Author: Jim. T. Graham
Edition: Model Aviation - 2014/09
Page Numbers: 89,90,91

File: 09graham.ht1.doc
[Headline: Frank Noll: 50 years in RC]

If you have been to any major RC event or trade show in the US, I’m betting that, at some point, you have seen Frank Noll. I learned who Frank was in the earliest period of my RC career and now I’m proud to call him a friend.
Frank is an ambassador in aeromodeling and the team captain for Futaba, Thunder Tiger, and FlightPower. Frank is celebrating 50 years in the hobby this year. I thought that was a great reason to find out about his RC origins and how he took his love of flying and turned it into his livelihood.

Jim Graham: Frank, how did you get into RC?
Frank Noll: My father was a wind-tunnel model builder for the government and was an avid modeler from his childhood. He was an excellent builder of scale RC planes, but built the airplanes that no one else would ever build. He was a great builder, but a terrible pilot. As a child, I remember watching him crash plane after plane on test flights. I always wondered how he could crash all of those planes and still have the desire to keep building them. That is what inspired me to become a good pilot.
I started flying with a Mule brand transmitter—the old escapement style. We had a button that controlled the plane based on how many times you clicked it. One click of the button made it turn left, two clicks would make it turn right, and three would control the throttle. These were primarily rudder-only aircraft.
You could click it once to hold full left and it would spiral down. Then you would click twice to neutralize the rudder and it would do a loop. Hopefully, you had enough altitude!
Back then, if you had a new plane to maiden, the whole club would come out to watch and support you. The success rate back then was pretty low, and if you were able to fly a circuit around the field with minimal damage, you were considered an ace.

JG: What types of airplanes did you start with?
FN: They were basically Old-Timer-style planes, which were mainly converted FF aircraft. Anything my dad built I would get a chance to fly if it survived his flight! I wasn’t proficient enough for building at that point. Like a lot of people who have begun in our hobby, we flew everything from CL to FF, as well as Hand-Launched Gliders.

JG: When did you start building?
FN: My dad always built his own planes and after a while I started building. Spending a lot of time in the shop with him, I was able to learn a lot. My first attempt at building on my own was a CL Goldberg Stunt Man 23 with a .049 [engine]. I thought I really had something!

JG: Did you fly when you were in high school?
FN: Around the age of 16, girls diverted my attention, and I took a break. I picked RC back up after getting married in my early 20s. When I got back in, Byron Originals had come out with its first Pitts, a Christen Eagle, and some other models. That was my first adventure in big airplanes. My father had always leaned toward larger models, so that’s what really piqued my interest in getting into big planes.

JG: Are you a full-scale pilot?
FN: Yes. My father attempted to get his full-scale license but didn’t progress past soloing and getting his student license. I was able to get my pilot’s license at [age] 16. My dad and I spent a good deal of time flying full-scale aircraft then because it was a chance for him to get some stick time.
My father was a tail gunner on a B-17 during World War II. Throughout the years, he told many war stories about those days. My favorite quote from him was, “I never knew where I was going, but always knew where I’d been.”

JG: How big of a part did your local field play in turning your hobby into a career?
FN: I grew up near Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, which was a hotbed for RC at the time. I was fortunate to be around notable legends such as Don Lowe, Dave Brown, and the TOC [Tournament of Champions]/Pattern guys who were in my area. I flew with those guys and learned a lot by watching.
I always say, you’ll only be as good as the best guy at your field. Some of the best guys in the country were at my local field, so that was the level I wanted to achieve. I started doing shows and demos locally, and that eventually turned into traveling all over the world.
The pinnacle of my modeling career was being invited to the TOC. Back then, the invitees were all Pattern oriented. When I was invited, I became the exception. This was primarily because of my Giant Scale background and because I was doing so many shows. I flew in four different TOCs and later flew at the Don Lowe Masters, which I was fortunate enough to win in 1999.

JG: How did you shift gears from doing shows to becoming the Team Futaba captain?
FN: When Steve Helms was running Team Futaba in California, I became a consultant and sponsored pilot. He brought me onto the team before Futaba fell under the Hobbico umbrella. When the former team captain, Mike Stokes, left, I stepped into the position as team manager. For me, it was a natural transition because I was close friends with both gentlemen.
[Today], I do some flight testing and flying videos with some of our aircraft, as well as aiding in some marketing for Hobbico.

