RADIO CONTROL SCALE AEROBATICS
Mike Hurley, 11542 Decatur Ct., Westminster CO 80234; E-mail: [email protected]
When you're out at the field flying, sometimes it's nice to know that you can find a fellow modeler who is knowledgeable and willing to give you reliable advice. That's why the people in the team shirts are there. When you see other modelers wear team shirts, that's your invitation to ask them questions and discuss the products they support. They are sponsored because of their ability and willingness to help, along with a desire to promote the products they believe in.
There is big news in the Team Futaba camp. Mike Stokes has stepped aside as the team manager and Frank Noll Jr. has been named the new Futaba team leader. Since the team members, and especially the team managers, are there to be the eyes and ears on the ground level and to help all of us, I thought it would be a good idea to hear from Frank about his background, his new position, and how it will affect Scale Aerobatics.
Background
Frank Noll Jr. grew up in a family that was very much aviation-oriented. His father was a model-aircraft builder for the Air Force wind-tunnel operations. Frank's brother was not a modeler, but he was extremely interested in aviation and now works in a significant branch of the Federal Aviation Administration. Frank started building models and flying at the age of 7. His first airplane was a Woody pusher. The Woody was controlled with a single-channel transmitter operated by a single button.
Frank was one of the earliest modelers to begin to increase the size of our models, and he got into Giant Scale in 1979. He loved Giant Scale, but at that time he wasn't flying in competitions. He grew up idolizing Leo Loudenschlager, so it was just a matter of time before he caught the aerobatic bug. Frank started competing in Pattern in the late 1980s. His last Pattern contest was in 1993.
"It was my first year in flying FAI, and you get to a point when you achieve your goal and for some reason I never had any desire to go any further in Pattern," Frank told me.
He started competing in Scale Aerobatics (SA) in 1992. At that time there wasn't much International Miniature Aerobatic Club (IMAC) presence on the East Coast. It was primarily a West Coast–dominated sport.
"Tom Kroger got the first IMAC chapter started in the Midwest," said Frank. "There were just about a half dozen guys at the first contests."
For a brief period, Frank also got into the kit-manufacturing business. Between 1990 and 1994, he produced three kits: a One Design, a Christen Eagle, and a Pitts biplane. These were designed to be reliable and fly well, but not to be competitive.
Frank first became widely known for his demonstration flights. Because of the novelty of the large airplanes and his unique ability to mesmerize an audience with his flying, he was asked to put on shows nationally and even internationally. Frank has flown demos and shows in 48 states, Canada, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, and Japan.
His competition credits include four years at the Tournament of Champions (TOC) and six times flying in the Don Lowe Masters, finishing in the top four every year until 1999, when he won it.
Interview
MH: You've done so many demo flights all over the world. Is there any particular flight that sticks out in your mind?
FN: I had been asked to do an air-show demonstration in Puerto Rico. We got there, and there was grandstand seating for 5,000 people at this model field. They were doing a one-day show and the stadium was filled. After the show they would move the crowd out and fill the stadium again. They filled the stands two and a half times — and they were charging $5 per person! So we did three shows.
They had traffic backup for three or four miles down the freeway. The guy who did all the promotion had a really good system for moving the crowd. He was a banker, and to get everybody out so they could bring in the next crowd in the seats he told them, "On your way out, stop by the gate here and pick up some gifts from our bank." So he was giving away stuff to promote the bank and lure the crowds out of the gate and out of the stands so he could get the next crowd in the seats.
The announcer arranged this "event" called an egg drop. They offered $100 to anybody who could catch an egg dropped from the airplane in their hand without breaking it. Imagine 5,000 people and this announcer running around with the mike in his hand like he's Monty Hall, speaking in Spanish as fast as he can, and he would point at somebody, and they'd jump up and come running down the stands.
So they'd get someone out there and we did this launch with the egg. We'd pull the airplane straight up, and the egg would come away from the airplane and drop straight down on top of him. Whenever the egg would appear, it was like somebody just scored a soccer goal. As the egg would appear out of the airplane, there was an instant roar from the crowd. As it dropped closer to the ground, the roar got louder, and when it would splatter on top of the guy, the crowd would yell "Ole!" It was fun. It was one of the best moments I've ever had flying in front of a crowd.
MH: Wow, Frank! That sounds like a pretty exciting show! Let's switch gears and talk a little about your new job with Futaba. What is your official title and duties?
FN: My official title with Futaba is proprietary lines field communication manager. Basically, I give them feedback from the field as to what people are saying about the products. Proprietary lines are those lines that Hobbico is the sole distributor of. In addition to that, I'm also the manager of Team Futaba and manager of Kyosho and O.S. engine lines.
MH: How many different disciplines does Futaba support as far as team members?
FN: Well, we have:
- Pattern
- Pylon
- Helicopters
- IMAC
- Sailplanes
So there are five, but there are offshoots of those that we have interest in also.
MH: How many members does Futaba have on the IMAC team?
FN: It varies from month to month, depending on who we bring on and whether people are kind of dormant. Obviously, as a business we want to always be looking out for people who are going to get out there and promote the product and talk about it, be personable, easy to talk to, and, most importantly, informative.
MH: Who are the IMAC Team Futaba members?
FN: About half of the IMAC Team Futaba members are also Pattern fliers. There's a pretty good crossover in the two disciplines. Chip Hyde, Jason Shulman, Sean McMurtry—all the guys that have been at the TOC usually are pretty well involved in IMAC also because they have the airplanes.
We also have some guys on the team who may never even have won a contest or won their class, but if they're knowledgeable and easy to talk to and want to promote the product in a positive way, they're just as valuable as the guy that's out there winning contests.
Just recently we've been adding more Scale Aerobatics guys to the roster. Some of them have deservedly needed to be sponsored for some time, and now that I'm able to do it, I'm going to take advantage of it.
MH: What changes do you see happening at Futaba that may relate to SA?
FN: As far as Futaba systems themselves, there are always new products in the works. There are some new products on the horizon that will ultimately make some noise in the modeling community, not only in SA, but in the other disciplines also. But a lot of the stuff that is coming in the way of radios and servos is going to better the ability for the pilots out there to better themselves. Obviously I can't go into detail, but there are some items coming that will revolutionize Aerobatics as we know it.
MH: It doesn't seem that Futaba has been as visible in SA as they could be. Are you working on any ways to change that?
FN: I think the Futaba line, not necessarily in SA, but overall, has been kind of asleep for the last few years, and there's been some changes within Hobbico that will allow me to help bolster the Futaba image. Part of that was me coming onboard. One of the things foremost on my agenda is to turn around our image in the field. That's part of the program I'm working on now, and it should be very evident within the next six months or so.
Futaba, from day one, has always been very professional. Everything they've done from the very first radio they ever made has always been the best that they could do, and now that I'm working closer with Futaba the company — not so much Hobbico as a distributor, but working with the company themselves — it's very apparent that they take this pretty seriously.
Contrary to what people may think, they actually do listen to what everybody has to say. Product development takes a substantial amount of time to get in place, and by the time the general public sees it, it may not seem like the changes that people are making are taking effect, but they do eventually.
To that end, if anybody has any input or changes they'd like to see with Futaba equipment or built into Futaba radios, check with some of our reps or sponsored pilots and give them some input, because that's what they're there for: to listen to the public.
MH
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
