How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
02-26-2009, 10:02 PM
#1
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How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
I wanted to start a thread that deals with the why and how everyone who currently enjoys the hobby first got their start. Consider it an on line version of a bull session at the field. I regularly visit many different forums to see what all of us are up to - it's amazing to see the variety of people, from all over the world, with how they enjoy their aspects of the hobby. Some went warbirds, some went sail planes, some went jets, some like to just build and some (like myself) enjoy a little of it all. But we all share one thing in common. There was something, or someone who kindled a spark that got all of us involved enough that we not only spend our time between the workshop, the field and the hobby shop (not to mention the wives and families) but have created this global on line network. So what got us all started? And what keeps us involved all these years (decades for most) later?
Myself, it was my older brother and my dad. My dad flew free flight in his younger days (1940's and 50's) and was around at the beginning of rc flight. I remember him telling me stories of escapements, timers and the like, things I have no knowledge of with today's computerized rc equipment. (I was born in '64) Getting in the car or hopping on your bike to chase down your plane wherever it may have landed seemed to be the norm. My dad's previous flying got my older brother involved. I was maybe 11 or 12 when I would be with my brother and his friends watching him build his first plane. I would go to the field with him, mainly staying out of big brother's way, while he would prep and go flying. Eventually he let me get my fingers on the sticks to experience a little of what it was like.
My dad got back into the hobby briefly after my brother became involved, his first love had become amateur radio (W3UCA). But he was the man I attribute "getting me my wings." My dad taught me building, covering, setting a plane up and eventually how to keep it in the air.
Eventually, my dad drifted away from the hobby again, back to electronics and the radio thing. My older brother got married and started a family (he's a ham too -K3PLC), but I couldn't stay away.
Today, a few decades later, there always seems to be something on the building board. The smell of epoxy and ca sends me back in time to standing by my big brother's side, the smell of nitro reminds me of being with my dad on the perfect blue sky day. The technology has certainly changed since those days my dad would tell me about so long ago, but the love for the hobby and flight has always remained the same throughout.
In a month or so I plan to maiden my first turbine, something my dad couldn't have dreamed of being a reality when he first got his start. Unfortunately, my dad won't be there. I lost him almost 2 years ago to Diabetes and Alzheimers. He would have loved to see and hear that thing go. But hopefully, I can get my big brother out to the field to see it fly. I have both of them to thank for my start, couldn't have imagined a better way to begin my journey. And maybe this time, I'll be the one letting my brother get his fingers on the sticks. This time though it won't be a MEN trainer like it was for me, but a Jet Cat turbine. Maybe....
So how about you,
Dan
Myself, it was my older brother and my dad. My dad flew free flight in his younger days (1940's and 50's) and was around at the beginning of rc flight. I remember him telling me stories of escapements, timers and the like, things I have no knowledge of with today's computerized rc equipment. (I was born in '64) Getting in the car or hopping on your bike to chase down your plane wherever it may have landed seemed to be the norm. My dad's previous flying got my older brother involved. I was maybe 11 or 12 when I would be with my brother and his friends watching him build his first plane. I would go to the field with him, mainly staying out of big brother's way, while he would prep and go flying. Eventually he let me get my fingers on the sticks to experience a little of what it was like.
My dad got back into the hobby briefly after my brother became involved, his first love had become amateur radio (W3UCA). But he was the man I attribute "getting me my wings." My dad taught me building, covering, setting a plane up and eventually how to keep it in the air.
Eventually, my dad drifted away from the hobby again, back to electronics and the radio thing. My older brother got married and started a family (he's a ham too -K3PLC), but I couldn't stay away. Today, a few decades later, there always seems to be something on the building board. The smell of epoxy and ca sends me back in time to standing by my big brother's side, the smell of nitro reminds me of being with my dad on the perfect blue sky day. The technology has certainly changed since those days my dad would tell me about so long ago, but the love for the hobby and flight has always remained the same throughout.
In a month or so I plan to maiden my first turbine, something my dad couldn't have dreamed of being a reality when he first got his start. Unfortunately, my dad won't be there. I lost him almost 2 years ago to Diabetes and Alzheimers. He would have loved to see and hear that thing go. But hopefully, I can get my big brother out to the field to see it fly. I have both of them to thank for my start, couldn't have imagined a better way to begin my journey. And maybe this time, I'll be the one letting my brother get his fingers on the sticks. This time though it won't be a MEN trainer like it was for me, but a Jet Cat turbine. Maybe....
