HELLO, HELI PEOPLE. I hope you are staying warm. Maybe
you even get to do some indoor flying during these winter
months. This is the coldest time of year for most of the country.
Many RC clubs are able to rent spaces for indoor flying.
We are lucky here in Indianapolis, Indiana, because we have a
large soccer arena to fly in this year for the first time. The
attendance has been great. If you need a place to fly inside during
the cold of winter, I suggest checking out the soccer clubs. These
facilities are generally in warehouse/industrial-park areas.
Our club arranged for us to use the building from 9 p.m. to 1
a.m. on Saturdays and some Friday evenings. Working out a later
time is easier than trying to find something available during the
daytime. The soccer centers are usually large, with high ceilings.
Indoor flying is great for building club morale. It keeps pilots
in communication with each other. It allows new people to get
acclimated to the
club scene, even
when no outdoor
flying is going on.
If you live
where it gets cold
in the winter, get
involved in some
indoor flying in the winter if you can. It also keeps your skills
sharp for the transition to outdoor flying come spring.
The Great Planes E-Fest fly-in will take place February 7-8.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Track and Field
Armory will be opened up for this huge RC event. It is a fantastic
get-together for airplane and helicopter pilots alike. I hope to see
you there.
I want to introduce you to my friend Bert Kammerer, who is very
involved in RC helicopters. He is a great pilot and is also
involved in the business side of the hobby. Bert is the team
manager for V-Blades and a test pilot for Align RC. I thought you
would like to hear his take on the world of RC helicopters.
MF: First off Bert, tell us a little bit about yourself.
BK: I live in Orlando, Florida, but I’m originally from Germany;
my father is German and my mother is Venezuelan. I lived in
Venezuela most of my life, until I graduated from high school and
then moved to the US to attend college. I’m part owner of a
company that specializes in managed Internet hosting solutions
for small- and medium-size businesses. I’m 37 years old.
MF: Tell us about your career in the hobby. How did it start and
evolve? Where do you want to be in two years and in five years?
BK: My RC experience started back in 1982, when I was 11 years
old; my mom bought me a high-wing trainer airplane at the time
and I learned to fly it very quickly. I flew airplanes, gliders, and
even Control Line for several years. I then stopped all RC
activities to attend college and didn’t get back into RC until about
four years ago, when I started flying helicopters.
I started flying RC helicopters around October or November of
2004, after visiting a local hobby shop and buying a small, fixedpitch
micro heli. Over the past four years I have been fortunate
enough to become a sponsored pilot for various manufacturers. I
currently attend over 20 events per year around the world, thanks
to my sponsors.
This hobby has been very rewarding in many aspects: teaching
others, making new friends, and traveling around the world
attending events and meeting new people. I don’t have any
specific plans for the future; I just want to continue to learn as
well as give back to the heli community.
MF: Who were your main influences?
BK: I have always been very disciplined
when it comes to learning new things. My
main influence when I was getting into
helicopters was my friend, Craig Martin,
from Orlando, Florida. He was also
getting into helicopters at the time, and we
both came up with a daily routine for
practice.
We used to meet at the flying field
every day after work and fly together. We
not only motivated each other, but we also
learned from each other. It was good
times! Craig is now a team pilot for
Outrage RC.
There were other influences; one of
them was a guy at our club called Marvin
Dericho. He taught me a lot about setups
and engine tuning among other things.
MF: What advice do you have for new
pilots?
BK: I always insist that the most
important part of learning to fly a
helicopter is to learn to master all the
basics. Some people laugh at me when I
say that, because most don’t want to spend
much time learning the boring stuff, but
learning to fly in all orientations; i.e.,
forward, backwards, inverted, and
inverted backwards in all orientations,
both directions, and in complete control
while holding altitude and speed is the key
to learning smooth and precise 3-D.
This also opens the door to learning
new transitions. A lot of people learn
Tic-Tocs and even pirouetting
maneuvers before they can fly their
basics. Even though there is nothing
wrong with that, they’ll sooner or later
have to practice their basics again if they
want to take their flying to the next level.
Something else I recommend for
beginners is to stick to the same
helicopter. Flying the same helicopter
not only makes you more comfortable
with its flying characteristics, but it also
allows you to fix it quicker when it
crashes, not to mention the fact that you
can concentrate all your budget money
on a single set of parts.
