About Us - 3D Hobby Shop - 2009/09

from aeromodeling in his late teens to focus
on life’s other priorities.
Bluecor foam models and 3-D flying are
what got Ben excited again about the hobby.
“The maneuvers looked impossible and
that made them cool,” he said.
It gave him the opportunity to scratchbuild
aircraft that were inexpensive, durable,
and disposable, for learning all the new
maneuvers that 3-D aerobatics had to offer.
“If I could do anything, I would talk to
people about model airplanes all day.”
Ben and his brother, Matthew, created the
company as an online hobby retailing
business, but before long they decided to
produce their own aircraft. With Scott Stoops’
help, the 47-inch Extra SHP was born.
Two amazing things happened during the
development of that model. First, 3DHS
customers supported the company by
preordering the Extra SHP without seeing it,
which helped it become a reality.
Second, 3DHS formed a partnership with
Scott Stoops, who has developed more than
12 models for the company thus far. If that
weren’t enough, the 47-inch Extra SHP has
been the company’s best seller to date.
To keep up with customer demand for new
aircraft, Andrew Jesky recently joined Scott
as a 3DHS designer. His first release, the AJ
Slick, has been popular with pilots and is now
available in five sizes.
So how does 3DHS decide on new
releases while working with two designers?
Both have several ideas of aircraft they would
like to design. Based on market demands and
diversifying the product lines, it’s Ben’s job to
decide which models to produce first.
Customer demand recently changed the
company’s production priorities, when a large
number of people requested the release of an
electric-powered sport/3-D model with a
wingspan of approximately 70 inches.
Developing this size of airplane quickly
became a top priority, and releases are
expected this summer.
I have always been impressed with the
covering schemes on 3DHS aircraft. Although
they break from traditional designs, they do
not go so far that they are considered
overdone. Ben looks at each one as a blank
canvas and finds creating his masterpiece one
of the most enjoyable parts of the process.
He sketches several designs, upward of 80
at times, and then whittles them down with
the designer’s help. Even with all the shades
of Oracover at his disposal, Ben would like to
see the color palette extended for even more
design possibilities. Each model is available
in two color schemes once released.
Another one of Ben’s responsibilities with
new airplanes is durability testing. While the
“OUR GOAL IS simple: to be the premier
supplier of airframes,” said Ben Fisher—who
owns 3D Hobby Shop (3DHS)—during a
telephone interview I conducted with him.
Some might consider that to be a bold
statement. But having known Ben since 2007,
I wouldn’t expect anything less from him or
the company.
Since its beginning in 2005, 3DHS has
gathered a strong following of loyal
customers who eagerly await each release.
That enthusiasm is most evident on
RCGroups, the popular RC Web site, where
Ben can be found virtually around the clock.
A recent poll on RCGroups asked members to
vote for the best RC model manufacturer, and
3DHS took first place.
That level of customer loyalty has kept the
company’s focus not only on “raising the
bar,” but also on moving it into new types of
aircraft.
“The most rewarding thing is when guys
who have maidened the aircraft for the first
time pick up the phone, sometimes on their
cell phone right from the field; that’s job
satisfaction,” said Ben.
His love affair with airplanes and RC
started at an early age, when his uncle taught
him to fly models in Dallas, Texas. Soon, with
his uncle’s support, Ben moved from
constructing kits to scratch building. As do
many of us, he found himself getting away
3D Hobby Shop
JS: How long have you been flying RC
aircraft and how did you get started?
SS: I’ve been flying model airplanes for
the last 25 years, starting with a Goldberg
Gentle Lady at age 10. I saw my first
model on Easter of that year at a friend’s
house, and I was hooked.
After convincing my dad that I really,
really wanted to do this, he finally gave in
and we built our first model together. My
dad is a full-scale pilot as well, and RC
was a great chance for the two of us to
spend time together doing something we
both love. In fact, we still fly RC together.
JS: What led you into model development?
SS: I was lucky enough to get a chance to
do testing for Bill Stevens from Stevens
AeroModel right as he began that
company, and really enjoyed learning from
Bill what it took to make a model design
fly great and be easy to assemble. Bill’s
designs are true works of art that fly
fantastically.
That experience spurred my interest in
development, which was realized when I
Interview With 3DHS’s Scott Stoops
The author (L) and Scott Stoops at the
Toledo Show in Toledo OH.
started working with 3D Hobby Shop,
developing the 47-inch Extra SHP in
2006. The rest, as they say, is history. In
the last three years, Ben and I, and now
Andrew Jesky, have developed some of
the highest-quality, best-flying models on
the market today.