So how about you,
Dan
02-26-2009, 10:49 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
My dad got me a cox control line corsair. It lasted two revolutions. But I was hooked anyway. Then he took me to see a guy he worked with that flew control line and a little rc. He had a beautiful control line beach craft all detailed out. This was about 1967. But I could only afford control line till 1990 when I got into rc. Sometime (I think) in early 2000's I met a guy that had some plans that were given to him by a widow and he passed them on to me. In that pile of very old plans was a beach craft and it had the old guys name on it, Earl Stieger. I'll keep those plans forever cause that plane was the first plane I saw that showed what could really be done. Beautiful exterior and a detailed upholstered interior.
Edwin
Edwin
02-26-2009, 11:55 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
It was my youngest son, or I should say his ex wife. She bought my son an ARF from Hobby Lobby, radio, the works, for their fourth anniversary, thinking he would really dive into that hobby. Well, after a year, he hadn't shown much interest in finishing the kit, or flying it, for that matter and she was getting a little upset with him because we are talking $350.00 here!
So, I told him to bring it up to my house on their next visit, and I would help him finish it. And so, he did, we finished it, and when he went back home that weekend, he left the plane with me. He never looked back, and neither have I. I'm grateful I got to help him with it, one reason being I have really enjoyed myself, doing what I'm doing.
And his ex wife, God bless her, whereever she is, probably doesn't realize what she started.
Norm
So, I told him to bring it up to my house on their next visit, and I would help him finish it. And so, he did, we finished it, and when he went back home that weekend, he left the plane with me. He never looked back, and neither have I. I'm grateful I got to help him with it, one reason being I have really enjoyed myself, doing what I'm doing.
And his ex wife, God bless her, whereever she is, probably doesn't realize what she started.
Norm
02-27-2009, 07:39 AM
#4
RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
I used to spend hours in my back yard as a young boy watching the planes fly over head as our house was in the flight path for Van Nuys Airport. I pedaled papers in those days and would spend my money on any WW 2 plastic model I could get my hands on and once complete hang it from my ceiling in my bedroom. I joined the Air Force after High School and became a part of the un popular war. Upon my return to the states I walked into the hobby shop looking for another plastic model to build, and there on the shelf was a Carl Goldberg Falcon 56 kit. Having just come home with a pocket full of flight pay and combat pay, the Falcon 56 was mine. After many more trips to the Hobby Shop for all the other parts I needed, I was ready and hooked. I am a self taught flyer and the Falcon 56 took a beating, but it got the job done. My second plane was a Super Pronto, followed by a Headmaster. Here I am some 30 years later, still loving the hobby and still very active in it. As a reminder of years past, I still have one of my first radio's. It is an MRC Mark 5 on green and white, that being the channel. My how things have changed over the years. Good Luck, Dave
02-27-2009, 09:30 AM
#5
RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
My uncle flew free flight Buccaneers, Thermic 72's, etc in the days from post WW II on up. My dad was actually more into trains but bought a bunch of control line stuff about 1951 and lost interest whereby I picked up the pieces and took it from there. My dad and uncle always encouraged me in the hobby.
02-27-2009, 12:06 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
It was Cub Scouts that got me started. It was 1949 and the Cub Den I belonged to had a contest in building solid models. I built a solid wood model of a Piper Cub. I painted it green with yellow trim. It was ugly 
! The kid who won glued together one of the then new plastic models. He never built another but I kept on building.
Then in 1952 my parents gave me a black and yellow jet like plastic ready to fly control line model for Christmas. It had an OK Cub .049 B engine in it. I learned on that engine spending hours trying to get it started (without any help). I finially did but the plane never flew. My first successful control line plane I built a year later from plans in, I believe, the old AAM magizine. I used the OK Cub I had gotten the year before. I flew that plane all through the summer of '53. It became fuel soaked. On the last time I started it, the engine backfired and the plane caught fire. All that was left were the wing tips, tail, and engine. I still have that engine and it still runs but poorly. I continued to fly control line into the late '70s and still have a couple of my old control line planes.
