So, my dad and I were at AMA Expo West this weekend, and we were walking the floor when we came across this little booth at the corner, back by the indoor flying cage.
We started looking, and I said to my dad, "Oh, these look like some neat little static display models! And $40-$50 for their size, and laser cut kits, etc., seems like a really good price for what they are!"
Then my dad looks at the prop of one of them and says, "Wait...There's a gear on the motor. Hold on - are these things actual, flyable models?"
That's when we discovered that these things that maybe had a 12 inch wingspan, were little, flyable balsa models that you could build and coat yourselves, AND fly them indoors (or MAYBE outdoors, with ZERO wind)!
We started talking to the guy who had them for sale, and he said they based the kits on the boards and motors that you typically see come out of the Horizon Hobby UMX kits - people would kill the plane, and then the cost to fix it was maybe $10 less than to just buy a new one. So, people were throwing the planes away, and he found a way to recycle the motors and receiver/servo/AIO boards from them into these little kits. So now, my dad and I have Christmas gifts for each other; I don't remember the one he bought, but they look really cool, and it'll be my first balsa build, something I've wanted to do for a while because I love modeling, and I just want a slightly different challenge than building with foam and hot glue.
Oh, and for those wondering the name of the company? Stevens Aeromodel - link here: https://www.stevensaero.com/
Check 'em out. They're not going to be for everyone, but they were really neat looking planes!
We started looking, and I said to my dad, "Oh, these look like some neat little static display models! And $40-$50 for their size, and laser cut kits, etc., seems like a really good price for what they are!"
Then my dad looks at the prop of one of them and says, "Wait...There's a gear on the motor. Hold on - are these things actual, flyable models?"
That's when we discovered that these things that maybe had a 12 inch wingspan, were little, flyable balsa models that you could build and coat yourselves, AND fly them indoors (or MAYBE outdoors, with ZERO wind)!
We started talking to the guy who had them for sale, and he said they based the kits on the boards and motors that you typically see come out of the Horizon Hobby UMX kits - people would kill the plane, and then the cost to fix it was maybe $10 less than to just buy a new one. So, people were throwing the planes away, and he found a way to recycle the motors and receiver/servo/AIO boards from them into these little kits. So now, my dad and I have Christmas gifts for each other; I don't remember the one he bought, but they look really cool, and it'll be my first balsa build, something I've wanted to do for a while because I love modeling, and I just want a slightly different challenge than building with foam and hot glue.
Oh, and for those wondering the name of the company? Stevens Aeromodel - link here: https://www.stevensaero.com/
Check 'em out. They're not going to be for everyone, but they were really neat looking planes!