JS: What has been most rewarding to you
as a model developer?
SS: I really enjoy testing the new designs
and tinkering with changes, so I guess it
would be following a new design through
the process of refining assembly,
construction, and flight characteristics.
With a background in full-scale
aerobatic flight, working on a model,
getting it to fly aerobatics and 3-D to the
best of its ability, while still maintaining
the basic personality of the full-scale
airplane, can be challenging, which is
something that I enjoy as well.
JS: What piece of advice would you give
someone who wants to design a model?
SS: Foam is your friend. The easiest way
to test virtually any new idea or design is
with foam. It is easy and quick to work
with and very inexpensive. It is also easy
to repair and more durable than wood. In a
lot of ways, foam is a great prototyping
tool long before you lay the first line in
CAD.
Also, try new ideas one at a time. If you
make numerous changes consecutively
(i.e., new wing position, wing taper, etc.), it
is tough to know which one actually made
any difference. MA
—Jay Smith
114 MODEL AVIATION
09sig4.QXD 7/23/09 12:57 PM Page 114
designer works on advancing flight
performance, Ben puts the aircraft through
hard flying and less-than-perfect landings.
At times, Ben and the designer might
not be happy with the product until after
several revisions. Occasionally, an airframe
could even undergo a minor change after its
release, to implement an improvement
based on customer feedback.
Before ending our call, I asked Ben if there
was anything else he wanted to discuss for
the article. He pointed out two things that
he felt were extremely important, the first
of which was the commitment of everyone
involved with 3DHS, from the designers, to
the factory in China, to the company itself,
to turn out a quality product.
Everyone who is involved with the
business has a vested interest. Even some of
the factory workers fly 3DHS aircraft at
their local flying fields.
Second, the company focuses on its
customers. This is accomplished by keeping
the business small, to allow Ben to
correspond with all of them. However,
“customers” might not even be the correct
term; Ben looks at them more as “flying
buddies.”
He enjoys being involved every step of
the way, including assisting with model
selection to match a person’s skill level or
flying goals, answering product questions,
and providing support. He also tries to
attend as many flying events and trade
shows as his schedule allows.
Something that has taken 3DHS by
surprise is the 3D Hobby Shop fly-ins that
the business’s customers have coordinated.
The first took place last year in Texas, and
several more have been planned for 2009,
with one in Florida.
The fact that 3D Hobby Shop is focused on
being the “premier supplier of airframes” is
echoed in its motto: “Fly the Best.” The
customer loyalty that the company has
established in the short time it has been
doing business is nothing short of amazing.
This is shaping up to be a big year for
3DHS. It is in the process of releasing
several models, as well as a new line of
low-cost brushless motors and speed
controls. A review of one of 3DHS’s
offerings will be featured in an upcoming
issue of MA. MA
—Jay Smith
[email protected]
See page 175 for “About Us” submission
guidelines.
Sources:
3DHS
603 FM 2093 Ste. 1601
Fredericksburg TX 78624
(830) 990-6978
www.3dhobbyshop.com
RCGroups
www.rcgroups.com
JS: How long have you been flying RC
aircraft and how did you get started?
AJ: I have been flying RC for 15 years
now; I started when I was 7 years old.
My father and brother got into RC one
year before I did.
When they went to the flying field, I
would tag along with them. Then one
day, an instructor named Dave George
was out at the field and asked me if I
wanted to learn to fly. Of course I
wanted to fly. Dave George and Paul
Flocarri are a huge reason our family got
into flying.
JS: What led you into model
development?
AJ: I have always been interested in
what makes a model fly and why things
change the way the model flies.
I was flying an airplane that I
thought could be made better. I then
decided to draw the plane up in CAD
and see how it would fly. The
plane was a very successful
model and has been sold all
over the world.
JS: What has been most
rewarding to you as a
model developer?
AJ: The most rewarding for me is
watching other people get the model
and be happy with the plane from
constructing the plane all the way to
flying it. I know that the planes fly how
I like it, but I’m always nervous when
others fly them, as I want them to enjoy
the model they just spent their money
on.
JS: What piece of advice would you
give someone who wants to design a
model?
AJ: I would say that if your first design
doesn’t work out like you want it, do
not give up. This is the time where you
will start to learn what works and what
does not.
It is a long process to learn what
makes models fly the way they do.
Gather up as much information as you
can and set your goals on how
you want the model to fly. MA
—Jay Smith
Ben Fisher (L) and
Andrew Jesky and the
126-inch Slick at the
Joe Nall Giant Scale
Fly-In.