In 1973 I decided it was time to try RC. I bought a 7 channel Kraft single stick radio, a Fox .60 Eagle 1, and an RCM Trainer 60 kit. The kit was very well done and built into a very nice plane. I joined the Mid Hudson RC Club (of Rinebeck fame). At the time they had two flying fields. Their main one and one for training at a high school. I was assigned an instructor and soloed my second time out. On the fourth time out I flew it into the side of the high school. Boy, was my depth perception off [>:]! Later that year my family and I moved to Roswell GA where I became a charter member of the RAF (Roswell Air Force). I continued to fly single stick and built an average of two/three planes a year.
In 1990 I got my first computer radio, an single stick Ace MicroPro 8000. I still fly with it today and have five planes on it ready to fly. They are:
1. TF Gold Edition Corsair 60
2. GP Ultra Sport 40 (best flying plane ever and I built it in 1991)
3. Northrop Gamma cross contry racer
4. GP 40 size Mustang (uses US wing)
5. Sig Smith Mini Biplane
Then came 2008. I decided it was time to move to a 2.4 gh radio and to try dual sticks. So I bought a Futaba 7c Fasst system and a NexStar trainer. Using a Tx tray I slowly got use to using my left hand for rudder. I did not like how the NexStar flew - it was way to sensitive to wind. On the 10th flight a tree grab it on landing (depth perception again[>:]). Also last summer for the first time in a long time some of the new ARF's caught my eye. First was the H9 Pulse XT 60. It went together very well and flys like a dream. Then came the H9 Piper Pawnee which I ordered in July but did not get until 6 weeks ago. That was followed by the GP Cherokee, another good kit and fine flyer. And then the BH Trojan T28. Also a great kit which I have finished but not yet flown - waiting for spring. And finally the GP Escapade. This kit was only $99 and is a real buy but does have two manufacturing kinks such as the elevator halves connector not being glued in and the front wing mounting tab being weak. I finished it last night and am looking forward to flying it. I last tried ARF's in the mid '80s. I got a 40 size Cherokee like the one Horizon sells in their value series and a TeleStar 40. Both had plastic covered foam wraped around a wood frame and plastic parts. While they flew ok, they did not hold up to the normal bumps and dings of regular use. The current crop of ARF's with a balsa and light ply frame with fiberglass cowlings and monocote/oracover coverings are much better and lighter. Better yet they can be repaired which you could not really do with the earlier ones. They also fly much better.
One last story on how things change with time. In 1973 I built a flight box. At that time AAM had just published plans for the first glow driver which sensed the glow plug temperature and adjusted the current to keep it lit. A kit was also available. Also electric starters were coming into common use and Sullivan released a 1/2 gallon field fuel tank with a built in electric pump. So I designed my dream flight box. It was made of 3/8 in plywood and had a motor cycle batter built in. Attached was a self built panel which contained the modified glow driver kit, controls for the fuel pump, and outlets for a Kavan electric starter. The flight box took first place at the Mid Hudson RC Club winter meeting in the non flying category. In 1973 I was 32 and the box seemed light and easy to carry. It was great to use and I used for the next 35 years, keeping it updated as better commerical panels became available. Well, 35 years later I find what originally seemed so light now seems so heavy. I have developed a nerve problem in both legs making them weaker and I found I was having a hard time carrying it, specially up stairs from the basement workshop. So I built a new box based on the Sig Mini Tote kit. I replaced of the power module with a single small 1.2 ah 12 volt battery to drive the fuel pump, mounted 12 nicads on my starter, and bought a Radio South stand alone glow driver. I added straps to hold the starter where the power module use to go. Without the starter but with a full 1/2 gallon of fuel and various tools, the new box weighs only 15 lbs, 10 pounds lighter than my old box. And now when I go out to the flight line to start a plane I carry just the starter with the glow driver in my pocket.
Bruce
! The kid who won glued together one of the then new plastic models. He never built another but I kept on building.Then in 1952 my parents gave me a black and yellow jet like plastic ready to fly control line model for Christmas. It had an OK Cub .049 B engine in it. I learned on that engine spending hours trying to get it started (without any help). I finially did but the plane never flew. My first successful control line plane I built a year later from plans in, I believe, the old AAM magizine. I used the OK Cub I had gotten the year before. I flew that plane all through the summer of '53. It became fuel soaked. On the last time I started it, the engine backfired and the plane caught fire. All that was left were the wing tips, tail, and engine. I still have that engine and it still runs but poorly. I continued to fly control line into the late '70s and still have a couple of my old control line planes.
