Spreading your philosophy
- Thread starter Stickyayo
- Start date
M
MCNC
Guest
Admin
My LHS is not busy at all. They mostly are interested in trains. There is a 'high end' flying club in the area that don't seem to use the shop. I took my Flitetest Scout in and explained the excitement of the build videos and reasonable prices. Encouraged him to watch and possibly provide a build area, he has the room. 'Not interested' was the non vocal response. ... Missed opportunity I think. Bought lightweight wheels from him and try to find things I can use from him to support the community.
M
MCNC
Guest
Admin
Local Boy Scout Troops are also a place to start, I have considered this, but I don't have the knowledge to be an instructor yet. Here is a direct tie, they would be most motivated if they ended up with the merit badge. Local airfield does like community development so could team up and put something together I suppose. I was the Cubmaster of the pack feeding the troop.
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/boy-scouts/meritbadges/aviation-merit-badge.asp
http://www.boyscouttrail.com/boy-scouts/meritbadges/aviation-merit-badge.asp
Maker spaces are a DEFINITE place to start. The San Diego Maker's Guild is pleased as punch to have me come out whenever they have events; they've had so much response and our club has started seeing members join up. The fact that you can build things from easily accessible materials (because it seems like there are TONS of Dollar Trees or Dollar General or Family Dollar around town, which seem to all carry the Adams Foam Board) AND use some cool technology (like 3D printed firewalls and control horns), AND use your soldering skills that the Maker's Guild is more than willing to help teach how to do - well, it's all just a big bonus. And, of course, there are ways to branch out from there, with ideas of things like, "Hey, I wonder if I could use my 8 channel transmitter to make Battlebot," or, "I wonder if I can use an Arduino board to set up something like rotating cannons, flashing lights, and a sound system to simulate guns on that B-17 scale model?"
LOTS of crossover opportunities, and people start having fun with it and realizing that there's a ton of ways to get more involved and BUILD things, as well as expand out with other aspects into different hobbies.
Bricks
Master member
First let me state I am not a big quad guy I do have some and fly them. What I have noticed during our indoor flying season, it is at the local YMCA we can be flying planes all afternoon and 1 or 2 kids that are curious about them. One of the club members put a quad in the air and all of a sunden we have 10 people standing and watching. Just saying as much I enjoy planes it may not be the best thing to get kids interested in flying, diversaty is a really good thing.
Wholeheartedly agree on that. I don't know what the fascination is with kids and multicopters, but they LOVE it, especially if it's FPV. So many of them think it's a "VR headset" because the box style goggles resemble Oculus Rifts, until they try it and realize that for all of the movement they do, they can't control the camera.
What's even more fascinating is when you tell them they can hook the cameras up to a plane and fly like sitting in the cockpit. That thought makes a lot of the dads and grandfathers who are/were pilots, or wanted to be pilots, sit up and take notice; many of them didn't realize that was even a possibility, but with technology being what it is now, it's VERY possible.
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
Funny story, a friend of a friend was into RC planes awhile ago, but lost interest and has all this gear sitting in his garage. My buddy told him I was into RC planes and he said I could have all his plane gear, but he asked, "How old is this guy to be into planes? No one flies planes anymore, it's all about drones now!"... Jerk, just give me your stuff and I will out fly your drone lol
Last edited:
LOL he needs to come out to my field...There's a FEW of us flying quads, but nobody's really interested in them. Kinda the opposite...
Sadly, the quad guys in town aren't really giving the hobby a good image. We've had a few guys flying illegally near municipal airports, buzzing people, and at least 2 different incidents of lipo fires from crashes, where the pilot started a fire, called the fire dept, and split before the trucks could show up. The sad thing is that these guys also don't believe in the AMA and sanctioned fields where many of the folks would welcome them in with open arms; they don't see the need to pay for a site where they can fly without harassment, even after they've been run off by law enforcement for trespassing.
Anyway, I'll get off my soapbox...Maybe if we just get younger blood involved and let them know the hobby still exists and it's not just their grandpas out flying, we'll keep the hobby alive.
FDS
Elite member
We bought 6 of the F36 type little indoor quads to use with young people at my main job, we have a few places with indoor halls they can fly in plus I take a whoop style indoor quad for FPV rides and my proper TX etc.
Planes need more space to fly than quads and that puts lots of kids off, plus now stupid laws are in place it’s only very small planes that slide under the weight limit, indoor planes are expensive here too.
Maybe FPV wings would be a good bridge to fixed wing and ZOHD have released a sub 250g RTF.
Planes need more space to fly than quads and that puts lots of kids off, plus now stupid laws are in place it’s only very small planes that slide under the weight limit, indoor planes are expensive here too.
Maybe FPV wings would be a good bridge to fixed wing and ZOHD have released a sub 250g RTF.
Lol 😆 You got the stuff yet?
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
Not yet, this guy is kind of a flake and a procrastinator. I am not sure if he has anything brushless either, I would be surprised if he does judging by the Tx's I got from him.
Anybody wanna buy some old Tx's?!
LOL we couldn't GIVE the old 72 mhz transmitters away at our annual auction; nobody wanted them. I thought for about 5 seconds on taking one since I have an old Tactic (or maybe it's a Futaba, I don't remember) receiver in the Gentle Lady that was given to me...But then I thought, "Now I have to carry a separate tx specifically for that plane...Nope! Not worth the hassle!" Plus, I wasn't sure if the crystals in the radio matched what was in the receiver, so it might've been moot. Probably one of the best things to come out of 2.4 Ghz transmitters - no more trying to swap out crystals!
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
There is a digital screen 2.4Ghz Hitec you might be interested in
Piotrsko
Master member
What are they? Im into 72-75 mhz long wire stuff, and could usesome more systems
Randomkid87
Well-known member
i totally agree with you, it seems like even here in the southeast/northeast that rc planes havent really taken off like mid-west and western states in general
BATTLEAXE
Legendary member
I really don't know anything about these. I did a little google research on the Hitec and downloaded the manual to see if I could get it working but it seems super confusing. I just don't have experience with this vintage of stuff. You might know more about it then I do
I have an old futaba set don’t know much about...
L Edge
Master member
You forgot the best one, being shot down in the air when the other pilot who has the same 72 frequency, turns his radio on and you lose control.
LOL never had that with a plane, but definitely had that with RC cars - My dad had a Tamiya Frog, and I had a Tamiya Falcon, with the same frequencies - and as the crystals seemed to be really expensive back then, we never switched them out. That, or my dad didn't know how to switch them, so...
