Assuming you have 72MHz narrow band stuff, yes, it's still usable. Cycle your batteries a few times if you haven't used them in a while.
Jeez I'm getting old. I flew models all my life from indoor microfilm stuff to 10lb RC models. Started RC in '67 as a kid when kids didn't really fly them. Radio equipment was REALLY expensive then and I can't tell you how many planes we destroyed learning to fly - no buddy boxes or simulators then, just snatch and save. My younger brother started then too. The former Nats (National) Pattern acro champ still competes today.
Spoken like a true glider nut. Gliding can be the most fun of all if it strikes your fancy.... or helicopters..... or etc.However if you want to fly and maybe learn a bit of something that you can take with you to GA, fly gliders. I have been out of R/C for some time now, but I spent the better part of the 90's and 2000's flying competition R/C sailplanes and competing all over the western states. The competition planes might be a bit of overkill, but you can get a lot of the same fun and learn things about micro weather by flying a DLG (Discus launch Glider). It's small enough to keep in your car or airplane or bring to work because you never know when you might find time to fly. It is a glider so it only requires that the radio equipment is charged and not power packs for electric props. You will learn to fly very precisely and also learn to know where the thermals are by observation of things around you. Sparrows in the air, swirling trees, wind directions different at ends of the field and even feel the wind in the hair of your legs.. You may have to stop shaving your legs to fly DLG and be proficient.....
Cheap DLG to try: http://www.soaringusa.com/Apache-HLG.html
I actually pre-date ARF/RTF models, heck, we didn't even have epoxy let alone CA. Ambroids and balsa, silk and dope baby! But when the first Lanier foam ARFs came out and stuff like the CG Ranger 42 became available we thought we died and went to heaven. Fly, crash, a little 5 min epoxy and fly again. But if you get a taste for built up models, the plastic stuff never quite looks right. I like the RTF stick built models - best of both worlds for people who like the look and weight but have tired of building.I guess I'm just a curmudgeonly 34 yr. old, but it's a little sad to me that the majority of hobbyists these days have little interest or attention span for building...and are only interested in the ARFs and RTFs. The technology has come a long way, and these pre-built planes are a far cry from what they were 15 years ago, but for me, most of the satisfaction in this hobby came from building, not flying...although flying is fun. I've flown R/C very off an on since I was a kid, and my first plane was a Sig Kadet Senior, which IMO, is THE best trainer ever designed. Built a couple more in college, and then didn't touch anything again until I found this Waco YMF-5 kit made by Dumas a few years ago. It's an old-school build-over-plans stick frame kit, the only difference being that the ribs and formers are laser cut instead of "die crunched". It's a 35" span, and has a flying weight of 7-3/4 ounces...so it floats like a rubber scale plane and can be flown in ridiculously small spaces. Awesome flyer, but it's basically a hangar queen these days. Anyway, just an example of something you can build that's different, and can look and fly better than the pre-built ARF/RTF stuff. And I got a little tired of the flying field scene, where it was mostly about big gas monoplanes hovering and doing 3D. If I didn't have a Pitts, I'd probably spend some time and money on RC again.
There are still hobby shops?
There are still hobby shops?
Hello Kimberly,
It looks like your in the Bay Area so I may have another option you might consider. If you just want to walk to a local park and fly then definitely go the electric park flyer option.
However if you want to fly and maybe learn a bit of something that you can take with you to GA, fly gliders. I have been out of R/C for some time now, but I spent the better part of the 90's and 2000's flying competition R/C sailplanes and competing all over the western states. The competition planes might be a bit of overkill, but you can get a lot of the same fun and learn things about micro weather by flying a DLG (Discus launch Glider). It's small enough to keep in your car or airplane or bring to work because you never know when you might find time to fly. It is a glider so it only requires that the radio equipment is charged and not power packs for electric props. You will learn to fly very precisely and also learn to know where the thermals are by observation of things around you. Sparrows in the air, swirling trees, wind directions different at ends of the field and even feel the wind in the hair of your legs.. You may have to stop shaving your legs to fly DLG and be proficient...
Cheap DLG to try: http://www.soaringusa.com/Apache-HLG.html
Or: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__23138__Versus_Composite_DLG_1500mm_Glider_Kit.html (This requires a fair amount of assembly)
Also since you live in the bay area you could try slope soaring which will also teach you about how terrain affects wind and what types of terrian create turbulence and where lift and sinkholes are. All very transferable to GA. A few places I use to fly slope gliders in the bay area were Fort Funston and off the road heading into Dell Valle lake (livermore area) and Davenport. I am sure there are many more sites if you have a look.
For slope you could learn to fly beating this to death and still not kill it:
http://www.zagi.com/zagi-gliders/zagi-5c-epp-flying-wing-combat-glider
He says he is the original EPP glider manufacturer which is less than true...
Best regards,
Marc
Yep, can be. Many of them remind me of high school mentality. Cliquish and if you're not flying the right equipment you'll be ignored and possibly even knocked down behind your back. In my experience, full scale pilots are generally much more gregarious and welcoming. I've known many great folks in RC, but just noticed some underlying characteristics among many of them that I've only rarely run across in full scale. And there's also some serious redneck factor in RC.
IMHO..
I knew about it, but I was there to fly the airplane, not dance....
And here I thought you just got shot down....
Back when I was maybe 10 or so I got a string line controlled model plane.. Might have been a p-51 with a Cox .049 motor and rubber bands held it together.. It lasted about 1/2 day before I killed it. I could NEVER get it to make two complete laps before the crash.... No RC stuff for me and when I started taking flying lessons 33 years ago the thought of my inability to fly a model crossed my mind just once... Then after my first successful landing in the 152 I knew the model flying was ALOT harder then the real thing..