In 1973 I decided it was time to try RC. I bought a 7 channel Kraft single stick radio, a Fox .60 Eagle 1, and an RCM Trainer 60 kit. The kit was very well done and built into a very nice plane. I joined the Mid Hudson RC Club (of Rinebeck fame). At the time they had two flying fields. Their main one and one for training at a high school. I was assigned an instructor and soloed my second time out. On the fourth time out I flew it into the side of the high school. Boy, was my depth perception off [>:]! Later that year my family and I moved to Roswell GA where I became a charter member of the RAF (Roswell Air Force). I continued to fly single stick and built an average of two/three planes a year.
In 1990 I got my first computer radio, an single stick Ace MicroPro 8000. I still fly with it today and have five planes on it ready to fly. They are:
1. TF Gold Edition Corsair 60
2. GP Ultra Sport 40 (best flying plane ever and I built it in 1991)
3. Northrop Gamma cross contry racer
4. GP 40 size Mustang (uses US wing)
5. Sig Smith Mini Biplane
Then came 2008. I decided it was time to move to a 2.4 gh radio and to try dual sticks. So I bought a Futaba 7c Fasst system and a NexStar trainer. Using a Tx tray I slowly got use to using my left hand for rudder. I did not like how the NexStar flew - it was way to sensitive to wind. On the 10th flight a tree grab it on landing (depth perception again[>:]). Also last summer for the first time in a long time some of the new ARF's caught my eye. First was the H9 Pulse XT 60. It went together very well and flys like a dream. Then came the H9 Piper Pawnee which I ordered in July but did not get until 6 weeks ago. That was followed by the GP Cherokee, another good kit and fine flyer. And then the BH Trojan T28. Also a great kit which I have finished but not yet flown - waiting for spring. And finally the GP Escapade. This kit was only $99 and is a real buy but does have two manufacturing kinks such as the elevator halves connector not being glued in and the front wing mounting tab being weak. I finished it last night and am looking forward to flying it. I last tried ARF's in the mid '80s. I got a 40 size Cherokee like the one Horizon sells in their value series and a TeleStar 40. Both had plastic covered foam wraped around a wood frame and plastic parts. While they flew ok, they did not hold up to the normal bumps and dings of regular use. The current crop of ARF's with a balsa and light ply frame with fiberglass cowlings and monocote/oracover coverings are much better and lighter. Better yet they can be repaired which you could not really do with the earlier ones. They also fly much better.
One last story on how things change with time. In 1973 I built a flight box. At that time AAM had just published plans for the first glow driver which sensed the glow plug temperature and adjusted the current to keep it lit. A kit was also available. Also electric starters were coming into common use and Sullivan released a 1/2 gallon field fuel tank with a built in electric pump. So I designed my dream flight box. It was made of 3/8 in plywood and had a motor cycle batter built in. Attached was a self built panel which contained the modified glow driver kit, controls for the fuel pump, and outlets for a Kavan electric starter. The flight box took first place at the Mid Hudson RC Club winter meeting in the non flying category. In 1973 I was 32 and the box seemed light and easy to carry. It was great to use and I used for the next 35 years, keeping it updated as better commerical panels became available. Well, 35 years later I find what originally seemed so light now seems so heavy. I have developed a nerve problem in both legs making them weaker and I found I was having a hard time carrying it, specially up stairs from the basement workshop. So I built a new box based on the Sig Mini Tote kit. I replaced of the power module with a single small 1.2 ah 12 volt battery to drive the fuel pump, mounted 12 nicads on my starter, and bought a Radio South stand alone glow driver. I added straps to hold the starter where the power module use to go. Without the starter but with a full 1/2 gallon of fuel and various tools, the new box weighs only 15 lbs, 10 pounds lighter than my old box. And now when I go out to the flight line to start a plane I carry just the starter with the glow driver in my pocket.
Bruce
02-27-2009, 12:17 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
Brother, if you are ever comeing to Michigan, let me know. I'll buy you the beer of your choice - to chase your shot of Jim Beam. I can do coffee too.
Best regards,
Bill
Best regards,
Bill
02-27-2009, 02:10 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
Bill, it is a deal. But then, how did you know I am a Boilermaker from Purdue and drink Bourbon?
Bruce
P.S. For those that don't know, a boilermaker is a glass of beer followed by a shot of whisky and also the Purdue University mascot.
?Bruce
P.S. For those that don't know, a boilermaker is a glass of beer followed by a shot of whisky and also the Purdue University mascot.
