Radio control model aviation is a family oriented, fun, exciting
and educational hobby. It is a great feeling of accomplishment for both
young and old alike to see an aircraft that you built and/or assembled
take to the air under your control. Aerodynamics, construction
techniques, propulsion systems, electricity, battery technologies and
hand/eye coordination are just a few of the disciplines that will be
learned/honed with involvement in model aviation. There are a multitude
of different facets to this hobby. From small electric motor powered
park flyer models to medium sized glow fuel internal combustion engine
powered models to giant scale gasoline internal combustion engine
powered models to helicopters, both electric and fuel powered. The sky
is literally the limit when it comes to choosing a flying machine of
your liking. The Buc-Le Aero Sportsmen have club members that enjoy
every different segment of radio control model aviation. This makes
obtaining help and advice for new modelers a snap.
Getting
Started
You are in luck if you
are interested in getting started in this wonderful hobby of model
aviation! The Buc-Le Aero Sportsmen offer the
Learn to Fly Nights for
people who are interested in giving radio control model aviation a try.
Simply put, an interested person can make an appointment to obtain three
(3) free introductory flying lessons from a Buc-Le qualified flight
instructor on the first (1st) and third (3rd) Wednesdays of the month
starting Wednesday May 19th, 2010 from 5:00pm to 7:00pm during the
summer season. There will also be additional
Learn to Fly Nights on June
30th and September 29th simply due to the way the calendar falls. The
second (2nd) and fourth (4th) Wednesdays are reserved for rain dates if
needed as well as special request dates. There will be three (3)
instructors and six (6) students per night. This way the instructors
will be able to provide essential one on one time with each student and
more than likely fly all three lessons with each student. Should you not
want to fly all three of your free lessons on a single night, you can be
rescheduled for another night. For the three free introductory lessons
all you have to do is show up. Buc-Le provides all the required
equipment free of charge. Should the Wednesday evening time period not
work out for your schedule, a special appointment time can be set up
with an instructor. At the completion of the three free lessons, should
you wish to continue with learning to fly, we ask that you join the club
and the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA). The AMA membership is
required for insurance. Annual membership fees for both the club and the
AMA are very reasonable for adult members and junior membership fees are
even more inexpensive. Please see the
Membership Form and
AMA Application Form
pages on this website for dues information for both the club and AMA.
Learning to fly
The process of learning to fly radio control model
airplanes is gratifying. Students are instructed utilizing what is known
as a “Buddy Box” system. Simply put, there are two radio control
transmitter boxes used that are connected by a cable. The instructor
uses the main transmitter for the airplane. Through a cable another
transmitter is connected to the master transmitter, this is the buddy
box, which is used by the student. When the instructor wants to give
control of the model to the student, he/she depresses a switch on the
master transmitter that allows the student to assume control of the
model through the buddy box. If the student runs into trouble while
flying the instructor simply releases the switch on the master
transmitter and immediately resumes control of the model. This makes for
a very seamless way of instructing new students and is also quite a
positive for model longevity. Buc-Le instructors have buddy boxes and
cables for the more popular brands of radios, which are made by JR and
Futaba, however having your own buddy box is big help and a large time
saver. Buddy boxes are inexpensive and the trainer cables commonly come
with the radio control set when you purchase it.
Equipment needed
to take the next steps
OK, so you have taken your free introductory
lessons and you are hooked. Where do you go from here? Commonly now is
the point in time where the new student purchases his/her own airplane
and support equipment. There are a number of different trainer aircraft
available, made by several companies. Some are more expensive than
others and obviously with the higher cost, comes higher quality. Many of
the trainer aircraft come highly prefabricated. These are known as ARF’s
which stands for Almost Ready to Fly. These aircraft are highly
prefabricated and commonly require only a few evenings of work to make
them ready for flight. There are also airplane kits available where you
essentially purchase a box of balsa wood pieces and associated parts,
that when assembled, make an airplane. The kits come with plans from
which the airplane is built from. The airframe is constructed utilizing
different glues and covered with a plastic iron on film. You then
install your engine, radio gear, batteries, etc in the completed
airframe. While building your first airplane from a kit is a very
gratifying and educational experience, we recommend purchasing an ARF
for your first trainer aircraft to get you in the air quickly and save
the kit building for subsequent aircraft. Reason being is that the
trainer is going to get beat up during the learning process, whether it
is from less than perfect landings to the occasional crash.