JG: What would be your current favorite thing to fly, if you had to throw something in the truck?
FN: I don’t compete anymore, but I still enjoy my big aerobatic airplanes for fun. I’ve recently finished my second big jet. There are a lot of things to think about when I fly jets, which keeps me sharp and focused.

JG: What would you say to someone new to the hobby or someone who wants to work in the industry?
FN: Our hobby was started by creative people designing and building their own planes, etc. Unfortunately, it’s becoming a lost art. If anybody is getting into the hobby now, I would recommend getting a kit aircraft of some type, and taking the time to build it from the ground up. If you have children, this is a perfect thing to do as a family, and the rewards are great.
Currently, there is a movement between the AMA and EAA which is targeting this. Understanding how an airplane flies is critical to being a part of our hobby, and can easily transition into a possible full-scale career.
My son, Jason, learned through this process and has turned it into a career. Now my grandson, Taylor, is starting in the hobby. Ours isn’t a rare story, and it has happened many, many times in the RC hobby. [dingbat]

SOURCES:

Hobbico
(800) 637-7660
www.hobbico.com

Futaba
(800) 637-7660
www.futaba-rc.com

Thunder Tiger
[email protected]
www.thundertiger.com

Flight Power Batteries
(888) 598-8037
www.flightpowerbatteries.com

Author: Jim. T. Graham
Edition: Model Aviation - 2014/09
Page Numbers: 89,90,91

File: 09graham.ht1.doc
[Headline: Frank Noll: 50 years in RC]

If you have been to any major RC event or trade show in the US, I’m betting that, at some point, you have seen Frank Noll. I learned who Frank was in the earliest period of my RC career and now I’m proud to call him a friend.
Frank is an ambassador in aeromodeling and the team captain for Futaba, Thunder Tiger, and FlightPower. Frank is celebrating 50 years in the hobby this year. I thought that was a great reason to find out about his RC origins and how he took his love of flying and turned it into his livelihood.

Jim Graham: Frank, how did you get into RC?
Frank Noll: My father was a wind-tunnel model builder for the government and was an avid modeler from his childhood. He was an excellent builder of scale RC planes, but built the airplanes that no one else would ever build. He was a great builder, but a terrible pilot. As a child, I remember watching him crash plane after plane on test flights. I always wondered how he could crash all of those planes and still have the desire to keep building them. That is what inspired me to become a good pilot.
I started flying with a Mule brand transmitter—the old escapement style. We had a button that controlled the plane based on how many times you clicked it. One click of the button made it turn left, two clicks would make it turn right, and three would control the throttle. These were primarily rudder-only aircraft.
You could click it once to hold full left and it would spiral down. Then you would click twice to neutralize the rudder and it would do a loop. Hopefully, you had enough altitude!
Back then, if you had a new plane to maiden, the whole club would come out to watch and support you. The success rate back then was pretty low, and if you were able to fly a circuit around the field with minimal damage, you were considered an ace.

JG: What types of airplanes did you start with?
FN: They were basically Old-Timer-style planes, which were mainly converted FF aircraft. Anything my dad built I would get a chance to fly if it survived his flight! I wasn’t proficient enough for building at that point. Like a lot of people who have begun in our hobby, we flew everything from CL to FF, as well as Hand-Launched Gliders.

JG: When did you start building?
FN: My dad always built his own planes and after a while I started building. Spending a lot of time in the shop with him, I was able to learn a lot. My first attempt at building on my own was a CL Goldberg Stunt Man 23 with a .049 [engine]. I thought I really had something!

JG: Did you fly when you were in high school?
FN: Around the age of 16, girls diverted my attention, and I took a break. I picked RC back up after getting married in my early 20s. When I got back in, Byron Originals had come out with its first Pitts, a Christen Eagle, and some other models. That was my first adventure in big airplanes. My father had always leaned toward larger models, so that’s what really piqued my interest in getting into big planes.

JG: Are you a full-scale pilot?
FN: Yes. My father attempted to get his full-scale license but didn’t progress past soloing and getting his student license. I was able to get my pilot’s license at [age] 16. My dad and I spent a good deal of time flying full-scale aircraft then because it was a chance for him to get some stick time.
My father was a tail gunner on a B-17 during World War II. Throughout the years, he told many war stories about those days. My favorite quote from him was, “I never knew where I was going, but always knew where I’d been.”

