TheFlyingBrit
Legendary member
I grew up in the 60s and in those days models where made from Balsa. All I could afford at the time was free flight rubber powered models, made from balsa kits with tissue and dope. I was amazed when a mate showed me a plastic P51 Mustang, control line model with a Cox 049 engine, it never flew by the way but sounded great and looked good.
I progressed on to gliders, then control line balsa planes with 049 engines and eventually onto Free flight models with small diesel engines. In the early 70s along with my brother we bought a Mercury matador kit, this was the first large scale plane we had and again it was free flight and had a diesel engine. Sadly it only flew once before an untimely demise in my fathers garage.
After a long break I returned to the hobby in the 80's and it was all nitro engines and radio control. I progressed from 3ch to 4 chanel and was enjoying the hobby again. Then the next change came in quick, electric flight with brushed motors and Nicad battery packs. I built a Golberg Electra which I still have to this day. The motor was drastically underpowered and it was heavy due to the power pack but it flew, sadly I didn't get around to a gearbox upgrade.
My wife at the time bought me a plane for Christmas, an Extra 300. It had a plywood frame with thin foam sheeting and a plastic covering. The wing was a foam core with plastic covering. Sadly that only flew once, I asked an experienced pilot at the club to maiden it for me. After 5 minutes it crashed unceramoniously, I still have some of it and may rebuild it one day.
Shortly after the hobby once again to a back seat for personal reasons until 2 years ago. After buing my son a drone for Christmas, I suddenly got a taste for the hobby again.
Lots had changed including the introduction of 2.4 ghz radios. Nitros where falling out of favour and where being replaced by electric, with powerful light weight brushless motors and Lipo batteries with more power and capacity than the old NiCad packs. Even the models where changing, they where now made from various types of foam and plastic and EDF engines to power them. The changes continue, now petrol (gas) engines are becoming popular and the poor old nitro engines are getting pushed back into the same catagory as the diesel engines.
The biggest change for me has been turbine engines and jets, these are really impressive both in appearance and performance.
However, part of me still looks back on the days of balsa and nitro engines with fondness, although I dont miss the castor oil and having to fuel proof planes. I also dont miss having to take all the gear with me including: fuel, starter, battery, spare glow plugs and loads of tissue to wipe up the mess. I love turning up at a field with 3 or 4 electric planes a selection of batteries and within minutes I am flying. But the sound is missing and the smell of a nitro engine sadly its catch 22.
The biggest improvement is the Radio gear. I no longer need a selection of crystals, or to worry if someone else is using my frequency. My new transmitter can hold hundreds of planes and each individual planes set up, within seconds I can swap from a Piper cub to a glider. For me thats the biggest and best change thats come to the hobby.
Although I fly mainly Foam, elctric planes these days I still love to see a scale balsa plane flying past with a proper engine. Call it reminicing or nostalgia Its an era of modelling that I will allways look back fondly on.
What do you think about the changes the hobby has gone through ?
I progressed on to gliders, then control line balsa planes with 049 engines and eventually onto Free flight models with small diesel engines. In the early 70s along with my brother we bought a Mercury matador kit, this was the first large scale plane we had and again it was free flight and had a diesel engine. Sadly it only flew once before an untimely demise in my fathers garage.
After a long break I returned to the hobby in the 80's and it was all nitro engines and radio control. I progressed from 3ch to 4 chanel and was enjoying the hobby again. Then the next change came in quick, electric flight with brushed motors and Nicad battery packs. I built a Golberg Electra which I still have to this day. The motor was drastically underpowered and it was heavy due to the power pack but it flew, sadly I didn't get around to a gearbox upgrade.
My wife at the time bought me a plane for Christmas, an Extra 300. It had a plywood frame with thin foam sheeting and a plastic covering. The wing was a foam core with plastic covering. Sadly that only flew once, I asked an experienced pilot at the club to maiden it for me. After 5 minutes it crashed unceramoniously, I still have some of it and may rebuild it one day.
Shortly after the hobby once again to a back seat for personal reasons until 2 years ago. After buing my son a drone for Christmas, I suddenly got a taste for the hobby again.
Lots had changed including the introduction of 2.4 ghz radios. Nitros where falling out of favour and where being replaced by electric, with powerful light weight brushless motors and Lipo batteries with more power and capacity than the old NiCad packs. Even the models where changing, they where now made from various types of foam and plastic and EDF engines to power them. The changes continue, now petrol (gas) engines are becoming popular and the poor old nitro engines are getting pushed back into the same catagory as the diesel engines.
The biggest change for me has been turbine engines and jets, these are really impressive both in appearance and performance.
However, part of me still looks back on the days of balsa and nitro engines with fondness, although I dont miss the castor oil and having to fuel proof planes. I also dont miss having to take all the gear with me including: fuel, starter, battery, spare glow plugs and loads of tissue to wipe up the mess. I love turning up at a field with 3 or 4 electric planes a selection of batteries and within minutes I am flying. But the sound is missing and the smell of a nitro engine sadly its catch 22.
The biggest improvement is the Radio gear. I no longer need a selection of crystals, or to worry if someone else is using my frequency. My new transmitter can hold hundreds of planes and each individual planes set up, within seconds I can swap from a Piper cub to a glider. For me thats the biggest and best change thats come to the hobby.
Although I fly mainly Foam, elctric planes these days I still love to see a scale balsa plane flying past with a proper engine. Call it reminicing or nostalgia Its an era of modelling that I will allways look back fondly on.
What do you think about the changes the hobby has gone through ?
Don't get me wrong electric has its benefits though. It plus foamboard are probably the king of rapid prototyping. But the tradeoff is foam airplanes rarely last very long regardless of how well you build them. Meanwhile my inventory has balsa airplanes older than me that I still fly. Paolo Severin said something like the closer you get to adopting the construction methods of full scale airplanes, the closer the lifespan of a model will get to its full size counterpart (and judging by what his airplanes look like I would not doubt him!)