02-27-2009, 05:20 PM
#9
RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
my uncle bought me a Kadet Mark II in the early 80's. i was about 12 yrs old. he stuck with me step by step during construction and flying. i still remember my maiden flight like it was yesterday. we still discuss rc on an almost daily basis.
02-27-2009, 09:33 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
My wife and kids bought me a RTF Alpha 40 for Christmas two years ago. I was 39 at the time. I never really thought about flying RC until then.
02-28-2009, 09:42 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
I watched my uncle Kevin dead stick an Andrews H-Ray into the side of my grandmothers house...It was the coolest thing ever! The following Christmas, he gave me one of his Cox control line airplanes, and it was all down hill from there! Fast forward 26 years later- My son has the same look of awe in his eyes every time I get one of my planes out...Looks like it will go full circle again when we build his first trainer this year. I wish I got started in rc when I was 5! -Craig
The following Christmas, he gave me one of his Cox control line airplanes, and it was all down hill from there! Fast forward 26 years later- My son has the same look of awe in his eyes every time I get one of my planes out...Looks like it will go full circle again when we build his first trainer this year. I wish I got started in rc when I was 5! -Craig
02-28-2009, 11:23 PM
#12
RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
Got hooked at a young age because we had 3 full scale planes in the back of the barn on our farm. I flew for years with my dad , due to bad health lost physical. So I take up rc to fill the void of flying. Yes I was raised with a aeronca champ , chief and a archer. There is no sound so sweet of a air knocker flying over. I can thank my dad for getting me hooked on flying...thanks dad
02-28-2009, 11:35 PM
#13
RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
My dad, right after WW II, rented Champs and 058's several times and took me flying when I was a little kid of 4 or 5. When I turned 18, I soloed a 7AC and got my flight instructors rating in a 7EC. Built model airplanes from 5 yrs old. Started out with the solid models. Could not pass a physical the last 25 years
03-01-2009, 12:41 AM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
ORIGINAL: w8ye
My dad, right after WW II, rented Champs and 058's several times and took me flying when I was a little kid or 4 or 5. When I turned 18, I soloed a 7AC and got my flight instructors rating in a 7EC. Built model airplanes from 5 yrs old. Started out with the solid models. Could not pass a physical the last 25 years
My dad, right after WW II, rented Champs and 058's several times and took me flying when I was a little kid or 4 or 5. When I turned 18, I soloed a 7AC and got my flight instructors rating in a 7EC. Built model airplanes from 5 yrs old. Started out with the solid models. Could not pass a physical the last 25 years
my 9th grade homeroom teacher gave me plans for the German Primary trainer, see attached. I used to tow it up on a spool of my mom's sewing thread hooked around a sewing needle stuck into the bottom of the basswood skid. It flew beautifully. I scratch built a replacement two years ago I then graduated to the Thimble Drome P-40 ( I just bought this from the original owner on Auctionland), and then The Curtiss Pusher which I never flew because I didn't want to hurt it. I recently purchased this one and she will be a "henger queen" - cuse I don't want to hurt it either. my dad had a Dooling .61 race car and engine, a tether hydro with the Dooling in it, a Flying Clown, and a Thimble Drome Champion car with the Cameron .19 in it. I had a-lot of dog gone fun now that I think about it.
Bill
03-01-2009, 01:36 AM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
ORIGINAL: catracer343
I watched my uncle Kevin dead stick an Andrews H-Ray into the side of my grandmothers house...It was the coolest thing ever! The following Christmas, he gave me one of his Cox control line airplanes, and it was all down hill from there! Fast forward 26 years later- My son has the same look of awe in his eyes every time I get one of my planes out...Looks like it will go full circle again when we build his first trainer this year. I wish I got started in rc when I was 5! -Craig
I watched my uncle Kevin dead stick an Andrews H-Ray into the side of my grandmothers house...It was the coolest thing ever!
