Radio Control Helicopters - 2008/02

140 MODEL AVIATION
HI EVERYONE! This month I have the pleasure of introducing
my good friend and accomplished pilot, Andy Panoncillo. He is
a great guy who has a passion for RC helicopters. Andy flew in
the Extreme Flight Championships (XFC) last year and is lucky
enough to live just minutes from the AMA National Flying Site
in Muncie, Indiana. Following is a report on his trip to the 2007
iHobby Expo.
Before I begin I want to thank Mark Fadely for giving me the
opportunity to be a guest in his column. The main focus of my
piece is the recently concluded iHobby Expo held in Rosemont,
Illinois, which is just west of Chicago. The show was held
October 20-21, 2007, and was hosted by Empire Hobby and
other sponsors.
The international iHobby show has a wide variety of
displays, including trains, kites, RC cars, airplanes, and
helicopters. There were plenty of activities for kids, such as free
rides, face painting, and balsa-model kit building, so bringing
the family to enjoy the show is a great idea. I took my whole
family, and after the weekend we agreed that it was so much fun
we wouldn’t mind going back, and maybe even making it a
yearly event.
The Donald E. Stephens Convention Center is surrounded
with hotels that are within walking distance, and there are
several restaurants ranging from fast food to fine, authentic
dining. With its location being close to O’Hare Airport, it is also
convenient for anybody who is coming from farther away.
At a large trade show such as this you would expect to see
some of the major distributors in the country, including Great
Planes, Horizon Hobby, Empire Hobby, Align, Thunder Power,
and FlightPower, just to name a few. Almost all of them took
advantage of the event to highlight and unveil their new
products to the market.
Horizon showed off its new JR 12X 2.4 GHz radio. The
company also had the Vibe 50 and Vibe electric-powered
helicopters in its booth.
Andy Panoncillo reports from the 2007 iHobby Expo and World Micro Heli Cup
[[email protected]]
Radio Control Helicopters Mark Fadely
John Adams, Horizon Hobby’s product-development manager,
shows the new JR 12X 2.4 GHz radio. In the background you can
see the new electric Vibe 50.
Matt “Hollywood” Botos (L) and Darrell “Big D” Bell at the
Thunder Power booth with the new 450. At the World Micro Heli
Cup Matt did a great job of showing what it can do.
The new Gaui 200 is so small that it almost fits in your palm. It
does 3-D too! Empire Hobby distributes this model in the US.
Nick Maxwell holds the new Miniature Aircraft Bandit 450. He
won the helicopter competition and finished second in the
airplane competition. Well done!
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Kyle Stacy and Andy Panoncillo show off the new Empire
Gaui 200.
Kyna Veatch with Align’s new products. Bert Kammerer, a team
pilot, flew the Align T-Rex 450 well in the competition.
Empire Hobby displayed its new Gaui 200 micro helicopter,
which is so small it will almost fit in the palm of your hand. This
model also has a full-metal CNC head and a belt-driven tail,
making it a 3-D-capable machine. Empire also carries the allcarbon
and full-metal-head Gaui 550, which is a 30-size electric
helicopter.
Align had something up its sleeve for the show: the new 2-in-
1 regulator-and-igniter combo with better filter and hard-plastic
cover for better protection against moisture or fuel. The
company also had a new metal swashplate and metal arms with
ball bearings for the T-Rex 600. They are sold as a combo or
individually.
Thunder Power is well known for its great batteries, but now
the company has its own 450-size helicopter. It was on display,
and Thunder Power even made a “gold-plated” version of the
model that was raffled off to a lucky individual.
FlightPower was present to showcase its new lines of Li-Poly
batteries. Its battery packs are now in different configurations in
terms of sizes and strengths to better accommodate everyone’s
needs.
The show had many live demonstrations covering every level
of the hobby—particularly the remote-control area. There were
several dirt and carpet tracks for cars, wide tables with full
displays of moving trains complete with scenery down to the
finest details, and a 3-D helicopter competition area.
This venue was well attended by some of the finest helicopter
competitors. The World Micro Heli Cup was contested there, and
it was dubbed “The Mini XFC.” It is essentially a scaled-down
version of the XFC, and the 2008 edition will be held at the
Muncie, Indiana, International Aeromodeling Center in June.
The helicopter “Flying Cage” was called that for several good
reasons. It was surrounded with curtains on each side and netting
so people could see through it. The ceiling was no higher than 18
feet and, just to add more drama, there were several large Ibeam-
type posts. Two of those beams were close to where the
pilots stood and flew.
That kind of setup made several pilots look even better when
they flew low and around the posts. A few fliers were not so
lucky. Many well-known pilots were in attendance, such as Nick
Maxwell, Bobby Watts, Kyle Stacy, Burt Kammerer, Marcus
Kim, Matt Botos, Steve McFall, Danny Szabo, and Tyler Bonta.
The two-day competition was held Saturday and Sunday.
Pilots were given three required maneuvers to fly along with
their 3-D routines. The flights had to be performed to music of
the pilot’s choice. One thing the judges looked for was the
ability to fly to music, and Nick Maxwell did great in that
category.
In addition Nick flew his model so low that each time he
executed a maneuver the crowd and pilots cheered or gasped for
air. He finished in the top spot in the Mini Class, with Bobby
“High Voltage” Watts in second place and 12-year-old Kyle Stacy
finishing third. Kyle has no problem competing against some of
the world’s best 3-D fliers. Everybody flew great and provided
the crowd with tons of breathtaking maneuvers as well as some
crashes.
Some of the major helicopter brands were well represented at
the helicopter event, such as Miniature Aircraft, Align, and
Thunder Power. Miniature Aircraft released its new 450
helicopter called the Bandit, and the two top finishers—Nick and
Bobby—flew it.
Miniature Aircraft has an extensive helicopter line and a great
history of products, so I was not surprised that the new model
flew so well and looked stable in 3-D and hovering maneuvers. It
also featured unique mechanics on the head.
The grips were carbon and appeared to be a strong design
combined with extremely hard dampening not only for extreme 3-
D but also for higher head rpm. The linkages and pushrods were
bigger as well. The new Bandit used a single-stack carbon-frame
design, a one-piece plastic molded landing gear, and belt drive.
Those who get their hands on this new 450 are in for a great treat.
The event went really well overall, and the people who
attended were treated with great hospitality. There were many
different things to enjoy, not only during the show but after. My
family had fun going to the nearby parks and authentic
restaurants. I would encourage anybody to go next year; I know
we will.
Thank you to the iHobby Expo organizers and sponsors. It was
a job well done, and I hope you continue to support this trade
show. Thanks again for giving me the opportunity to contribute to
MA.
Thanks for the informative report, Andy. It sounds like you had a
great time at iHobby. I appreciate your taking the time to write
this.
That is it for this month. See you all next time. MA
Sources:
iHobby Expo
(877) 864-6229
www.ihobbyexpo.com
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