Some OPTOMISTIC thoughts for a change.

I'm a great one for looking ahead, and I'd like to make some predictions for C/L in general and Stunt in particular.

PLEASE,PLEASE DON'T FRAY THIS THREAD AND GET INTO PAMPA POLITICS. I'm just drawing a picture of what I think will happen and I'd love to hear if y'all see the same or think I'm crazy.....ouch, I might regret that invitation.

Back in the '70s R/C began to grow exponentially because technology opened the door to many more people. Proportional radios at good prices, engines becoming fairly user friendly, electric starters, and Monokote type coverings triggered a boom that still hasn't quit.

I think we are about to see the same thing in C/L. Quality, low priced ARF's one of the factors but I don't think they are the key.

We saw a very competitive ELECTRIC stunter at this year's Nats. Odds are that within just a couple of years improvements on that technology will be available and affordable to anyone, at least to the point of powering something short of a Nats or World champion. Who knows? Electrics programmed to respond to load change may prove superior to gas, possibly producing a jump in world class pattern quality. Or maybe not.

While I do love my caster oil spitting noise makers, few would argue that they are among the most "politically incorrect" power sources on the planet.....and let's not argue the pro's or con's of "politically correct" here. What we all know is that we have lost most of our flying sites due to noise. Years back I flew in a sqare park with homes on all sides and the folk set up chairs in the front yard to watch. Some of the kids who saw us are still modelers.

Without noise problems, many of those options are going to re-open for us. All we really need is a 150' spot and we're in business! R/C, on the other hand needs lots of room, the most precious thing in the urban areas. One R/C site after another is being force to move furher out by development.

Our corner of the sport should certainly grow . For those of us in the snow belt, indoor electric is already starting (watch those overheads), and competition can't be far behind. Outdoors, we should be able to gather new C/L flyers in general, both from newcomers and from returning flyers and R/C who don't want to drive 50 miles to fly.
Many of these will gravitate to stunt and many of those to competition.

Think of this: AMA might actually see us as a real force again!

Again, let's not chew on the possible politics of this. If it happens we can look at that. I just wanted to put out one possible view of the future that I think is positive.

I have pretty much the same crystal ball. What I think we need right now is an attractive ready to fly electric trainer with replacable parts like all the wings and stuff you see hanging in your local hobby shop. Unforutunately none of the ARF's are good trainer planes like the old Guillows or Testors. I think the trainer should be modular and you could buy upgrades for it as your skill level increased, eventually ending up with something like one of the East European take-aparts:)

Someone, in this decade, is going to offer a RTF, .15 sized Electric Sport/Stunt model, at an affordable price. It will come complete with lines and handle, and will sell briskly, even (especially) outside the domain of your LHS (as do RTF backyard RC fliers do now). The model will come with an extensive, easy to follow book of flying instructions. It will be highly crash resistant, depending partially on rubber band "tech" (like a Cox PT-19). Tooling costs will be significant, but after that, someone will make some decent coin on this. This will expand the domain of CL in a way that present technology cannot. Maybe someone here...

(When I saw OPTOMISTIC, I thought it was about my glasses. But you are right both ways...it is about vision).

I'm building my first c/l plane since I was in junior high school. Why?

It's simple.
No worrying about whether the tx and rx batteries are OK.
No worries about someone else on your frequency
No fiddling with micro servos in a fuselage that is *almost* wide enough.
No worrying about the kids fiddling with the control surfaces and stripping out a servo.

For the effort of building one medium weight hand launch glider (RC), I can build 2 or 3 1/2a c/l models, which will easily fit in a box in the back of the van.
For the effort of building a 3 meter, I'm bettin' I can scratch up a couple of Ringmasters, or maybe something a little more complicated.

My parents have rearranged their property such that laying out a high start is a problem, and the final approach would be pretty interesting anyway. But, I can get a space that's maybe 150' square with some margin all around, so when we go visit...

Finally, the bit that made me clean off my workbench:
I was thinking about a late neighbor. Dad flew control line, but Glen FLEW. I realize now it must have been the pattern, and even after 25 years I recall 3 inside loops, an inverted pass, 3 outside loops, some square loops, and more all flown with an efficient, calm fluid grace.

I wanna try it.

To replys 1,2,3:

Thanks, you've made my day!

I knew there had to be some upbeat thoughts out there.

Some general prognostications: There are megabucks being spent to develop light, powerful, safe, cheap sources of electricity. There are large dollars being spent to develop small, powerful, cheap electric motors. There are a few bucks being spent on inproving small internal combustion engines, but people will still be flying Fox 35's 20 years from now. They will be called something else and will cost a lot.

I agree with the notion of electrics becoming more visible in CL. I'm lucky to belong to a club that has a big RC component as well as CL, and what I'm seeing some of those RC electric guys doing is really impressive. The run times they get out of tiny Li-Poly batteries and the power generated by very small motors (coreless, brushless, whatever they're called) is amazing.

Sometimes when I'm wiping the goo off my stunt plane I think it would be fun to see what electric cl might be like. It probably won't replace glow engines at the top levels of CL competition, but I think electric CL could be a very viable option for people who like to be creative, have fun, and try something new.