The following Christmas, he gave me one of his Cox control line airplanes, and it was all down hill from there! Fast forward 26 years later- My son has the same look of awe in his eyes every time I get one of my planes out...Looks like it will go full circle again when we build his first trainer this year. I wish I got started in rc when I was 5! -Craig
Bill
03-01-2009, 04:43 AM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
ORIGINAL: yellerchamp
Got hooked at a young age because we had 3 full scale planes in the back of the barn on our farm. I flew for years with my dad , due to bad health lost physical. So I take up rc to fill the void of flying. Yes I was raised with a aeronca champ , chief and a archer. There is no sound so sweet of a air knocker flying over. I can thank my dad for getting me hooked on flying...thanks dad
Got hooked at a young age because we had 3 full scale planes in the back of the barn on our farm. I flew for years with my dad , due to bad health lost physical. So I take up rc to fill the void of flying. Yes I was raised with a aeronca champ , chief and a archer. There is no sound so sweet of a air knocker flying over. I can thank my dad for getting me hooked on flying...thanks dad
Keep your eyes peeled for the occasional Ag Cat buzzing around this spring.
Cheers,
Bill
03-01-2009, 08:57 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
It all started about a couple years ago when I was 11 or so ; it was the local clubs fun fly and I didn't know what to expect. My mom was working so, my dad took my sister and I out there. Before the day was over I became curious of how they worked and the controls of it. It was the day my dads Extra 300 went in, a mistake I now learned from. So, anyway that summer, I went out to the field a lot and helped him out. One club meeting I decided I'd get me a plane and join the club/AMA. Me being a 12 year old girl in a club of guys/older gentlemen, I got dirty looks, laughs, and some very rude comments when I first started out. Now, after 9 months at 1-2 hours a day on the sim, I'm soloed up, doing aerobatics, and I've got my first 2 warbirds just finished up. What my signature says is true, and everytime I fly, I'm proving to others that I can fly and I do know what I'm doing when it comes to airplanes.
TF96
TF96
03-01-2009, 09:08 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
ORIGINAL: TakingFlight96
It all started about a couple years ago when I was 11 or so ; it was the local clubs fun fly and I didn't know what to expect. My mom was working so, my dad took my sister and I out there. Before the day was over I became curious of how they worked and the controls of it. It was the day my dads Extra 300 went in, a mistake I now learned from. So, anyway that summer, I went out to the field a lot and helped him out. One club meeting I decided I'd get me a plane and join the club/AMA. Me being a 12 year old girl in a club of guys/older gentlemen, I got dirty looks, laughs, and some very rude comments when I first started out. Now, after 9 months at 1-2 hours a day on the sim, I'm soloed up, doing aerobatics, and I've got my first 2 warbirds just finished up. What my signature says is true, and everytime I fly, I'm proving to others that I can fly and I do know what I'm doing when it comes to airplanes.
TF96
It all started about a couple years ago when I was 11 or so ; it was the local clubs fun fly and I didn't know what to expect. My mom was working so, my dad took my sister and I out there. Before the day was over I became curious of how they worked and the controls of it. It was the day my dads Extra 300 went in, a mistake I now learned from. So, anyway that summer, I went out to the field a lot and helped him out. One club meeting I decided I'd get me a plane and join the club/AMA. Me being a 12 year old girl in a club of guys/older gentlemen, I got dirty looks, laughs, and some very rude comments when I first started out. Now, after 9 months at 1-2 hours a day on the sim, I'm soloed up, doing aerobatics, and I've got my first 2 warbirds just finished up. What my signature says is true, and everytime I fly, I'm proving to others that I can fly and I do know what I'm doing when it comes to airplanes.
TF96
Doll baby, if this post isn't BS I'm so proud of you I could burst![sm=thumbs_up.gif][sm=kiss.gif] I would be PROUD to be your dad. I'm going to call you Rosie The Riveter. Fifty years ago you would have been flying B-17s across the pond to our boys in England. Today you'd be flyin' one over Berlin. Heck no, you'd be escortin' the 17s in your P-51. Patty Wagstaff, look out!
