My Model RC History PDF Print E-mail
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Thursday, 01 April 2010 13:03

Radio Controlled Models.

I got involved with RC models quite young when my father bought me a 24" deep V boat. It was fun to build but it became difficult to find a place to use it. Later I bought a Gas powered RC car and was hooked. My first car was a 1/10 scale Kyosho Stinger all wheel drive. It has a OS 0.12 cc CZ-R motor which puts out 0.3 HP @ 26,000 RPM. This car was pretty fast and did not suffer from short run times like battery powered cars do. It ran for about 10 minutes per tank. I purchased a second Stinger so my friends and I could race. My next car was a 1/8 scale Kyosho Turbo Burns. This is a serious race machine. I put in a OS 0.21cc RX-B engine which delivers 2.2 HP @ 32,000 RPM. It has a center differential to change the power delivery to the front and back tires depending on road conditions. This car will do about 50 mph and it gets there in a few seconds. It is very tough. Anyone interested in RC cars should look at 1/8 scale. The 0.21 motors are much less finicky than the smaller 0.12 scale and the realism is incredible. The only draw back is you need a bit more space to drive them. I used to drive all my cars on an indoor track which was designed for 1/10 scale cars and it was a little tight for the Burns.

RC Flight

I am now involved in RC planes. I though all my years of video games and flight simulators would prepare me for the challenges of RC flight. I was WRONG. It is a very intense sport requiring a lot of concentration but is it every an adrenaline rush. If you have the means I would definitely recommend trying it.

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I built my first plane (a Big Stik 40)  in under 2 weeks and was flying it the same day it was finished. This is an ugly plane but its very tuff. I cartwheeled it coming in for a dead stick landing and there was not even a scratch on it. It is not really designed for novice pilots but if you are not week of heart it does serve the purpose.

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I have always been interested in unique aircraft so I bought the plans for a Cierva C.4 AutoGyro from the AUTOGYRO COMPANY of ARIZONA shown here:  This was the first model I scratch built from plans. I am just installing the radio gear and hope to have its maiden flight this spring.

The start of my passion for helicopters

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After building the AutoGyro I starting looking at getting into helicopters. I finally broke down and bought a Kyosho Nexus .30.  Helicopters are probably the most challenging of all R/C models to master but I was up for a challenge. I built training gear for the heli which consists of to 4' dowels with wiffel balls on the ends. These are strapped to the skids of the heli and prevent it from rolling over on its side, which on a heli is a very bad thing. After two weekends learning to hover with training gear I was persuaded to remove them by a fellow flyer. The hobby got quite addicting after that. I spent all my free time at the field and moved into forward flight in short order. I unfortunately had an incident where the engine in my Nexus just quit at about 50'. I almost got it down but I bled off too much head speed and it fell like a rock for 10'. Luckily I only broke the skids but I then decided that I needed a second heli just in case this type of thing happened again.

 

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So I purchased a TSK MyStar GS.  This is a large heli with a 24cc TAS gas engine. The mechanics in this heli are unbeatable. It has ball bearings on every moving surface and all metal parts throughout. It weights 13 pounds so is very stable to fly. I initially had problems getting the engine to run correctly but I eventually sorted it out and had a blast flying the MyStar. The machine is so smooth it makes even a novice pilot like myself look like I know what I am doing. At this point I had run over 9 gallons through my Nexus and most of its plastic parts had worn out. So I was down to one heli again. I had to decide whether to spend a lot of money upgrading the Nexus or purchasing a new heli. I finally decided to buy another TSK since the gasser was such a pleasure to build and fly. I ended up buying a MyStar 46 with an OS 46 FX engine. This machine really moves. After getting more into Aerobatics I found the MyStar GS a little to docile and heavy. I ended up converting it to a 60 using a YS ST-1 engine. What a difference. The power these 60's have is incredible. After flying one you do not really want to fly anything else. I ended up buy a few more over the years.

And then things got out of control

My flying progressed and I got into more advanced aerobatics. Unfortunately, TSK ended up going out of business so I had to look for an alternate manufacturer. Luckily, while attending a local fun fly in 2000, I won a Miniature Aircraft Fury. It was a 60 size heli that I put a YS 61 ST-2 into. This has been an awesome helicopter. I ended up buying three of these over the years and converted two of them to YS 91 engines and converted one to a night machine. I have thousands of flights on these models and they are still in great condition. They also got some new clothes

The Start of a business

In 2007 a new heli came on the market called Synergy. I had the opportunity to become the Canadian re-seller for this brand. So I started a Online hobby store called Pivotal Hobbies. I started selling helicopter kits and parts for various brands including Century Helicopters, Align, and Synergy.

I belong to two Clubs. One is the Sea Island Model Flying Club in South Delta, BC. If you would like more information about our club check out our web page at www.seaislandrc.com. This club only flies planes so I get my heli flights in at Ridge Flyers in North Delta.

Last Updated on Saturday, 03 April 2010 11:54