New to this site

[planemann]

Hello to everyone.

As I stated, I am new to this site, but not new to flying R C as I have over 35 years enjoying this activity. As a lot of you may know, things have changed tremendously in that amount of time, and a lot of things have remained the same......, as the laws of gravity and physics do not change at all.........lol!!

I have built a number of balsa and lite ply models and always enjoyed the building process. Each kit was different and sometimes it was just like the Holiday's as I never quite knew what I would "get in the box" when it arrived via the Big Brown Truck. There was certainly quite a variety in quality of the components, but ways were devised to improve on the defective ones and on the other hand, it was wonderful to put together a well thought out and well designed kit!

Then along came the ARF's and etc. I ended up neglecting my building skills for the "shake the box and it is assembled for you" type of planes. That was all well and fine for awhile, but it now seems that I have returned to my "building roots" but with a new - to me anyway - medium. I have abandoned balsa and lite ply and jumped on to the "Foam - Build Bandwagon!"

Wow, there sure are opportunities to learn some new things and techniques in the building process. And I have observed that some of my past experiences in building with "wood" will serve me well when I build with foam...... as so much is the same, but just using "different materials."

Another change that I have underwent is that I have given up my Glow Fuel flying days and have "gone electric." Wow again.............., here I am on the very lower end of the learning curve regarding the use of electricity, but I do have an electric powered Corsair with retracts. I also have an electric powered Beaver that I fly off of both land and water as float flying is a whole lot of fun. I am also considering converting my sons Sig Kadet MK II trainer, that is still here in the house, to electric power. That will take some modifying of the fuselage, as some sort of hatch will need to be installed. And the rubber band wing hold downs may disappear a nd be replaced with nylon wing bolts, but that is a whole other story.

And along those lines , this past winter I designed my own electric "Airboat/Rescue boat" just in case my float plane would need some sort of assistance out in the lake and would need to be either pushed or towed back to shore! As the water is still froze here on that lake, I "tested" the boat in our bathtub...... which really impressed my wife.....lol!! But it did float, moved forward and also responded to the twin rudders..........., yippee!!

Anyway, I have written enough here and i hope that if you have read this far, that you did not get bored. It will take me sometime to figure out a site like this as I just read some information from what seems like a very patient man. He said: "Getting used to a forum structure for the first time can be confusing." - Tony.

I will keep his words in mind as I explore the site more!!!!!

 

[Tony]

Hey planemann, welcome to RCH. I was the one that returned your email and as I stated there, we will help you out in any way we can, including with the site. I remember when I first got started with forums way back in the day. They were confusing. I was used to individual pages that held content, then they came out with this new structure where you have many different categories with a LOT of info in each one. It took me some time to figure it out but after a while, things started getting easier. And now, I run this site and it seems like second nature to me. But I will never dismiss the fact that everyone starts out, in Rc and with Forums, at the very same place. So if you have questions, just ask. We are always here to help.

It seems that you have done what a lot of people have done. It's sad, but actual model 'building' is pretty much a thing of the past. with that said, it's not a thing of the past with me and we will be doing a build of something coming up soon after we finish with the Goblin Build Series. I think a lot of people will enjoy it if they are into actual building, and I hope I can teach people to pick up a cheap kit, some CA and some monokote and have a blast! I find it very relaxing to sit down for a few hours and build a plane. I may just do it on live streams where people can watch as it's built.

But there is a middle ground. If you look up at the top of the site, there is a button, the Store. In there, we have 3 planes, the Trainer and the Edge 540 I designed from scratch, and the Bipe was designed with pencil and foamboard by Derek, a member here on the site, and he gave me the info and I created the plans for it so everyone can download them. They are completely free, and all you need is some foamboard from the local Dollar Tree. It allows you to save money and actually BUILD out of foam.

Sounds like you have some nice models. You don't have to give up nitro for electric, but it sure is cleaner and much easier to maintain. I have a few nitro's as well, and none of them see any air time anymore. I have a 600 Nitro helicopter, a 58" F4U and a 68" Decathlon. I really need to get them out again and fly them.

And as always, if you have questions, just ask. If you have pictures, click on that button below the input box that says Upload A File Or Photo and let us see the fleet.

 

[Admiral]

Welcome to the forum Planemann, I'm sure you'll find any help you need on RC-Help there is a great diversity of talents and experience, with most problems somebody has had the same one or similar before.

 

[planemann]

Thank you too for your welcome to me here. It is always nice to hear that!! I am on the bottom of the learning curve as for navigating a site like this......, however......, it looks like it will be an interesting adventure!! So thank you again and is it really true that if Australia is "Down Under," as we refer to it here, that if You are down there flying, that you are really flying inverted......., even if it appears to you that you are in Normal flight??

Planemann