Bill
03-02-2009, 12:52 PM
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
That post is not BS. You just wait for my dad to chime in on here. My dad is one heck of a great person, he is just the biggest help to me in the RC hobby. My dad got me a sim and a Hobbico Nexstar, so, I could get the best possible start in the hobby, and boy did I ever. He was standing right next to me, when that cord was pulled, and I was flying by myself !!! I think we both were grining ear to ear for about a week I think Rosie the Riveter is a key symbol for women in aviation ; so, is Ameila Earhart, Patty Wagstaff, and so many other women figures in aviation. Funny you mention Boeing B-17's & Berlin, I'am a die hard warbird fan. My dad named me after the Curtiss P-40 Warhawks Allisonv12 inline engine (it was also used in the Lockheed P-38 Lightning & early North American P-51 Mustangs, that is until the Merlins came in. It was used in some others to, but, I couldn't tell ya all of them) He used to be a aircraft mechanic and I was being born at the time he was workin on the engine. Speaking of Patty, this spring theirs a Airshow and shes going to be performing. And the show that is put on is more, up close and personal, due to the fact that its pretty small compared to other shows. So, I was thinking about printing of this really awesome picture of her & her plane and getting her to sign it ! I think it would be cool if I do have a career in aviation someday. Over winter break, I went down to Iowa w/ my dad and my sister. Anyway, my Uncle is a Certified Flight Instructor, since I already knew all the gauges, controls, checklist, etc., he gave me a ride in his Cessna 172 ! Not only did I ride in it, but, I flew it !!! I flew it straight & level and I did 3 banks/turns. He gave me an offical pilot log & a flight computer ! This spring break we're going to go down their again and hopefully get another couple flights. I'am so proud of myself and my dad is so proud of me too, I have my dad to thank for standing behind me and supporting me after all of my accomplishments.
TF96
I think Rosie the Riveter is a key symbol for women in aviation ; so, is Ameila Earhart, Patty Wagstaff, and so many other women figures in aviation. Funny you mention Boeing B-17's & Berlin, I'am a die hard warbird fan. My dad named me after the Curtiss P-40 Warhawks Allisonv12 inline engine (it was also used in the Lockheed P-38 Lightning & early North American P-51 Mustangs, that is until the Merlins came in. It was used in some others to, but, I couldn't tell ya all of them) He used to be a aircraft mechanic and I was being born at the time he was workin on the engine. Speaking of Patty, this spring theirs a Airshow and shes going to be performing. And the show that is put on is more, up close and personal, due to the fact that its pretty small compared to other shows. So, I was thinking about printing of this really awesome picture of her & her plane and getting her to sign it ! I think it would be cool if I do have a career in aviation someday. Over winter break, I went down to Iowa w/ my dad and my sister. Anyway, my Uncle is a Certified Flight Instructor, since I already knew all the gauges, controls, checklist, etc., he gave me a ride in his Cessna 172 ! Not only did I ride in it, but, I flew it !!! I flew it straight & level and I did 3 banks/turns. He gave me an offical pilot log & a flight computer ! This spring break we're going to go down their again and hopefully get another couple flights. I'am so proud of myself and my dad is so proud of me too, I have my dad to thank for standing behind me and supporting me after all of my accomplishments. TF96
03-02-2009, 09:02 PM
#21
RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
I'm enjoying the stories, especially the last one.
So here's mine. In 1957 "The Spirit of St. Louis" came to our local theater and I immediately became obsessed with Jennies and DH-4s. The next year I got my first plane flight when we went to England on a Super DC-6B. We stayed a whole year, and I had a kind of a shop class where we learned to make balsa gliders, among other things. Soon I started building models of my own, based on planes I saw - rubber power and gliders. None flew very well, but I loved it.
I did control line into my teens, and finally built a "Schoolboy" and flew it with an MRC radio and SN escapement from America's Hobby Center, and Cox .020. The radio quit after one flight but the plane flew beautifully whether the radio worked or not.
Years later I bought an Ace Digital Commander kit with two servos and, remembering the Schoolboy, built a Schoolmaster with a Cox QRC. I taught myself to fly rudder and throttle with that plane. The throttle was a needle that ran through the back plate, and the great thing about it was I could tame the flight when it felt too fast, and also use it as a kill switch. When I got scared, I killed the engine and glided down.
Later I joined a club, got a Midwest Livewire Champ and an OS .15 and learned touch and goes, and simple aerobatics. I've progressed from there, but nothing has ever been as much fun as teaching myself to fly.
Jim
So here's mine. In 1957 "The Spirit of St. Louis" came to our local theater and I immediately became obsessed with Jennies and DH-4s. The next year I got my first plane flight when we went to England on a Super DC-6B. We stayed a whole year, and I had a kind of a shop class where we learned to make balsa gliders, among other things. Soon I started building models of my own, based on planes I saw - rubber power and gliders. None flew very well, but I loved it.
I did control line into my teens, and finally built a "Schoolboy" and flew it with an MRC radio and SN escapement from America's Hobby Center, and Cox .020. The radio quit after one flight but the plane flew beautifully whether the radio worked or not.
