Radio Control Helicopters
Mark Fadely [[email protected]]
Helicopter highlights from Great Planes' E-Fest
WELCOME, and thank you for working your way past all the more civilized aspects of the hobby to land here in RC helicopters. It is a thankless job working back here.
One day when the world is at peace, the planets align, and all humanity has come to its collective senses (purposeful pun), helicopters will grace the front part of this publication every month! That is a dream all of us helicopter fanatics share. But it is, and I am sure it will remain, just a dream.
I can tell you, though, that RC helicopters are fascinating to the general public. It is obvious by the numbers of small, inexpensive helicopters that are being sold. The numbers are phenomenal.
I have no idea if these first-time pilots are continuing on in the hobby or not, but it is clear that many more people are interested in trying to fly these things than I ever thought there would be. The future of RC helicopters has never been brighter.
I'm going to follow up on the discussion I started about personal goals. A couple issues ago I asked you to write down some things you wanted to accomplish in the hobby this year. Did you actually scribble out something and make plans to achieve your goals?
In case you did not read that column, I pointed out that most people who excel at anything in life have a plan. It doesn't matter if you are flying RC helicopters or trying to make a million dollars with the latest get-rich-in-real-estate scheme. You will have a much better chance of getting what you want if you thoughtfully lay out a plan and follow it.
I am not referring to becoming the world's best pilot. You should concentrate on whatever aspect of this hobby appeals to you. You may be a great scale builder, model designer, or something else. There are so many ways to enjoy the hobby. For instance, I have been enjoying writing for all of you. Now please do not critique my work! You might be saying, "Take some of your own advice and produce something worthwhile!" To that I reply, "Do as I say and not as I do." Seriously, I hope each person can excel in his or her own niche. I would love to hear some of your ideas about how to progress and track yourself. It would be interesting to include some of them here so everyone could benefit.
E-Fest Indoor Fly-In: I was at E-Fest in February, and wow! Frank Noll and his team of volunteers outdid themselves this year. Everything about the event was first-class, and most of the difficult details were handled well. To bring an event to this level in only its second year is no small feat. You have to have a great venue. The Track and Field Armory at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign makes a super indoor flying arena, with its 100-foot-high ceilings. More than 250 pilots registered, and with tons of spread-spectrum radios in use the air was thick with all types of aircraft. The number and variety of electric-powered helicopters were astounding. All the flight stations were constantly in use. Plenty of the usual T-Rex, MX-400, and Blade models were being flown, and a few new helicopters were on display.
Great Planes has a new model called the Axe CP. Futaba team pilot Brian Bremmer demonstrated its capabilities during the factory flights. This little helicopter flew great and performed all the popular 3-D moves with ease. As does the Blade CP, the Axe comes with everything you need in the box. The transmitter is included, and everything is prebuilt and ready to fly.
A couple cool submicro helicopters were flying too. An attractive little model was the Mini Zoom Pro. It had a fantastic-looking Schweizer 300 scale body. Jim Horsman piloted this craft, and following is what he wrote about it:
"I live in Des Moines, Iowa. I am in my fifth year of this addiction; Sunday at E-Fest I turned 49. I've been an airplane guy for the first four years. Last winter I bought an Esky Honey Bee fixed-pitch to learn helicopters over the winter and quickly graduated to a T-Rex last spring. I built the Mini Zoom Pro in November and have been flying/rebuilding/flying it since.
"The Mini Zoom Pro, available from aeromicro.com (shameless plug), flies like a much larger helicopter. I assume it's due to the high head speed needed to get it off the ground, around 3,800 rpm. As a mini sport flier it is a blast to fly!
"Living in the Midwest there's not much opportunity to fly outside, especially this winter, so the Mini Zoom is perfect for getting stick time on a helicopter in my basement. As much as I like seeing a T-Rex getting thrown around in different attitudes and the skill and talent it takes to fly a helicopter 3-D, I prefer scale.
"I fly airplanes to relax, helicopters for the adrenaline rush!"
Thank you, Jim. You did a great job of flying the little 300 at E-Fest. You made it look realistic by flying it in a scale-like manner.
I love seeing all the new products. The pace of new offerings is incredible. The smallest full-function helicopter has to be the cute little Micron V2. Jim Fassino of Peoria, Illinois, was at E-Fest demonstrating it.
"Micro" is almost too big of a word for this diminutive specimen. You will definitely need a new set of reading glasses to work on it! You can see in the photo just how small this helicopter is; it will literally fit in the palm of your hand.
The Micron V2 has full cyclic control, throttle, tail rotor, and is fixed pitch. It is a miniature-engineering marvel. And it flew extremely well. Just make sure nobody sneezes on it during flight!
One of the larger helicopters that caught my eye was the Hirobo Lepton. Futaba's Steve Helms flew his at E-Fest, and it was incredibly smooth. It's a bit larger than a T-Rex and appears to be well constructed. J.C. Zankle also flew the new model.
There were numerous helicopters in the air at the Armory this year. It would have been an air-traffic controller's nightmare. Since there was no ATC, everyone flew according to the "see and avoid" rule. The seeing part was no problem, but things got dicey when it came to avoiding.
There were quite a few midairs, and that is to be expected when congestion gets heavy indoors. I heard a couple of the helicopter pilots complain that if they had a strike with a foamie airplane their helicopters would have much more damage financially. That is usually true and is something you have to consider before flying at an event such as this.
The foamie pilots just laugh when one of their airplanes goes down, but it is different with the helicopters. A bad crash with a helicopter can easily cost more than $100. You cannot just glue a $40 set of rotor blades back together. For the most part everyone got along great, and most helicopter pilots took the risk and flew with the many diverse aircraft.
I am making E-Fest an annual event on my calendar. It is nice to go fly somewhere in the middle of winter when you live in the Midwest.
I invite you to keep corresponding with me. I have enjoyed the E-mail and I feel that I'm getting tuned into the pulse of helicopter pilots. Things are changing fast right now. There are a lot of excellent products out there.
Something that has not changed is the benefit of having a mentor. Pilots who are willing to help you are the most important ingredient for your success. If you can hook up with someone who is slightly ahead of you in flying, the benefits are great.
When I was starting out I flew with someone, and we progressed together and kept each other motivated. For the last four years or so I've been on my own, and it's difficult sometimes.
I hope everyone is off to a good start this year, and I look forward to hearing more from you. Send me an E-mail anytime. MA
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
