The AMA’s new RC Quick-Start Guide explains how to best enter the fascinating world of model aviation. Written at a basic level, the Guide is even helpful to those who have not even seen an RC model fly. Find out more in Sport Aviator’s On The Horizon Section.
World competition in any sport is interesting. To see how others from around the globe interpret rules and regulations and stylize their methods is intriguing. Attending a World Championships (WC) modeling event provides the opportunity to examine strategies we may not have considered through our own approach; that is especially true in the world of championship aeromodeling.
What has more than 500 pilots from around the world, a 4,000-foot-long flightline, impounds more than 600 transmitters, is supposed to start Thursday but normally starts Monday, and logs a few thousand flights?
The Nats is unlike any other annual “contest” in the world. The idea of the event is to attract competitors from across the nation so that they may come together in a face-off, if you will, to determine who is the best. With luck, skill, or otherwise, a champion is crowned who has outdone those who have participated in a particular special-interest event.
The greatest day in Free Flight history took place on a golf course. It was August 6, 1939, and the location was the appropriately named Aviation Golf Course in Bendix, New Jersey. The event was the Wakefield International Cup contest: the world championship for FF model airplanes.
Last month I explored the storied early history of FF, from the 1870s through the 1960s. This month FF enters the modern era: 1970 to 2006.
There has never been a better time to get started in FF modeling. For one thing, kits are much better today. For those who don’t enjoy building, expert builders are selling excellent RTF models. Great videos, books, and other resources are available, and excellent clubs and fields still exist.
Have you wondered just what “scale” models were and how they fly? Ben Lanterman details the world of shrunken full-size airplanes at the same time as he covers the 2006 Scale National Championships. Look just Over the Horizon to find out what scale model flying is all about.
RC Micro World is offering a free presentation for anyone who has access to a computer and the Internet, to tell and show what the micro RC world is and how those interested can get further information.
February 11-12 in Champaign, Illinois, was the opportunity to experience an indoor flying event hosted by the largest hobby distributor in the country: Great Planes Model Distributors (Hobbico).
