With all the potential dangers one can face as a model railroader, be thankful our hobby isn't nearly as damaging as, say, RC airplanes: Model Plane Suspected Cause of 30-Acre Wildfire
Groan. Just what the (model airplane) hobby needs, more bad press. First the idiot kid who wanted to use R/C planes to bomb the Pentagon, now this. Keep in mind the media will jump all over this like they always do. The AMA has been working with the FAA for months to show how safe modern RC is and how it will not disrupt full scale aviation or cause problems. It will be interesting to see how this turns out once more ignorant news anchors get a hold of this.
Well, are they really "news" people? Or just a type of entertainer? I like R/C planes. But was never any good at flying them. I have been the victim of an errant landing. A fellow I knew misjudged and my legs paid the price. Being polite here, I said something similiar to "gee whiz, that stings!" Ha ha.
When I was a kid (I guess I still am, at 26, in the eyes of some folks), there was some guys who brought some model airplanes to fly at the old fairgrounds. One guy was telling about how expensive the hobby was and pulled a brand new plane he had just finished. He fired it up and flew it, but not even 5 minutes into the flight the plane took a straight down nose dive at full speed and hit the ground from a good 100-150 feet up. Destroyed, the poor guy looked like he saw a ghost. I guess that would be equivalent to a custom-finished brass steam locomotive sailing off the end of a layout from eye level at top speed. Our hobby is relatively safe, but there is always the eminent danger of cracking your head underneath benchwork, or dropping needle-point tweezers on your foot, points first.
A friend sent me a few youtubes and I was in shock! These RC planes were huge !!!!!!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5FjTcctkC4
As a LONG time plane / helicopter guy. I would have to say, if an R/C plane did start the fire, it would have to be a gas powered or an electric plane. A glow plane just does not get hot enough to start a fire. I have crashed more then my fair share. Only time smoke has come out was when the on board batteries shorted out. I crashed an electric powered plane and the LIPO battery was damaged and it went up in a rather large smoke cloud. I had an electronic speed control melt while flying. Also ended in lots of smoke. About the only other way would have to be a jet. The turbines get hot enough to melt just about anything. So when they say model airplane, that is sort of vague. What happens if you really damage them. When mine went up, they slide forward and were impaled on a bolt for the motor mount. POOOOOOF Up they went. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0tE_ohirhI I flew my helicopters at that field during a fun fly several years ago. It is a really nice place. I went with two helicopters, came home with one and a bag of parts. You can build a might nice layout for the cost of a top end helicopter. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-82zoCxj34 Plus about $1,000.00 more to get it in the air. http://www.heliproz.com/prodinfo.asp?number=OSMG1958 http://www.heliproz.com/prodinfo.asp?number=KX018009 Buzz.
Another thing- R/C race boats. Some of those guys in the largest scale classes have enough in their team, $$$, to have bought and be racing a competitive APBA Inboard Limited hydroplane.
Candy, I went to the video link you gave and was so impressed that had to watch a lot more of them. Wow.
Regarding the hobby being as safer or less expensive, it's all relative. The myth that R/C planes are so expensive, a rich mans hobby is now just that, a myth. Anyone can now go to a hobby shop and pick up a complete, ready to fly electric airplane for under $100.00. They are small, quiet, light and easy to fly. From that you can go anywhere, just like in model railroading. Some guys prefer to build (like me), others go the Almost Ready To Fly route. The hobby is a wide spectrum as well. At any given flying field you will see the extremes, the one guy with a Prius and two little electric jobs and the guy with the Tahoe and trailer with two 40% composite ARF Edge 540's running 4 cylinder 150cc engines. I'm somewhere in the middle with my Great Planes 1/5 scale Stearman, borrowing my girlfriends Pontiac Montana. Also the old stories of planes doing the "lawn dart" are getting less and less common. A few years back, most of us went 2.4Ghz versus the old narrow band 72Mhz. The old 72 was prone to interference and I lost a few planes to it. I can honestly say that in the four years I have been flying 2.4, I have never gotten a "hit" or even a glitch. The "walk of shame" as we call it is 98% pilot error. One extreme, my Great Planes Navy S2 Stearman bipe. I have to use Angela's van for this one. Weighs in around 12 to 14 pounds. With everything I have in it, O.S. four stroke, Futaba radio system and other scale do dads, I would say $1000.00. She is in this state because it is time for her annual inspection. Just like full scale, every thing is checked and tested after sitting dormant during the winter months, or in my case the year I was in Jersey. Other extreme, E-flite 50" Spitfire, electric with retracts. $500.00, only because my radio choice. You can get this in the air for just under $300 less the retracts and a cheaper radio. And cheapest yet, free flight! Dumas 18" Cessna 140 kit, $18.00. Balsa, covered with tissue and powered by a rubber band! Low tech, but still my favorite aspect of model aviation. It is in cost what ever you make of it. I spend more money on my Jeep with one call to Quadratech or 4WD, then I do with model railroading and R/C combined.
A friend of mine sent me a video a while back of a B-52/ X plane combo, that took 3 people to fly. 2 for the bomber and the 3rd controlled the X plane once the B-52 "mothership" launched it. alan
Myself I find easier to fly 1:1 airplanes, from the inside, than R/C model planes!:teeth: I tried one only one time and nearly crashed it into a mobil home until my "teacher" retrieved the R/C unit.....
What? Nobody here has heard of the flying diesel corp's? Probably best not to interupt the present line of sync'd discussion.
have often thought about getting buying a RC plane to toy around with. But then I think about where will I fly i, what if I crash it, etc. Then the idea fades away. So all I do is look at them from time to time at the hobby shop and think to myself, endless money pit hobby. I will stay with the trains.
