Matt Sylvester in Arizona put this together. I thought it was nice.. He’s staying ahead of even the AMA on some of the local events
Also, I’ll be out with the Airtronics Tent and we’ll most likely be showing the B17 from ASM in the Jet Hangar booth next weekend in Airzona for the Electric Festival. If you’re in the Phoenix area, that weekend (30 and 31) come by, say hi!
Here’s a link: Electric Festival
After many years of not belonging to a club, I’ve joined Scale Squadron. In the past I was worried about politics, endorsing one club over another, etc but this year I decided it was time for me to join and be an official member of a club. Please know that my joining this club is NOT an endorsement of one club over another. The opposite in fact. I think you should join a club and join one that’s right for YOU!
I joined Scale Squadron for several reasons.
1. Frankly, they were very friendly to me. Even though they are mostly scale kit builders, they seem to enjoy many facets of the hobby and as a whole seem to encourage their members to have fun.
2. Convenience. This club is VERY close to work which makes attending meetings much easier.
3. There are a LOT of interesting people in the club. It makes for interesting conversation at meetings and get togethers. No need to name names but there’s a LOT of local hobby icons in the membership roll.
4. They invited me to join.
5. They let me be the Newsletter Editor and I’ve always wanted to do it. Back “in the day” my parents were newsletter editors in their local club, so I thought it would be fun to continue the tradition. (I’m hoping our club leadership gets my first newsletter posted soon to the website!)
The Squadron is not the biggest club, however, I’ve already had great fun with these guys at the field, at the meetings, and at AMA last weekend.
Why I highly recommend joining a local club..
1. All of the reasons above.
2. They’d love to have you.
3. You’re in essence participating in grouping like-minded hobbyists together which helps to keep fields, support the AMA, and keep modeling legal and accepted in the local community.
4. The hobby is just MORE FUN when you can share it with others.
OK, shameless plug..
If you like scale airplanes, building them, designing them from scratch, or even “bashing” ARF’s, the Scale Squadron might be a nice club for you. So, if you live in the OC area, feel free to come to a club meeting. The ‘Commander’ of the Scale Squadron (our name for “President” of the club) is Tim Johnson. He’s a great guy. So, if you come to the meeting, find him and introduce yourself. We’ll make sure you feel welcome.
2nd Monday of each month. Info is on the website.
Note that this month I will be giving a presentation on Radio Battery Selection. In the January Meeting Sam Wright gave a presentation on using Promark Dry Transfers and vinyl stencils.
If you want to join a club but the Squadron does not sound right for you, go to the AMA website, modelaircraft.org and find some clubs. Attend some meetings and find a group of people you like!
Mike
Jack Albrecht, Craig Kaplan, Eric Biddle - The Airtronics Guys
Thank you to everyone for coming out to see us in Ontario. This year, AMA was a GREAT host. I want to say thank you to everyone at the AMA for their hard work and dedication to make this show a reality every year. It is a positive influence in the hobby.
The Hobby People booth was packed with modelers talking to the folks from our stores. We offered a lot of great prices and it was great to see so many people carrying around blue bags full of Hobby People goodies!
The Airtronics booth was equally busy. We had Jack Albrecht with us all weekend down from his northern CA home. It is good to see Jack every year in person at the show. My father, John, and many of his Victor Valley fellow club members came out and hung-out in the booth. We all got to talk Airplanes and show off the new Airtronics radios, receivers and servos. We just released 9 new servos and a new economy full range 6ch receiver. Airtronics is doing everything it can to make the hobby more affordable!
Colonel Robert E Thacker with Sam Wright - AMA Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony
Besides seeing so many friends and family, the highlight for the weekend was the Colonel’s AMA Hall of Fame membership ceremony. He’s a great guy and deserving of the recognition. It was the feel-good moment of the show with people like the Renaud’s, Gus Ohlsson, and the AMA President along with 3 or 4 hundred others all applauding the man of the hour! The hobby is made up and lead by a lot of great people. And some of them, like the Colonel, even at 92 years young, still like to fly (and fly FAST I might add!) The Colonel has been an Airtronics pilot for as long as Airtronics has been around!
A Fantastic Event. Don’t miss it next year! I know you all bought a lot of new toys at the show, go FLYING and have some FUN!!! I’ll see you out there!
Mike
Many Airtronics users have wondered if there are other receivers available for the RDS8000 and SD-10G besides the stock receivers?
Here’s a list:
There is an 8, a 7 and a 6 channel available. All 3 are full range and the 6ch is quite small and affordable
Click the links:
8ch
7ch
6ch
There is also an affordable lightweight park flyer receiver. With the case off it is only 4 grams or so making it very nice for indoor planes, small helis, etc.
RX60
Squall Great Flying EDF
This Jet is SO much fun. First, it’s fast. With the 4 cell setup it really scoots. For me, however, what really makes it fun is the Vectored Thrust setup. Have full 3 axis control which in a nose-high attitude with zero ground speed! Yes. This thrust vector setup is good clean fun. Flat spins are just amazing.
Thrust Vector Unit - For Squall and EF-16
And in case you wanted to roll 3-4 times a second, no problem, it does that too. Very cool
Because the Squall is lightweight it’s easy to launch. It doesn’t require any kind of launcher. One other great thing.. the Vectored Thrust system will fit on an EF-16 too!
RX60 from Airtronics
RX60 Park Flyer Receiver
When we worked on this receiver, we were targeting indoor, both small helis and foamies. With the case off, this is a 4g receiver. VERY light and nice.
Turns out our pilots are getting well over 1000 feet of range. Works GREAT with outdoor foamies and small planes too!
Lower price, lower weight, small size. All you 3D micro heli pilots now have a 6ch micro receiver that works great AND is affordable. This has proven to be a popular servo.
RX60 next to a quarter. I think the Quarter weighs more :0
I was out at the Farmer’s Market today in L.A. There they have a area featuring Gilmore Red Lion Oil. They have a complete gas station setup and an interesting historical timeline on the company.
Gilmore Gas Pump at Farmer's Market
So, I thought what better time to show the BH Models Red Lion Racers. These are sport-scale ARF versions of one of the Red Lion Racer.
46 Size Gilmore
There are 2 versions.
Click here for the 45-50cc Size
They both have detailed fiberglass cowls, truly round fuselaged with built-in wood wing fairings, and a completed canopy with a painted pilot. They’re nice and fly great. And for those that want some Golden-Age racing, get a couple and start racing at your local club!
Here’s a link to my 46 size that is electrified with a KMS 4130 and 6S LiPo
There’s a TON of beautiful stuff from BH Models. They are some of the absolute best ARF models we’ve EVER seen. (Tons more coming this year too!)
Looking through the blog, it comes to mind that we’ve released a lot of product at Global/Hobby People/Airtronics that wasn’t really covered or mentioned here. So, I thought over the next few days we’d point out some of these 2009 releases as kind of a proud look back on 2009.
For today, we have the Mini P51D Mustang.
Phase 3 Mini Mustang
This is an interesting little plane. It’s made for outdoor, but it’s the size of many indoor plane. It only uses 1 cell and has a custom little brushed motor optimized for that 1 cell. It comes built and painted with servos and linkage installed. It only requires a TX and RX. Any of the ATX radios drop right in.
What’s also cool is that it is the sister plane to the Phase 3 Mini Spitfire. And the Mustang is painted in European color too, so they really do go together.
Phase 3 Mini Spitfire
So, if you’re looking for a 6 ounce figher that flies faster than some 40 size planes, check these little guys out. They’re fun and good looking.
Mike's I Fly R/C Blog 