Jeff, isn't there some kind of electric gathering down in Waterloo in the football fieldhouse? You're right about fields and noise. I remember flying in contests with the Piston Poppers years ago at the Hennepin Community College. I'll bet there's no flying there anymore...

Jerry:
There is a contest during the winter at Waterloo for Free Flight and I'm told they are flying electric contol line there too. If you want more info, let me know and I'll get the details.

I'm one of the original Piston Poppers from when it started in 1960. In fact, I'll be next years president (been there and done that before). I think you're referring to the site we used to use. It's very developed now around that school now and while we never got kicked out, the space just got chopped up too much to use.

We now fly at Hennepin Vo-Tech, about a mile west, with two really nice grass cirles we maintain ourselves plus access to the adjoining parking lot. Everyone likes us except one neighbor who hate's the world. Actually, she'd like the College moved! It's been an on going battle and we can only use the site wed pms and sundays, with some other restrictions. Still, it's a great spot. We've required mufflers for over a decade, monitored noise levels and kept records. That has kept the site for us. At the complainer's lot line a 90db model in flight won't even move the needle.

What worry's me is that if we even mention electrics they'd probably scream for ONLY electrics, though we'd probably have longer hours.

If you're in the area, let us know and come on and join us for a few turns!

Electric is inevitible. Wish I could show you the flying site behind the house. 40 acres of unimproved ground that I have mowed and flown off of. My neighbors love me, have tolerated Hot Rods, Super Stockers, Gassers, and the like for 15 years. Model airplanes have been present here for the better part of 5 yrs, nobody has ever complained. I'm not fighting the electric, I'm welcoming the day I don't have to fit mufflers!!!
How's THAT for optomism?

Over here in the UK we have a similar set of challanges but with the additional challange of less available space and an ageing population of CL flyers. Some areas of CL are dying - FAI teamrace is too demanding or too expensive, depending on if you build or buy, to attract new participants. Class B teamrace (.29ci) is dead, 1/2A teamrace(.09ci) is down to a couple of entries. Stunt seems to be bouncing back and, because we fly to the FAI rules in the UK, there are no "appearance points" so ARTF models may make the bounce even higher if the marketing is sound, the products good and the price right. Another area that is helping the resurgence is the renewed interest in the vintage classes of racing. The easy availability of replica engines that are cheap and perform as well as the originals plays a part and the desire of us old fogies to relive the joys of our youth has provided a pool of competent fliers to lead the revival. But all this will be of no avail unless the young are encouraged to participate and the educational and charactor building aspects of building and flying CL models is accepted by those with the authority to allow or refuse permision to use a site. If those who complain about a little background noise could be persuaded that it is a small price to pay for better educated, better behaved, young people then we would all benefit.

Regards

Mike

Mike:

Our club runs a "Kids Kontest" every year where we have trainers and instructors and pretty much everyone wins. We also have some kind of trainer at the site quite a bit of the time during the year and will always use any opportunity to give someone a "feel" of what it's like. While it really has done little for membership over the years, it gets great publicity and has been a real factor in holding on to our flying site site. In any case, it's a lot of fun and well worth the effort!

LAST EDITED ON Nov-21-04 AT 00:21 AM (CST)
 
Thank you Jeff for giving us something good to think about!

I was thinking about this very topic just the other day... It seems that alot of the new guys starting up here in So.Cal. are coming from the R/C clubs... getting tired of putting up with the "more money than sense" few that seem to pepper some of the R/C crowds. Plus here at Whittier Narrows the park shuts down the R/C field after 2:00 pm and all that is left flying is the C/L guys until sundown...

They are some of the best modelers and really seem to be enjoying being able to jump back in with the use of ARF's without the heavy outlay of time. I suspect from talking to the few that I have had the pleasure of meeting that C/L flying is an "return to the roots" so to speak. And you don't have to worry about interferance with a handle in your hand.

I personally will be looking very closely at the electric stunters... I love the idea of shooting over to the Jr. High across the street and flying in silence...It is almost worth selling off some of my combustion engines for elecric motors!

Phil:

Re "interferance"....Unless there's lightning in the air!

Thanks for the kind words>

Or like Windy wrote in this months Stunt News... A suicidal bird!

Jerry and Jeff,

The dates for the UNI DOME indoor flying this winter are:
Saturday, December 4, 2004 9am to 5pm
and
Saturday, February 12, 2005 5pm to 9pm
Sunday, February 13, 2005 8am to 4pm

We fly indoor RC, FF, and CL. The CL is definetly the smallest element so far, but there are 2-3 of us who fly electric CL. Come join us!

Here's a link to the web site:
http://showcase.netins.net/web/sig/unidomeflyin.html

Mike Gretz

Mike,
That looks like fun. Wish I was there, but I can't stand the cold any more.

Dick:

Cold is no problem at all. Since they learned to burn a cows main byproduct, Iowans are actually heating homes, domes and all kinds of things!

Of course that's a Minnesotan's point of view..........