Hey everyone! Following the rules and posting here for my first post. I'm a bit of a writer, so either buckle up or scroll down for the pics. I've long held an interest in aviation, a love fostered by my grandfather, with countless trips to the Air Museum and multiple showings of Memphis Belle. I've always admired RC Pilots from afar, having fun with my Go-Fast and Crawler RC trucks. I was admittedly intimidated, ever since the day around 25 years ago when my brother (who was around 17 at the time) hand-built a probably 45" - 50" wingspan trainer of some kind and after months and months of hard work and money spent, promptly ran it into a fence, absolutely shredding it meer seconds after applying throttle. I'm nearly 40 now, and thanks to E-Flite, Spektrum, and Flite Test, I've taken up RC Aviation. My first aircraft did not last long, an E-Flite UMX SR22T, and I learned *after* the purchase that it was not a good beginner plane. Shortly after, I ordered a second plane, also supposedly not beginner-friendly, a UMX MiG-15 EDF. This was the plane I learned on, and I would honestly recommend it to someone who has experience with surface RC as well as video games/flight simulators. My stepdad proved that it was *not* a good beginner plane for someone who doesn't have that experience... by parking it in a tree. That's the last of the dead planes. Next, I got an E-Flite Pitts S1-S. I've got about 10 packs through it and no crashes, no scratches, and no issues. I'm officially in love. The only reason I'm *still* in this is thanks to SAFE Technology, but what got me interested in the first place was Flite Test. I watch a lot of YouTube, especially Crawler stuff, and I follow the RC Saylors, which led to looking at airplane videos, and that led me to Josh Bixler. I love crafting with my hands, making stuff, so I figured I'd try my hand at scratch building, and selected the Mighty Miny Corsair. No electronics, or anything, just wanted to see if I could do it, understand the techniques. Easy peasy. I need something more challenging. Next up, Master Series Corsair, obviously. Ordered everything, Speed Build Kit, C Pack, and an AR637T from Spektrum, and banged it out in about 4 days after work. Since then, I've grown my hangar quite a bit and now have a little Eachine Corsair, a HobbyZone Sport Cub S2 (more for my stepdad) an FMS P-51, and a Freewing F/A-18E. I continue to build an interest in the hobby with my stepdad, built him a Simple Storch. I've also started experimenting with creating my own plans in Fusion 360. Everything I've seen in this community (especially the Flite Test Fans Facebook Group) has been positive, it's reminded me of the community I shared in one of my 1:1 off-roading groups, and I'm happy to be a part of it. Next up is either going to be a Master Series P-47 or P-38, but admittedly, I'm waiting for some of those "background" planes to come out from John Overstreet.
Fun fact, both my FT MS Corsair and my Freewing F/A-18 are done in V(F)A-14 Tophatters Livery (Thanks Callie-Graphics). I served on the USS Nimitz, and the Tophatters were part of our Airwing, our 2003 deployment was the first in which they changed platform to the F/A-18E Super Hornet. The Tophatters are the oldest operating Squadron in the United States Navy.
Links to the Corsair maiden (No, I did not fly the maiden, lol)
3S:
4S:
If you read all of that, thank you! I'm so excited to get more experience as a pilot.
Fun fact, both my FT MS Corsair and my Freewing F/A-18 are done in V(F)A-14 Tophatters Livery (Thanks Callie-Graphics). I served on the USS Nimitz, and the Tophatters were part of our Airwing, our 2003 deployment was the first in which they changed platform to the F/A-18E Super Hornet. The Tophatters are the oldest operating Squadron in the United States Navy.
Links to the Corsair maiden (No, I did not fly the maiden, lol)
3S:
If you read all of that, thank you! I'm so excited to get more experience as a pilot.