MF: What are the main things you see
pilots doing that hold them back in their
flying?
BK: Something I see all the time is the
fact that most new pilots want to learn 3-
D before mastering their basics, and so
they tend to break the natural flow of
progression.
I know people that can perform a 3-D
routine but that would get in trouble if
the helicopter changed orientation due to
a malfunction, such as a drastic tail
change, as they have only learned certain
moves in specific orientations, but never
worked on their basics.
MF: You fly for Align. It seems to be an
innovative company that is always
upgrading its existing machines while
constantly bringing new ones to the
market. What have been your
experiences working with them?
BK: I am very happy to be part of Align.
I’m a close friend with Jason Krause and
the rest of the crew. We have a great
team of pilots and work in a laid-back
environment. We get to fly new products
constantly and travel around doing
demos and assisting other pilots with
their Align products.
Alex, the owner of Align, is
constantly coming up with new ideas,
and Jason turns those ideas into
drawings, and before you know it, a new
product is designed, produced, marketed,
and launched!
Thanks, Bert. I appreciate hearing a
little inside information from a man who
knows, and I look forward to seeing you
soon. Thanks again. I’ll be back next
month. MA
Sources:
Great Planes E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Align RC
www.align.com.tw/html/en/c_rindexe.
htm
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 130,131,132
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 130,131,132
HELLO, HELI PEOPLE. I hope you are staying warm. Maybe
you even get to do some indoor flying during these winter
months. This is the coldest time of year for most of the country.
Many RC clubs are able to rent spaces for indoor flying.
We are lucky here in Indianapolis, Indiana, because we have a
large soccer arena to fly in this year for the first time. The
attendance has been great. If you need a place to fly inside during
the cold of winter, I suggest checking out the soccer clubs. These
facilities are generally in warehouse/industrial-park areas.
Our club arranged for us to use the building from 9 p.m. to 1
a.m. on Saturdays and some Friday evenings. Working out a later
time is easier than trying to find something available during the
daytime. The soccer centers are usually large, with high ceilings.
Indoor flying is great for building club morale. It keeps pilots
in communication with each other. It allows new people to get
acclimated to the
club scene, even
when no outdoor
flying is going on.
If you live
where it gets cold
in the winter, get
involved in some
indoor flying in the winter if you can. It also keeps your skills
sharp for the transition to outdoor flying come spring.
The Great Planes E-Fest fly-in will take place February 7-8.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Track and Field
Armory will be opened up for this huge RC event. It is a fantastic
get-together for airplane and helicopter pilots alike. I hope to see
you there.
I want to introduce you to my friend Bert Kammerer, who is very
involved in RC helicopters. He is a great pilot and is also
involved in the business side of the hobby. Bert is the team
manager for V-Blades and a test pilot for Align RC. I thought you
would like to hear his take on the world of RC helicopters.
MF: First off Bert, tell us a little bit about yourself.
BK: I live in Orlando, Florida, but I’m originally from Germany;
my father is German and my mother is Venezuelan. I lived in
Venezuela most of my life, until I graduated from high school and
then moved to the US to attend college. I’m part owner of a
company that specializes in managed Internet hosting solutions
for small- and medium-size businesses. I’m 37 years old.
MF: Tell us about your career in the hobby. How did it start and
evolve? Where do you want to be in two years and in five years?
BK: My RC experience started back in 1982, when I was 11 years
old; my mom bought me a high-wing trainer airplane at the time
and I learned to fly it very quickly. I flew airplanes, gliders, and
even Control Line for several years. I then stopped all RC
activities to attend college and didn’t get back into RC until about
four years ago, when I started flying helicopters.
I started flying RC helicopters around October or November of
2004, after visiting a local hobby shop and buying a small, fixedpitch
micro heli. Over the past four years I have been fortunate
enough to become a sponsored pilot for various manufacturers. I
currently attend over 20 events per year around the world, thanks
to my sponsors.
This hobby has been very rewarding in many aspects: teaching
others, making new friends, and traveling around the world
attending events and meeting new people. I don’t have any
specific plans for the future; I just want to continue to learn as
well as give back to the heli community.
MF: Who were your main influences?
