Atlanta Hobby - 201209

Cliff Whitney has been involved in
the hobby for most of his life. His
father was a Control Line pilot
and like many, Cliff learned to fl y CL
on a PT-19 Cox trainer when he was
approximately 10 years old.
Gliders drew his interest, and by age
13 he was hooked on RC Sailplanes. So
much so that he
learned to fl y fullscale
gliders while
still in high school.
Shortly thereafter,
he added a powered
rating system so he
could pilot a variety
of aircraft.
Cliff relocated
to North Carolina,
then Tennessee,
while working for
Wolf Camera.
In 1980, he started Whitney’s Glider
Supply, then later Sequatchie Valley
Soaring Supply. Although the main
focus was on full-scale sailplanes and
hang gliding, he also sold a small number
of RC gliders. With his career taking off
with Wolf and his partner lacking the
time to put into the business, the glider
shop was closed.
In 2005, Cliff came out of retirement
and opened Atlanta Hobby to occupy
his time and to help pay for his own
interests in RC.
Cliff lives on a
small full-scale
grass airstrip
and the shop
was housed in
his hangar and
was primarily
Web-based.
Cliff was
a member
of the North
Atlanta Soaring
Association
(NASA) and
invited club
members to fl y on his property. He was
introduced to Three-Meter Sailplanes
and Zagi fl ying wings at the gathering.
Shortly after, he began selling Zagi
aircraft and became the largest fl ying
wing dealer, with wings from several
manufacturers, including his own Zing
Wing children’s toy.
The increase in inventory necessitated
a larger facility, and Atlanta Hobby
moved into a 3,000-square-foot
warehouse.
After fi nding success selling Zagi
aircraft, Cliff looked to bring other
imported specialty products into
inventory. He added airplanes such as
the Wind Rider Elle Bee and Precision
Aerobatics line.
In January of 2007, he launched
Mercury Adhesives with the goal of
having the glue manufactured in the
US. He worked directly with the largest
manufacturer of CA to fi ne-tune the
product to meet the hobby industry’s
needs.
His business model was simple: have
the glue made in Georgia to ensure
freshness, only sell to dealers, and offer
an unlimited, unconditional replacement
warranty.
Mercury Adhesives has been
successful and offers several types of CA,
threadlocker, and epoxy sold by 4,000
dealer outlets around the world and
through Horizon Hobby.
Cliff has learned plenty about CA
during the past fi ve years, so I took the
opportunity to ask him a little about
optimum storage.
“The optimum temperature to store
CA is 40° and in low humidity. Store it
in the fridge, but once you take it out,
don’t put it back as that can induce
moisture. Only store the larger refi ll
bottle in the fridge after opening. Do not
freeze CA,” he said.
I also wondered where the concept
of “Mercury Man,” seen on all Mercury
Adhesives originated, and Cliff shared
that the design was infl uenced by the
Thompson Air Race Trophy and an old
Chinese cartoon.
Cliff’s next big undertaking began
in 2009 with the RC Radio Network
(RCRN). The plan was to have a live RC
show that people could watch and listen
to on the Internet.
The idea came about after a friend did
live podcasts and involved the audience
via chat. Cliff had another friend who
owned a radio station and he had the
idea to combine them.
Cliff wrote the application and
invested in all the equipment required to
produce the show. He acquired licensing
to play music around the clock without
annoying advertising, other than RC
commercials and station IDs.
RCRN currently has 10,000 songs
in the playlist which is mixed by Cliff.
Air Show can draw as many as 1,500
participants to the live interactive talk
show. Listeners are part of the show
via interactive chats, telephone calls,
and multimedia visuals. It is broadcast
every other week on the fi rst and third
Tuesday of the month.
Cliff was excited to discuss RCRN. He
has recently invested in new equipment
to continue improving the show and told
me a little of what it takes to produce
it: more than 20 hours for a one-hour
show!
When I asked him why he spends
so much time per show his answer
was simple: “If we can give back to the
industry and teach them something,
then our purpose has been served.”
The RC Radio Network is solely
funded through donations, so if you like
Air Show or tune in to the streaming
music, a small donation would be
appreciated.
A new
iPhone app,
which should
be available
by the time
you read this,
will allow
streaming
music, and
the ability
to download
the song and
research the
artist.
On the RC
side, a daily news feed is updated in
real time and pushed to you—allowing
the information to be personalized to
include reviews, products releases, and
product sales.
RC conversion tools will be available
as will the ability to stream Air Show.
Access the entire Atlanta Hobby store
and make purchases on your mobile
device!
All of these exciting endeavors
required a larger facility to support
Atlanta Hobby, Mercury Adhesives,
and the RC Radio Network. A
12,000-square-foot facility was obtained
in Cumming, Georgia, just north of
Atlanta. The new facility includes a
showroom open to the public. Visitors
can also browse the climate-controlled
warehouse fi lled with 62,000 products.
The three companies, supported by 10
employees, are still growing with more
hires planned.
Before we wrapped up our interview
I had a couple of more questions for the
man behind three RC entities.
What are you most proud of?
“Kids—the kids that come into the
shop. I love it when they go ‘wow.’ That
turns me on more than anything else.
Put them on a buddy box and see their
expressions when they get to fl y.
“I’m proud of Mercury Adhesives
because it is a USA-made product sold
from a USA company that supports the
US economy.”
Do you have a vision going forward?
“In the hobby business, I work more
than I did in the corporate world. It is
exciting to own your own business. I
am fortunate to be able to infl uence the
lives of the people working with me.
They are my partners and we eat and
breathe this business.
“When the hobby business took off, I
was in the right place at the right time
and it launched me out of retirement. I
am happy to go to work each day and
my wife calls me each night and says,
‘Come home.’
“It is Christmas every day when the
bay doors open and the trucks back up
to deliver new products."