How it all started in radio control.
The tale of how I ended up mildly insane and hopelessly addicted.
By Eric Kler
In the beginning...
It all started when one day I walked into a hobby store, and saw a very nice scale P47 RC model sitting there for sale. I think I said something profound like, "I want that!", to which the the clerk said, "Will that be cash or credit?".
Actually the store owner politely explained how you have to start out with a trainer and practice your way up to handle the 'heavy Iron'. I stared blankly of course, because in the back of my mind I was saying, "Yeah, yeah, well I am the PILOT GOD! GIVE IT TO ME NOW!".
In the back of his mind I'm sure he was saying, "Putz". Anyway not long after, my cousin and I shopped around and bought a ARF trainer, engine and radio. We were positive we could fly w/o any instruction because, "We must have like 1000's of hours on computer game flight sims".
For some reason those words, and many like it have haunted me to this day...(shaking head)...., where were we, oh yeah. Well, the trainer didn't last long, in fact you could time its life on a stop watch. Wow, this ain't like flying a computer..
The First Flight
Well, the day came finally, we finished putting that Royal trainer together, using a Royal 46 and a Futaba radio. We took it out to a small fenced pasture. How small you say? Well lets just say,
you couldn't turn a Yugo around in it.
On top of that on the windward side was a tall hay stack next to the fence. I tell ya between newbie ignorance, misplaced over confidence and testosterone, hell only idiots couldn't fly this thing! Remember, we have umpteen hundred hours on flight sims right!?! How hard could it be?
Excerpts of dialogue-
Matt - "Yeah, I think we can come in and drop over the hay stack and land right in the middle, "Eric - (thinking maybe Matt might be just a little enthusiastic about his ability) - "Well I think we can come in the other side through the gate, heck its 16 feet wide".
Luckily for us we discovered the 1st of many short comings of RC planes vs. our perception of reality. Though the pasture looked smooth enough, it was rough as a cob from cow tracks. Those little tires don't roll through tracks (and worse) worth a darn, imagine that!
So we moved out to a more suitable surface, on to the infamous county road, next to a hill. Which was eventually dubbed FUBAR Hill for the remainder of time. Eric - "Wow, this is hard to steer", after ground looping about 7 times in a row. Matt- "What if we threw it?", Eric excitedly - "Yeah! that would work!, why didn't I think of that!?".
Do I need to type the rest? Well, I will anyway. Matt gets a good running start, and then stops and throws the plane. The plane leaves his hands at about a 45 degree angle. I give a goodly amount of up elevator, like say about 7/8 or so. Ok so its going straight up now, the 46 is screaming the plane is doing its best impression of a Cap 232 in doing a torque roll.
My quick thinking, I push full forward on the right stick, and it wallows over, heading down banked a little, at a seemingly very fast rate. I pull up, just in time to see the wheels touch the gravel road. Just for a fleeting second I think, "I've got this bad boy, ain't no holding me...",
I never finished that thought as trainer 01 met the barbed wire fence and became a nice colored slotted bag of sticks! A woeful tale if I ever told one.
I think we're gettin the hang of it!
Lets skip forward a few months, towards the end of summer and a ratty Sturdy birdy . We kept bending the landing gear so I just bolted a chunk of metal under there as a skid to keep from hitting the prop. (This was before wing loading was discovered by the butthead bros). We had somewhat successful flights but never a full take off/ flight/ landing (with no damage).
The Sturdy Birdy was Matt's, and I had made a bigger version with about twice the wing area, a real floater. We kept trying and trying and finally did it, we decided that to be real pilots we had to do 3 take offs and Landings in a row. kind of our solo - solo,
to to speak.
After some intense concentration, we managed to reach our goal, followed shortly by antics and celebration that would put a Pro football player to shame. I could drone on and on about the planes that have come and gone, but alas if anyone is still awake this far, I'll let the misery end
The Moral
There are very few things in life that have given me as much pride and joy as the first time I felt I could fly this damn annoying toy that has cost more than its fair share of my inheritance and rent money.
But even that very 1st day from what little taste I got I was hooked. there were some very dark days when I threatened to sell it all, and others that I still have scars from. But I still get the tickle in my tummy when I take off nice and straight, or make a fast pass with a warbird or any other of the things that takes some know-how or skill to pull off.
To anyone who wants to travel the unbeaten path of self taught RC flight, you will learn patience and perseverance. None of this comes quick and easy, but things that are worth doing never do it seems.
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Reprinted from the Fubar Hill website
by kind permission of Eric Kler. ©
SMAE-BMFA. 82 YEARS OF SERVICE TO MODEL FLYING
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