BK: I have always been very disciplined
when it comes to learning new things. My
main influence when I was getting into
helicopters was my friend, Craig Martin,
from Orlando, Florida. He was also
getting into helicopters at the time, and we
both came up with a daily routine for
practice.
We used to meet at the flying field
every day after work and fly together. We
not only motivated each other, but we also
learned from each other. It was good
times! Craig is now a team pilot for
Outrage RC.
There were other influences; one of
them was a guy at our club called Marvin
Dericho. He taught me a lot about setups
and engine tuning among other things.
MF: What advice do you have for new
pilots?
BK: I always insist that the most
important part of learning to fly a
helicopter is to learn to master all the
basics. Some people laugh at me when I
say that, because most don’t want to spend
much time learning the boring stuff, but
learning to fly in all orientations; i.e.,
forward, backwards, inverted, and
inverted backwards in all orientations,
both directions, and in complete control
while holding altitude and speed is the key
to learning smooth and precise 3-D.
This also opens the door to learning
new transitions. A lot of people learn
Tic-Tocs and even pirouetting
maneuvers before they can fly their
basics. Even though there is nothing
wrong with that, they’ll sooner or later
have to practice their basics again if they
want to take their flying to the next level.
Something else I recommend for
beginners is to stick to the same
helicopter. Flying the same helicopter
not only makes you more comfortable
with its flying characteristics, but it also
allows you to fix it quicker when it
crashes, not to mention the fact that you
can concentrate all your budget money
on a single set of parts.
MF: What are the main things you see
pilots doing that hold them back in their
flying?
BK: Something I see all the time is the
fact that most new pilots want to learn 3-
D before mastering their basics, and so
they tend to break the natural flow of
progression.
I know people that can perform a 3-D
routine but that would get in trouble if
the helicopter changed orientation due to
a malfunction, such as a drastic tail
change, as they have only learned certain
moves in specific orientations, but never
worked on their basics.
MF: You fly for Align. It seems to be an
innovative company that is always
upgrading its existing machines while
constantly bringing new ones to the
market. What have been your
experiences working with them?
BK: I am very happy to be part of Align.
I’m a close friend with Jason Krause and
the rest of the crew. We have a great
team of pilots and work in a laid-back
environment. We get to fly new products
constantly and travel around doing
demos and assisting other pilots with
their Align products.
Alex, the owner of Align, is
constantly coming up with new ideas,
and Jason turns those ideas into
drawings, and before you know it, a new
product is designed, produced, marketed,
and launched!
Thanks, Bert. I appreciate hearing a
little inside information from a man who
knows, and I look forward to seeing you
soon. Thanks again. I’ll be back next
month. MA
Sources:
Great Planes E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Align RC
www.align.com.tw/html/en/c_rindexe.
htm
Edition: Model Aviation - 2009/02
Page Numbers: 130,131,132
HELLO, HELI PEOPLE. I hope you are staying warm. Maybe
you even get to do some indoor flying during these winter
months. This is the coldest time of year for most of the country.
Many RC clubs are able to rent spaces for indoor flying.
We are lucky here in Indianapolis, Indiana, because we have a
large soccer arena to fly in this year for the first time. The
attendance has been great. If you need a place to fly inside during
the cold of winter, I suggest checking out the soccer clubs. These
facilities are generally in warehouse/industrial-park areas.
Our club arranged for us to use the building from 9 p.m. to 1
a.m. on Saturdays and some Friday evenings. Working out a later
time is easier than trying to find something available during the
daytime. The soccer centers are usually large, with high ceilings.
Indoor flying is great for building club morale. It keeps pilots
in communication with each other. It allows new people to get
acclimated to the
club scene, even
when no outdoor
flying is going on.
If you live
where it gets cold
in the winter, get
involved in some
indoor flying in the winter if you can. It also keeps your skills
sharp for the transition to outdoor flying come spring.
The Great Planes E-Fest fly-in will take place February 7-8.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Track and Field
Armory will be opened up for this huge RC event. It is a fantastic
get-together for airplane and helicopter pilots alike. I hope to see
you there.
I want to introduce you to my friend Bert Kammerer, who is very
involved in RC helicopters. He is a great pilot and is also
involved in the business side of the hobby. Bert is the team
manager for V-Blades and a test pilot for Align RC. I thought you
would like to hear his take on the world of RC helicopters.