The next
decision that must be made is do you want an electric motor powered
trainer or a glow fuel powered trainer. A glow fuel engine is an
internal combustion engine that runs on a similar premise to a diesel
engine and is also the most common. There are both 2-stroke and 4-stroke
glow engines. Glow fuel is a mixture of methanol, nitro methane and
lubricating oil. Electric power is just that, an electric motor spinning
the propeller instead of an engine. With the advent of lithium polymer
batteries, electric power is becoming more and more common. In fact,
electric powered models have just as much, if not more power than many
glow engine powered models. Glow power and electric power each have
their pros and cons. Each mode of propulsion gets the job done and it is
all a matter of preference.
Costs incurred in your initial purchase can
be quite economical, however going the inexpensive way will normally get
you equipment that is not very versatile and for lack of a better word,
cheap. Many ARF trainer aircraft are very reasonably priced as with much
of the field support equipment. Where we recommend spending a bit more
money is in the radio control set and the engine. By spending a bit more
money on the radio you will obtain a unit that you can grow into as your
skills advance. The radio control units of today will give you many,
many years of flawless service if well cared for. The same goes for the
engine. You can go cheap and get an engine that you are constantly
having to tinker with to keep it running correctly or you can purchase a
quality engine that will run like a Swiss watch. When the time comes to
move on to new, more advanced airplane the radio and engine can be
utilized in the new airframe. There are so many choices and the Buc-Le
Aero Sportsmen are here to help you with those choices. Following is a
common list of items to get you started for both glow power and electric
power.
Glow Engine Power
1. Airplane
2. Engine
3. Radio control set
4. Propeller
5. Engine starter
6. 12 volt gel cell battery
7. Glow driver
8. Glow fuel
9. Fuel pump
10. Flight box to carry support equipment
Electric Motor Power
1. Airplane
2. Electric motor (may or may not be included w/airplane)
3. Radio control set
4. Propeller
5. At least 3 power battery packs
6. Battery charger
7. 12 volt automotive battery or power supply for field charging
8. Flight box to carry support equipment
How long will it
take me to learn to fly on my own?
This is a tough question to answer as everyone learns differently and at
their own pace. It will also depend greatly on how often you fly with
your instructor. Buc-Le has a novice beginner policy for people who are
just learning to fly. Prior to being able to fly solo without the
instructor present, the beginner must prove their ability to be able to
start the airplane engine, taxi out for takeoff, takeoff, perform both
left hand and right hand flight patterns, land, taxi back to the pit
area and shut down, all while not utilizing the buddy box. These are the
initial skills that you will learn and become proficient at early on.
Once you are able to demonstrate your ability, you are signed off to fly
solo and able to fly on your own whenever you wish to do so, continuing
to hone your skills.
There are mail order hobby facilities which carry a large array of
hobby related merchandise.
Horizon Hobby
Website: www.horizonhobby.com
Specific links to trainer aircraft on the Horizon Hobby website
http://searchrc.horizonhobby.com/index.jsp?sid=126B954385D0&Ne=5000&N=5008
http://searchrc.horizonhobby.com/index.jsp?N=5052&sid=126B967B90AF
Tower Hobbies
Website: www.towerhobbies.com
Specific links to trainer aircraft on the
Tower Hobbies
website
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0093p?&C=ACB
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0093p?&C=ACC
The Buc-Le Aero Sportsmen welcome new members to the club and we are
here to answer any questions you may have regarding the awesome hobby of
radio control model aviation.