Think about it a minute.
You can’t actually go anywhere in a radio control airplane. And you don‘t get a chance to enjoy the scenery like you can from a real airplane – even from the most modest of the modest. No chance to hang from the straps upside down. Or to impress your friends with tales of your latest excellent death defying adventure!
But that’s not all.
Flying a radio control airplane is actually harder than flying the real thing. Why? You get no intuitive sensory feedback to give you clues about your situation – such as sight, sound, seat of the pants feedback, and control feedback. When you fly a ‘real’ airplane, all of these things go into your ‘mark 1’ human computer. Then you can respond well (or at least adequately) to almost any airborne situation – even the bone-headed ones you caused yourself.
But because you aren’t seated ‘in’ a radio control airplane, your chances of goofing up are far more likely. Chances of a successful recovery are at the other end of the ‘likely’ spectrum.
And of course, a ’real’ airplane isn’t as super-sensitive twitchy on the controls as its little look-alike cousin, so finding yourself trying to recover from a wildly gyrating and seemingly hostile model airplane is inevitable. Unfortunately, successful recovery isn’t – inevitable, that is. Over-controlling a radio control airplane is a major cause of prangs.
But there is yet another ‘gotcha‘ that can getcha, too, with a model airplane. Sometimes it seems that everything is backwards – and they can be! It’s kind of like flying upside down, when you have to ’push’, not ’pull’, the control column to gain altitude. But with a radio control airplane, it also happens when your treasured model is flying toward you. Left becomes right, and right left. Talk about confusing!
Yep – there’s no doubt in my mind that for all of these reasons, flying real airplanes is a hands down winner. I’d rather fly real airplanes any time, any day.
Yet, I don’t. I used to, but that was at the government’s expense as an air force pilot. But now that I’m not an ‘ace’ pilot anymore, just a mere mortal like most people, flying a real airplane as a form of personal entertainment just isn’t in the cards.
I expect it’s the same for lots of folk who have the flying bug. Maybe it’s money, maybe it’s health, maybe it’s age (too young, or too old). Whatever their reason, they just can’t fly the real thing – not right now, anyway.
But lots of us are still fascinated by things that fly. So what are we to do?
Fly a radio control airplane!
Sure, you might crash – but you’re going to walk away from your bent airplane with nothing more than a bruised ego.
And when you take up radio control airplane flying as a hobby, you’ll soon discover a whole new world of aviation opening for you. Not only will you learn new skills (and end up crashing less often), you will meet some very cool people who are just as enthusiastic about flying as you – maybe even more so. Most of them are keen to share their skills and knowledge. There is a camaraderie among fellow pilots.
Yes, you’ll become a pilot. And if you stick with it, you’ll soon enough be sharing your knowledge and skills with the next person who shows up at the field, looking bewildered.
And how good will it feel if it turns out your son or daughter, or your grandson or grand daughter, catches your ’bug’! Love of aviation isn‘t limited by age or gender. Before you know it, your young protégé will soon be flying circles around you in their very own radio control airplane. You’ll be able to say, with pride – ’taught him everything he knows’.
How good would that be!
But wait a minute here – first things first. First, you have to take some steps to getting started. It doesn’t begin with running down to the closest hobby store and buying the sexiest looking, gravity defying hot rod of the air. It begins by learning the basics.
It helps to find the nearest model air field and start hanging out there, watching, listening, and asking questions. But there is also a good book out called ‘Getting Started in Radio Control Airplanes’ that lays out some basics – including jargon – which will help you a lot.
The book is really essential, but it does have one shortfall. It’s a bit dated, so it doesn’t recent advances in battery power. You really shouldn’t commit to gas power until you have a nodding acquaintance with the pros and cons, and possibilities, of a battery powered radio control airplane. That’s going to be an up-coming post here, so check back soon. Better yet, subscribe to our RSS feed (it’s in the sidebar to your right) so you’ll automatically receive notice of our new items.