bigdano711
Active member
My very first plane was from TowerHobbies around 20 years ago. The fuse was this PVC-like plastic but thin and somewhat flimsy...think plastic Folgers coffee can. High-wing, trainer design with foam wing and molded slots for tail-feathers. My very first flight was actually successful! No steerable nose wheel, just basic trike landing gear. Pointed it into the wind and took off from the ground...in a parking lot....with light poles and parking curbs everywhere. I managed to miss the light poles, several close calls, and actually landed her pretty well. Had no idea about roll-out and put it into one of the many parking curbs I was surrounded by. Popped off the spinner and bent the shaft.
That poor plane was sadly under-powered by a sealed-end brushed motor and gear-box running on a 5 cell Nimh that guys used in glow planes as a Rx pack. I see the micro world has brought back the ESC/Rx/servo brick that I had on that plane....except mine was massive and ran on the old 72 Mhz band. LOL Eventually installed brushless motor, ESC, a decent Rx, separate servos and 3S lipo. Hand launch was spool up and let go, no throwing necessary. I folded that wing and it dropped in the laziest spin and kinda helicoptered in on it's belly. Fuse took absolutely no damage. Put a spar in the wing and it never folded again.
Once, I lost elevator as the clevis came disconnected while trying to perform an outside loop. All it did was porpoise. Since I still had rudder and throttle, I was able to manage it to the ground and actually time the porpoise pretty well into a flare and landed it pretty smooth.
Another time I nosed it in pretty hard. Barely put a couple crinkles in the nose of that fuse. Straightened it out by hand. Sure wish they still sold that plane...the design of the fuse was it's best feature....light but TOUGH.
Then it was on to ARF's, both electric and glow. Was never really interested in building from plans or kits until recently. I had a few Runway Rats for friends back then who were always trying to get me into scratch building or building from plans. Didn't have the time nor bandwidth, but now I do.
I started searching for kits to build based on old data...balsa kits. There is not much out there in the way of balsa kits...so, I started looking at Guillow's RC conversions. Was looking hard at the "Giant" series of planes, which come in at 31.5" wingspan. Not exactly giant. During my searches, FliteTest videos kept coming up. The first few videos I saw it seemed like you guys were just testing out stuff, and I assumed it was stuff that was sent to you. I had no idea you were making these things out of poster board and testing them yourselves.
I have watched many hours of your shenanigans, and I just love it! I am so happy for your success. I love hearing stories about companies that started in a garage. You have re-kindled my love of RC airplanes in a way I had no idea was possible. I have thanked you by purchasing the 300 watt glue gun, Power Pack C and the Simple Cub from the swappable series. I have printed out all 103 pages of the FT Mustang Master Series and will be purchasing a stack of foam board from you soon.
Thank you for doing what you do. I look forward to purchasing more Quick Build kits, Power Packs and printing more plans and building. I'm even looking at plastic Folger's coffee cans in a whole new light!!!
That poor plane was sadly under-powered by a sealed-end brushed motor and gear-box running on a 5 cell Nimh that guys used in glow planes as a Rx pack. I see the micro world has brought back the ESC/Rx/servo brick that I had on that plane....except mine was massive and ran on the old 72 Mhz band. LOL Eventually installed brushless motor, ESC, a decent Rx, separate servos and 3S lipo. Hand launch was spool up and let go, no throwing necessary. I folded that wing and it dropped in the laziest spin and kinda helicoptered in on it's belly. Fuse took absolutely no damage. Put a spar in the wing and it never folded again.
Once, I lost elevator as the clevis came disconnected while trying to perform an outside loop. All it did was porpoise. Since I still had rudder and throttle, I was able to manage it to the ground and actually time the porpoise pretty well into a flare and landed it pretty smooth.
Another time I nosed it in pretty hard. Barely put a couple crinkles in the nose of that fuse. Straightened it out by hand. Sure wish they still sold that plane...the design of the fuse was it's best feature....light but TOUGH.
Then it was on to ARF's, both electric and glow. Was never really interested in building from plans or kits until recently. I had a few Runway Rats for friends back then who were always trying to get me into scratch building or building from plans. Didn't have the time nor bandwidth, but now I do.
I started searching for kits to build based on old data...balsa kits. There is not much out there in the way of balsa kits...so, I started looking at Guillow's RC conversions. Was looking hard at the "Giant" series of planes, which come in at 31.5" wingspan. Not exactly giant. During my searches, FliteTest videos kept coming up. The first few videos I saw it seemed like you guys were just testing out stuff, and I assumed it was stuff that was sent to you. I had no idea you were making these things out of poster board and testing them yourselves.
I have watched many hours of your shenanigans, and I just love it! I am so happy for your success. I love hearing stories about companies that started in a garage. You have re-kindled my love of RC airplanes in a way I had no idea was possible. I have thanked you by purchasing the 300 watt glue gun, Power Pack C and the Simple Cub from the swappable series. I have printed out all 103 pages of the FT Mustang Master Series and will be purchasing a stack of foam board from you soon.
Thank you for doing what you do. I look forward to purchasing more Quick Build kits, Power Packs and printing more plans and building. I'm even looking at plastic Folger's coffee cans in a whole new light!!!
