

My Feedback: (15)

High speed is not necessary, Bill.

A sufficiently LARGE model will do the same thing at low speeds...and a poorly flown one of ANY size will do it at ANY speed.

Stickbuilder

But Gordon, I don't do a poorly flown low pass. I actually pick my targets as the opportunity presents itself. [8D]

Bill, AMA 4720