JG: How big of a part did your local field play in turning your hobby into a career?
FN: I grew up near Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, which was a hotbed for RC at the time. I was fortunate to be around notable legends such as Don Lowe, Dave Brown, and the TOC [Tournament of Champions]/Pattern guys who were in my area. I flew with those guys and learned a lot by watching.
I always say, you’ll only be as good as the best guy at your field. Some of the best guys in the country were at my local field, so that was the level I wanted to achieve. I started doing shows and demos locally, and that eventually turned into traveling all over the world.
The pinnacle of my modeling career was being invited to the TOC. Back then, the invitees were all Pattern oriented. When I was invited, I became the exception. This was primarily because of my Giant Scale background and because I was doing so many shows. I flew in four different TOCs and later flew at the Don Lowe Masters, which I was fortunate enough to win in 1999.

JG: How did you shift gears from doing shows to becoming the Team Futaba captain?
FN: When Steve Helms was running Team Futaba in California, I became a consultant and sponsored pilot. He brought me onto the team before Futaba fell under the Hobbico umbrella. When the former team captain, Mike Stokes, left, I stepped into the position as team manager. For me, it was a natural transition because I was close friends with both gentlemen.
[Today], I do some flight testing and flying videos with some of our aircraft, as well as aiding in some marketing for Hobbico.

JG: What would be your current favorite thing to fly, if you had to throw something in the truck?
FN: I don’t compete anymore, but I still enjoy my big aerobatic airplanes for fun. I’ve recently finished my second big jet. There are a lot of things to think about when I fly jets, which keeps me sharp and focused.

JG: What would you say to someone new to the hobby or someone who wants to work in the industry?
FN: Our hobby was started by creative people designing and building their own planes, etc. Unfortunately, it’s becoming a lost art. If anybody is getting into the hobby now, I would recommend getting a kit aircraft of some type, and taking the time to build it from the ground up. If you have children, this is a perfect thing to do as a family, and the rewards are great.
Currently, there is a movement between the AMA and EAA which is targeting this. Understanding how an airplane flies is critical to being a part of our hobby, and can easily transition into a possible full-scale career.
My son, Jason, learned through this process and has turned it into a career. Now my grandson, Taylor, is starting in the hobby. Ours isn’t a rare story, and it has happened many, many times in the RC hobby. [dingbat]

SOURCES:

Hobbico
(800) 637-7660
www.hobbico.com

Futaba
(800) 637-7660
www.futaba-rc.com

Thunder Tiger
[email protected]
www.thundertiger.com

Flight Power Batteries
(888) 598-8037
www.flightpowerbatteries.com

Author: Jim. T. Graham
Edition: Model Aviation - 2014/09
Page Numbers: 89,90,91

File: 09graham.ht1.doc
[Headline: Frank Noll: 50 years in RC]

If you have been to any major RC event or trade show in the US, I’m betting that, at some point, you have seen Frank Noll. I learned who Frank was in the earliest period of my RC career and now I’m proud to call him a friend.
Frank is an ambassador in aeromodeling and the team captain for Futaba, Thunder Tiger, and FlightPower. Frank is celebrating 50 years in the hobby this year. I thought that was a great reason to find out about his RC origins and how he took his love of flying and turned it into his livelihood.

Jim Graham: Frank, how did you get into RC?
Frank Noll: My father was a wind-tunnel model builder for the government and was an avid modeler from his childhood. He was an excellent builder of scale RC planes, but built the airplanes that no one else would ever build. He was a great builder, but a terrible pilot. As a child, I remember watching him crash plane after plane on test flights. I always wondered how he could crash all of those planes and still have the desire to keep building them. That is what inspired me to become a good pilot.
I started flying with a Mule brand transmitter—the old escapement style. We had a button that controlled the plane based on how many times you clicked it. One click of the button made it turn left, two clicks would make it turn right, and three would control the throttle. These were primarily rudder-only aircraft.
You could click it once to hold full left and it would spiral down. Then you would click twice to neutralize the rudder and it would do a loop. Hopefully, you had enough altitude!
Back then, if you had a new plane to maiden, the whole club would come out to watch and support you. The success rate back then was pretty low, and if you were able to fly a circuit around the field with minimal damage, you were considered an ace.