MF: First off Bert, tell us a little bit about yourself.
BK: I live in Orlando, Florida, but I’m originally from Germany;
my father is German and my mother is Venezuelan. I lived in
Venezuela most of my life, until I graduated from high school and
then moved to the US to attend college. I’m part owner of a
company that specializes in managed Internet hosting solutions
for small- and medium-size businesses. I’m 37 years old.
MF: Tell us about your career in the hobby. How did it start and
evolve? Where do you want to be in two years and in five years?
BK: My RC experience started back in 1982, when I was 11 years
old; my mom bought me a high-wing trainer airplane at the time
and I learned to fly it very quickly. I flew airplanes, gliders, and
even Control Line for several years. I then stopped all RC
activities to attend college and didn’t get back into RC until about
four years ago, when I started flying helicopters.
I started flying RC helicopters around October or November of
2004, after visiting a local hobby shop and buying a small, fixedpitch
micro heli. Over the past four years I have been fortunate
enough to become a sponsored pilot for various manufacturers. I
currently attend over 20 events per year around the world, thanks
to my sponsors.
This hobby has been very rewarding in many aspects: teaching
others, making new friends, and traveling around the world
attending events and meeting new people. I don’t have any
specific plans for the future; I just want to continue to learn as
well as give back to the heli community.
MF: Who were your main influences?
BK: I have always been very disciplined
when it comes to learning new things. My
main influence when I was getting into
helicopters was my friend, Craig Martin,
from Orlando, Florida. He was also
getting into helicopters at the time, and we
both came up with a daily routine for
practice.
We used to meet at the flying field
every day after work and fly together. We
not only motivated each other, but we also
learned from each other. It was good
times! Craig is now a team pilot for
Outrage RC.
There were other influences; one of
them was a guy at our club called Marvin
Dericho. He taught me a lot about setups
and engine tuning among other things.
MF: What advice do you have for new
pilots?
BK: I always insist that the most
important part of learning to fly a
helicopter is to learn to master all the
basics. Some people laugh at me when I
say that, because most don’t want to spend
much time learning the boring stuff, but
learning to fly in all orientations; i.e.,
forward, backwards, inverted, and
inverted backwards in all orientations,
both directions, and in complete control
while holding altitude and speed is the key
to learning smooth and precise 3-D.
This also opens the door to learning
new transitions. A lot of people learn
Tic-Tocs and even pirouetting
maneuvers before they can fly their
basics. Even though there is nothing
wrong with that, they’ll sooner or later
have to practice their basics again if they
want to take their flying to the next level.
Something else I recommend for
beginners is to stick to the same
helicopter. Flying the same helicopter
not only makes you more comfortable
with its flying characteristics, but it also
allows you to fix it quicker when it
crashes, not to mention the fact that you
can concentrate all your budget money
on a single set of parts.
MF: What are the main things you see
pilots doing that hold them back in their
flying?
BK: Something I see all the time is the
fact that most new pilots want to learn 3-
D before mastering their basics, and so
they tend to break the natural flow of
progression.
I know people that can perform a 3-D
routine but that would get in trouble if
the helicopter changed orientation due to
a malfunction, such as a drastic tail
change, as they have only learned certain
moves in specific orientations, but never
worked on their basics.
MF: You fly for Align. It seems to be an
innovative company that is always
upgrading its existing machines while
constantly bringing new ones to the
market. What have been your
experiences working with them?
BK: I am very happy to be part of Align.
I’m a close friend with Jason Krause and
the rest of the crew. We have a great
team of pilots and work in a laid-back
environment. We get to fly new products
constantly and travel around doing
demos and assisting other pilots with
their Align products.
Alex, the owner of Align, is
constantly coming up with new ideas,
and Jason turns those ideas into
drawings, and before you know it, a new
product is designed, produced, marketed,
and launched!
Thanks, Bert. I appreciate hearing a
little inside information from a man who
knows, and I look forward to seeing you
soon. Thanks again. I’ll be back next
month. MA
Sources:
Great Planes E-Fest
www.gpe-fest.com
Align RC
www.align.com.tw/html/en/c_rindexe.
htm