Years later I bought an Ace Digital Commander kit with two servos and, remembering the Schoolboy, built a Schoolmaster with a Cox QRC. I taught myself to fly rudder and throttle with that plane. The throttle was a needle that ran through the back plate, and the great thing about it was I could tame the flight when it felt too fast, and also use it as a kill switch. When I got scared, I killed the engine and glided down.
Later I joined a club, got a Midwest Livewire Champ and an OS .15 and learned touch and goes, and simple aerobatics. I've progressed from there, but nothing has ever been as much fun as teaching myself to fly.
Jim
03-02-2009, 09:15 PM
#22
RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
I had a ACE Commander outfit that I assembled myself in the fall of 1957. Put it in a Sterling Mambo with a just out Fox 15. A friend launched it and away I went never to look back. It was easier than control line that I had been flying for a couple years
03-02-2009, 10:43 PM
#23
Senior Member
RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
I joined the Junior Birdmen of America when I was around 12 or so. Started building rubber powered free flights. when I became 17 joined the Navy and became an Aviation machinist mate. After war got my first gas engine, they really were gas powered then with coil,spark plug, condenser,points. flew control line then single channel rudder only radio, stepped up to galloping ghost, reeds etc. and here I am now with Spectrum. I will say this it has all been a great experience and actually led to my profesion as an industrial model maker. Now at 83 I can still fly a recognizable AMA pattern. Have fun all.
03-03-2009, 04:33 AM
#24
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
My father began control line flying models in 1949 when his uncle gave him his used plane. Just a boy, Dad learned, trial and error. I was a lot more fortunate. When I was 10 years old, 1972, I started flying a lil toot .049 control line biplane in my backyard with my brother. We would fly about 8 laps and finally fall down too dizzy to keep going. Soon we were very good at it. Dad kept building for us and soon we learned how to build pretty good, having his guidance. Mom was great in supporting our family hobby, donating a formal dining room for our building room! We flew a lot of the classics, Flight Streak, Flight Streak Jr., Magician 15 and 35, Ringmaster 15, 35, and many others I cannot remember probably because they didn't fly as good. It was good family fun on many Saturdays.
Dad would have finger cuts from time to time, either sharp props or a slip when tuning, but especially when I would fidget holding the plane for him! I reflect on his patience, and the joy he seemed to have letting us do almost all of the flying.
We got into RC around 1980, starting with a Dumas Swamp buggy airboat, which I still have. We took some years away from the hobby, but started again around 2001 when I found a gentleman locally getting out of the RC airplane hobby, so I bought everything he had, naturally.
I brought my children into the RC hobby recently as they come into age, and now I understand why its more fun to watch them fly than myself. My 15 year old daughter flies a Hobbistar 60 very well, and she likes to build kits even more, doing so nicely for a few years now. Yes, our dining room is regularly the hobby table too. My youngest is 9 years old boy, and he's learning on a Nexstar Sim at home but he's not quite ready for the real thing. I'm certain he'll stick with it though, he always laughs hysterically at the field when he sees someone crash.
Dad would have finger cuts from time to time, either sharp props or a slip when tuning, but especially when I would fidget holding the plane for him! I reflect on his patience, and the joy he seemed to have letting us do almost all of the flying.
We got into RC around 1980, starting with a Dumas Swamp buggy airboat, which I still have. We took some years away from the hobby, but started again around 2001 when I found a gentleman locally getting out of the RC airplane hobby, so I bought everything he had, naturally.
I brought my children into the RC hobby recently as they come into age, and now I understand why its more fun to watch them fly than myself. My 15 year old daughter flies a Hobbistar 60 very well, and she likes to build kits even more, doing so nicely for a few years now. Yes, our dining room is regularly the hobby table too. My youngest is 9 years old boy, and he's learning on a Nexstar Sim at home but he's not quite ready for the real thing. I'm certain he'll stick with it though, he always laughs hysterically at the field when he sees someone crash.
03-03-2009, 01:50 PM
#25
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RE: How did YOU get your start in the hobby?
I think a lot of us are proud of you also. Allison V12 eh. My father could take that engine apart in his sleep. He worked for Curtiss Wright during WWII and was all over the world. The old Allison came into it's own when they installed them in the P-38 with the General Electric turbo chargers, or were they super chargers?
As they say "You go girl."
Bill
As they say "You go girl."
Bill