JG: What types of airplanes did you start with?
FN: They were basically Old-Timer-style planes, which were mainly converted FF aircraft. Anything my dad built I would get a chance to fly if it survived his flight! I wasn’t proficient enough for building at that point. Like a lot of people who have begun in our hobby, we flew everything from CL to FF, as well as Hand-Launched Gliders.

JG: When did you start building?
FN: My dad always built his own planes and after a while I started building. Spending a lot of time in the shop with him, I was able to learn a lot. My first attempt at building on my own was a CL Goldberg Stunt Man 23 with a .049 [engine]. I thought I really had something!

JG: Did you fly when you were in high school?
FN: Around the age of 16, girls diverted my attention, and I took a break. I picked RC back up after getting married in my early 20s. When I got back in, Byron Originals had come out with its first Pitts, a Christen Eagle, and some other models. That was my first adventure in big airplanes. My father had always leaned toward larger models, so that’s what really piqued my interest in getting into big planes.

JG: Are you a full-scale pilot?
FN: Yes. My father attempted to get his full-scale license but didn’t progress past soloing and getting his student license. I was able to get my pilot’s license at [age] 16. My dad and I spent a good deal of time flying full-scale aircraft then because it was a chance for him to get some stick time.
My father was a tail gunner on a B-17 during World War II. Throughout the years, he told many war stories about those days. My favorite quote from him was, “I never knew where I was going, but always knew where I’d been.”

JG: How big of a part did your local field play in turning your hobby into a career?
FN: I grew up near Cincinnati and Dayton, Ohio, which was a hotbed for RC at the time. I was fortunate to be around notable legends such as Don Lowe, Dave Brown, and the TOC [Tournament of Champions]/Pattern guys who were in my area. I flew with those guys and learned a lot by watching.
I always say, you’ll only be as good as the best guy at your field. Some of the best guys in the country were at my local field, so that was the level I wanted to achieve. I started doing shows and demos locally, and that eventually turned into traveling all over the world.
The pinnacle of my modeling career was being invited to the TOC. Back then, the invitees were all Pattern oriented. When I was invited, I became the exception. This was primarily because of my Giant Scale background and because I was doing so many shows. I flew in four different TOCs and later flew at the Don Lowe Masters, which I was fortunate enough to win in 1999.

JG: How did you shift gears from doing shows to becoming the Team Futaba captain?
FN: When Steve Helms was running Team Futaba in California, I became a consultant and sponsored pilot. He brought me onto the team before Futaba fell under the Hobbico umbrella. When the former team captain, Mike Stokes, left, I stepped into the position as team manager. For me, it was a natural transition because I was close friends with both gentlemen.
[Today], I do some flight testing and flying videos with some of our aircraft, as well as aiding in some marketing for Hobbico.

JG: What would be your current favorite thing to fly, if you had to throw something in the truck?
FN: I don’t compete anymore, but I still enjoy my big aerobatic airplanes for fun. I’ve recently finished my second big jet. There are a lot of things to think about when I fly jets, which keeps me sharp and focused.

JG: What would you say to someone new to the hobby or someone who wants to work in the industry?
FN: Our hobby was started by creative people designing and building their own planes, etc. Unfortunately, it’s becoming a lost art. If anybody is getting into the hobby now, I would recommend getting a kit aircraft of some type, and taking the time to build it from the ground up. If you have children, this is a perfect thing to do as a family, and the rewards are great.
Currently, there is a movement between the AMA and EAA which is targeting this. Understanding how an airplane flies is critical to being a part of our hobby, and can easily transition into a possible full-scale career.
My son, Jason, learned through this process and has turned it into a career. Now my grandson, Taylor, is starting in the hobby. Ours isn’t a rare story, and it has happened many, many times in the RC hobby. [dingbat]

SOURCES:

Hobbico
(800) 637-7660
www.hobbico.com

Futaba
(800) 637-7660
www.futaba-rc.com

Thunder Tiger
[email protected]
www.thundertiger.com

Flight Power Batteries
(888) 598-8037
www.flightpowerbatteries.com